I wanted to have a conversation with Chris about what’s really going on in this uncertain economy, what he thinks is coming in the future, and how we can prepare ourselves so that we don’t experience a repeat of 2008/2009 when we had to start over from scratch. So many of us are scarred from The Great Recession, but the reality is that the majority of news outlets rely on fear mongering techniques, which just make people freeze in fear. In today's episode, Chris explains how we’ve ended up in this rapid inflation situation, why a recession is usually a self-fulfilling prophecy, and three ways that you can bulletproof yourself for whatever’s coming down the pipeline.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow Lori: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
CONNECT WITH CHRIS
Follow Chris: @chriswharder
Visit Chris’ Website: https://chrisharder.me
Listen to The Chris Harder Show
I’m joined by VC-backed startup operator, angel investor, author, and podcast host Stef Caldwell. She’s a champion for not just getting women a seat at the table, but actually helping female-owned businesses build their own tables. We talk about some of the reasons why women don’t pursue their big ideas, why she’s so passionate about closing the gender wealth gap, and tips for how to take that first step to starting your business. Stef breaks down the different fundraising options available for entrepreneurs and what to do when you’re feeling lost in a conversation where people are using industry jargon. We also touch on the rise of conscious VCs who believe in creating space for founders to be successful on their own terms and why that shift is so important.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH STEF
Follow Stef on Instagram: @bystefcaldwell
Listen to PM School
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
ABOUT STEF
Stef Caldwell is a personal development author, vc-backed startup operator and angel investor who specializes in helping start ups & high-growth companies develop and generate revenue in new and existing sales channels. Stef has a proven track record in breaking into and closing business at the highest levels of F500 companies and commercial markets. Stef has expertise in developing strategic executive relationships, and negotiating complex deals, making her an asset to business development teams charged with building new revenue channels from scratch within aggressive timeframes and/or optimizing existing channels.
Since childhood, when she wrote a letter to the White House about race and class discrimination in her third grade classroom, she's been focused on how she can make an outsized impact & make the world a more equitable place for all. The culmination of a lifetime of focusing on how to make the world a better place translates directly into her work as an author, investor and mentor to women consumer and tech. She is the author of ManifestHer - The Ambitious Woman's Guide to Getting Unstuck, Navigating Ambiguity and Manifesting Your Biggest Dreams, which was published in Fall of 2020 and received praise from Best-Selling Authors Kim Scott (Radical Candor), Amber Rae (Choose Wonder Over Worry), Lori Harder (A Tribe Called Bliss) & Team USA Gold-Medalist, Lauren Doyle.
By day, she is the Head of Business Development & Partnerships at CircleUp, a top FinTech company using Al to make venture capital more equitable & scaling access to capital to epic entrepreneurs so they can thrive. Their top performing venture fund is both diverse (>50% female founders & >35% minority founders) and has achieved top performance marks.
By night, she is the host of PM School Podcast, an inspiring, "how I'm building this" style podcast inspiring the next generation of women entrepreneurs by bringing them behind the scenes with inspiring founders to hear the stories of how they ideated, started, capitalized and scaled their businesses.
My friend and incredible entrepreneur Kim Perell coined the term ‘the execution factor' and it’s a concept that I’ve been coming back to a lot lately. I’ve realized that the reason why so many of us don’t execute on our desires and purpose is because we're not clear on what we actually want. We have too many things on our plate and we haven't learned how to set up our schedule and make time for the actions that actually move the needle. When I’m feeling stuck, I ask myself what is one thing I could do right now that would start to give me a sense of purpose and make me feel like I’m moving forward? In today’s episode, I share my accountability game plan and how I tune back into my goals when I’m feeling out of alignment.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
One of the biggest questions that I get asked is why we chose the direct-to-consumer (DTC) route instead of getting on the shelves of major retailers. In today’s episode, Lauren and I talk about the benefits of being DTC, how we collect data and insights about our customer base, and how we’ve harnessed the power of social media to build the Lite Pink brand before we even launch. Being able to connect to our followers and build relationships in the DMs has been an invaluable tool, especially with all the delays we’re facing. We discuss how to convert social media comments into sales and create a community of people who truly align with your brand. We also share our major takeaways from working in new and uncertain environments.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LAUREN
Follow Lauren: @thelivelylo
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
There’s a balance between coasting and enjoying life, but also doing things that stretch you and get you out of your comfort zone. Chris and I talk about some ways that we’ve been switching up our energy, doing things that make us grow, and setting us up for success when it comes to reaching our goals. We discuss the difference between intentional and unintentional discomforts, and what we do to stay proactive about unintentional discomforts like burnout and weight gain. Plus, Chris shares details about his newest course that’s going to help support you in this transitional economy that we’re in right now.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow Lori: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
CONNECT WITH CHRIS
Follow Chris: @chriswharder
Visit Chris’ Website: https://chrisharder.me
Listen to The Chris Harder Show
Connecting with other women in the alcoholic beverage space is so exciting for me, and I can’t wait for you to hear today’s conversation with Brittany Merrill Yeng, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. We talk all about how she launched this brand with her husband, her approach to scaling, and what it’s like to build business relationships. Brittany shares how she’s learned to articulate her vision and point of view, even when people around her have doubts. She has a rock-solid mindset that has kept her focused on the path forward and grounded in her beliefs that everything happens for a reason. Listen in to hear more about how Brittany runs one of the fastest-growing spirit companies!
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH BRITTANY
Follow her: @brittanymerrillyeng
Follow Skrewball Whiskey: @skrewballwhiskey
Shop and learn more about Skrewball Whiskey: skrewballwhiskey.com
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
ABOUT BRITTANY
Spearheading the fastest market rollout in the history of the spirits industry, Brittany Yeng, co-founder and managing partner of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, is a chemist, turned lawyer, turned spirits brand owner. Yeng was one to watch as she took her husband’s wacky idea of combining peanut butter and whiskey and turned it into a shelf-stable product and Hollywood favorite that reached national distribution in just one short year. An industry disruptor and a woman making waves in a male dominated industry, she is a highly educated woman juggling parenting while running a leading spirits company, creating a brand that goes beyond just whiskey. Skrewball is a lifestyle that is welcoming to all manner of weirdo, maverick and misfit that brings people together in a world of uncertainty. When Yeng isn’t taking over the spirits industry one bottle at a time, she enjoys spending time with her daughters and getting off the grid while traveling to far remote places with her family.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to The Big Leap audiobook, but something new really sticks out to me each time I go back to it. I’ve been thinking a lot about Gay Hendricks’ concept of ‘Upper Limiting’ when you are about to step a giant step into something bigger. That’s when all of the inner saboteurs, self-doubt, and limiting beliefs come back in. I’ve realized that in order to quiet those voices, I need to fully immerse myself in my goal. I share how this idea has shown up in my religious childhood, my fitness competition years, my time in network marketing, and now as I’m getting ready to launch Lite Pink. I talk about ways that I’ve safe-guarded myself to stay on track and build the mental strength that it takes to make those quantum leaps to my dreams.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
We’re answering two listener questions today about navigating imposter syndrome and figuring out where to focus your energy. Lauren and I agree that imposter syndrome isn’t necessarily a bad thing一it’s actually a sign of growth and proof that you’re evolving. We talk about how we approach uncharted territory in business with a curious and confident mindset. We also discuss how we prioritize things on our to-do lists and why it's so important to write things out. One of our go-to methods is to map out our timelines, which helps us feel less overwhelmed with everything that’s on our plate. Plus, I break down exactly how to grow your revenue and audience at the same time.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LAUREN
Follow Lauren: @thelivelylo
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
Does your current routine match the standards that it takes to hit your life goals? What about your environment and the people that you surround yourself with? Chris and I have been noticing that there are gaps between where we want to be and where we currently are, and we’re discussing the tangible ways that we’re closing those gaps. I realized that I was giving myself a lot of space for excuses by working from home, so I’ve switched up my workflow and I’ve already noticed a major difference in my productivity. Chris is celebrating a weight loss milestone and shares how he got there by committing to his health goals. Send us a DM and let us know what you’re going to do 10% better for 10 days to get closer to your dream!
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow Lori: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
CONNECT WITH CHRIS
Follow Chris: @chriswharder
Visit Chris’ Website: https://chrisharder.me
Listen to The Chris Harder Show
Lisa Bilyeu is one of the co-founders of the billion-dollar Quest Nutrition company, as well as the co-founder and president of Impact Theory Studios. In her new book Radical Confidence, she describes how she broke through her insecurities and self-doubt, pursued her entrepreneurial dreams, and built up her confidence in the process. The journey of going from homemaker to global business leader hasn’t always been linear, but Lisa shares how she’s learned to move through fear and strategize support around her growth. She gives us a peek inside her book, including a concept she calls emotional sobriety, and we discuss what it looks like to find lessons and empowerment in rejection. Lisa also talks about what she’s currently working through emotionally with the release of her book and why it’s so important to detach your self-worth from business outcomes.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LISA
Follow Lisa: @lisabilyeu
Preorder Radical Confidence: radicalconfidence.com
Listen to Women of Impact
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
ABOUT LISA
Lisa Bilyeu co founded Quest Nutrition, which grew 57,000 percent in its first three years. She is also the cofounder and president of Impact Theory Studios, a revolutionary digital-first studio that produces wildly entertaining original content focusing on themes of empowerment. Over the course of her career, Lisa has created a slate of content that has been viewed more than half a billion times, and she and her husband have built Impact Theory’s global audience to more than 7.5 million. As host of the digital series Women of Impact, Lisa conducts real, uncensored conversations with the most inspiring women. Her book, Radical Confidence, will hit shelves May 10th, 2022. Lisa lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Tom, and their two furbabies. She frikin’ loves her life.
I can really trick myself into being okay with being cozy and in a rut. It’s so easy to let your work blend into your entire day and give up some of your boundaries. Sweatpants and working in bed? We’ve all been there. I’ve recently switched up my routine to get back some energy and excitement when it comes to work, so I wanted to share with you some simple ways to infuse more joy into your workday. I talk about discovering new places to work out of, setting up reward systems, and giving yourself parameters for when you’re online versus out enjoying life.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
One of the consistent themes that I notice with the amazing entrepreneurs that I have on this show is their ability to confront their fears and believe that they’re truly meant for more than the status quo. Lauren and I are reflecting on that, plus talking about how we’ve learned to empower each other and play bigger with Lite Pink. We discuss learning how to fail forward, what it takes to expand your network, and how to create a work environment where employees feel supported to take risks. I share how I’ve helped Lauren build up her confidence and grow from an assistant to an A Player. We also touch on the role that mortality plays in our drive to create this legacy-building company.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LAUREN
Follow Lauren: @thelivelylo
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
We’re joined by our good friend Lindsey Schwartz of Powerhouse Women for today’s He Said, She Said! We each share one moment or event of expansiveness when we did something that felt either scary or irresponsible or unreasonable, but it became this moment that radically upleveled us. I talk about how back in 2009 when we were starting over again from scratch, Chris and I rented an apartment in a ritzy building in Minneapolis, even though it was tiny and out of our comfortable budget range. We wanted to be around people who were at the level we wanted to be at, and over our 18 months of living there, we made it happen. Lindsey talks about her decision to attend her first mastermind event and how she learned to make decisions based on what her future self would do. Plus, Chris touches on his decision to go all-in on his FinTech company and partner with someone who can help him get to his $100 million goal.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LINDSEY
Follow Powerhouse Women: @powerhouse_women
Follow Lindsey: @llindseyschwartz
Visit the Powerhouse Women website: www.powerhousewomen.co
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow Lori: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
CONNECT WITH CHRIS
Follow Chris: @chriswharder
Visit Chris’ Website: https://chrisharder.me
Listen to The Chris Harder Show
ABOUT LINDSEY
Lindsey Schwartz is a best-selling author and the founder of Powerhouse Women. Fiercely committed to supporting other women, Lindsey invests her time in mentoring women and girls of all ages—from high achieving entrepreneurs to high school students. She’s also an investor in female-founded companies including beverage brand Lite Pink.
After seeing numerous women in her life stop short of pursuing their own entrepreneurial dreams because of fear and self-doubt, she saw the need for more honest conversations about the ups & downs of entrepreneurship in order to show women that they don’t have to have it all together to get started. From there, the Powerhouse Women community, annual event, and podcast were born, with the motto that we're not meant to do business (or life) alone!
If you’ve listened to any of our recent He Said, She Said episodes, then you know that Chris and I are super into NFTs and investing in the Web3 space. There’s so much buzz around this next stage of the internet that I wanted to invite one of the leading women in cryptocurrency onto the show to break down the basics of NFTs. Lisa Mayer is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who is the founder and CEO of Boss Beauties, a women-led global initiative that creates opportunities for girls and women through cutting-edge collaborations. We discuss what NFTs are, how to get started, and what to consider when investing in one. Lisa also shares her top security tips and how to get involved with Boss Beauties mentorship.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LISA
Visit Boss Beauties website: bossbeauties.com
Follow Boss Beauties: @bossbeautiesnft
Follow Lisa: @lisamayer
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
ABOUT LISA MAYER
Lisa Mayer is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and Founder & CEO of My Social Canvas and Boss Beauties. Born and raised in CT on a small family farm, it was there where she first learned about entrepreneurship and the value of hard work.
After working for edtech startups early on in her career, Lisa left the Silicon Valley scene to pursue her passion to help elevate young women through mentorship and social entrepreneurship. In 2012, with this vision she created My Social Canvas.
Lisa’s mission to equip young women with mentorship programs has impacted thousands of high school and college-aged girls all over the world spanning across 15 countries and over 400 educational institutions. Her work has been featured in Forbes, ELLE, on Bloomberg Live, and through Women@Apple a division of Apple’s Diversity Network Association.
In 2021, after spending 10 years helping to educate the next-gen of women and girls, Lisa launched Boss Beauties. The company is an extension of the same passion and goals she has championed for over a decade.
The company’s first initiative tackled the male dominated NFT space and is one of the few female led NFT projects to date.
Boss Beauties’ first NFT collection of 10,000 unique digital portraits capturing independent and diverse women sold out in its first hour becoming the first ever NFT collection to be displayed at the New York Stock Exchange. Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, and Olympian Allyson Felix are among some of the celebrities who own pieces. In addition, Boss Beauties was also featured on the Nasdaq Tower for International Day of the Girl.
A portion of proceeds from NFT sales go back to supporting their work mentoring young women worldwide.
Lisa continues to fight to improve the lives of future generations of women through mentorship activations and collaborations such as Rolling Stone, Neiman Marcus, Hugo Boss, Mattel and more to be announced in 2022.
Lisa currently resides in NYC with her husband and Boss Beauties Co-Founder Anthony and their son Hudson.
We’re answering listener questions today about how to prepare for the unknown, what it’s like to go from concept to launch, and simple ways to get noticed by the people that inspire you. I explain how I do my ‘if this, then that’ exercise to be more solution-oriented and take action instead of sitting in the surprise. Lauren and I discuss what goes into a pitch deck, when we think it’s better to bootstrap vs. raise startup money, and how to make strategic hires that can help bring your vision to life and protect your energy. We also share how we’ve gotten into the rooms that stretch and inspire us, and our tips for how to expand into bigger networks.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH LAUREN
Follow Lauren: @thelivelylo
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
It’s always so refreshing to have real, honest conversations about entrepreneurship with women who also have big visions. I’m joined by fashion powerhouse sisters Gorjana Reidel and Iva Pawling to talk all about what drives their creativity, how they lead from their intuition, and ways that they support themselves mentally as businesswomen, mothers, and wives. Gorjana and her husband Jason are behind the multi-million dollar gorjana jewelry brand, and Iva is the CEO and Co-Founder of Richer Poorer, an elevated essentials brand. They share how growing up in an immigrant household shaped their work ethic, what their biggest business challenges are, and what they do to relax and recharge. Plus, Gorjana and Iva share the story and design process of their first ever co-designed capsule collection for charity.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH GORJANA
Shop gorjana: gorjana.com
Follow gorjana: @gorjana
CONNECT WITH IVA
Shop Richer Poorer: richer-poorer.com
Follow Richer Poorer: @richerpoorer
Follow Iva: @ivapawling
CONNECT WITH LORI
Follow me: @loriharder
Follow Lite Pink: @drinklitepink
Follow Earn Your Happy: @earnyourhappy
Follow Girlfriends & Business: @girlfriendsandbusiness
Listen to Girlfriends & Business
ABOUT GORJANA & IVA
Gorjana Reidel was born and raised in Serbia until she was seven years old and later made her way to the United States by way of Canada. She lived with her grandparents who were a significant influence to her creativity. Gorjana’s childhood home was full of handmade trinkets, which ignited her passion of creation and ultimately led her to visualize gorjana as a brand.
After completing her degree in Marketing at Arizona State University she moved with her (now) husband, Jason, to California. While working in the jewelry department at Neiman Marcus, Gorjana realized she had a love for jewelry design. She soon started working with a local designer to learn all aspects of the jewelry-making business. She set out to design fun, versatile jewelry that all of her friends would want - at an accessible price point.
At 26, she did just that. Gorjana launched her namesake jewelry collection with an accessible price point that had the look and feel of high-end jewelry. During their humble beginnings, Gorjana and Jason would drive thousands of miles selling their collection and fulfill orders from their apartment. The pair ultimately grew out of the apartment and into an artist’s studio in the canyon of Laguna Beach, California.
gorjana has since grown into a multi-million dollar business with high-profile customers that include the likes of Michelle Obama. Gorjana still maintains the welcoming price point and customer experience, which has allowed the expansion of their DTC stores across the country, with more store openings announced in 2022.
ABOUT IVA
Iva Pawling is the CEO and Co-Founder of Richer Poorer. Iva has taken the company through fundraising, an early acquisition, and a founder buy back over the last decade. She leads the company’s strategic planning, brand direction and product category expansion with an irritating level of persistence. Iva has been featured in Forbes, Inc., LA Times and included in the 100 Powerful Women of 2020 in Entrepreneur Magazine. She has spent her entire 20-year career in the fashion industry, starting out in the PR closet at Kate Spade and ending in overseeing Brand Development for her sister’s namesake jewelry brand Gorjana, prior to founding Richer Poorer. Iva holds a B.S. in Communications from Arizona State University.