Kelsey L. Schulz is an entertainment attorney with a super busy job - she's the senior counsel for female-driven media company Kin Community, managing all of their talent, vendor, and crew agreements, distribution and licensing deals, COVID-19 industry regulations, and advising on all corporate, pre-litigation, production, and intellectual property matters. It's a big job, but if anyone can handle it, it's Kelsey. We talk about how she got into this area of law and her advice for others looking to get into the entertainment industry, be it music, TV, film, or theater law, either on the talent or the production side. Kelsey's the mom of the cutest baby ever, and we talk about her advice for other new moms with big jobs and how she manages all of the important things in her life. Another big part of Kelsey's life is volunteer work and philanthropy. She volunteers weekly with Chrysalis, helping people in Los Angeles find jobs and reenter the workforce. We have a really honest discussion about Kelsey's expectations for how she thought she'd be able to help people as an attorney, why doing pro bono work wasn't realistic, and why she decided to work with Chrysalis on job preparation and readiness instead. Kelsey is such an inspiration and I was so happy to get the chance to chat with her! Find her on LinkedIn here. 00:05:00: What is Kelsey's job and where does she work? 00:06:10: What has her career trajectory looked like? 00:09:32: What is the day-to-day of a busy entertainment attorney? 00:17:48: What's the difference between being an attorney for talent, a production company, an agency, and the other different niches in the entertainment industry? 00:24:52: What are some of the misconceptions about Kelsey's job? 00:28:42: What are the rewards and challenges of Kelsey's job? 00:31:12: What does she look for when hiring staff? 00:34:48: What type of nonprofit work does she do? 00:43:23: How does someone advance as an entertainment lawyer - what does that look like? 00:50:00: Back to the Future - what advice would Kelsey give to her younger self? What were some of her biggest career mistakes and what did she learn from them? 01:02:00: Listener questions and our lightening round

Do you remember studying for the SATs or ACTs and how mind-numbingly boring it was? Kalyan Ray-Mazumder does. He's a perfect-scoring SAT/ACT tutor who has taught over 10,000 hours of test prep while working as a professional Off-Broadway/film actor. He realized that his students learned better when they were laughing and enjoying the material - and their improved scores followed. While working on his MBA at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, he founded Prepmedians, which is at the intersection of test prep and comedian. Through SNL Weekend Update and comedy-style segments, Kalyan and his team help their students, laugh, learn, and crush the SAT/ACT. With over 220k followers on TikTok, Prepmedians is totally disrupting the staid test prep game. Kalyan and I talk about how he got here, the rewards and challenges of his business, how he markets it to students, and his advice to building a business. 00:04:13: What's Kalyan's job and where does he work? 00:08:27: What has his career trajectory looked like? Kalyan tells us how as a professional actor in NYC, he was disappointed at the stereotypical range of "brown" roles available and how Prepmedians allows him represent his identity in a positive way. 00:14:00: What does Kalyan's day-to-day look like? 00:18:50: What does he look for when building a team? 00:21:00: We talk about how remote learning has changed in the face of COVID-19. 00:26:00: What misconceptions do people have about the test prep industry? 00:29:00: What are the rewards and challenges of his job? 00:35:51: Kalyan's advice to someone building a business with or without an MBA. 00:40:00: How does Kalyan market his business? What has and hasn't worked? 00:48:12: Back to the future - what advice would Kalyan give to his younger self? 00:54:16: What advice would Kalyan give to his younger self? 00:57:18: Listener questions and our lightning round.

Makeda Mutema-Newton is a talented and super smart event strategist and the founder of Events Unlocked. She helps creative entrepreneurs plan profitable workshops, retreats, and conferences with attendee experience at their core. She's written a 200+ page book with a detailed step-by-step guide on planning your event, and has tons of resources available at her site. She focuses on helping entrepreneurs plan an event that'll be both hugely valuable for attendees AND turn a profit for the person planning it. Makeda has worked so hard on her business, and I'm so excited to see it grow over the years. We talk about everything from how she got started to a detailed step-by-step of the most common mistakes people make when planning their conference, retreat, or workshop. 00:03:15: What's Makeda's job and what does she do? 00:08:44: What has her career trajectory looked like? 00:16:30: What are the rewards and challenges of her business? 00:23:00: How does she market her business? 00:41:00: What are the most common mistakes people make when planning their event? 00:50:00: Back to the Future - what advice would Makeda give to her younger self? 00:54:34: A Day in the Life: What does her day to day look like? Then, our listener questions and a lightning round.

Caroline Ballerstedt saw a lot of people in her city of Providence, Rhode Island struggling with homelessness, addiction, and a lack of services like safe housing, access to food, and harm reduction care. Instead of saying, "I'm not a social worker," or "I'm not qualified to help," or "I don't know how to help," she just.... started doing it. Caroline works a full-time job in the medical field, but fit her outreach work into her evenings and weekends. She's a testament to the fact that you can do good things even without a specific degree or job title. Caroline started cooking big batches of hot vegan meals and giving them out to people living on the streets of her community. She then started creating safe injection kits, carrying around essential supplies like tampons, socks, and hand sanitizer, and her biweekly evening outreach became Compassion Kitchen Providence. Caroline doesn't see herself as a savior, and is loath to take the spotlight (but I'm willing to shine it on her and say she's incredible). She sees the people in her community first as people, and believes in meeting them where they are, listening to them, and giving them love, support, a hot meal, and a friendly ear. We talk a lot about the concept of harm reduction, which can be a controversial topic in the field of outreach and addiction. Caroline tells us why she believes that harm reduction is a more effective, safe approach than abstinence, what macro policies she think would help the homeless/unhoused population in her city, and her advice to people looking to do harm reduction outreach in their own communities. Compassion Kitchen Instagram Compassion Kitchen Wish List 00:06:00: What is outreach work? What does Caroline do? 00:10:53: What does she bring with her? 00:15:00: What is harm reduction, anyway? 00:23:00: What are the most important needs she sees in her community - food? Tents? Clothing? Personal hygiene products like sanitizer and toothpaste? 00:29:00: What, on a macro policy level, does she think will help with the issues of safe housing and addiction? 00:38:00: What are some misconceptions about outreach work and harm reduction? 00:40:35: How does she get all the supplies she brings? 00:46:00: What are the rewards and challenges of this work? 00:50:00: What's her advice to people looking to do outreach work in their own community? 00:58:00: Back to the Future, Listener Questions, and Lightning Round

Tori Horowitz is the founder and estate director of CanyonHaus, the coolest real estate agency in LA. Tori is a marketing genius and has crafted a really cool, bohemian, artistic brand for her company, and has built it into a successful business with a really talented team. She was born and raised in West LA and has an intimate knowledge of the city, especially the Laurel Canyon area where she lives and works (she shares some of this cool history in the episode). After a career as an actress, writer, and talent rep, she got into real estate and prospered despite the 2008 recession. Her Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology gives her a more thoughtful, intuitive approach to the sometimes cutthroat world of LA real estate. In this episode we discuss how Tori transitioned into real estate, how she uses her creative talent in this career, how she built up CanyonHaus and hired a team, and how she's been able to thrive even during recessions and pandemics. Throw in some Los Angeles history and hidden gems and some very good advice about dreaming big, and you have one of our favorite episodes yet! 00:03:50: What’s Tori’s job and where does she work? 00:05:44: How did she identify and fill such a great niche? 00:08:11: What was her last 9-5 and what’s her career trajectory looked like? 00:21:14: What are the rewards and challenges of her business? 00:34:08: How does she market CanyonHaus - what’s worked and what hasn’t? 00:43:05: How has she been able to be flexible enough to be successful during recessions and pandemics? 00:50:30: Back to the Future and Listener Questions

I've been a huge fan of the amazing Meghann Rosales of Austin-based Nails Y'all for years, and was so excited to chat with her about all things art, nails, beauty, and business. Meghann is a lifelong artist, but started her career in the classroom, teaching history to high school students. She's now a renowned nail artist who in her words, "paints tiny pictures on nails." Meghann's sense of humor and talent means that these tiny pictures range from "boobs doing things" to "the saddest Christmas in the world" to hidden vaginas, entire seascapes, art deco fans, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and so, so much more. Meghann takes individual appointments but also is hired for huge events like Austin City Limits and SXSW, as well as smaller events like bachelorette and birthday parties (sometimes with half-naked butlers in attendance, too). 00:04:00: What is Meghann's job and where does she work? 00:06:00: What has her career trajectory looked like? 00:10:39: What's her usual process for an appointment, and for brainstorming such unique nail art? 00:18:13: How does she market her business - what's worked and what hasn't? 00:22:00: What's her favorite event she's ever worked? 00:35:00: What misconceptions are there about being a nail artist, or about manicures in general? Is dip powder really "good" for your nails? 00:46:00: What are the challenges and rewards of her business? 00:42:00: How can people support the beauty industry during the pandemic? 00:59:00: What advice would Meghann give to her younger self? 01:05:00: Our Listener Questions and Lightning Round

Kim Grevler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and certified Life Coach who changes her clients' lives, careers, and relationships for the better. She's the woman behind selfishladies and is all about learning how to set and keep your boundaries. During the pandemic, a lot of us are feeling like we're struggling to keep up in so many parts of our lives, and Kim is here to give you the no-bullshit advice you need to feel better. Kim educates and coaches women to first notice how they are operating under fear guilt and obligation to others, and then to understand how the self doubt, resentment and anger that follows is linked to their lack of boundaries and thus lack of confidence and comfort. The work her clients do is challenging, but if committed, they emerge with a new perspective and improved behaviors in your life and relationships. We speak with Kim about how the shadow of fear, guilt, and obligation clouds our judgement and leads to resentment, anger, and unhappiness in all areas of our lives, and how getting to the root of these issues and setting boundaries will make you happier and healthier. We also talk about how she built and marketed her business, and her advice for dealing with workplace issues. 00:07:00 What is Kim's job and where does she work? 00:10:20: What's Kim's career trajectory? How did she go from being an LCSW in a clinical setting to a life coach and business owner? 00:17:48: How is she helping her clients deal with COVID-19 related fears and anxieties? 00:25:00: What are the rewards and challenges of her job? 00:31:40: We talk about the business side of selfishladies. 00:37:50: What advice would Kim give to her younger self? 00:41:40: What are the biggest business mistakes she's made? 00:52:00: Our Lightening Round segment, where she shares "the selfishladies anthem" with us (hint: Whitney Houston is involved).

Celebrity guest alert! We're so excited to chat with the iconic Chris-Tia Donaldson - she's the founder and CEO of natural hair and skincare manufacturer Thank God It's Natural (tgin), a #1 best-selling author of two books, a two-time breast cancer survivor, a Harvard-educated attorney, and the founder of The tgin Foundation. Chris-Tia left her corporate job to found tgin and write her first book, Thank God I'm Natural - The Ultimate Job to Caring For and Maintaining Natural Hair. It became a runaway bestseller and was called "The Natural Hair Bible" by Essence, and tgin became a multimillion dollar beauty brand. In 2015, Chris-Tia was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment, she learned that having money could make the difference between living and dying when it came to treating this condition. In her observation, few organizations existed that provided support and social services to help women with transportation, child care, parking, or seeking disability leave from their place of employment. She founded the tgin Foundation to help support women living with the disease. Chris-Tia has a new book, This is Only a Test: What Breast Cancer Taught me about Faith, Love, Hair and Business. She's a true powerhouse, role model, and legend, and we're so excited to have her on the podcast to discuss her business, books, and her story. 00:03:30: What's Chris-Tia's job and what does she do? 00:05:30: How did she get to this point in her career? What's the tgin story? 00:13:00: What was her first book, and what made her want to go from corporate law to beauty? 00:18:03: What does the day-to-day look for a busy CEO? How does she find the right people for her team? 00:22:00: What are some misconceptions about her job? What are the rewards and challenges? 00:27:00: Marketing - what's worked and what hasn't? 00:30:00: Chris-Tia tells us about her new book, This is Only a Test: What Breast Cancer Taught me about Faith, Love, Hair and Business. 00:37:00: Back to the Future - what advice would Chris-Tia give to her younger self? 00:40:46: Listener Questions and our Lightning Round segment

Kelly Howard had big dreams of career success, and graduating in the middle of our last economic crisis in 2008 didn't stop her. She hustled as hard as she could to find a PR job in the middle of the Great Recession, and it was all up from there. After working her way up in the industry, she got the opportunity of a lifetime: her boss offered her the chance to acquire the agency she worked at, Post+Beam, and Kelly said yes. After a successful rebrand, Kelly has built EightSixtySouth into one of LA's premier strategic communications and PR firms. They serve clients across multiple verticals: Strategy, Public Relations, Digital and Influencer Engagement, Social Media, Copywriting and Events. They've worked with a diverse roster of clients across the fashion, beauty & lifestyle industries, developing multi-faceted, impactful strategies while still focusing on data-driven results. Their expertise includes working with large, national brands such as W Hotels and Men’s Fitness, to boutique brands like The Beach People and Lokai. Kelly chats with us about the huge leaps she's taken in her career, even when it was scary AF. She also shares the best ways to measure your business's PR ROI, and gives invaluable advice to people looking to break into the industry. 00:02:30: What's Kelly's job and where does she work? 00:04:15: What is PR, anyway? How does it differ from advertising and marketing? 00:11:20: What has Kelly's career trajectory looked like? 00:21:37: What services does a PR firm like EightSixtySouth usually offer? 00:32:45: What are some of Kelly's favorite PR success stories? 00:36:40: How does a PR firm successfully pivot as new technologies and platforms become more popular? 00:42:30: Business owners, listen up: Kelly provides invaluable pitching tips to editors and decision-makers. 00:45:54: How do PR firms measure success? 00:50:00: What are the rewards and challenges of Kelly's job? 00:57:44: Back to the Future: what advice would Kelly give to her younger self 01:03:10: Recent grads, listen up: Kelly gives you a roadmap of how to land your dream job, even in an economic crisis. 01:10:31: Lightning Round

Christine Moghadam first got the idea of a cork yoga mat when she traveled to Portugal and learned about the amazing cork trees that dot the landscape. Cork is sustainable, naturally anti-microbial, and the harvesting process is a high-wage job for workers. She realized it would be the perfect material for a yoga mat, and Corc Yoga was born. Made from 100% organic cork sustainably harvested from Portugal, Corc Yoga is committed to providing the most natural products to yogis around the world while supporting sustainable practices, fair wages, & a clean environment. For every yoga mat sold, Corc Yoga donates a percentage of every sale to support a variety of youth mental health programs in Portugal and abroad. Christine tells us how she created the company and diversified the product line, why sustainability is so important to her, and how the company gives back and supports mental health programs. We also discuss the 2021 Corc Yoga Retreat in Portugal. 00:06:40: What is Christine's job and where does she work? 00:08:00: What's the Corc Yoga origin story? 00:12:30: How is cork a sustainable material? How is it harvested? 00:17:00: What does the day-to-day look like for a busy mom and CEO? 00:23:00: How does Corc Yoga give back through its philanthropy? 00:26:05: How has Christine built her team? What does she look for when hiring? 00:31:11: What are the rewards and challenges of Christine's job? 00:37:13: Back to the Future: what advice would Christine give to her younger self? 00:44:10: Marketing - what's worked and what hasn't? 00:46:00 Listener questions and our final Lightening Round segment

Charles Clark was on top of the world: a 3 time National Champion, 10 time All American, and the 6th fastest man in the world, on the precipice of inking a huge sponsorship deal. Then, a devastating quad injury ended his running career, something he'd worked his whole life towards. Charles struggled with how to move forward and what to do with his life and his future, since being a Track & Field superstar was no longer in the picture. He decided to begin sharing his story. Instead of just talking about success, he spoke about the pain we mask and understanding that it all had a purpose. He started putting on Thrive Events and traveling around the world, impacting tens of thousands of lives each year. He's now an expert in habit improvement, discovering purpose, vision creating and goal setting, and created The Thrive Planner to help people reach their one big goal in 90 days. In this episode, we discuss Charles' journey, what made him want to start speaking, how he dealt with fear and turned it into ambition, and his advice on reaching big goals one small step at a time. 00:08:00: What's Charles' job and what dies he do? 00:10:23: Charles tells us his story, and how a devastating injury ended his Track and Field career, but changed his life for the better. 00:15:30: We talk about Charles' idea to develop The Thrive Planner. 00:20:40: We discuss speaking engagements - how did he get into speaking for large crowds and Fortune 500 companies? What challenges and fears did he overcome? 00:29:09: We talk about Charles' podcast, The Thrive Tribe Podcast. 00:30:10: We talk about the rewards and challenges of Charles' job, and how the pandemic has affected his work. How has he adapted? 00:37:00: Back to the Future - what advice would Charles give to his younger self? 00:42:17: Listener questions and our Lightning Round segment

Sarah Rubenstein was trying to find a good Christmas gift for her artsy brother Lee when the idea of an art supply subscription box struck. When she couldn't find one, she and Lee decided to create their own, and ArtSnacks was born. ArtSnacks is a curated subscription box service of unique, high-quality art supplies. Their mission is to inspire people through the discovery of amazing art materials. Every month, subscribers discover new products, limited edition tools, exclusive supplies, and useful techniques. Sarah talks to us about how she and Lee built the business together, when she knew it was time to quit her 9-5 job to pursue ArtSnacks full time, how they've grown their robust online community, and the logistics of running a subscription box business. 00:04:30: What is Sarah's job and what does she do? What was her last 9-5 job? Sarah tells us why she thinks working at a startup is ideal for anyone interested in starting their own business one day. 00:09:21: When did Sarah know it was time to make the leap into full time entrepreneurship? 00:15:49: What did she go to school for? 00:19:17: What is ArtSnacks' origin story? 00:28:48: What are the different subscription tiers and how did they figure out the business side of running ArtSnacks? 00:41:14: How did they grow their online community? What marketing avenues have worked and not worked? 00:55:20: What are the challenges and rewards of running ArtSnacks? 01:01:00: How do Sarah and Lee figure out what goes in each box? 01:03:45: What's her advice to creative entrepreneurs and to people in art school now? 01:06:45: Back to the Future - what advice would Sarah give to her younger self? 01:12:20: Listener Questions: what's her fave art supply ever? What advice would she give for working with family? What's her dream job if it weren't ArtSnacks? What are her favorite museums and who are her favorite artists? and our Lightening Round.

Leah Koch and her sister Bea raised $91k on Kickstarter to open the nation's only exclusively romance bookstore, The Ripped Bodice. Four years later, it's more successful than ever (even during a pandemic), and Leah is sharing their story on our podcast. It turns out, owning a bookstore isn't really like "You've Got Mail," but Leah and Bea still have a lot of fun. They throw regular book readings, book clubs, and comedy shows at their storefront in LA, and are dedicated to highlighting authors of different races, backgrounds, and gender identities. Each year, they put out their "State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report" to showcase the state of the industry when it comes to racial diversity of romance authors. Leah tells us why they've developed this report, what they've learned over the years, and why they continue to hold their industry accountable for diversity and inclusion. Leah and Bea also have a development deal with Sony Pictures, where they consult on interesting stories that would make great television shows. 00:08:40: What is Leah's job and where does she work? What common questions does she get when people find out about her job? 00:11:03: What's the story of The Ripped Bodice - how did they go from Kickstarter campaign to four years and counting of a successful business? 00:18:01: What lessons about retail and event planning has Leah learned in her job? What's it like being an owner of an independent book store? 00:29:26: What are some of her favorite titles? Which ones does she recommend to people new to the genre? 00:36:22: What kind of events does The Ripped Bodice host? 00:56:29: What are the rewards and challenges of Leah's job? 01:00:00: What is the "State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report" and why does The Ripped Bodice put it out every year? 01:10:30: Leah talks about their work with Sony Pictures and the type of projects they're developing for television. 01:17:34: Back to the Future: What advice would Leah give to her younger self? What's the biggest business mistake she's made (it involves accidentally locking people into the store)? 01:24:10: Listener questions: advice for aspiring booksellers? Are there any good romance novels with transgender protagonists? and our Lightning Round.

LaChelle Chrysanne is a multitalented creative professional: she's the Founder/Creative Director of multimedia brand UNPOPCULTR, host of the Day One Fans podcast and a freelance event producer, writer, creative consultant, and graphic designer. LaChelle talks with us about how she's built her career and followed her talents and passions, one step at a time. We talk about being selective with each new position you take, when it's time to move to the next opportunity, a lot about experiential event production and what it entails, and how she helps amplify the voices of marginalized communities in her work. 00:03:20: What's LaChelle's job and where does she work? What has her career trajectory looked like? 00:14:26: What is experiential design? LaChelle tells us about producing events like the Tribeca Film Festival - what does an event producer do? What are the rewards and challenges of this job? 00:23:20: What is UNPOPCULTR? LaChelle tells us about founding this creative production and digital content agency that specializes in amplifying the voices of Black and POC creatives. 34:05: LaChelle tells us about her podcast, Day One Fans. 00:44:22: Back to the Future: What would LaChelle tell her younger self? What's been her biggest career mistake and what has she learned from it. 00:50:00: Listener Questions: and Lighting Round

Kimmy Scotti is a powerhouse investor, entrepreneur, and businessperson who's been building successful businesses since she was in high school. Her jewelry line Mimz New York was sold in Bloomingdales and featured on Project Runway before she even graduated college, and her career ladder has gone upward since there. As a founding partner of 8VC, Kimmy focuses on consumer and healthcare investments. She also is co-founder and executive chairman of the women’s health and wellness company Monthly Gift. Kimmy is also on the board of the Breakout Foundation, which helps change makers get access to capital and support in their communities. On this episode, we talk all things venture capital (and what it is if you've never heard of it before), angel investing, and building successful businesses. Kimmy gives advice on how to get started on big, seemingly impossible ideas, what advice she'd give to her younger self, and tons of great book recommendations. 00:03:30: What's Kimmy's job and where does she work? 00:04:45: What has her career trajectory looked like? 00:09:33: What are some products and companies she's super excited about right now? 00:12:07: We talk about how Kimmy got her start in retail/wholesale and why she decided that she wanted to disrupt the traditional retail paradigm. 00:16:11: What's angel investing? What's venture capital? What's the difference between the two? 00:20:13: If someone has a huge business idea, what's the best way for them to get started on it? Kimmy gives us the ingenious way she plans her years, months, weeks, and days to achieve goals in small bites. 00:27:45: What is Monthly Gift, and why did Kimmy decide to start this company? 00:32:33: What are some rewards and challenges about her job? What are some misconceptions? 00:39:00: Kimmy tells us about some of the philanthropic work she does, including with the Breakout Foundation. 00:41:00: How is her industry and her founders adapting to COVID-19 challenges? 00:46:16: Back to the Future: What advice would Kimmy give to her younger self? 00:55:00: Our Lightning Round, and Kimmy's AMAZING book list. BONUS: I've compiled them all for you here cause they're too good to miss: Reading for fun: Educated by Tara Westover An American Marriage by Tayari Jones Three Women by Lisa Taddeo Business or Mindset Books: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen Venture Deals by Brad Feld Manias, Panics, and Crashes by Robert Solow Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth The Lean Startup by Eric Rees Antifragile by Naseem Nicholas Taleb

I've followed Kelli's popular instagram, Laguna Biotch, for ages and have been a fan of her podcast since the first episode. On the podcast, she recaps episodes of iconic mid-00s TV shows Laguna Beach and the Hills, interviews cast members, and talks all things pop culture and celebrity gossip. What I love about Kelli is that she's not only funny, but real and down-to-earth - and even when spilling the tea, she's always respectful and never mean-spirited. On this episode, we talk all about how she started her IG page and podcast, as well as ALL of the pop culture talk about Laguna, the Hills, her interviews with cast members, and more. 00:03:30: Kelli tells us all about the podcast and how she got started with the Instagram. 00:08:00: What made her want to start a podcast? How did she get started? 00:11:37: How much time does she spend doing both the IG and the podcast each week? 00:16:00: She tells us about interviewing cast members of both Laguna Beach and the Hills 00:21:00: What's the weirdest cast interaction she's had? 00:24:00: Kelli tells us about her big move to Nashville a few years ago, and gives advice for anyone looking to move to a new city. 00:31:00: Laguna Beach Deep Dive: what's her fave season? Which couple is her favorite and least favorite? What's her favorite and least favorite part of the show? 00:40:34: The Hills Deep Dive 00:52:50: What's Kelli's dream interview, and what would she ask them? 00:56:40: What advice would Kelli give to her younger self? 01:03:00: Listener Questions and ALL THE TEA. Why did Spencer Pratt block her (this is a WILD story!!!)? If she hosted a Hills/LB reunion, what cast members would she have on and what would she ask them? What are her favorite podcasts? 01:10:00: Our special Laguna Biotch lightning round, including what cast members she'd hook up with on each show and the Laguna Biotch guide to Nashville.

Julia Croddick is a marketing guru with an enviable resume - she got her start working for such prestige print magazines Town and Country, Bon Appetit, WWD, and InStyle, then moved to various executive roles for Melcher Media, Culture Trip, and Future of Storytelling. Julia then struck out on her own to create Glow Marketing Group, bringing her endless wealth of sales and marketing knowledge to help democratize the beauty, wellness, and cannabis industries. Julia tells us how she helps her clients go from concept to shopping cart, and all of the rewards and challenges along the way. She gives invaluable advice for startup beauty brands and anyone interested in how to market a product. 00:04:10: What's Julia's job and what does she do? 00:05:18: What has Julia's career path looked like? How did she strategically build her career? 00:10:50: Are there still jobs in print media? What's the state of the industry now? 00:15:02: Why did she start Glow Marketing Group? 00:23:29: What are some of her favorite beauty and wellness brands? What industry trends is she seeing? 00:30:18: What misconceptions are there about the beauty and wellness industries, and about getting a product to market? 00:43:40: What are the rewards and challenges of her job? 00:58:34: What advice would she give to someone looking to quit their 9-5 to start their own company? 01:04:00: What advice does Julia have for successfully marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic? 01:12:00: What's next for Julia and Glow Marketing? 01:18:00: Back to the Future: What advice would Julia give her younger self? 01:29:00: Listener Questions: we had a ton! 01:58:00: Lighting Round

Dafina Smith is the powerhouse CEO of Covet & Mane, a hair extension brand that's disrupting the entire industry. With their ethically sourced product and revolutionary business model, in just a year of business their brand has exploded onto the scene. Dafina brings us through her career, from working with Outkast during the Hey Ya era to running her own iconic beauty shop in Atlanta to getting the idea for ethically sourced, sustainably made hair extensions and creating Covet & Mane. She tells us the challenges and rewards, the good and the bad, and what drives her each day. 00:03:45: What's Dafina's job? What is Covet & Mane? 00:09:54: What was her last 9-5 job? What has her career trajectory looked like - did she expect to end up in this place? 00:13:00: What did she go to school for? 00:14:51: What's the origin story of Covet & Mane? 00:18:49: What sets Covet & Mane apart? Why did she decide to build an ethically sourced beauty brand - why was that so important to her? 00:24:33: Dafina gives us a lesson in hair extension quality and color range, and tells us why she decided to invest in a higher-quality product from the start. 00:27:24: What are the rewards and challenges of Dafina's job? She gets really honest with us about the challenges of supply chain management. 00:30:53: What resources did she find that helped her learn the nitty gritty details of how to run a business? 00:35:51: What's Dafina's "Why?" 00:40:44: Dafina tells us about her philanthropy goals, empowering female entrepreneurs, and what's next for Covet & Mane. 00:47:31: What advice would Dafina give to her younger self? What are the biggest business mistakes she's made, and what did she learn from them? 00:58:34: How does she run a thriving business and manage home life as a mom of two young boys? What is her day-to-day like? 001:06:00: Listener Questions: What are her five year goals? How can someone apply to be a Covet & Mane stylist? What advice would she give to entrepreneurs of color? 01:13:00: Lightning Round

It's a weird and scary time for everyone's career right now, so we called on our friend and favorite career coach and strategist, Jenn Walker Wall of Work Wonders Coaching. Jenn is an expert at helping people become job search ready, find new jobs, change careers, and craft a long-term career strategy. In this episode, Jenn fields listener questions from our guests about the current job market and what to do. 00:05:50: I just got laid off - WTF do I do now? 00:10:15: When should I negotiate the terms of my layoff? When is it too late? 00:12:42: I just got furloughed - WTF does that even mean? Should I still job search even if I'm technically going to have my job and salary back when the furlough is over? 00:14:10: What does "job search ready" mean? 00:17:43: What do I do if my company reduced my salary or benefits during the pandemic? How can I negotiate this? How can I ask them when my original salary is going to be reinstated? 00: 25:31: Should I prepare to take a huge pay cut if I'm accepting new job offers now? Can I even still negotiate a salary, or should I be happy with what I get since the job market is so scarce? 00:30:25: Is anyone actually hiring for full time work in my field now? Where can I find them> 00:36:38: If I feel like my job or industry isn't coming back after all this, is now a good time to make a career change? Or the worst time ever to do that? 00:40:41: I kind of hated my job and wanted to find a new one before the pandemic started. Should I just stick with it now and be happy I even have a job? Or should I still job search? 00:46:50: Is it weird to reach out to my network for job leads now? How do I do it without seeming desperate or insensitive? 00:50:34: I haven't updated my cover letter in years. Where do I even start? 00:58:58: How do I file for unemployment? 01:04:00: What are some good work from home tips? 01:09:00: I was in the interview process before the pandemic, but the company went on a hiring freeze - they want to hire me on a contract basis. What do I look out for in the contract to make sure I'm protected and can advocated for being a full time hire when things go back to normal? 01:18:00: When you’ve been laid off, there’s a sense of emergency and an inclination to throw discretion out the window and just take the first job that’ll pay the bills. Do you have any recs for approaching this job search and considering the long term impact on my career?

33 episodes, 31 guests, and thousands of downloads after our May 2019 launch, we're wrapping up our first season of the Cup of Ambition podcast! Our host Bonnie Bryant O'Connor recaps the lessons she learned from the past year of podcasting and gives a preview on Season 2 of the Cup of Ambition podcast, airing Spring 2020. 00:02:00 Everything you ever needed to know about starting a podcast (here's the link to the blog post referenced). 00:14:00: A reflection on Season 1 guests - what did we learn about booking so many guests? 00:20:00: Honesty time - what do we think we could improve on in Season 2? 00:24:31: The best and worst parts of running a podcast. 00:29:05: The collective wisdom our S1 guests shared - what were the most common themes? 00:40:00: Listener Questions 00:50:00: Season 2 Preview: who's in the lineup so far?