Smart Women Smart Solutions

With Joy Chudacoff, Leading Expert on Business Success and Lifestyle Design For Women

Raegan Moya-Jones – Creating a 100M Blockbuster Biz With Baby Blankets

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Raegan Moya-Jones on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

When my guest, Raegan Moya-Jones, couldn’t find the muslin-fabric baby blankets that were a swaddling tradition from her native Australia, she set out to make her own.

In 2006, Raegan co-founded aden + anais, the baby lifestyle brand globally recognized for its high-quality, design-driven muslin swaddles and baby products. Aden + anais is a $100 million-dollar company today. You might recognize them because Prince George made his first public debut wrapped in an aden + anais blanket!

On today’s show, Raegan talks about what she waited for in order to quit her full-time job at The Economist Group (she worked there until 2009), what it was like when her co-founder/partnership fell apart, why she decided to go from “babies to booze” and much more.

I think you’ll find today’s show raw and authentic, helpful and inspiring.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

There was definitely a period of time where I thought ‘well if I really want to spread my wings and do what I think I am capable of doing (that nobody else seems to think that I’m capable of), then I’m just going to have to go out there and do my own thing.” – Raegan Moya- Jones

Show Notes:

  • The TWO ingredients that carried Raegan through the first five years
  • The “old-school” marketing tool Raegan used to get her products into retail locations
  • Raegan’s humorous story about not having time to wash her hair for 15 days (too funny and I can relate!)
  • What it was like to watch the CELEBRITY who used her product for his public debut
  • What is was like to go through the loss of a good friend who was also her business partner
  • Raegan’s open, raw, transparent discussion about her many moments in the “fetal position”
  • WHY Raegan decided to start a second company
  • Business advice for women that she completely disagrees with
  • What it was like to be fired from a business that she co-founded and built to 100M

The first five years of aden + anais was basically hard work and Google that got me through it.” – Raegan Moya-Jones

Connect with Raegan Moya-Jones:

LinkedIn | Instagram – Raegan Moya-Jones | Raegan Moya-Jones

Saint Luna Spirits | Facebook – Saint Luna | Instagram – Saint Luna

aden + anais | Facebook – aden + anais | Instagram – aden + anais | Twitter – aden + anais

The big mistake that people make is they think they can’t do it because they don’t know how, but if you want it badly enough you really can just teach yourself. It was very much a one foot in front of another process for me.” – Raegna Moya-Jones

Amy Nelson – CEO/Founder, The Riveter, Coworking Spaces Built By Women for Everyone

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Amy Nelson on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

Amy Nelson up and left her corporate job (while pregnant with her THIRD daughter) for the entrepreneurial life and came up with the idea for The Riveter, a rapidly growing co-working space company with design and membership focused on women, but open to everyone.

Amy launched The Riveter in 2017 and the brand is experiencing rapid fire growth with locations popping up almost every day in metropolitan cities across the US. The Riveter’s growth has outpaced even WeWork’s first years and The Riveter recently closed a $15 million Series A Funding Round led by Alpha Edison.

You’ll absolutely love Amy’s energy and enthusiasm as she dives into how she transitioned from a successful career in law (including work with President Obama’s National Finance Committee and President Carter’s, The Carter Center) to launching The Riveter, how being a mom has made her a BETTER entrepreneur, her best productivity tips and more.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

What I tend to do is really lean into the fact that I am a mother, rather than lean out of it.” – Amy Nelson

Show Notes:

  • Why she left a cozy corporate job while pregnant with her third daughter to launch The Riveter
  • How becoming a Mom changed her viewpoint on women & career opportunities
  • The FIRST Step she took to get started after she came up with the idea for The Riveter
  • The Event that PUSHED her to take the FINAL Leap
  • Why coworking spaces are becoming wildly popular
  • The SMARTEST MOVE Amy made when starting The Riveter (it’s not what you think I promise you)
  • WHY Collaboration is the ‘secret sauce’ to her early success
  • Her BIGGEST Challenge ( this is pure Gold)
  • What she did when someone advised her to HIDE HER PREGNANCY while fundraising
  • Why ASKING For Help is a muscle more women need to flex
  • How she manages her day while being CEO of a fast-paced growth company and raising soon-to-be four daughters
  • Her Go-To Apps to stay sane
  • What she did instead of giving up when it all seemed like too much
  • The advice she hears about being in startup mode that she DOES NOT agree with
  • And much much more

I think the more we have women building companies to make women’s lives better, the better our lives will be. And that is super exciting!” – Amy Nelson

Connect with Amy Nelson:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | The Riveter | LinkedIn

The hardest thing is to just keep going at every turn when it gets hard, when it feels impossible, when people tell you that you can’t. And so much of it is just continuing to walk forward.” – Amy Nelson

Ellie Kanner and Lisa Solomon – Creating Their Own Game Plan

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Rainy afternoons can be challenging for moms with small children. Ellie Kanner was dealing with a rainy afternoon trying to keep her boys occupied when she got a BIG Idea. That’s when she immediately called her friend Lisa Solomon.

Ellie Kanner and Lisa Solomon met through their pre-school-aged boys, and later they came up with the idea to create The Game Plan Game, a game that helps children ponder the bigger questions in life.

Ellie is a renowned leader in the entertainment industry working as a talent agent, casting director, producer and director. She was responsible for casting the television pilots for “Friends,” “Sex and the City,” “Drew Carey,” along with a long list of other films that are household names. Recently, Ellie directed all 10 episodes of the short film series “Dropping the Soap” (for which Jane Lynch won an EMMY).

Meanwhile, Lisa is currently the Regional Manager for Los Angeles at Common Sense Media, the leading independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology. Prior to working with Common Sense, Lisa was a television producer with both CNN and CNBC Asia, based in Hong Kong. She started her career working for Nightline at ABC News.

They join me on today’s show to give some amazing tips about working together as co-founders, how they pulled off this project on top of their busy lives, and more.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

We’ve had our moments when one of us may be down and another one may be up, and that’s the joy of our partnership.” – Lisa Solomon

Show Notes:

  • ONE essential you need on board to prevent you from giving up when you feel like throwing in the towel
  • Tips on how to make time to work on your passion project when you have super busy careers and a family
  • The SECRET to having a successful business partner
  • How to use “time cracks” to maximize your productivity
  • The ironic business advice that helped immensely
  • Important information to know before taking on a business partner
  • and MORE!

We knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know how to do it. And then at some point, you have to sort of take of breath and say ‘ok, what is the goal? What is the mission? What is the game plan?’, and that really helped us when we figured that out.” – Ellie Kanner

Connect with Ellie & Lisa:

Ellie Kanner | Lisa Solomon | The Game Plan Game

You may have 10 minutes in the car or 30 minutes between dinner and whatever you’re doing, and just really take advantage of those and think about what you can do in those time cracks to be more productive.” – Lisa Solomon

Darya Allen-Attar – CEO & Founder of The Women Founders Network – How The 2008 Financial Crisis (and a sense of failure) Led to Her Zone of Genius Work Today

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Darya Allen-Atar on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

Ten years ago, I met my guest today, Darya Allen-Attar, in a Starbucks to brainstorm a Big Idea she had.

Within 60 days of that cup of coffee, she launched that idea into The Broad’s Circle (Over 9,000 people have attended these events since 2009.) and that became the catalyst for Women Founders Network (WFN), a virtual accelerator with a goal to connect women founders not only with capital, but also with the resources, connections, mentorship, and sponsorship they need to grow scalable, successful businesses.

Darya has been recognized as one of the “Most Powerful Women in California” by California Women Lead (November 2016) for her community work and the advancement of women. She has traveled extensively and speaks four languages. Most recently, she was invited by the State Department to speak on Women’s Entrepreneurship at their international forums, hosted by US consulates.

Darya serves on the Investment Advisory Committee for the California Community Foundation. She also serves on the Boards of the Los Angeles Westside YMCA and the Los Angeles Chapter of Advisors in Philanthropy (LA-AiP). Darya earned her BA from Kalamazoo College, Certificate in Accounting from Northwestern University, and her MBA in Finance from Fordham University.

Dara Allen-Attar is a dear friend doing PHENOMENAL work with women business owners. You’ll love today’s show as she shares some incredible wisdom from her journey.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

I have been able to either pay for great help or else get people who are passionate about what I’m passionate about to come in and help me build things.” – Darya Allen-Attar

Show Notes:

  • How a meeting at Starbucks a decade ago turned into her Genius work
  • How the 2008 Financial crisis was met as a failure but instead turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happened to her
  • The importance of course-correcting and improving
  • Her single BEST tip for GROWTH as an entrepreneur
  • Darya’s BIGGEST frustration – this is PURE Gold Ladies!
  • How she raises a family of 3 children and a hubby while running several ventures
  • Why you should RECALIBRATE regularly to do your best work
  • The truth about Failure
  • The Advice she hears being given to women entrepreneurs that she doesn’t agree with
  • Her thoughts on finding “The Joy” and releasing “The Grind”
  • What she wished someone would have shared with her early on in her career – POWERFUL!

Failure is the greatest defining event of anyone’s life.” – Darya Allen-Attar

Connect with Darya Allen-Attar:

Facebook | Twitter | Broads Circle | Women Founders Network

It is the concept of feeling our freedom and the ability to be in a place of discomfort to take the risk of telling other people what you think and finding that they can be inspired by some of your ideas.” – Darya Allen-Attar

‘She’s Got Moxie’ Podcast – Here’s The BEST of 2018…

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I hope your holidays have been filled with magical moments. At this time of year, I find myself gravitating to content with the headline “the BEST of.” Whether it’s recipes, restaurants, wine or business, I enjoy consuming the BEST of everything.

That’s why I wanted to share The BEST of my ‘She’s Got Moxie’ podcast for 2018. Below you’ll find The TOP 10 Most Listened to Podcasts this year. Go here and listen now.

The holidays are the perfect time to catch up on all the wisdom and brilliance my guests share on the show. This will give you a chance to make some notes and add their genius tips to your business planning for 2019. I’m a bit of a podcast junkie so I find time to listen when I’m cooking, baking, wrapping gifts or walking my dog.

Read More

Laura McHolm – Cut Through The Noise And Become The Go-To-Gal in Your Industry

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Laura McHolm on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

Every morning you wake up to a stream of emails that have taken up residence in your in-box – most of which, will be deleted.

**How do you protect your marketing emails from ending up in the trash? And more importantly, get read?

My guest today, Laura McHolm, Co-founder and Marketing Director of NorthStar Moving Company, is an expert when it comes to standing out in her industry and cutting through all the ‘noise.’

Laura has been featured in Ladies’ Home Journal as one of 16 Women Making The World a Happier Place and the LA Business Journal winning the Trailblazer of The Year Award.

You’ll love today’s show as Laura gives some unique and useful tips on marketing emails, why having fun is a great prerequisite to marketing success, coming up with clear branding, and more.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

Make sure that when you write something, you have things that if they just read the headers, you still get your point across.” – Laura McHolm

Show Notes:

  • You may have “blinders” on when it comes to your marketing
  • The morning ritual for most people and WHY you want to avoid being part of it
  • The TRUTH about what it means to ‘Stand Out’
  • The ONE thing you can do to increase your odds at getting more open rates
  • Simple tips to GREAT Copy
  • How to easily get people to pay attention to your BRAND
  • The marketing lesson Will Farrell taught us from the movie Elf
  • Three Steps to Start Standing Out
  • The MOST important people to understand and see your vision clearly (HINT: it’s not the customer)
  • And much, much more!

I think so often women are just – they’re intimidated – to really speak their mind and to let the corny side of them come out.” – Laura McHolm

Links Mentioned:

Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | NorthStar Moving

If you have a clear perception of your brand and every single person that works for you knows what it is… that’s really important.” – Laura McHolm

Align Retreat 2019 – Early Bird Pricing Ends Soon!

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Thanks to everyone who reached out with concern about my family during the California Wildfires. I recorded a short video to share how things are going and to let you know why the wildfires caused me to extend the Early Bird Pricing for my Align Retreat.

January 23 + 24, 2019, in Malibu, CA
Early Bird Pricing expires December 3, 2018!

Go here to get all the details on Align 2019!

As always, if you have any questions about the event or registration, feel free to reach out to Kathy, our Director of Client Relations at Kathy@SmartWomenSolutions.com or call 310-266-0416 and she will be happy to assist you or set up a private, personal phone call with me to get your questions answered and explore how my Align Retreat will create a bigger impact in your business in 2019.

Sending you blessings for a holiday chock full of abundance in every way; family, food, love and community.

Be well,

Joy

7 Business Essentials for Explosive Growth in 2019

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You will cross the threshold to 2019 in less than 90 days.

Is your business ready?

Right now, you’re probably hard at work on accomplishing all the goals you set for yourself in 2018. And, you’re also probably beginning to ask yourself: “What changes or course-corrections do I need to make in order to start 2019 on a path to faster profits serving my treasured clients and customers?”

Your business or product is like a vehicle. You, the creator, the founder, are the driver of that vehicle.

On today’s show, I’ll walk you through the 7 Business Essentials for Explosive Business Growth and also how you can “fine tune” your leadership for uber success in 2019.

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

You need to make sure that you’re working in your genius and your highest level of creativity.” – Joy Chudacoff

Show Notes:

  • Simple tips to make sure you are accessing your GENIUS every day
  • The ONE thing you can easily do to bring more profit to your bottom line
  • The BEST strategy for your business
  • The INVISIBLE BLOCKS I see plague many women entrepreneurs and how they hold you back
  • Productivity Rituals to help you be at your best as a leader
  • WHY your business may be ‘satisfactorily underperforming’
  • How to build the team culture of your dreams
  • Your ticket to freedom as an entrepreneur
  • And much much more!

When you give yourself permission to take the time to prepare and plan for that next level of business growth, that next level of leadership, incredible leaps happen almost immediately.” – Joy Chudacoff

Links Mentioned:

It’s about being able to communicate that vision on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis to the people who are in this with you.” – Joy Chudacoff

Strategy & Consulting

Imagine… finally discovering someone who truly cares about your success and believes in you. Someone who has the knowledge and a step-by-step approach to help you get clear, confident and focused on your vision and dream as a woman entrepreneur. Learn More

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