Find women who are going through the same life stages as you while building a business. What has worked for her? Why did she start? How does she do it all? Get inspired, get excited, get empowered by your peers…
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Find out what it means to be a young, female entrepreneur who is also employed, engaged and cares about taking care of herself… more from Erin Haslag of WELL in L.A.
Watch Erin’s profile to find out…
how having a blog made starting her own business a natural process
what she chooses to keep private online
how she uses her background and extensive education in her business
Anyone that has met Erin Haslag of WELL in L.A. online will agree with me in that her personality mirrors what you see on her website, how she interacts on Twitter, and what she shares on Facebook. Erin is a health coach that encourages people to “live well” through her writing as well as through services that help them cleanse, cook and workout. At the same time she also helps other small business owners in the health and wellness field build their brands online.
Erin’s background is in public health and counseling psychology with a Masters in Counseling Psychology, a Masters in Public Health, and a Bachelors in Health Science and Psychology. Her motto is all about preventative care, and she is one small business owner that definitely “walks her talk.”
Watch a short clip of her video profile to learn more about how she came to be Erin of Well in L.A.
WELL in L.A. began as a blog that slowly evolved into a business. Visit her blog today and you will find inspiration for growing your business, living out your dreams, and getting healthy. During the video profile interview Erin briefly shared what her blog has done for her business: setting her up with an expert status early on, helping her audience get comfortable around her, good SEO for her site, and a way to build a community around her mission.
“We have room for multiple careers.”
After the YFE Profile interview had ended Erin shared that her mother has worked in the same job for most of her life and would often comment to Erin that she has had so many different employers already at such a young age. The reality is that most young women and men today are job hoppers. We rarely stay in one place for more than three years and she reminds us in the profile that this can be true even in entrepreneurship. Your business today does not have to be your life plan. Erin has a passion for helping people get healthy and that she can take in many directions as her future unfolds.
Show up to tonight’s #YFEtv at 6p/9e for a live Facebook Chat and live stream with Erin. By showing up to the Facebook chat and live stream, as a young female entrepreneur you will meet others who are just like you. Looking for support, inspiration, community, or guidance?
What does it mean to have a new company, but be a seasoned entrepreneur? Jenny Dibble is the guest tonight on our weekly YFE live stream over on.fb.me/yfetv at 6p/9e. You will walk away from hearing her story understanding more about what it means to have an exit strategy as you build your business. She will also be sharing how that not only does life go on after your first business, but it gets better!
YFE has been profiling women with businesses that are in the first two years of formation. Nailah Blades, YFE’s first video profile has a similar story to Jenny’s in that she created a successful business and is now on to her second business. While Nailah still owns her first, Jenny’s experience outlines what it looks like to sell your first business, what to watch out for, and what the possibilities for your future hold.
Along with having the experience of selling her first business, Jenny is now starting fresh, building a new business with a partner. YFE is excited to hear what lessons she learned from her first business that she is now applying in her second!
Apart from the business side of being a YFE, Jenny is also a mom to an active toddler so we’ll be discussing what flexibility means in entrepreneurship.
Watch & participate in the chat tonight at 6p/9e LIVE on live stream via http://on.fb.me/yfetv.
YFE featured the YEC’s #FixYoungAmerica campaign this week along with the featured profile of Lea Khayata and Elettra Fiumi. Both were featured on the YFE live stream, answering questions from our Facebook chat. Watch the live stream and featured profile of Granny Cart below.
Watch the full profile here:
Watch the live stream recording here:
Add next week’s YFE live stream and Facebook chat to your calendar.
Lea Khayata and Elettra Fiumi met while attending the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. One year later, a masters was earned and a company was born. Lea is French Lebanese and Elettra is Italian; they have varied life experiences with similar skills, are good friends, and both love telling stories. Starting a company together, centered around digital journalism as they explain it, was an organic experience. With preparation and luck they were able to find each other and mentors, and while leveraging their passion for film, Granny Cart Productions was created.
“When looking for jobs nothing stood out to us…” While in school, one of their professors suggested they create their own company, so they did.
In France, it’s not common to be young and an entrepreneur, as Lea explains, but she never thought that being a woman would make as big of an impact on others’ impressions of their venture as it has. People are often surprised that two young women are out on their own, creating without guidance, a reliable income, or guaranteed benefits primarily because it’s not common place, not because they don’t think they are capable of it.
Coming from a film background and an entrepreneurial one at that, Elettra knew how difficult starting their own company would be. She also always valued and understood the importance of women pursing their dreams thanks to an all girls school undergrad experience. “Seeing people surprised by [a young female entrepreneur] is strange.” She doesn’t think it feels “strange or exceptional” stating that “every young woman should be an entrepreneur if that is her dream,” and that is true regardless of gender or age.
“With this economy every young person is scared of what their career will be like, especially in journalism,” Elettra reminds us. “What makes sense today is to start your own project… to venture out and have the courage to do that.” Listening to Lea and Elettra, who recently founded Granny Cart (in September of 2011), you can’t help but be inspired by their optimism and excitement for the possibilities that are open to them. Eletra believes that “if you are doing something you are passionate about, success will follow.” These women are perfect examples of this.
Both women credit Columbia University as a strong influence in building their company. After a two year masters program in Paris, Lea transfered to Columbia to finish and discovered digital media. Elettra’s father, mother, brother and sister has been in the film industry for many years. Her family founded a film festival in Italy and her father is responsible for a subtitling system, so she has grown up surrounded by translators and in and around film festivals. Even with her background, she had never thought about making films until she enrolled in Columbia. The decision to continue her education came after getting tired of her previous job and the opportunities that may or may not be available for her to advance within it. The poor economy was the final deal breaker that gave her the motivation to leave and look for something new.
“Granny Cart Productions tells stories about heritage: the lost, the preserved, the rediscovered and the sacrificed. We make short and long-form documentaries, corporate videos and craft unique online branding campaigns. Our equipment? We are one-woman bands shooting with Canon HDSLR cameras. When we have extra equipment, we use our granny cart.”
While their education may be in journalism and documentary film making at the end of the day they are “good shooters” and they know how to “write well and make a point quickly,” which benefits the branding piece of their business. They are storytellers.
View the trailer below for Khayata and Fiumi’s digital master’s project at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Being Interfaith.
Along with their commercial video work, they are also working on raising funds for another project that follows “a man on a quest to preserve an endangered Afro-Caribe language and culture called Garifuna that originates in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.” Find out more about their documentaries and branding work at grannycartproductions.com.
“It is really stressful to have your own business.” Having a partner helps you manage that stress.
The positive energy that comes with their friendship and working relationship keeps their spirits and creativity up. They aren’t sure of how it came to be, but Granny Cart has launched in a strong way since September and they already have a name for themselves.
Similar skill sets due to the Columbia Journalism program and their passion for journalism and filmmaking are what Lea and Elettra credit their success in partnering with another young woman. While they have many similarities, they also have different backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses that can make working together difficult at times. When it comes down to what is important, “the reason why it works so well, even if we disagree sometimes, is because there is no pride” in the relationship. Like the Pageant Professors profile, the two women have common goals and passions that make for a beneficial partnership.
Hear their full story, ask them questions and meet other young, female entrepreneurs on Thursday night, March 15th at 6p/9e at http://on.fb.me/yfetv. YFE is hosting a one hour live stream and chat with guests, Elettra and Lea of Granny Cart Productions. Along with the profiled women, YFE is honored to have Ryan Paugh of The Young Entrepreneurs Council on to speak about their campaign, #FixYoungAmerica.
Looking for support, inspiration, community, or guidance? Be sure show up Thursday night at 6p/9e!
Watch the Pageant Professors profile and check out their featured YFE Blog Post.
Watch #YFEtv THIS Thursday at 6p/9e at http://on.fb.me/yfetv for our next profile debut, a live Facebook Chat, and Skype call ins from guests speaking on relevant topics for the Young Female Entrepreneur.
Pageant Professors is an online video instruction based company that uses the combined experiences of the “Professors” to teach “young women how to go from missing the mark to making the grade” in the Pageant world. The co-founders Prita, Nicole, Allison, and Courtney are scattered across the United States residing in Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, Scottsdale, AZ, New York, NY. Read on to find out how they are turning their passion and experience into a business that they love.
The important piece in this is that currently Pageant Professors is not taking in any form of revenue. They had an idea and immediately put pen to paper, assembling their dream team and launched, working out the kinks and developing a business model along the way. Their brand has taken off faster than any of them would have imagined, creating a loyal following of women currently in the pageant world and those who are interested in it.
While each of the co-founders has competed in pageants for a combined 30 years and all have held titles (click to find out more about them), the past few months they have been establishing themselves as experts in their field. Now with a loyal following Pageant Professors will be launching a paid for product after featuring hours of free material on Youtube.
The women got to work, reaching out to their audience over Twitter, on Facebook and through their videos. Not only will you see them active on social media in growing their sphere of influence, but they also make an effort to attend as many events as possible in person. However, Prita and Nicole explain that their coaching is done through videos to allow for optimum scalability. For many young women looking to up their game in pageants, depending on where they live, access to a coach can hard to come by and can also be expensive. By providing their training in a video format their target market can save money and learn from experts from across the country.
Prita cites the founder of Fuzzyyellowballs.com, who also happens to be her boyfriend, as their secret weapon. Using who they know along with their expertise has allowed the women to create high quality videos, where the learning curve and cost makes it out of reach for others to duplicate.
Watch one of their short videos with a “a super secret recipe for gorgeous skin and flat tummies”
Pageant Professors is a great example of setting the ground work early on in building a community around your business, but they are also a fantastic resource for young, female entrepreneurs. They mentioned a few times in their profile that as co-founders and friends, Prita and Nicole are also in direct competition with one another as title holders in the same pageant circuit. They stress that their ability to collaborate rather than compete has contributed indefinitely to their success and is a lesson other YFEs can learn from.
Along with their tip on collaboration, here are three others young, female entrepreneurs can takeaway from the pageant world.
Elevator speech — 30 seconds to explain who, what they represent and how you can benefit from teaming up with them. You are essentially applying for the job of a title holder. You have a limited amount of time to convince the judges you are the person for the position.
“Don’t be afraid to be feminine and be beautiful” — don’t be afraid to pair a black suit with hot pink that allows you to stand out of the crowd. Presentation is key. Be seen as a professional so that you can be heard. You are a reflection of your product or company.
Beauty juice: See the video above- get your fruits and veggies in first thing in the morning.
Nailah Blades decided she wanted something more than the cubicle lifestyle and was determined to live a life that she could be passionate about. She started Polka Dot Coaching as a certified life coach after starting a successful beauty product company at the age of 23. As she puts it she helps her “clients sweep away their headtrash and uncover their true passions—by breaking down queen-sized dreams into bite-sized goals.”
Nailah is incredibly passionate about helping women “connect the dots” to live a life that they are excited about. To live into her own purpose Nailah is producing The Fierce Leadership Summit in Los Angeles on March 25th at the Davidson Conference Center.
Watch Nailah’s Profile LIVE tomorrow night, Thursday March 1st at 6p/9e on the Young Female Entrepreneurs Facebook Page. She talks about everything from her past failures, what she has learned in building her companies, why she is getting a Master’s in Communications and Organizational Leadership, and where she sees her business headed in five years.
In her profile, which you can get a sneak peek of below, Nailah urges young, female entrepreneurs to be true to themselves. Recognize why you got into business. Stick firmly to that and if at some point it doesn’t fulfill you in the same way in once did, it’s okay to change.
“We all have a mission in life… tap into your mission” and see how that translates into a business. Write down what you are most passionate about and could see yourself doing each day. She suggests then to research and narrow down your choices. Today you can make your business fit who you are as a person, choosing to design an “umbrella business” that embodies all of your choices, or choose to “zero in on the thing that really makes you excited.”
Watch Nailah’s full profile on the Young Female Entrepreneurs Facebook Page Thursday night at 6p/9e with your peers! YFE will be hosting a live stream with chat and opportunities to call in and share while we learn from Nailah’s experiences.
Click to tweet about Nailah’s live stream profile. Click here to add the live stream to your calendar.
Amanda Russell is a Youtube Partner and Next Trainer that overcame a career changing injury and is on the path to becoming America’s next Oprah of the fitness world. Her story is inspiring and reminds us all that there is always a way to achieve our goals. The path to success might not always be as clear and straight as we like, but Amanda reminds us that you will get there if you want it.
I’m excited to share Amanda’s story and advice with you on the Young Female Entrepreneurs Podcast that is available on iTunes. Over the summer I featured guests that spoke on topics meant to encourage entrepreneurial young women for the Motivated Monday series. There is a great episode from Ronnie Cho, the White House liason to young Americans on what “winning the future” means to him and another from Molly Mahar, the founder of Stratejoy who shares three ways to overcome your fears and take action. Amanda’s profile marks the start of the YFE Profiles series that will be published periodically to the channel. Please subscribe and rate the Podcast on iTunes.
YFE asked Amanda what her vision for Amanda Russell Workouts is and if this doesn’t motivate you to think big, I don’t know what will. After listening to her Profile YFE thinks she will do it…
“I have a huge vision, I actually just answered this question for a Forbes interview. Here is what I want for the future:
It is my goal to make my channel the ‘go-to’ fitness channel on Youtube and lead people to my website where I hope to help bring a new audience to online fitness! My site will host everything from full-length workout shows, to shorter clips addressing specific exercises, problem areas, and training philosophies. In addition, I will have other shows, such as my weekly talk-show which showcases everything from current trends and hot topics in the fitness and health world to my secret tips, tricks and cheats.
I believe interaction is key, and I want viewers to feel like they can give feedback, ask questions and be part of a supportive community. It is my goal to make my channel the ‘Oprah’ of the fitness world, and help people go from ordering DVD’s and searching online to simply logging on to my channel and finding everything they need.
I do intend to do a line of DVD’s, a book series, sell on QVC, host macro-level events, package The AR Diet and Fitness PRogram in a way that everyone who visits my site can make a purchase.”
“I’d also like to do a TV show, but right now I think online television is the future and growing my channel is my priority. However, if I were to do TV, I’d like to do a real-time show with average people, with busy lives who want to lose between 10-20lbs (like the majority of our population. The key here is to implement fitness into someone’s normal chaotic life versus taking them out of their life just to get in shape – that’s not realistic, and many people can’t relate and/or apply it to themselves.”
Listen to the Podcast here to hear why she is making her mark on the world as a trainer and business woman and what you can learn from her entrepreneurial journey.
Watch the Pageant Professors profile and check out their featured 
