Running a Seven Figure Business While Pregnant

For the last 10 years of my career, I worked in corporate America, specifically within the entertainment industry, focused on integrated marketing for consumer brands and media entities. I started straight out of college as a marketing coordinator, and within five years, I’d been promoted to a director-level position. It was a very fun and fast-paced career that had me on a plane every 3-4 days for brand campaigns at big events like Fashion Week, The Grammys, Coachella, SuperBowl, essentially every tentpole entertainment event. 

However, while successful on paper, I wasn’t very passionate about my work and I felt this inner pull telling me that this is not what I’m meant to do forever. The problem was, I had no clue what I wanted to do. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to do more meaningful work, so I started to go on my own personal journey of exploring what I want the rest of my life to look like. That ultimately led me to my own “Eat, Pray, Love” journey around Europe, investing in a life coach, and reigniting a dream I’d written in my journal while in high school to create a platform that empowers others to realize and actualize their full potential. I, of course, didn’t know that it would take the form it has today, but I knew that I would hate to wonder “what if” ten years from now if I didn’t at least give myself permission to explore what it could be.

Within this long journey from where I was to where I am, I've learned so many wonderful things that can help anyone who is stuck in a rut looking to live their dream life or a spark that they are so desperately missing. These are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way.

Set Boundaries

This is no easy task and is something that takes time to learn. First, start with clearly defining what your boundaries are with work, friends, family, and your partner. When you are clear on your boundaries with others it helps you to realize when someone is overstepping, or when you might feel uncomfortable. Put together a plan of action on how you will handle the situation so you're more prepared for when it happens.

Ask for Help

As an entrepreneur, I know firsthand how ambitious, independent, and optimistic we are. However, when situations arise where we need to ask for help, we seem to struggle. There are far more benefits when asking for help versus not asking for help. Knowing that someone else would take the time to help you out is a great feeling. In a way, it helps rejuvenate us. Asking for help also allows us to potentially grow our network and gain new perspectives, which could even lead to new opportunities! 

The same rules apply to your personal and love life. As entrepreneurs, we are often wearing many hats in our businesses. We are marketing, HR, admin, support, etc. It can be exhausting, and you may be doing an awesome job in your business, but your household duties may have suffered the consequences. It’s okay to hire help. It’s also okay to lean on friends and family for support. They know you best and can give you sound advice or a pick me up when you need it. 

Enjoy the Little Moments

If you told me five years ago that I would be living in Paris, married, with a baby on the way I would’ve laughed! What really helps me put things in perspective is remembering how much the life I’m living now felt so out of reach years ago. 

Instead of worrying about the future, I look around me and soak in everything I’ve accomplished and how far I’ve come in my journey. Enjoy moments during pregnancy with your spouse. Enjoy the moments getting ready for your little one. Don’t forget to give yourself grace, you’re raising a human!

Position Your Business to Scale

Running a seven-figure business while pregnant is A LOT. Make sure your product suite is built to scale around your lifestyle. The luxury of being a business owner is the ability to change up the structure. Thankfully for me, I’m in a place in my business where I can hire help. Having people on my team who are passionate, knowledgeable, and help bring new ideas to the table is so important. You can’t grow a business with longevity without help!

Get Organized

I can’t stress enough how important being organized is. It doesn’t only help with staying on top of tasks, but also helps ease anxiety and make me feel more confident in my plans for the day, week, and month. Having a to-do list is old-fashioned but there’s nothing better than being able to mark a task complete or being able to scratch it off your list. Being able to map out my day and visually see the tasks that need to get done really helps me put everything in perspective. It helps me understand if my timelines are realistic or not. Maybe I need to extend one project, or maybe I can shorten the timeline for another.

If this past year has taught us all anything, it’s that we can’t always perfectly plan for what’s ahead. What works year one of your business, may not work at all year two. You also might be working in a different time zone or in a different environment than you're used to. Adaptation is the key. At the start of the pandemic, my sales completely tanked and it felt like nothing was working in my business. 

I had two options: go and get a job or get serious about adjusting to circumstances that are out of my control by doing things that are in my control. I revamped my programs, messaging, and adapted my business model to what became the new normal. Doing so took my business from $100K in sales to $1M in sales in less than one year. I’ve seen my clients scale their businesses, and it’s not easy, but it’s definitely possible and it’s definitely worth it. You’ll never know what you can achieve if you don’t try!

About the Author: Natanya Bravo was a powerhouse working for Fortune 500 brands as VP of marketing for 10 years. Flying back and forth from NYC to LA, while leading a large team. This was everything Natanya worked so hard for! But, for some reason, Natanya felt unfulfilled. One night out at dinner her friend asked her, “What’s something you always wanted to do but was too afraid to say out loud?” and Natanya answered, “Move to Paris”. She came up with excuse after excuse, and then finally moved to Paris alone. Upon arriving, she wrote down her goals and what she wanted to accomplish. She now lives in her dream city, with her fiancé, is currently pregnant, and runs her very own seven-figure business abroad.

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How My Experience as an Investor Prepared Me to Be a Founder

It’s difficult to think of anything in my life that has required a wider or more dynamic skill set than founding and running a company. Unlike the way founding is sometimes described in pop culture and media, you can’t just have great ideas for products and services. You have to be capable of building a healthy company culture, understand how markets evolve, and anticipate what consumers will want in the future. Personally, the last year and a half have honed a higher tolerance for uncertainty, an irrepressible curiosity about our market and users, and the ability to communicate exactly what the company is trying to achieve to inspire all of our people. 

While there’s nothing quite like running a start-up, I’m grateful that I had an opportunity to work at a venture capital firm before taking the helm of my company Meet Cute. Because VCs work directly with founders every day, they need to be capable of seeing the world from a founder’s perspective, which means identifying gaps in the market, crafting the right narratives about promising companies and ideas, gathering a lot of information from disparate sources, and making informed decisions in the face of incredible uncertainty. Due diligence is the central task for VCs, but they also have to be willing to take risks on the companies they believe in. 

Investors and founders are on the same team. The best partnerships are often described as a marriage. That analogy rings true especially because of the ups and downs of founding over the years, which requires an intense trust in the people you work with that they will be there when you need it. Aligning on the direction of the company, personnel, and emerging market opportunities is critical. Ahead, I’m sharing some of the many lessons I learned as an investor that have also served me well as a founder.

Lesson #1: It all starts with curiosity.

Successful VCs are always on the lookout for companies that capture and hold their interest and users’ trust. Founders should want to work with investors who have thoughtful questions about their products and services, understand their industry, think differently, and believe in the founding team. It isn’t just a matter of cutting a check and hoping for a quick return. In turn, VCs should add value by thinking creatively about what the market will look like in the future and advising the company. I learned from shadowing partners at USV that the best VCs were also the best listeners, and think of VC as a service industry. 

This starts with genuine curiosity about what a company does and what impact it could have on the world with the right guidance and resources. The average holding period for VC investors is eight years. This is a reminder that investors need to be mission-aligned as they will work with companies over the long term and are investing in the sustainable success of their portfolio companies. 

VCs and founders should establish open lines of communication right at the outset. I’ve never been afraid to ask questions or contact experts who know more than I do about a subject, and these skills served me well as an investor and a CEO. 

When I was at the VC firm, the best way to learn about early-stage companies was to work directly with them on forecasting, marketing strategy, fundraising, and other issues and consult with experts outside of the company to bring new perspectives to the table. The same collaborative mentality is an essential part of the culture at Meet Cute today. If we need to talk to an expert about something specific, we are not shy about asking and learning. Time and time again, smart people in the industry who we look up to make time for those who are genuinely curious. 

Lesson #2: Make the best decision possible with incomplete information.

Early-stage investing offers unique benefits, such as the ability to identify innovative companies before other investors, help steer those companies in a positive direction, and ultimately secure more growth over time for taking on a much larger risk. These are all reasons why it’s no surprise that early-stage VC investments have surged over the past decade from $14 billion in 2011 to just over $47 billion in 2019. Early-stage investing is on pace to set a record this year. The first quarter alone saw greater deal value than the entire year in 2011.  

Early-stage investing also comes with quite a few obstacles, and a lack of information is one of the biggest. Early-stage investors don’t have as much data about a company’s growth, operational efficiency, etc., so many of their decisions are based on pattern recognition and intuition. The founders of early-stage companies face similar constraints. There’s no playbook for what many of these companies are doing, so we have to be comfortable making decisions with limited information. Just as investors need to accept the fact that they will sometimes make the wrong call, founders should be willing to fail. If everything is going too smoothly, you should ask yourself if you’re scaling ambitiously enough. 

All of that said, founders and VCs should be as fastidious as possible in their research. Due diligence as a core focus means putting in the time to learn and develop opinions and perspectives. But due diligence always has to be placed in the context of the realistic constraints you face, especially in building something completely new, and knowing what level of risk you’re willing to tolerate. 

Lesson #3: Always tell your story

A company’s story is integral to its identity, and it serves as one of the most effective ways to reach your audience and let them trust our brand, galvanize employees around a common message, and attract the best investors. As an investor, I frequently told stories about innovative companies to convince my colleagues that we should back them, often in the form of an investment memo or a short and sweet presentation in a team meeting. I also helped start-ups craft their stories when they launched fundraising rounds or needed to prepare for board updates. Storytelling is the most powerful tool we have as humans and we know that the emotions of a story are remembered far better than facts.  

Moreover, I’ve realized how sharing your story internally is vital to improving morale and helping employees rally around a consistent set of values and objectives. Gallup reports that only 27 percent of employees strongly believe in their company’s values, while less than half say they strongly agree that they understand what the company stands for or what sets it apart. By telling the company story and vision often and consistently, the team can rally around what they’re working toward and why it matters. 

Reflecting on the last year, there is a significant overlap between my experiences as an investor and a founder. By making a conscious effort to understand how my experiences tie into and bolster one another, I hope that I can show where founders and the VC firms that support them can build stronger relationships and thereby more unique and impactful products in the world. 

About the author: Naomi Shah is the founder and CEO of Meet Cute, a venture-backed media company that has produced over 300 original light-hearted romantic comedies in podcast form. The company celebrates human connection and the full spectrum of love with the core mission of having every person feel like they are reflected in Meet Cute stories. Since its inception in February 2020, the podcast has had over two million listens across over 150 countries and has been featured in the top 10 of Fiction on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

Before starting Meet Cute, she was a member of the investment team at Union Square Ventures, a technology venture capital firm in New York, where she spent most of her time talking to companies in the consumer and well-being space. Prior to that, she was a macro equities trader at Goldman Sachs and studied mechanical engineering and human biology at Stanford University.

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3 Beginner-Friendly Tips to Take Product Photos at Home

Whether you’re a budding photographer hoping to hone your skills from the comfort of your own home, or a busy solopreneur in need of some killer imagery for your marketing strategy, your product photography skills have to start somewhere. 

Generally speaking, learning how to perfect the art of product photography isn’t necessarily the easiest or most affordable task. Between the many educational resources available at your fingertips credit card, and the endless list of tools you may or may not need, learning how to take product photos that engage and sell can feel…overwhelming, to say the least. 

Today, we’re sharing 3 key tips to help you learn how to take product photos right at home! Because if we’re honest, good product photography is good product photography - with the right set of skills and strategy, you’ll be able to achieve stunning photos without the addition of a brand new studio or fancy tools and props. 

(Think of those as nice-to-haves, but not have-to-haves, okay?)

#1 Pick your at-home shoot location with space and light as your determining factors

Space and light are the two most important factors of any successful product photoshoot. You don’t necessarily need a large, spacious area for your product shoot, but make sure you have a clearly-defined tabletop, nook, corner or small area (5’x5’ preferably) of your home that offers you adequate space for your set.

Ideally, the space you choose will offer plenty of natural light, and large windows. You’ll want to face your photography set up towards the window, so the sunlight hits your products while you’re shooting. This method is the easiest and most cost-effective method (thanks, sun), but it does come with a couple of limitations: a more rushed shoot schedule, and potentially the necessity of spreading your shoot out over multiple days, so you can achieve the same lighting. 

That said, we understand that not every home has *perfect* product photography lighting. If that’s the case, we recommend trying to shoot in your backyard, or in a closed, safe community area. 

Shooting outdoors (in a safe space, of course) is almost always a good idea. Direct, outdoor sunlight can help you achieve stunning product photos and unmatched vibrancy. As an example, here are three photos we shot outside, in direct sunlight!

Now, if you don’t have access to adequate natural lighting or a flexible shooting schedule, we recommend adding strobe lights to your arsenal.

Not only will strobe lights help you to achieve the lighting you need from anywhere in your home, but they’ll also allow you to shoot on your own schedule, without worrying about rushing through your shoot in order to chase the sun. We’ve included an example of product photography shot with strobe lights by our friend @dianewithonen, below!

Master the art of creative product photography with Diane Villadsen

We also included a shot by our dear friends @helenkoker

#2 Create your go-to product photography toolkit

There are a few tools and items that every product photographer needs in their kit. These items, while fairly inexpensive, will allow you to shoot many kinds of product photography with versatility and ease!

Things to add to your product photography toolkit:

• A table - a table can serve as a great flat surface, while keeping your products and props away from the floor. Try to aim for 3’x 4’ or larger!

• Backdrops - seamless paper, painted plywood, fabric and foam board will go a long way in your product photography journey.

  • We personally love and live by _______ seamless paper. Click here to shop!

  • For fabrics, we recommend having velvet, satin and linen on hand. Those three fabrics will get you through a multitude of shoots and seasons, and can also be draped and used as beautiful backdrops. 

• A backdrop stand - a good backdrop stand is essential in allowing you to swap out backdrops quickly and easily. If you don’t have a backdrop stand (nor the space to store one), you can always tape your backdrop paper to a wall!

• A reflector - You’ll want to use a whiteboard to bounce light from one light source, to the other. For product photography, you can use a small whiteboard from any local art supply store.

• A few key blocks and props - With the right combination of props and pieces, you’ll be able to achieve practically anything. Do your best to collect some key props and objects that you can mix and use across multiple shoots and projects!

  • For smaller products like jewelry, we recommend The Teensy Collection. 

  • For medium-sized products like candles or skincare, we recommend our Classic Collection. 

  • For larger, freestanding pieces that can also function as furniture, we recommend our Moodelier Home Collection.

• Eye-catching florals - flowers are always a good idea. Whether you choose to use fresh or artificial flowers (or both), they tend to pair best with, well, everything.

  • Read our floral styling tips for photography here! 

  • Additionally, we recommend having a good floral frog handy. This will allow you to stand your flowers up or place them precariously without worrying about them drooping, falling over, or needing to be taped. 

• Glassware and miscellaneous objects - Homeware items like dishes, glassware, vases and paper goods can translate beautifully on camera. We love shopping from Coming Soon New York, Hay Design and Poketo, but if you’re working with a limited budget, don’t be afraid to thrift. You can find some gorgeous vintage pieces that way!

• A manicure - Both for self care, and also in case you end up needing to serve as the hand model for your own shoot! You can also ask a friend, roommate or partner to stand in for you - just make sure whoever it is has gotten a manicure ahead of time, so you don’t have to apply heavy edits in post-production.

If you have a newer iPhone (12 or 13, ideally), you might not necessarily need to invest in an all new camera when you’re just getting started. Your iPhone will serve to take beautiful product photos. So, save up the cash to buy a camera when the time is right!

By styling things well with adequate lighting, props and pieces, you’ll be able to cut down on the amount of post-production editing. Take the time to accumulate the tools and props you need to build a solid photography foundation, and you’ll be a pro in no time. 

Pssst! We also put together a larger 2022 Set Styling Tips + Tools Guide. Click here to access it.

#3 Build out your shot list and design your set ahead of time 

We can’t stress the importance of coming to your shoot with a plan and designed set enough. Your shot list and set design go hand in hand - your shot list will help you to better understand what kind of set you need for your shoot, and a pre-planned set will allow you to feel more creatively free on the day of your shoot. 

So, the more you plan, the better! Just remember to always leave yourself room (and grace) for some of those inevitable accidents you might encounter. You never know - some of our favorite projects and shoots were perfected by an unexpected twist or two.

3 steps to help you design your first set:

1. First, ask yourself a question: what are you shooting? Depending on the type of product and the overall vibe of the brand or shoot, you’ll want to decide on the tone and feeling of the shoot and project. Are you going for ethereal? Funky? Vibrant? Muted? 
   
   From there, you’ll be able to determine which props, pieces and tools might be needed for the shoot and set. 

1. When designing a set, you’ll want to make sure your product is always the focal point of the picture. So, plan your shot list and set with a product-first mindset, but don’t be afraid to play with colors that compliment or contrast to make your product stand out!

1. Once you’ve prepped your set, make sure to put together a shot list so that you’re prepared to batch all of your shots in one session. In your shot list, you’ll want to make note of what kinds of shots you’ll take, and include any reference photos, mockups or inspo you find! Your shot list can be built out on something as simple as a Google doc. 

Speaking of reference photos, mockups are always helpful in creating the set of your dreams. Your mockup can be as rudimentary as a simple hand sketch, or it could include inspiration and reference photos you find on Pinterest. If you’re a photoshop pro, you could even photoshop your mockup image so you have a well-defined starting point for the day of your shoot. 

#4 Okay fine, we’ve got a bonus tip 

You know, we love a good BTS. Whether BTS footage is shared via still photography or short-form video, it can be a great way to show the before, during and after of your product photography shoots! 

So, our bonus tip? While you shoot, make sure to grab some BTS footage to share on social media, or via upcoming blogs. Your audience will thank you later. 

Your at-home product photos just became a Mood. 

Not quite ready to take our word for it? Allow us to recommend two incredible photography resources made by creators, for businesses and brands of all shapes and sizes.

Learn how to create a visual proposal, and define your shoot’s creative direction with Teresa Freitas.

Master the art of creative product photography with Diane Villadsen

Creating Hero image for brands with Color Collective

5 Takeaways from This Founder's Path to Building a Rosé Empire

Rose Gold Rosé is the third evolution of my career. What I have learned over the course of my career is that passion trumps skill (well most skills, anyway). If you do not have passion for the business you are creating, what is going to push you to the next level? What is going to make you feel better when you miss your son’s football game? Your drive will persevere the challenges you will undoubtedly face as an entrepreneur. But it is ok! Everyday is about learning, developing your passion and earning the title of “expert.” 

You don't have to be an expert but you have to have the passion to become an expert. What started as a rosé to enjoy with my friends has turned into a lifestyle brand with distribution in fourteen states with over 11,000 cases sold and more coming this winter into the first quarter of next year. Throughout my path, I have been lucky enough to be inspired by so many female founders and the below are key takeaways from my experience and path to becoming a rosé boss. 

#1 Passion is a Skill Set

For me, the challenge of an industry I had zero background in — along with no experience in business or ever having been an entrepreneur — was a major mountain in front of me I had to scale. And I did it one step at a time. There was no map, no help, just figuring it all out as I went. There was no other choice — to figure out how to sell this wine or fail. I read everything I could get my hands on about how to start a small business, I have listened to tons of podcasts of female entrepreneurs over the course of the last three years, I have reached out to as many people that I could that were willing to try to give me advice or direction.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to get it done. The lesson here is — you don’t have to do what your degree (or degrees) hanging on the wall says. You can reinvent yourself as many times as you want. It’s never too late to start over or start anew. I was a family nurse practitioner. Then I was a stay-at-home mom. Now I own my own business. It’s wild but you can do it if you really want to and have the passion to do so. 

#2 Surround Yourself with People Who Are Experts 

When I started Rose Gold, I knew what I wanted to create and knew how I could fill a void in the market space. What I didn’t know is how to buy grapes or how to produce a product with shelf appeal. Within the first few months, I surrounded myself with the industry’s best of the best. Together, we built a plan to create a classic dry Provence rosé with a beautiful pale pink in color with aromas of rich, fresh fruits, followed by hints of white flowers and minerals. When approaching the experts, be honest. I walked in with my hands in the air asking for help. What I have learned is that people are attracted to passion. The group we pulled together saw my passion and my drive to build a lifestyle brand centered around spending time with the ones you love and enjoying experiences. Also, take every networking meeting/coffee/phone call, because you never know what connections you’ll make or what small tidbit of information you could takeaway.

#3 Let The Answer “No” Be Your Driving Force 

Don’t be scared of the answer “no,” but rather let it be your driving force. Over the years, I have received valuable feedback and a ton of “no’s.” When I first started, I made a promise to myself to remain authentic in the process of building my brand. With every no, it has further contributed to staying the course. It is easy to get bogged down and discouraged when you are turned away from an opportunity that you thought could work - only use this as motivation to push past it and keep putting yourself out there. Don’t let that one “no” make you think everyone in that office/organization/industry feels the same way. You could easily receive a “no” from one person in the same place, and the next person you talk to says “yes.” Just keep pushing, do not limit yourself, and you’ll find someone to resonate with you. 

#4 Time is Your Most Precious Resource 

As a mother of three and building a business, I have come to realize that my time and schedule commitments are precious. It takes alot to raise a family and build a brand. A mentor once told me, it is ok if you do not get everything done in a day and strive for significance over success. I realized that if I was careful with my time and boundaries I could be significant in my day and then weeks. In order to be present with my kids in the morning, I now wake up an hour earlier. This is my most productive time. 

As a mother of three and starting my business from the ground up, I have come to realize that my time, schedule, and commitments are incredibly valuable. Building a brand and raising a family are not that different, as both require a lot of time, energy, and nurturing in order to be successful. To pass down some wisdom from a mentor, not everything needs to get done in a day and it’s ok to strive for significance over success. This helped me realize that if I’m more mindful with my time and boundaries, I can be more significant in my days, which carries into weeks, and into months. 

When it comes to time, sometimes it requires you and your goals to meet each other half-way. My personal example of this is waking up an hour earlier each day, which allows myself to be present with my kids in the morning. Oddly enough, this has now become my most productive time of the day. This just goes to show that every day is a constant reminder of how precious your time is.

#5 How to Become The Expert 

Building something worthwhile is a marathon, not a sprint. It won’t happen overnight and no one is going to hand you your big break. Just keep going every day and push forward — even on the days you want to throw in the towel, remember you are one-step closer to your goals. When I started Rose Gold, I talked to everyone and read everything. I was not an expert in wine, but more so an expert in what I knew I wanted to build. Don’t forget it takes time. Your empire will not come overnight, but rather soak in every opportunity to further your growth to expert level. I carry around a notepad in my purse and if anyone sparks an idea, it goes down on paper. I now have a collection of over a dozen notebooks all around my house. Write it down, learn your craft and the expert title will follow. 

About the author: Born and raised Texan Casey Barber is a lover of all things food and beverage-related. Falling in love with the South of France on a trip in 2004, Casey founded Rose Gold in 2017, with her first bottles launching to the consumer market in 2018.Casey is a single mother to three children – Sam (13) Charlie (11) and Gigi (9). Outside her love for rosé, Casey’s interests include culinary experiences, travel and tennis. 

4 Important Things to Consider Before Starting a Social Impact Brand

Starting a Social Impact Brand is incredibly exciting and extremely satisfying. It is a great way to educate consumers about important social issues, while also serving as a solution to the problem through your service. Neococo was founded on a mission to create job opportunities for women refugees resettling in the United States. Our for-profit model allows us to continue hiring more women, and our forward integration plan promises the opportunity for growth within our team. Our vision is to create a place where women feel empowered at every level. From creating our designs, to hand embroidering each piece, to the purchase and styling of our products, we believe that the power of the “Neococo woman” is part of every stitch.

#1 Impact First

As a Social Enterprise, impact always comes first. Obviously! As an entrepreneur, you must be able to wear many hats. Sometimes you must be ready to act as a risk-taker, problem solver, or an innovator, all while keeping the mission in your mind even when making hard decisions. We want our products to serve as messengers on refugee rights and the feminine experience, and for the artwork to drive conversations around these issues. Sales of our products not only create equitable job opportunities for the women on our team, they also inspire our consumers to shop consciously so that every dollar spent has meaning. We are delighted to be even just a small (but growing) part of a shifting market culture, where conversations on sustainability and wage equality have driven companies to keep production local and scale; thus increasing more job opportunities and economic growth.

#2 Collaborate (Reach Out Globally)

Merging your efforts with external partners and organizations that align with your mission is a great way to accelerate your impact and drive momentum. Nonprofits especially, are always working on a grassroots level and their involvement on and off the field helps strengthen advocacy voices. Collaborations also create dynamic and cross industry teams forward towards a common goal, ultimately driving even more growth and innovation. For example, our collaboration with the International Rescue Committee during World Refugee Day was a great way for our Neococo team to give back to current refugees. This was especially meaningful because it gave a chance for our current team members to give back directly to those who are currently going through the experience of passing through resettlement camps from around the world. Additionally, partnerships with Influencers and other brands increase brand awareness and foster sustainable growth.

#3 Rally People Around You

When it comes to the modality of social impact, it is truly the work and support of the people around you that matters the most. An entrepreneur can have the ideas and the leadership to rally the team forward, but if there is no community alongside to help make it a reality, there is no scalable impact. A strong community of people who share your vision can help build long term prosperity. To scale successfully and produce consistent results requires a coordinated and cooperative effort from multiple people.

#4 Create Your Own Roadmap For Success 

My favorite part about being a business owner is developing our own company culture. Companies with traditional workplace cultures are often bureaucratic and working in such an environment means structured communication, central authority and decision-making leaving little scope for growth. At Neococo we believe that goals can be met with a flexible work schedule. Investing in our team and encouraging a collaborative work environment ensures success based on the “triple bottom line” (people, planet and profit), and serves both our team (the people benefiting socially) and customers (the people buying). Achieving a healthy work/life balance is an attainable goal in which your team and businesses alike will see rewards. When your team is  balanced and happy, they are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more likely to stay in their jobs. This is especially important when it comes to creating long term job opportunities for populations at risk. 

We believe that womankind radiates beauty and strength. Through hand embroidery, the women of Neococo are able to re-energize the timeless craft and honor the art of the female form. A purchase at Neococo is a gesture of feminine unity — contributing to equity, financial freedom, and hope for refugee women.

About the Author: I started my career in as a Fashion Stylist right out of college and worked my way up as an Independent Costume Designer for films and advertising. It was the most enjoyable experience working in India, where textile design and access to cottage industries allowed me to totally immerse myself in the process. With over 10 years of work experience, I moved to New York and studied Fashion at Parsons, The New School. After graduating I continued to work as a Fashion Stylist. I also found purpose through volunteering my weekends with local refugee groups. As I developed meaningful relationships with the women, I learned about some of the biggest challenges facing refugees including secure housing, adjusting to a different culture, finding a job, surviving on food stamps, and learning a foreign language. This led me to start Neococo in the Fall of 2017.

Featured image: Color Joy Stock