Victorization with Dr. Karen Bartuch

Director of Bennett Labs at Bennett Day School, Dr. Kelly Page (@drkellypage) is a social and digital innovator, entrepreneur, educator and learning consultant. She has a Ph.D. in the Psychology of Web Knowledge and an obsession with learning innovation and social storytelling. She has over 18 years of experience working at the intersection of social innovation, social design and learning of mediated social experiences for Startups, Universities, Schools and School Districts, to Fortune 500 companies. She believes that innovative and entrepreneurial thinking is at the heart of creating truly social cultures, organizations, and leaders. In this episode, Kelly talks about her work with Bennett Labs, and the importance of cultivating innovation and creativity from a young age. We also talk about gender roles among young people, and the importance of being a shield for every women to propel them to go higher. https://twitter.com/drkellypage?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkellypage/ 1:20 Dr. Kelly's role at Bennett Day School 5:16 When learning and innovation meet 7:54 How Kelly Page started out 10:13 What made Kelly Page pursue her Ph.D. 13:38 Why Kelly decided to work with younger students 16:31 Kelly as an entrepreneur and her work with Grateful for Her 20:38 Kelly's public speaking journey 26:52 Gender differences at a young age 30:10 Women in tech 34:56 Kelly's advice for young folks starting out in entrepreneurship

Sarasota, FL based artist, Alexis Fraser, a.k.a. ‘Lipstick Lex,' is an alternative visual and performing artist utilizing 100% lipstick as her medium, adorning each piece she creates with layers upon layers of her own kisses. Each piece she creates goes through a conceptual process, ignited by the inspiration given to her at that time. With an emphasis on promoting love, self-love, beauty, personal empowerment, and creative inspiration through her subjects, Alexis' innovative method delivers chic and conversational art that is equally vibrant as it is unique. Lex puts her love into each work of art – not just literally with her physical kisses, but from the moment of conceptualization, with each and every brushstroke, the finishing touches, her signature on the bottom corner, and of course the polishing layer of protective resin to conclude the piece. Alexis is an international artist who works on both private commissions and corporate collaborations. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States as well as numerous international locales such as Toronto, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, to name a few. Lex has been featured locally, nationally, and worldwide with TV appearances, worldwide press, celebrity purchases, and various exhibitions. Her art and her brand are rapidly growing along with her profoundly centered focus to spread love one kiss at a time. https://lipsticklex.com/ 03:00 - Lex's creative journey 12:00 - Don't be afraid to stand out 21:00 - Facing up to the challenge of portraiture 22:29 - The brand is born 22:45 - How to pitch your work when you have no reputation or budget 33:30 - You know you've made it when you start getting haters & trolls 35:45 - Kisses for causes 39:00 - Not your ordinary gallery 41:00 - Expanding the brand

Franklin Reed (@franklintreed) is the driving force behind the inclusion and diversity strategy for TEKsystems, an industry leader in Full-Stack Technology Services, Talent Services and real-world application. He has a deep passion for inclusion and diversity, he partners closely with TEKsystems' corporate executives and business leaders to develop an enterprise strategy and initiatives that align to organizational priorities that impact our people and business. In this episode, Franklin talks to us about his role and career in the tech industry, and how he found himself a driving force in inclusion and diversity for his company, TEKsystems. He discusses the importance of being heard, and how diversity helps companies succeed. https://twitter.com/franklintreed https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklinreed/ 1:28 Franklin Reed's Role as TitleDirector of Inclusion & Diversity 4:50 Why inclusion and having your voice heard matters 7:04 Franklin Reed's journey 9:05 Benefits of diversity 12:12 Addressing conscious bias in real time 15:48 Inclusion and diversity in hiring 18:33 Diversity in the tech industry 22:01 Franklin Reed's vision 24:53 Becoming an ally for inclusion and diversity

Dr. Jaclyn Jensen (@jaclynmjensen) is an Associate Professor of Management in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at DePaul University and is the Faculty Director of the Master of Science in Human Resources and Executive Master's of Human Resource Management programs. Her research interests focus on the impact of harassment and incivility on employee performance and well-being. Her research has been published in several top academic journals including Journal of Applied Psychology and Journal of Management, and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Business News Network, and the Chicago Tribune. In this episode, Jaclyn talks to us about her career and research in the academe, as well as her work on workplace incivility and counterproductive behavior. We also take a deeper dive into her study on weight bias and discrimination in the workplace and the psychology and dynamics behind how people are discriminated because of their weight in the workplace. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaclyn-jensen-7145428/ https://twitter.com/jaclynmjensen 1:02 Getting to know Jaclyn Jensen's background 3:52 How Jaclyn got started 10:01 Falling in love with consulting 11:20 Dipping her toes in teaching and research 15:32 Women in Ohio State's Psychology program 18:55 Jaclyn on employment, fairness, and counterproductive behavior 27:38 Are you making a big thing about little things? 33:30 Results of incivility in the workplace 35:15 Workplace incivility in other industries and properly communicating feedback 41:30 Jaclyn's study on weight bullying

Sharon Feller is the Executive Director of Jones Lang LaSalle handling project management, product development, and account team operations experience with corporate clients. She is interested in work that involves coaching and developing leaders and helping clients recognize and articulate ambitions for their organizations. She's good at assessing operational and organizational issues and developing plans to fix or improve. In this episode, Sharon talks about her amazing career with Jones Lang LaSalle, as well as how her creative soul found its way in a project management career. We also talk about mentorship, leadership, and how important it is for her to help women like her break that glass ceiling. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-feller-8020638/ 1:20 Getting to know Sharon Feller 5:23 Sharon's Interior Design Background 7:45 Falling back in love with creativity. 9:36 Sharon's Art 12:04 Sharon's thoughts on confidence 15:08 Public Speaking and Overcoming Shyness 20:35 Believing in What Other People See In You 23:15 The importance of mentors 24:36 Expanding into roles outside your comfort zone 30:33 Why Sharon hired a coach 32:13 Mentoring women 34:50 Sharon's leadership style 38:31 Sharon's experience in trying to break the glass ceiling 47:33 Sharon's advice to women who are just getting started

Laura Lindwall (@laura_lindwall) is a motivational speaker, coach, and facilitator who has made it her mission and purpose, to not only share, inspire, and encourage everyone to believe in themselves and dream BIG but to provide the tools and resources necessary to make those dreams a reality. She helps people align with their purpose and focus on their strengths in order to create lasting change. As a John Maxwell Team Certified Speaker/Trainer as well as an award-winning speaker, she brings new life and connection to every event she's in. In this episode, Laura talks to us about how she became a motivational speaker and coach that she is today, the value of vulnerability, and how she started her ‘No More Pockets' series. She also talks about her journey to finding her calling and why she pursued this path. https://www.instagram.com/laura_lindwall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-lindwall-604b2750 https://lauralindwall.com/ 1:40 - Getting to know Laura Lindwall 3:47 - How the world of motivational speaking opened up for Laura 10:55 - How No More Pockets expanded 13:57 - Not letting your condition hold you back 17:52 - On Impostor Syndrome and the feeling of being a phony. 24:47 - Expressing vulnerability 28:35 - Laura's Five-Minute Pity Parties 37:18 The reaction to Laura's talks and life as a coach 43:54 - Wanting to help women 51:20 - Where can we find Laura Lindwall

Theresa Cantafio (@theresacantafio) is a brand strategist with a background in business strategy, trend research, brand management, professional writing and communications, and executive leadership. She has over 7 years of dynamic domestic and international B2B and B2C marketing experience. She graduated from Dominican University with bachelor's degrees in both art and science. She co-founded an award-winning SaaS platform (Go Clean Label), has moderated thought-leadership trend panels, spoken at natural food innovation events, and has worked with tiny CPG startups all the way through big companies such as McDonald's, Kraft Heinz, Mars Wrigley, Milk Bar, Bush Beans, and Johnsonville. In this podcast, Theresa talks to us about her adventures in career and in life. She talks about her stellar rise in her career in the food business, and how she became a VP at the age of 26. Then we go on her adventures across Italy and how her travels brought her to the goal of building a life she doesn't want to escape from. https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-cantafio-9525704a/ https://twitter.com/theresacantafio 1:18 Getting to know Theresa Cantafio and her Food Science background 5:12 How Theresa got started in the industry 10:19 Theresa talks about the companies and brands she worked with 11:32 Theresa talks about her career in the Food Industry 15:01 Theresa's View on Collaborating With Other People 17:40 Moving up the Corporate Ladder 22:09 Theresa's Baby, Go Clean Label 29:04 Theresa's take on organic food 30:47 Why Theresa gave it all up and moved to Italy 36:29 Theresa's Italian Adventure 51:50 What's next for Theresa Cantafio?

Juliann Larimer (@juliann612) is the president and CEO of Peak-Ryzex. With over 25 years of experience, she has worked for companies such as IBM, NCR, Accenture, Motorola, and Zebra Technologies. Juliann also attended and received degrees from Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University. In this podcast, Juliann talks to us about how she rose in the tech and sales business, and how it feels to be a woman in a male-dominated industry. We also discuss her leadership style, success, and how it is to be a woman leader and face success, adversities, and climb your way to success. https://twitter.com/juliann612?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliannlarimer 0:24 - Getting to know Juliann Larimer and Peak-Ryzex 6:34 - Juliann's experience living in Japan 7:29 - Juliann's experience in functioning in and managing uncertain situations 14:16 - Clashing Company Cultures 16:04 - Juliann's life with IBM 20:46 - Going from full-time mom back to the workforce 21:46 - Juliann's role models and inspirations 25:34 - What happens when you don't make the right choice 28:52 - Juliann's leadership style: going from team member to manager 31:18 - Juliann's life and succeed at Zebra Technologies 45:53 - How it is to be a female leader 50:27 - Juliann on dealing with negativity and antagonism in the workplace 1:03:42 - How Juliann was able to navigate taking on different leadership roles 1:09:15 - When Juliann decided she wants to be CEO

Teri Arvesu (@realtvmom) is a media & communications executive with 25 years experience in storytelling across platforms to achieve strategic business results and social impact. She is currently the VP of Content for Univision Chicago: overseeing the station's News & Creative Services department and driving strategy for content across platforms, messaging and, solutions for both internal & external clients. In this podcast, she talks about her love for the news business – how she got started, and how she worked her way up to where she is today with Univision. We also talked about the idea of leadership, what it means, and how to challenge your mental image of what a leader is. https://www.linkedin.com/in/teriarvesu/ https://twitter.com/realtvmom?lang=en 4:21 Teri's leadership style 6:50 How Teri prepares her employee for ‘offboarding' 9:20 How Teri fell in love with news and broadcasting 17:10 Teri's family background and why she values education 23:47 How Teri started out with Univision 26:00 Teri 2.0's journey 37:41 Univision's Mission Statement and how Teri gives back to the Latino Community 42:24 Elevating the Image of Leadership 46:25 Teri's advice to Latinos entering the news business

Justine Fedak (@justacorphippie) is the Co Founder & Principal at Instant Impact Group LLC, and a self-declared Corporate Hippie. Spending years in the C-suite leading North American marketing teams she decided to ‘consciously uncouple' from ‘Corporate Life' and share her inspiring story. In this podcast we talk about her life living with MS (Multiple Sclerosis), how she transitioned from the corporate world to becoming a corporate hippie, and how she found her purpose within her company's purpose. Now a motivational speaker, she teaches people about embracing the gentleness of life, and building great relationships with their companies, as well as the value of looking at life through a humorous lens. https://justinefedak.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-fedak/ https://twitter.com/justacorphippie?lang=en 0:30 Get to know Corporate Hippie Justine Fedak 3:00 Justine's journey to becoming a corporate Hippie 7:30 The Corporate Hippie Movement: How to Find Your Purpose in your Company's Purpose 13:00 How Justine's Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis Changed Her Perspective In Life 18:45 Struggling with Vulnerability 24:30 The Importance of Building Relationships Within Your Company 41:00 Using Humor As A Coping Mechanism 51:00 Founding Instant Impact Group

Daryl Koehn is the Wicklander Chair in Professional Ethics at DePaul University. She has published widely in the fields of ethics and corporate governance. Her monographs include The Ground of Professional Ethics; The Nature of Evil; Rethinking Feminist Ethics; Local Insights, Global Ethics; and Living with the Dragon: Thinking and Acting Ethically in a World of Unintended Consequences. Edited volumes include Corporate Governance: Ethics across the Board and Ethics and Aesthetics in Business Ethics. In addition, she has published scores of articles in the Harvard Business Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, and numerous other journals. She consults regularly with major corporations and has served on a major corporation's compliance committee. She has been profiled in Time magazine and has appeared often on National Public Radio, PBS TV stations, and in other venues. https://las.depaul.edu/academics/philosophy/faculty/Pages/Daryl_Koehn.aspx https://business.depaul.edu/faculty/faculty-a-z/Pages/Daryl-Koehn-.aspx https://www.linkedin.com/in/daryl-koehn-81898a10/ 2:22 What is an ethical dilemma? 4:27 Examples of ethical issues in business 5:36 Milton Friedman and ethics in business 9:10 Advice for businesses in handling ethics 12:56 Daryl's educational background 23:58 Why is it important to study ethics? 29:01 Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics 36:42 Accountability vs. responsibility 41:53 Daryl's take on feminist ethics 45:24 How to become an ethical leader 56:50 What's coming up next for Daryl

Jessica Antes is an actor, writer, and teacher. She is a Chicago native with a BA in Film & Video from Columbia College Chicago, as well as a graduate of the Second City Training Center's Conservatory, Comedy Writing Program, Music Conservatory and iO Chicago. She teaches many classes to both children and adults at the Second City Training Center in Chicago, which include: Intro and Advanced improvisation, Comedy Writing, Improv for Anxiety, Improv for Parkinson's, Improv for Seniors, Making the Improvised Musical, and various artist in residencies at schools in the Chicago land area. She has also taught special Improv workshops at The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Act Out Academy in Birmingham, Alabama. Jessica is a co-creator of a comedy training program called S.H.E. Camp (Sisterhood Humor & Empowerment) that focuses on empowerment and encouraging girls and young women to develop their own unique artistic voice. When she's not teaching, Jessica performs with her improv team, Daffodil, at iO Chicago and her sketch groups Just the Tip, The Comic Thread and Half & Half. Lastly, when comedy isn't consuming her life, she likes to hang with her dog, Hobbes, and cook a delicious meal. http://www.jessicaantes.com/about-jessica.html https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaantes/ 1:48 Jessica's college story & how she got into teaching/improv/comedy 10:21 Why it's important to have a girls' comedy camp 16:46 Jessica's goals 25:12 How Jessica's family reacted to her career path 28:06 Does Jessica's work feel like “work”? 30:40 Can “funny” be taught? 32:34 Who is Jessica's target clientele/audience 44:35 Comedians pushing boundaries of being politically correct 49:44 Advice for aspiring comedians 52:21 What to expect from Jessica in the future

Peggy O'Flaherty (@PeggyOFlaherty) is the Chief Community Officer and co-founder at Mavely, a discovery platform where women can uncover up-and-coming brands, share products with friends and family, and earn cash from their purchases. At Mavely, Peggy is responsible for building and empowering a community of Mavens who are able to be their own influencers while earning additional income. An accomplished founder and entrepreneur, prior to Mavely, Peggy co-founded OneParish – Growing the Faith, an app designed to foster engagement within church communities. Her strength in sales and social commerce drove the app to a successful acquisition in 2017. With extensive experience in strategic project management and business development, Peggy has made it her mission to inspire women to achieve success both personally and professionally. After building a body of expertise from working with MLMs, Peggy was inspired to launch Mavely to disrupt the traditional practices of the industry. Mavely was born from her commitment to finding a better way for women to influence their communities while earning supplemental dividends. As a mother of five, Peggy cites her family and her faith as the force behind her success and her continued drive to empower women. Peggy graduated from DePaul University with a degree in Tourism and Travel Services Management. Twitter: @PeggyOFlaherty Instagram: @peggyoflaherty Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peggy.oflaherty http://creatingspaceinyourlife.com/author/creatingspace/ 1:42 How did Mavely and the concept of communal shopping come to be? 12:16 Balancing work, life, & family 13:47 Family act: the family that works together 15:55 How to have a positive relationship with your VCs 21:52 Peggy's Book: Living Your Calling Vs. Chasing Your Craving 22:58 Advice for upcoming entrepreneurs 25:38 Mentorship. Need something? Just ask. 26:24 What's next for Peggy and Mavely? 27:41 Taking the time to unplug

Nancy Hensley is the director of technical marketing for IBM Analytics. Nancy has more than 20 years' experience working in the data business in many capacities, from development and product management to sales and marketing. Before joining IBM, Nancy was a senior project manager at McDonald's Corporation, working largely on the international side of the business. Now in the 16th year of her IBM career, Nancy has worked chiefly in sales and technical sales positions. In 2004, she became the business unit executive leading the North American architect and technical teams. In that position, Nancy was granted a patent and a technical innovation award for her work on the data warehouse architecture. In her current role, Nancy runs a global product marketing team focused on business intelligence, predictive analytics, data warehousing, data integration, and database technology. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyhensley/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancykoppdw?lang=en Medium: https://medium.com/@nancykoppdw 1:44 Nancy's career trajectory from college onward 6:21 Discussing the corporate culture at IBM 7:48 How IBM's business model changed over the years 12:34 What's it like to be a female in tech? 16:48 Talking about her leadership style. What works, what doesn't work, etc. 27:26 Nancy talking about ‘Growth Hacking' 32:59 On IBM's innovation and customer research 35:43 Nancy discusses why women in STEM are so important to her 38:53 On the importance of being kind and ‘servant leadership' * (winning w data - quote) 42:24 Discussing the importance of ‘failing fast' 45:48 Talking about Simon Sinek 49:13 How Nancy addresses work/life balance in such a demanding role 52:42 Talking about Nancy's sense of humor and being authentic

Ari Goldsmith (https://www.linkedin.com/in/arigoldsmith/) has been Vice President of Marketing at KeHE since 2015. Working with internal and external stakeholders, she is an innovation igniter, a strategic partner and the lead champion of KeHE's Goodness Follows brand platform, having revitalized the KeHE brand from the former family crest to the categorically-relevant globe. Ari is a founder of the CARETrade® initiative, Co-Chair of the Myra Rubenstein Weis Leadership Board, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Ark Chicago, which aligns with KeHE's mission; “We Serve to Make Lives Better®”. Prior to joining KeHE, Ari served as the Senior Director of Marketing for Saks Fifth Avenue. She received her bachelor's degree in Advertising & Marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001. 1:19 Ari explains what she does as VP of Marketing at KeHE 3:19 Hot food market trends 21:50 Biggest learnings from her journey 25:58 Fav books on leadership 32:36 Bad leadership 34:54 The importance of mentorship 36:25 The importance of philanthropy 39:58 Work-life balance 42:08 Karen reads bonehead biz quotes by men 49:53 What's next for Ari?

Jennifer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenschipper/) is an operations professional with broad experience in supply chain management, sales, marketing and operations. As VP of Operations for the Americas at Morton's Salt, she leads a team of 8 direct reports and 2,800 indirect reports across 26 locations to produce over 2M tons of product supporting Consumer Package Goods Companies, Government and B2B industries. Her superpower is performing strategically and tactically under pressure and maintaining strong relationships across matrixed organizations, inclusive of internal and external senior executives in Fortune 500 companies. 0:37 Jennifer's career path 0:53 Her first pick: meteorology 2:33 Why supply chain management? 3:22 First job: Lay's 4:24 Earning respect vs. feeling entitled to it 4:59 A big part of your job as a leader is to be a learner 8:24 Not everyone wants to see you succeed; focus on the ones who do 9:02 Asking for a union all-access pass 10:21 Go for getting 95% of the crew on your side 12:50 Pro tip: pick one dept. per day and talk to everyone in it 15:41 Figuring out what makes people tick 15:49 Celebrate successes, get to know them as people 17:28 Kindness is not weakness 18:17 Tone of voice matters 20:11 Being a lifelong learner 21:08 Driven to a fault 22:22 Move to San Francisco for Levi's 23:20 Being the bearer of bad news 23:50 Handling tough conversations with grace 25:02 Help people who are struggling before you resort to firing them 26:06 To be a manager, you have to enjoy being a mentor 26:41 How she got back to Chicago from SF 28:37 Soul searching w/ an executive coach 34:05 Jennifer's definition of success (it's not about the title) 36:45 Adapting your leadership style to the team 37:52 Next challenge: overcome communication barriers 40:06 The responsibility of leading a team 40:50 I spend most of my time on people 41:53 Karen gives kudos for Morton's diverse leadership team 42:11 Morton's culture 44:42 Guilt around “the trailing spouse” 46:43 Recognizing the things we tell ourselves are true vs. things that are true 48:58 Do what's right for your family 49:17 Keep an Open Dialogue 50:28 Talking to her managers about training for the Iron Man (she's done 2)

Alice H. Eagly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Eagly) is a professor of psychology and management of organizations at Northwestern University. She currently holds the James Padilla Chair for Arts and Sciences and a Faculty Fellowship for the Institute of Policy Research at Northwestern University. Her primary research contributions have been in the area of social psychology, as well as personality psychology and Industrial Organizational Psychology. Her current research interests include the psychology of gender, especially sex differences in similarities in leadership, prosocial behavior, aggression, partner preferences, and sociopolitical attitudes. She is also interested in the content of stereotypes, social role theory as a theory of sex differences and similarities, and the origins of sex differences in social behavior. 3:00 Basics of social role theory 9:30 Why Alice studies psychology & her educational background 19:00 Role congruity & the effects of in-congruence 23:45 What women can do to change stereotypes 28:00 Why “labyrinth” is a better metaphor than “glass ceiling” 32:15 Imposter syndrome 34:15 People resist women's leadership more than men's 38:00 Women's lack of access to powerful mentors 48:00 Alice describes being a feminist

Jean Lavallie of Women Entrepreneurs Secrets of Success (WESOS) (https://www.wesosnetwork.com/member/jean-lavallie/) After twenty-five years as a stay-at-home-mom, Jean quickly discovered the challenges of trying to re-enter a workforce that believes women have an expiration date. But rather than throwing herself a pity-party, she found a group of supportive women to help her along: Women Entrepreneurs' Secrets of Success (WESOS). Now she is the leader and organizer of WESOS, helping fellow female entrepreneurs succeed through true relationship building - not just passing out and collecting cards. According to Jean, WESOS is not a business, it is a belief. A belief that through collaboration, we will see a better-connected and happier world than if we are constantly competing. 2:03 Jean's career path 7:47 The cattiness of many women-only networking groups 8:40 The importance of being seen 9:00 Being vulnerable & authentic 13:43 The WESOS intention 17:12 Many people make up one entrepreneur 20:52 Innovation class, yin/yang of ideas and implementation 21:58 A different kind of women's group 25:47 Scarcity vs. abundance mentality 26:30 The more you give, the more you get 27:21 Learning how to receive as well as give 28:37 Women & Entrepreneurship 31:40 Fear of being seen and fear of being invisible 35:30 The message of letting your freak flag fly 37:53 How networking helps you get past not knowing what you don't know 39:00 Maintaining the culture of the group at 5,000+ members 41:15 The leadership model of WESOS, how to become a leader 42:00 What community means and how community runs 45:54 Know, Like, and Trust = who you buy from 46:29 Favorite books on leadership 47:40 What's next for Jean and WESOS 47:53 LinkedIn - who Jean will and won't connect with there and why 49:20 Women Supporting Women 51:30 Give, Give, Give; stop trying to sell to the people offering you support 52:00 Personal responsibility - don't participate 54:20 Importance of understanding the feminine energy

You know when you meet someone and you just know that you will be friends with them? That is how it was when I met Stacy and Heather of Klique, a small but mighty branding agency based out of Naperville, IL. When we first met, I was writing the quote, "well behaved women rarely make history" by Eleanor Roosevelt on a white board. Fast forward to today and that is even more fitting as I have gone on to create this podcast to highlight said ill-behaved women and the history they are making. As fast as I knew that we'd be friends, I knew that Stacy and Heather would be my very first podcast guests. I've been fortunate to work with these rock stars on several brand strategy projects and they continually amaze me with the magic they create - from telling a powerful story to creating moving designs. In addition, they've supported and championed me personally which I will be forever grateful. Now back to the episode! If you want to learn more about the importance of brand to your business then this is the episode for you and you will be hearing from the masters! If you have any interest in starting your own business then this is also for you. Stacy is a self-taught designer with impressive branding chops. She has designed for some of the biggest names in the business: Tiny Prints, Pepsi, Hillshire Brands, and Land of Nod to name a few. As one of Shutterfly's top selling designers, her designs capture the essence of a personal story and sales always follow. Her family couldn't be more proud of her badass design skills, business-style swagger and her “just freaking do it” attitude. Heather loves nothing more than a pen, blank piece of paper (and mother nature). Her best stories and strategies always start there. She believes something magical happens when your pen touches a blank page. She has helped shape big global brands among the likes of Visa and AT&T - along with regional favorites like The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. She is an award-winning writer and storyteller and has a knack for understanding just what your brand needs. http://www.kliquecreative.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-amoo-mensah-9333a02a https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-demonte-786798b2 3:06 Heather's career path (started at age 8) 5:04 Stacy's career path 5:30 Teaching Kindergarten and being a mom = rough combination 13:31 The emotional impact of branding 13:52 The journey of finding your value for creative women 16:00 Be kind but unwavering 16:29 What branding means for a business 18:12 Helping people find their story 19:00 Being an entrepreneur is HARD 24:04 The promise of DavidaJane is to take up space 24:45 Take yourself and your story with you on your journey 27:40 Are you getting the leadership team on your project? 28:00 Importance of having a process that works for you (and sticking to it!) 34:12 Translation vs. adaptation 34:44 Being lifted up by a female colleague (vs. stepped on) 36:59 Missing mentorship 38:21 Flipping the script on the fraud complex 44:00 From acceptance to empowerment 46:58 Reasons to rebrand 47:22 Your brand is an investment 51:31 Public speaking - think of your nerves as rocket fuel 56:30 Authenticity = success 1:01:45 The key to their relationship: boundaries 1:02:31 The magic of women in the workplace 1:05:00 When you should start thinking about brand (spoiler alert: from the very beginning!) 1:08:09 What the future holds for Klique