43. Women-owned brands you need to know

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SUMMARY

No one does it alone - even the solo entrepreneur. In this conversation, India celebrates Women’s History Month by acknowledging some of the amazing women who support her and her team professionally at Flaunt Your Fire as well as personally. These aren’t the women behind India; these are the women beside her, each sharing their unique talents and experiences.

In this discussion::

The top ten women-owned brands you need to know
Why we disagree with the common phrase “behind every successful man is a strong woman.”
How we set and achieve our goals
India’s favorite resources for inviting more ease, legal protection and creativity into your business
How holistic wellness plus being boss equals...crystals?
Why aligning your values with your actions and aligning who you are with what other people see is necessary in your business

QUOTED

INDIA JACKSON

“I don't feel like people need to be behind you or beneath you to support you, or even above you for that matter.”
‘There’s something about putting that I Am Fierce lipstick on that makes me show up in a very fierce way.”
“Every single piece that you're doing adds up to creating change.”

ARTICLE

Have you ever heard the phrase “behind every successful man is a strong woman?” While the sentiment is appreciated, why does “she” have to be behind the man? And...why are we even gendering the phrase? As in, why is gender attached to this in the first place? Why can’t we let a strong woman be beside the successful man, shoulder-to-shoulder with him instead of behind him?

The idea of behind inspired this opportunity to spotlight some of the women who have been beside us at Flaunt Your Fire, shoulder-to-shoulder, working as peers because no one is a standalone entity. There are people in this world who support your business as well as your entire being. To that point, these are the women who’ve been incredibly supportive to Flaunt Your Fire, India, and to Pause On The Play. They definitely need to be on your radar.

Cher Hale. As the owner of Ginkgo Public Relations, Cher supports India’s efforts to set and achieve goals. Each month, they unpack the previous month’s successes and challenges, sharing what’s worked for both of them and what hasn’t (it happens). The process is great for sharing insights into the shifts they’ve experienced in both their companies and their industries. “We use this as an opportunity to strengthen our friendship, of course,” India says, though the foundation for these sessions is built on goal-setting.

Once set, Cher and India hold each other accountable! They document their intentions and review those at their subsequent debriefs. That’s so important because it’s easy to get caught up in team tasks and your business’s general operations to the point where goals get pushed to the sidelines - and stay there. Over the last year, so many shifts and pivots have happened so quickly across industries, day-to-day life, and culture. It's essential to have someone in your corner who’ll point out when a goal no longer suits you because something has changed since the last time you reviewed that intention.

Cher also has an incredible program that FYF has invested in called Get Pitch-Slapped. Besides having a great name, Cher’s program is an incredibly powerful tool that has genuinely streamlined our pitching efforts for podcasts, interviews, and the like. Cher delivers information straight to your inbox to help people pitch better, such as:

Subjects that podcast hosts are looking for now
Guests and topics featured on previous episodes
Best practices for contacting a show or host

Get Pitch-Slapped has saved FYF so much time and effort. And, since Cher owns a PR agency, you can trust that her information is always the most accurate and up-to-date. It's important to note that if you head on over to Ginkgo Public Relations on Instagram, you’ll discover incredible examples of a company leading with their values and integrating those beliefs into their social media content.

Ginko’s Instagram is chock full of inspiration. Whether the content is based around highlighting and amplifying voices, providing historical context, or highlighting people who are doing incredible work, Ginkgo's feed aligns with how the company wants to do business. That's so important when we're thinking about highlighting our values and speaking up about the things that matter to us. You don’t have to look too far to find examples of brands that focus entirely on values or land at the opposite end with an all-sales message. Finding that sweet spot in the middle can be challenging. Ginkgo's feed is a beautiful example of striking that balance.

Autumn Witt Boyd.When you build a business,creating a website, designing a logo, and doing all of the necessary steps without safeguarding your brand is risky. To not protect your business is to leave yourself open to lawsuits or the loss of exclusive rights to your own brand identity. We have the AWB Firm, led by Autumn Witt Boyd, to thank for providing FYF with the legal safety and comfort we need to act with greater visibility.

Erica Courdae, India’s partner over at Pause On The Play, has also had the pleasure of partnering with AWB Firm for their POTP brand. They just completed an incredible project, www.pauseontheplay.com/contracts co-creating contract templates that integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion language and concerns so that businesses are protected on those fronts. Think about what it means to protect you and your brand from activities like large public events or conventions that don’t honor your request for diversity.

There has been an excellent opportunity for you to hold event coordinators and podcast hosts accountable for diversity! But what happens when you've signed a contract without a diversity rider? What happens when you arrive to find that the host hasn’t fulfilled its promise to advance diversity among its speakers or featured guests? What do you do when every guest speaker looks like you, which typically means everyone is a white man or white woman? And most likely heterosexual and cis-gendered? If you signed a contract without a diversity rider, you could suffer legal complications if you refuse to participate.

The team here at FYF appreciates team AWB for taking the time to respond to challenges that both our clients and our brand have encountered. Autumn’s diverse team is committed to protecting the emotional safety of under represented communities. If you’re committed to integrating DEI language into your contracts, we highly recommend you check out these templates.

Kim Wensel. Next up is another women-owned business that consistently delivers value-based content. Whether it’s via her website, her social media, or her podcast, Kim’s brand Pattern of Purpose never fails to provide insights about messaging. She does an incredible job copywriting and crafting clear, concise narratives. Whenever FYF, POTP, or our clients need additional support with the written part of their messaging, we rely on Kim. While FYF handles the visual aspects of the strategy and the overarching brand strategy, Kim has her way with words. She is the word queen!

Thank you, Kim, for all the support you've given our brands over the years, especially with our written content, helping us button up our brand messaging in a spiffy, personality-based way that truly captures who we are.

Racheal Cook. As entrepreneurs, we need to start thinking of ourselves as CEOs. Racheal offers guidance for business owners and freelancers who want to restructure their time and revamp their goal-setting approach. In her fantastic podcast Promote Yourself To CEO. Racheal dives into strategies for sustainable success. There's a lot of value in that show, probably the most we’ve found on any podcast out there!

Before the pandemic, Racheal hosted CEO retreats in person. She gracefully transitioned these retreats online one of which both India and Erica attended. They met with Racheal and other business owners online where she guided them through planning out goals for FYF and POTP for the next three months. That dedicated time to goal-set and strategize about team delegation was much appreciated! Those lessons continue to resonate through both brands.

Racheal also offers a CEO planner on her website for purchase. It’s a physical planner and, while we’re often averse to committing to printed planners here at FYF, this is not your typical calendar. It’s done in such a way that allows you to see exactly how you’re spending your time, then gives your time an actual dollar value. Are you doing too many $10 an hour tasks and not enough $10,000 an hour tasks? Using Racheal’s planner to track time has been an insightful, game-changing process.

Laura Sprinkle. Another amazing woman you need to know about! Laura is a great peer and source of support to both FYF and POTP. She’s just a ball of positive energy. This past year, India has personally navigated anti-racism work and deepened her dedication to healing from personal trauma, and speaking out as a survivor of sexual violence. She’s furthered her commitment to surrounding herself with supportive people who appreciate what it means to live in this world as a highly sensitive person. Laura Sprinkle is one of those folks. She’s also incredibly wise and knows all of the tech behind building affiliate referral programs.

FYF and POTP have enjoyed participating in her Rock Your Affiliate program; it’s opened so many doors and windows for us! The program has gotten us thinking about how we may want to do an affiliate referral program for Pause On The Play The Community. Laura’s values-driven approach to affiliate programs aligns with our own; we both begin our work with core values in mind. Laura’s strategies prove that you really can build an ethical affiliate program, one that doesn't feed off of faux scarcity or faux urgency. That has been super important for us because some of the techniques we've seen used in standard referral programs - like urgency - are not how we want to do things. Laura doesn’t employ those alarmist tactics.

Megan Merid. So, now’s a great time to remind readers that supporting FYF the brand often means supporting India personally. “How I feel internally and how I feel about my appearance - how I'm showing up - can affect whether or not I show up at all,” she says. “If I'm not showing up, how are things getting done?” They're not, tbh. That’s why she’s a fan of RealHer makeup. Co-founder Megan Merid has put together a brand that’s not only disrupting the beauty industry but also empowering the people who wear it.

“I used to feel weird talking about beauty products,” India says. As entrepreneurs, many of us feel like presenting ourselves as intelligent business people, we have to leave the part of yourself that likes makeup hidden. That’s just so not true! It’s important for us to still feel great about how we look - for some, that might mean wearing makeup; for others, it might not. For India personally, she loves that instant boost of energy she gets from a bit of eyeliner or a colorful lipstick. RealHer makeup gets it. They want us to feel beautiful and confident no matter what - whether or not we choose to wear makeup!

All of their products are named after affirmations or reminders to own the fact that you’re an outstanding person. Two products that India loves are Eye Am Outstanding, their liquid eyeliner, and I Am Fierce, her favorite shade of red lipstick. “I don't know; there’s just something about putting that I Am Fierce lipstick that makes me show up in a very fierce way!” she says. Of course, mask mandates have forced everyone to rethink their makeup use. India, too, has expanded her eyeshadow repertoire to include a RealHer pallet called Make It Happen, and a lipstick shade called Boss.

The positivity carries over to Instagram, where you’ll find inspirational content on the RealHer feed. There, the company highlights women from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, you name it. RealHer advances the notion that you’re already these beautiful things; makeup is just here to enhance it. Ready to revamp your style? Get 20% off your purchase of RealHer with code FIRE.

Andrea Klunder. OK, time to highlight this podcast. The FYF podcast in itself is not a one-woman show. There are many moving parts and pieces that make the Flaunt Your Fire, as well as Pause On The Play podcasts happen. One of those things is partnering with The Creative Impostor Studios.

Andrea Klunder and her team have done an incredible job taking on elements of this show’s post-production. That means providing both shows with notes like the ones you’re reading right now, these beautiful articles that you can read when it’s not convenient for you to listen or it’s not your preferred method for engaging with the shows. We try to make our podcasts as accessible as possible, and we know that listening is not something that everyone can do. So, we have our show notes written in a way that's unlike most podcast show notes. Our notes are actually in article format, recapping everything that happened on the episode so that you don't need to listen to the show to get that content. That’s not the normal way show notes are prepared in the podcast industry. Show notes are usually timestamped summaries or small pieces of information that point you back to the audio for more context. We’re grateful to the The Creative Impostor team, especially their owner Andrea Klunder, for being open to doing things differently to create more accessible content.

One of the other things they've taken off of our plate is maintaining our Libsyn account, which is our podcast hosting company. The Creative Impostor team runs the updates and provides us with insights from the show stats. They also make sure our shows are included in any new podcast apps so our audience can find us with ease no matter where or how they get their podcasts. The Creative Impostor team also formats and schedules our episode alerts on the FYF and POTP LinkedIn accounts.

Finding a partner who can take on these responsibilities and support us in extending our podcast reach has saved us a lot of time and effort. It's freed us up to spend more time on what we enjoy most: creating the graphics and the social captions for our podcast episodes.

Natasha Freeman. Let’s go back to the middle of June 2020. “A really rough month for me,” India admits. “I was navigating a lot of inner feelings about the social justice movement, Black Lives Matter, the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others. I want to give a special shout out to Lucid Living RVA.” The owner, Natasha Freeman, and her team host these incredible sound meditation concerts, or as some people call them, sound baths. Natasha produces sound or frequency music from beautiful bowls. India shares, “I would have never known about Natasha if Racheal Cook hadn’t gifted me a sound meditation concert during such an emotionally trying time for me. I found it very hard to continue showing up for myself, let alone my business, last summer.“

Going through traumatic periods takes its toll; India felt the effects on multiple levels. “I battle with visibility baggage, too, as anybody would,” she says. “That sound meditation concert...WOW!” You don't realize just how revved up your nervous system is until you have done something to calm it back down and bring you back to baseline.

There’s something about Natasha’s sound meditation that’s just so healing and relaxing. “I can't even begin to do it justice with words, but I can tell you that I believe I got the best sleep of my life that night after attending my first sound meditation concert back in June,” she says, a feat she didn’t even think possible with so much going on for her internally, emotionally, and physically. “Thank you, Natasha. Thank you, Lucid Living team. And, thank you, Rachel.”

India and Erica had such an incredible experience with Natasha that they wanted to share her gifts with you, their community members. Showing up regularly, speaking your truth, and being visible is exhausting. Talking about racism, the planet, the environment, or intersectional feminism, and being an ally for LGBTQ+ rights is demanding. Both India and Erica found the sound meditation concert deeply restorative and an unexpected means for bolstering their resilience. So, we hired Natasha to create a sound meditation concert for Pause On The Play The Community. You can watch anytime when you join the membership. Use the sound bath to get your nervous system back to a place of rest and recovery so you can continue showing up. Make sure you check them out!

“Also, know that I am human,” India says, “which is why I'm highlighting this; there are things that I do to support my own visibility efforts to be able to keep going.” Sound meditation is definitely one of them.

Emily Thompson. Holistic wellness plus being boss equals...crystals? “If you’d have asked me ten years ago, I’d have said crystals were just pretty rocks,” India laughs. “But now?I have so many beautiful crystals, each with its own healing properties and energies. I wouldn’t own these beautiful crystals if it were not for Emily Thompson.” Most of you probably know Emily from the Being Boss podcast and Being Boss Club. Emily also owns Almanac Supply Co, which sells products like crystals and candles for intentional, nature-sourced living.

If you're ever on a video call with India or you catch her recording something from FYF headquarters, you’re bound to notice the beautiful crystals on her desk. They’re not just pretty; they’re energetically useful! They have magic about them. Some of the crystals absorb negative vibes, while others invite abundance. Still others attract love and positivity. “With the work that I do, holding space for clients, I think it's important for me to make sure that my energy stays as clean as possible,” she says.

Removing anything that could shift the mood of the room in a negative way is a necessity. “I am here to be open and here to listen and support from a place of non-judgment, a place of positivity, a place of understanding and empathy.” Crystals are a vital component of India’s holistic wellness; they’re the tools she keeps nearby while engaging with clients, recording podcasts, writing content - generally just doing all the things!

Thank you to Emily. “I wouldn't know anything about crystals and their healing properties if it were not for the excellent education that she and her team provide.” India likes how Almanac breaks down each crystal’s properties, ideas for use, and cleansing instructions. Almanac Supply Company does wonderful things with “beautiful rocks”.

Erica Courdae. Last but certainly not least… You hear India talk about Erica so often, and you know that they’re very close. “She’s reshaped so much in my business: how I see myself, how I show up, how I bring more of my whole self to the table,” India says. “When Erica first told me that she was going into work as a diversity, equity, inclusion coach, I was like, ‘Duh! You're already living by these things! You're already talking about these things all the time!’” Never did India think that, in that moment, Erica’s career shift would also completely change her as a human - and it has.

“I’ve learned so much about my own allyship efforts and where I can show up, where I can do more, where I'm doing a lot, and I need to pat myself on the back.” Erica has brought so many insights to India’s personal and professional attention, including shifts you've seen in her branding. Those of you who’ve been around since India’s modeling days - could that really be 15 years ago already?! - have witnessed India’s evolution to the person she is today. “I'm so grateful for that,” she affirms, “and a lot of that has come from Erica's insights as a DEI consultant.”

Yes, Erica is a certified coach from a well-renowned program, and it’s the additional wisdom of her friendship that India appreciates most. “It is so different to take this business-owner journey on your own,” she says. “It's been incredible to have somebody else, since 2009, to bounce ideas off, provide insights, and share things that we're learning,” she says. “I mean, just so many things that I really hold dear to my heart have come from Erica, and her friendship has meant the world to me.”

So, while Erica is the last official entry on this list, she's definitely not last or least to India. “She's been there and seen so many parts of my life that others may not ever get to see. And she’s still super supportive, super understanding, and super empathetic. Thank you, Erica.”

One Last Shout-Out + Resource

OK! That is our 10. But this would not be a complete episode highlighting powerful women in business who’ve supported India and Flaunt Your Fire without giving a special shout-out to Lynya Floyd and Selena Soo.

Now, you may have heard India mention Lynya and Selena before. They’re the beautiful duo that supported her throughout the Forbes feature, which was one of the largest media features to date for FYF and India as an individual. That Forbes publication has since done incredibly well. It's had close to 40,000 views and many shares. “Lynya’s and Selena’s publicity support have just meant the world to me, and the cool thing is Selena is always sharing some really cool resources.”

A large part of this episode today, and the idea for it has actually come from Selena Soo's publicity calendar. She offers a free publicity calendar, and the cool thing about this calendar is, it goes through month-by-month and shares with you what's notable, what’s happening each month which, of course, for March is Women's History Month. She also breaks down important individual dates to be aware of and gives you some story ideas, stories that you can pitch to the media, or content ideas that you can create for your platforms off of what's happening in a timely fashion.

That’s one of the most important things for publicity as your form of visibility - to be timely and to plan in advance, right? One of the things we see at FYF that tends to trip people up on is their pitch calendar. They start thinking about what they’re going to pitch for March in March. But that's not how publicity works. It takes time, from the moment you pitch to the time your idea gets accepted to when that content goes live to the public. Because of that, you need to plan out in advance, at least by three months, what you're going to pitch, and you want that idea to be timely, for when that content will be published, not the time that you pitched it.

If you’re someone who’s looking to get that extra support to get you thinking about the content you want to put out, the content you want to pitch to other people's platforms (like media outlets and podcasts), then plan in advance!

Download Selena’s free publicity calendar.

Final Thoughts

We hope you enjoyed this discussion and found value in the resources mentioned. “If there's nothing else you take away from it,” India says, “I want you to take away the fact that we truly believe in aligning your values with what you're doing; we truly believe in aligning who you are with what other people see.

No business is a one-woman or one-man or insert-identity-here show. Many people support your work and your whole being throughout the process. Sometimes, that support looks like crystals and sound meditation concerts. Sometimes that support looks like contracts. Sometimes that support looks like PR help. Whatever that is, know that support is out there, and you can get it in a way that aligns with your values. When we're not investing in businesses owned by underserved populations, such as the Black and brown communities, we are investing in women-owned businesses.

Shout-out to all the powerful women mentioned above! Shout-out to all the powerful women that we didn’t get to mention here, but who still inspire us every day as members of our community! Our members create content, hold space to lead powerful conversations; they show up and do scary things daily! Also, shout-out to all the powerful women out there who are navigating challenging situations, being visible even about the hard things to talk about!

A final shout-out to all of you out there who are disrupting your industries and changing what people think is possible within them. Every single piece that you're doing adds up to creating change.

Note: This discussion contains affiliate links. If you click and choose to make a purchase, FYF may receive "thank you compensation" at no additional cost to you. Sometimes you'll also receive a discount or bonus for using the specific links that we have provided. FYF only recommends products and services that we love. Thank you for your support!

YOUR ACTIONS FOR THIS EPISODE

Download the publicity calendar, visit all of the incredible women-owned businesses above, then join us over at Pause On The Play The Community for our March deep dive: Can You Feel It? Visibility That Entices Your People To Feel Something.