Smart Women Smart Solutions

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

Kelly Love – How a Summer “Detox” With Her BFF From College Led to The Start of Branch Basics

| By Leave a Comment

When Kelly Love’s college roommate, Allison Evans, started having health problems, which led to lots of medications with little or no relief, Kelly was concerned.

After graduation, Kelly and Allison decided to spend the summer with Allison’s “Aunt Marilee” doing a “detox.” Their eyes were opened wide when they began to learn about the harmful chemicals that people are exposed to everyday. It was during this summer experience, the three of them decided to start Branch Basics – a non-toxic cleaning product company to create a healthy home.

On today’s show, Kelly gets very vulnerable and transparent about her entrepreneurial journey thus far. She talks about what it was like to partner with her college roommate, how the company survived their biggest challenge (they even had to close for a bit), her advice on managing cash flow + more. 

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

It is totally ok to figure it out as you go.” – Kelly Love

Show Notes:

  • Their philosophy on the easiest way to take that FIRST step to living a healthy life
  • Their initial product was an enormous success….until it wasn’t
  • How they handled the embarrassment of having to close their doors and what they did next that has created BLOCKBUSTER success today (MOST people would have given up)
  • How Branch Basics is riding the “minimalist” movement
  • Tips for finding the right manufacturer for your product
  • The BEST decision they’ve ever made after re-launching the company
  • How to handle CASH Flow decisions; simple, smart advice
  • The words of wisdom she wished someone would have shared with her early on – PURE GOLD

It needed to work as well or better than the conventional product or else people weren’t going to stick to it.” – Kelly Love

Connect with Kelly Love:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Branch Basics

Just getting started and knowing that you’re going to improve over time is key.” – Kelly Love

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

| By Leave a Comment

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

Stephanie Scapa – WEYV CEO & Co-Founder. The All-in-One App for Music, Magazines & eBooks.

| By Leave a Comment

Stephanie Scapa on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

My guest today is Stephanie Scapa, CEO and co-founder of WEYV, a unique multimedia platform that offers music, magazines and eBooks all on one app.

After taking a family vacation to Florida and learning about a unique business model from her dad, Stephanie Scapa got excited. She saw how the streaming industry was “broken” and how she could fix it with her idea for WEYV.

On today’s episode, Stephanie dives into how WEYV works (how it solves a major digital streaming problem most people have), how she and her co-founder got this idea off the ground without experience creating apps, the questions she asks herself when making decisions, the work-life BLEND (no balance here!) and much more.

 

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

I firmly believe that work-life isn’t a balance. I think it has to be a blend. Especially as a woman, I can’t really divide my work and my life and make it balanced.” – Stephanie Scapa

Show Notes:

  • How WEYV easily allows you to listen, read and share content
  • What Stephanie learned after hiring someone to create the APP for her – it was time-consuming and costly – and how she re-framed and rebounded from this experience
  • WHY being able to PIVOT in business is essential
  • Why it’s important to “Know everything possible about your customer” when creating an App
  • The simple productivity app and system that Stephanie uses EVERY DAY personally and with her Team
  • How to get through the day when you feel like giving up
  • Interesting AHA about women in the workplace (this was surprising and also wonderful to hear!)
  • What questions Stephanie asks herself when MAKING DECISIONS
  • Why it’s a work-life BLEND rather than a work-life balance for Stephanie
  • And much, much more

There have been many points along our path where we’ve had to ask ourselves tough questions and make tough decisions.” – Stephanie Scapa

Connect with Stephanie Scapa:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | WEYV

If you’re signing up to be an entrepreneur, just be sure that the passion for what you’re trying to bring to life is really there and aligns with how you define success.” – Stephanie Scapa

Rosie O’Neill – How Sugarfina Has Achieved Explosive Growth Over The Past 450 Days

| By Leave a Comment

Rosie O'Neill on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

**Rosie O’Neill is the FIRST in a series of ENCORE podcast interviews we will be conducting over the next few months. We’ve been closely watching the growth of some of the women we’ve had on the show before and we’re inviting back guests who are having explosive growth and are willing to share the journey with you.

Rosie O’Neill, is an entrepreneur with a major sweet tooth for business. I had Rosie on ‘She’s Got Moxie’ back on November 15, 2017, and that episode is still today one of our most popular. Since my last interview with Rosie, (about 450 days ago), Sugarfina has grown tremendously. Today, she shares with us what business has been like and how the company has exploded with growth so quickly.

In July 2012, along with her co-founder and fiancé (now hubby) Josh Resnick, Rosie launched Sugarfina, a luxury candy boutique for grown-ups featuring the finest confections from artisan candy makers around the world. Best known for Champagne and Rosé-infused gummy bears, Sugarfina has been named one of the “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” and “World’s 10 Most Innovative Retailers” by Fast Company as it disrupts the $200B confections industry. Sugarfina has also made the list of the “World’s Most Beautiful Candy Shops” by Architectural Digest.

 

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

I certainly have those days where I start to go into the negative self-talk, but I’m trying to be much better about catching it and turning it around. And basically, the same advice that I would give to a female entrepreneur friend, I try to give that to myself. Sometimes we’re harder on ourselves than we would be to a friend.” – Rosie O’Neill

Show Notes:

  • What’s happened in the last 450 days (it’s quite Remarkable)
  • The strategy they’ve used to grow beyond physical locations to get into the hands of their target consumer
  • The difference between hiring for the “RIGHT NOW” versus Hiring for Future Growth (Brilliant!)
  • Her Biggest Challenge (“it’s always the same”)
  • DAILY rituals have contributed to her success as a CEO and Co-Founder
  • How she handles the really tough “I’m not sure if I can go on” days
  • Her quick decision-making process
  • The things she’s outsourced in her life (this was a humorous moment for sure!)
  • Her BEST Advice for women entrepreneurs who are in the sweet spot of scaling

Do your most dreaded task first thing in the morning. It is basically like wake-up and do that disgusted ‘ugh, I can’t wait to get it over with’ thing.” – Rosie O’Neill

Connect with Rosie O’Neill:

LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Sugarfina  |  Instagram |  Facebook

I am a big believer that you’ve got to focus on two or three things and do those things really well before you start to focus on the next thing.” – Rosie O’Neill

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

| By Leave a Comment

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

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

Recent Blog Posts

We’d Love to Connect!

We're here to help you get results and increase profits without burning out! Call us at 310-454-2005 or email us to learn more about how Joy's services can help you in your business.