"She sure is tenacious, isn't she?"
- Guy at Home Depot
But that's just a sweet way to say "stubborn." I think tenacity has been a trait of mine that has gotten me in a lot of trouble as a kiddo, but served me well as an adult.
As an entrepreneur, I am thankful for this trait. #hustleup #keepgoing
"That's a terrible idea."
- My husband
I'm sure you can relate. Most of them aren't any good, but sometimes they aren't so bad.
• Chic CEO was an idea I got in grad school. I knew my friends wanted it, I didn't know how many people needed it. Over 100k actually - from Dubai to Tulsa, Toronto to Perth. Need a business plan template? Chic CEO’s got you covered…
• I invented a new tech-infused milk jug with Quirky
• I have, over time, developed a skill I call "Unreasonable Requests" that has allowed me to go to Bali for 2.5 months, get a treadmill desk, get press and more. I also help my clients use Unreasonable Requests to do the same.
"You've got quite the appetite."
- Waitress
I love to consume. It's true. What I'm most hungry for right now is anything that piques my curiosity. (I'm not one to turn down a block of cheese and a glass of malbec though...) I love to read. LOVE to read. Here's what I've been reading lately:
Choose Yourself by James Altucher
Better Than Before by Gretchin Rubin
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Accounting for the Numberphobic by Dawn Fotopulos
Emyth Revisited by Michael Gerber
The One Thing by Gary Keller
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
The Dip by Seth Godin
The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
"I don't really understand what you do."
- My Mom
Defining your strategy can be a challenge when you are just starting out, hit a plateau or have come to a fork in the road. I help entrepreneurs to identify open opportunities, ways to innovate and finding ways to play in the spaces between.
Getting press is crucial to any brand and it doesn't involve press releases. I've been featured in Cosmo, Fast Company, Inc., Amex Open, Forbes, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and more. Getting featured involves one thing: providing value. (See a theme here?)
When you are a small business or a small team - all hands on deck, right? In order to double or triple your output, you need to be automating the things you do over and over again. Clever Hub is my answer to that. It's how my team and I ran Chic CEO.
Branding is more than a logo and color scheme. I was fortunate to spend 5 years of my early career working for one of the country's top branding agencies. Working on brands like adidas, Nike, ConocoPhillips, Diageo and others exposed me to exceptional brand strategy. Door to floor, it boils down to your customer's experience.
When you grow your list to 100k, you pick up a thing or two. Having a large list means you have a ready made audience ready to consume your content. List building isn't easy, but with a fabulous strategy with a lot of value built in, it can be done.
Unreasonable Requests has been part of my tool box since I started Chic CEO. My team and I, with zero budget, started asking for crazy things only to get "yes" way more often than we got "no." That's when we started making bigger and bigger asks. Now, I help my clients ask for big things and leapfrog to their goals.
"You talk too fast."
- Clerk at Gas Station
I co-created two tiny humans.
I am now a slave to said tiny humans.
I have been to race car driving school.
I went to coding bootcamp in Bali.
I write for Forbes.
I won money on the Wheel of Fortune.
I've hiked the Grand Canyon.
I have my motorcycle license.
I wanted to be an Opera Singer.
I sang back up in a Yo Yo Ma concert.
Proof of tiny human creation.
