When I met Jessica Herrin at the New York Times Small Business Summit in June, I could feel her passion for Stella & Dot, the company she started in her living room seven years ago after selling WeddingChannel.com (her first company) and doing a corporate gig for awhile. Fast forward to 2010, and Jessica led Stella & Dot to over $100 million in sales. And if you think that’s amazing growth, Stella & Dot is poised to become the first direct sales company to reach the billion-dollar mark in less than five years. In case you missed that, that’s billion with a “b.” Jessica Herrin is taking on the world in a big way and bringing thousands of women entrepreneurs to the top with her who act as “Stylists” for the company. Perhaps you even know one of these Stylists and have been to a Stella & Dot Trunk Show yourself.

When Jessica said she’d love to do an interview with She Takes on the World, I was thrilled. There is so much we can learn from this savvy and successful woman entrepreneur!

Below is the audio recording of the interview. Enjoy!

In Her Heels: Interview With Stella & Dot CEO, Jessica Herrin is a post from She Takes on the World

When you watch Barbara Corcoran enter a room she doesn’t look like a Shark. She’s a slender woman with an inviting smile and outgoing personality. But when you watch her as one of the Sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank” you get a look at Barbara the businesswoman, a powerhouse who turned a $1,000 loan into a $5 billion real estate business.

I was so excited to receive an exclusive invitation to interview Barbara since I am a big fan of hers. I don’t usually get nervous when I interview people but I must admit, I had major butterflies as she talked to me about being a Shark, working for yourself, and making your first million dollars. Here’s the interview:

Speaking of building successful businesses, there is still time to enter our WE Mastermind $5K Dream Business Start-Up contest at Facebook.com/WEMastermind. We just released the second video in our free series on launching a profitable online product and we’re also giving you our Lucrative Launch Blueprint for free at WEMastermind.com. Don’t miss out!

In Her Heels: My Interview with Barbara Corcoran, Star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” is a post from She Takes on the World

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Andrea Baxter (second from left) appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Andrea Baxter: We are a boutique marketing firm in Vancouver, BC with a specialty in social media marketing, strategy, branding & strategic planning. We work with companies in all industries but focus on franchise organizations, start up to medium sized businesses. Our clients are throughout North America and have included 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Vision Critical, Blu Living/Vancity Lofts, Blast Radius, Return Path, Smart Cookies and many more.

The name ‘Bratface’ is a common term used in Newfoundland, where I was born. Its used as a term of endearment towards anyone who drives you crazy, but you love them so much, you let them get away with…a lot! This sums up the relationship I had with my father as a young girl and the name just stuck! I also loved the cheekiness aspect to it; its creative, unique and has a story behind it which makes it more appealing.

NM: Smart Cookies is a women’s finance brand you co-founded and it has been very successful. What does it mean to be a Smart Cookie when it comes to your money?

AB: A Smart Cookies never deprives herself of the things she loves and wants out of life. Its about living within your (financial) means, knowing your #’s, empowerment and aligning your spending habits with your goals and vision. We all want to live the richest life, in every sense of the word.

NM: You achieved something that many business owners dream of: You appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show! Can you tell us about how that happened and how the experience impacted your business.

AB: It was funny -when we first started the Smart Cookies we always said “when we are on Oprah….we will tell her how we accomplished so much”. It was a vision and goal of ours and we didn’t know we would get there! Because our initial concept was based off of Oprah’s Debt Diet series, that is what inspired us to write in. Katie, who is a publicist by profession, emailed into her show via the website when she was scouring the site for story ideas for the company we worked for at that time. She saw that they were looking for debt diet success stories, so she wrote in! She listed all our achievements and accomplishments over the past 6 months…..3 months later a producer called us.

Katie didn’t even tell us she wrote in, so you can imagine our surprise! After our appearance, the Smart Cookies exploded from a hobby to a business. Jean Chatzky who was on the show with us, was a huge advocate of money groups, so she invited us after the show to do a radio interview with her on Oprah’s Satellite XFM radio show. On air, she said that we have to write a book and that she would put us in touch with her literary agent. From there, it took off. We came back to Canada, shared our story, did a ton of press and then were offered to do a TV show. Since then, the business has grown into something much bigger than we ever imagined. We educate high school and university students on basic financial life skills, contribute to many TV segments and columns, and have amazing partnerships across the USA with companies like American Express and many more.

NM: What are the three biggest lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur that can help other women?

AB: To pace yourself more than anything! As an entrepreneur, you really become humble especially if you’ve left a good-paying job with lots of security. Its all about taking risks and you have to be okay with that. I’ve also learned to network like crazy, connect with other like-minded business people and always be open to opportunity. You never know where it may lead you to!

NM: What is a day like “in your heels?”

AB: I wish it was more exciting than people think it is! I still work out of my apartment, but am actively looking for office space. It really varies depending on my travel schedule, media bookings and client work load. That’s what I love about what I do -completely unpredictable but lots of hard work. I will find out on a Friday that I have to fly out for a media booking with Smart Cookies and other times, I have months where I don’t travel anywhere.

Be sure to visit Andrea at bratfacemarketing.com.

My Interview with One Smart Cookie, Andrea Baxter is a post from She Takes on the World

With my friend John in my red dress and black DKNY tights

Last week I did an interview with women entrepreneurs, Katrina Carroll-Foster and Tracey Solomon for the launch of Hoseanna, the subscription service for hosiery and legwear. This week the tables have turned and they are the ones interviewing me! This is the first time I’m being interviewed for my own blog and I must say, it was pretty fun.

Hoseanna Asks

Hoseanna: You’re our “Corporate Vet” brand ambassador so finish this sentence: I am a Corporate Vet because…

Natalie: I am a Corporate Vet because from the boardroom to speaking engagements to mentoring up-and-coming entrepreneurs, I have created every aspect of my career.

Hoseanna: How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate’? Has that evolved over the years?

Natalie: Since I have my own company we wear what we want in the office unless a client is coming in or we have a meeting. When I was younger I thought “business appropriate” meant wearing a suit to meetings, conferences, and other business engagements. I wanted to epitomize professionalism especially because I was often the youngest person in the boardroom or meeting.

Now I rarely wear suits and opt for pieces that fit my personal style and reflect my personal brand. I’m a dress girl so you’ll often see me in a stylish dress that is situation-appropriate! I love Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, and Tahari.

Hoseanna: Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment?

Natalie: Oh, there have been a few! I once ran to the ice machine in a New York City hotel and locked myself out of my room. I was wearing a short robe! I had to go downstairs in the robe to get security to let me into my room. It was a very embarrassing elevator ride and walk through the lobby. I’ll NEVER leave my room again unless I’m fully clothed.

Hoseanna: What’s your favorite type of hosiery?

Natalie: I love patterned black tights but not everyone can pull them off so you have to be careful! I usually pair them with a solid color dress and black patent pumps.

Hoseanna: What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play?

Natalie: For work, I’m all about black or nude pantyhose. I think sheer or opaque black is the classiest look for the office and you can definitely choose a subtle pattern for a more stylish look. When it comes to play, have fun! There are so many cute tights and leggings to choose from that can complete any outfit and make you stand out.

Hoseanna: If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be?

Natalie: Hillary Clinton, Coco Chanel, Amelia Earhart, Ellen DeGeneres, and Oprah. I like an even number of people at a dinner party!

Hoseanna: What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers?

Natalie: Set boundaries for work. Too many of us work around the clock and on weekends and don’t take enough “me time.” This year I’ve been taking better care of myself by setting hours and trying to stick to them. If I need to work at night I take a two hour break to eat a healthy dinner, go to the gym, and go back to work with a clear mind. I find that you have to schedule “me time” or you’ll never take it!

Hoseanna: If you had a theme song what would it be?

Natalie: Definitely “The World Is Mine” by David Guetta. I was once listening to this song while driving in the Czech Republic and I passed by a 3-story high globe that said “The world is yours.” I had to pull over because I just couldn’t believe it!

Hoseanna: What’s your guilty pleasure?

Natalie: A glass of Merlot with dark chocolate. Mmmmmm…

Hoseanna: When I grow up I want to be….

Natalie: When I grow up I want to be an astronaut. I always wanted to be an astronaut and I still do! But my plan on how to become an astronaut has changed. I want to do very well in business so I can purchase a $250K ticket into space. Being able to see the world in its entirety is the coolest experience I can think of!

Get to Know My Fellow Female Bloggers

See how my fellow Hoseanna ambassadors answered these questions:

• “Marathon Mom” Nichelle Pace from Style Mom
• “Uniform Diva” Sara Keagle from flight attendant blog, The Flying Pinto
• “Corporate Rookie” Kat Griffin from Corporette, the “wear to work” blog

Your Turn!

Want to play along? Leave your answers to these 10 questions in a comment or on your own blog:

1. I am a [Corporate Rookie, Corporate Vet, Marathon Mom, or Uniform Diva] because…
2. How do you balance style with being ‘business appropriate’? Has that evolved over the years?
3. Confess! What’s your most embarrassing fashion moment?
4. What’s your favorite type of hosiery?
5. What’s the best way to pair tights with your outfit whether its work or play?
6. If you could invite any four women to dinner, historical, fictional or current day, who would they be?
7. What is the best ‘reclaim your time’ tip you can give your readers?
8. If you had a theme song what would it be?
9. What’s your guilty pleasure?
10. When I grow up I want to be….

It’s not too late to enter Hoseanna’s launch contest. Four lucky winners will win a free one-year subscription to Hoseanna! Each winner also wins a virtual style consultation with My Style Pill’s Christine Cameron to help build your best work wardrobe. Total prize packages value: $500. It ends on April 10th so enter today by heading over to the Hoseanna Facebook page.

In My Heels: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me is a post from She Takes on the World

Gina is the co-founder of Ning, the largest social platform for interests and passions in the world today. She ran the company as CEO from its inception to March 2010. On the day she left, Ning had 2.3 million Ning Networks created, 300,000 monthly active Ning Networks, 46 million registered users and touched 90 million unique people per month. She is currently working on a new company that is baking in Palo Alto as we speak and I had a chance to speak with her about women in technology, start-up lessons, the future of social media, and what she’s working on next.

Women in Technology

Natalie MacNeil: Gina, a lot of women look to you as a trailblazer for women in technology. Is that something you aspired to be when you co-founded Ning?

Gina Bianchini: I want to build amazing products that millions of people use in their daily lives. I don’t think we’ve ever been at a more pivotal point in being able to create software that truly matters to people around the world. I want to create. I want to build. I want to look at the things I’ve done and know that I’ve tackled them to the very best of my ability. That’s my aspiration. I don’t possess a lack of big thinking. If it encourages anyone to follow their dreams, then right on.

NM: As someone who has raised a significant amount of venture capital funding in a world where women get about 4% of money invested by VCs, what advice do you have for women wanting VC funding?

GB: Relentlessly surround yourself with successful people – especially successful entrepreneurs – and learn as much as you can before diving into it on your own. Be on an early team and work extremely hard. You’ll learn more this way than in any other context and meet the people who can help you the most when you are ready to do it on your own.

Then, when you do it on your own, build the absolute best product you can. Seriously, maniacally focus on the product and the totally obvious benefits to the people using it. Then tap those relationships with the aforementioned successful people to make it a reality, from financing to your early team, distribution, and a wide support network of people who simply want to see you succeed. All of these are important not only to your ultimate success but your sanity in the process.

Start-ups are really hard. There are a ton of ups and downs. It’s hard work and even then there is no guarantee that you’ll be successful. However, there are definitely ways to make this harder or easier on yourself. I recommend gravitating towards the easier ways first and building your foundation in entrepreneurship from there.

The Future of Social Media

NM: What is the future of social media?

GB: I think we’re at this interesting point in social technologies where people are OD’ing on friends. You pretty much have a met human need around “belonging” with Facebook and Twitter and the one million websites drafting behind them for social features. However, what we know though about the hierarchy of needs is that when people feel like they belong, the next level up is answering the question of what makes a human being feel unique, interesting, and special.

I believe that the future of social media over the next five years will be about social software that meets our human need for significance. That and the fact that we will see a massive amount of spending within social technologies and a fundamental definitional shift of what advertising means. Beyond that, it just another interesting day at the office…

Startup Lessons

NM: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from co-founding Ning?

GB: Where to start! Seriously, I’ve learned hundreds if not thousands of lessons over the past 10 years of being in the start-up ring. Many of the lessons are obvious. Many I’ve learned a second and third time. Some I’m still learning. The top five are probably the following:

1. Surround yourself with people who share your same values, goals, and definitions of quality. This doesn’t mean hire people who are just like you. Seek creative tension and different points of view. Just make sure that you share the same fundamental values at your core.
2. Invest in relationships with people who operate with integrity and do what they say they are going to do. If they are a genius too, fantastic. But never prioritize genius over integrity.
3. Trust your gut. If your gut is saying one thing but your head is trying to rationalize it, you’re going to be cleaning up that mistake later. For example, take whatever you’re seeing in an interview or meeting with someone you’ve just met and multiply it by 10x. If you can still imagine working with them, great. If not, trust your gut.
4. It’s just as hard to do a start-up around a small idea as it is to do something truly innovative and big. I prefer to swing big, but it means that you’ll be regularly misunderstood. That part of this gets easier if you are surrounded by successful entrepreneurs and people who have gotten used to this reality.
5. Keep your eye on the prize, namely your results. Everyone will have an opinion about your idea, team, chances of success, and everything else you do. The only thing that matters are the results you produce. Celebrate the successes and learn from your failures, but remember everything in the context of the results you produce.

NM: Can you run us through a day “in your heels” while you were getting Ning up the running?

GB: My preferred choice of footwear are Haviana flip flops, but I digress. I’m in the process of starting up something new now, so I can speak to the early days of a new company not just from the context of Ning in 2004-2005 but in building a new thing today circa 2011.

If I’m not doing at least one thing that scares me in a given day, then I know that I’m doing something wrong. Beyond that, what separates the decent entrepreneurs from the good ones is an ability to wake up in the morning and accurately figure out what is the highest and best use of any given hour in that particular day. It might mean spending time on the product, meeting a ton ‘o interesting people who also want to go and build big things, or brainstorming creative ways to launch this puppy.

In my experience, challenging oneself, possessing self-discipline, and managing one’s time wisely are the only consistent activities in any given day early in a company’s development.

NM: What’s next for you? Are there more start-ups in your future?

GB: Absolutely! I’m just currently focused on doing what it takes to get this product successfully out the door. Some might call this “stealth” but I call it “letting it bake a little.”

Want to keep up with everything this incredible woman entrepreneur is doing? Follow Gina on Twitter @ginab.

Ning Co-Founder Gina Bianchini Talks Startups, Lessons Learned, and the Future of Social Media is a post from She Takes on the World

Katelyn Nadeau: Nicole! Tell me about ‘Girl On Top’. Where did the concept come from?

Nicole Williams: Girl on Top was inspired by a gift my girlfriends gave to me after I had left my husband in the hopes of getting me back in the dating game. In the basket of goodies was a pile of dating books and as I flipped through The Rules, He’s Not That Into You -all the classics –I quickly realized these dating rules are actually brilliant career strategies! It’s all about human nature and the same way you don’t want to give away your milk for free on a first date with a man, you don’t want to give your milk (talent) away for free to your employer –in both cases you end up being taken advantage of and disrespected.

KN: You’ve spoke on many national TV programs offering advice to young women.  In your opinion, what top three obstacles do young women face in the workplace and what advice would you provide them?

NW: First and foremost, it comes from listening to the media hype and not getting out there and trying, really trying to get a jobThe unemployment numbers are real and it’s definitely going to take discipline and perseverance but there is opportunity out there…but you’re not going to find it on the couch. It’s all about putting yourself out there, meeting as many people as you can and letting them know you’re looking for opportunity. Jobs come through people and relationships –don’t be shy.

Second, of course your age can be an issue but you can work against this. You can overcome a lack of experience with enthusiasm and by communicating work ethic and a commitment to develop skills on your own time. One of the areas of expertise that young women have a huge advantage over most older women is an ability to use and leverage social media (I’m speaking from experience – rely heavily on my young staff to keep me up to speed). Make sure you focus on all the digital expertise you have to bring to the table – doesn’t matter that you learned it for personal reasons – talk about how you can use it to the company’s advantage.

Finally, and this is again related to age, it’s the ability to taken seriously and your posture, the way you dress, the heels you choose to wear –this all contributes to not only other’s opinions of you, but how you feel about yourself. You have about 2.2 seconds to make an impact and you want everything working to your advantage! Dress for success.

KN: What made you take the jump into entrepreneurship and what did you do before pursuing The Works?

NW: It was the business I was looking for.  As a career-focused woman I was looking for the resources and community that would make my life easier and career more successful. I read a quote by Tom Robbins in his book The Jitterbug Perfume; “The price of self-destiny is never cheap and in certain circumstances it’s unthinkable. But to achieve the marvelous, it’s precisely the unthinkable that must be thought”. Those two sentences changed my life.  In an instant I knew my destiny was to build a business for career women.

KN: What is a day like “in your heels?”

NW: Well let’s be honest…they are high! Each and every day is different. Right now a lot of my focus is on the process of getting Girl on Top transformed into a feature film. It’s been optioned by Dan Jinks (producer of American Beauty, Milk and other great films) and we’re working on finding the right writer. The other really fun thing I’m focused on is promoting the line of clothing I’m endorsing at The Limited. I love (and personally) wear the clothes and each month get to travel to different cities to meet with young women in the store who come for a fun fashion show, discounts and the opportunity to shop and network all at the same time.

KN: Thanks so much Nicole for your thoughtful advice and joining us here at She Takes on the World!  To learn more about Nicole visit her website: www.nicolewilliams.com.

In Her Heels: Interview with Girl On Top, Nicole Williams is a post from She Takes on the World

This is what Kristen says about the show:

Miss Abigail, played by the phenomenal Eve Plumb alongside her incredibly talented (and attractive) assistant, Paco (Manuel Herrera) offer hard laughs in this light-hearted comedy. We were sure to have a good time when I was pulled on stage to salsa dance with Paco and later Natalie MacNeil was instructed how to properly flirt and yes ‘properly’ is quite flexible when reflecting upon photos. This highly engaging and very fun Thursday night held more to the plot than just offering quirky dating tips (you can discover your own “dateability” here). It was a budding love story, which you will have to wait and see for yourself. You can use the discount code DATING to get $30 off the price of a ticket if you’re in the NYC area or planning to visit New York.

We may not be theater critics, but we can assure you Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage is a great time!

Here is my interview with Eve Plumb which can be watched in full screen on our newly rebranded She Takes on the World YouTube channel:

In Her Heels: Eve Plumb on Letting Go of Fear and Reinventing is a post from She Takes on the World

On September 20th I had the amazing opportunity to be in New York City for the Women: Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium in which I was recognized as one of America’s Next Inspirations, a recognition given to young women showing exceptional leadership. While I was there I had the incredible privilege to interview Arianna Huffington from the Huffington Post, a woman I really admire. I can’t say enough about how intelligent, gracious, and engaging she is. It was kind of like meeting a super hero! I hope you enjoy the interview!

Interview with Arianna Huffington on the Purpose of Life and Who Inspires Her is a post from She Takes on the World

Natalie MacNeil: Stephanie, tell us about Her Campus.

Stephanie Kaplan: Her Campus is an online magazine for college women that individualizes its content college-by-college by establishing branches at schools across the country, supplementing national content with local content, produced entirely by the nation’s top student journalists. Her Campus also serves as a marketing platform, connecting companies with college students across the country in creative ways.

We launched in September 2009 after winning Harvard’s business plan competition, and we have since grown to a team of 500+ college students with branches at 50+ colleges nationwide, content partnerships with Seventeen magazine and The Huffington Post, marketing partnerships with New Balance, Juicy Couture, Rent the Runway, and Lauren Merkin, and has been featured on ABC News Now and in AOL Money College, CNN Money, Business Insider, The Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report, among others.

NM: It sounds like you’ve been busy! What gave you the idea for Her Campus?

SK: My co-founders (Windsor Hanger and Annie Wang) and I met as undergraduates at Harvard, working on Harvard’s lifestyle and fashion publication. We transitioned the magazine online and found that it was being incredibly well-received; traffic was skyrocketing, companies were reaching out to us about partnerships, and girls from other schools were telling us that they wished their school had a similar publication, because their only writing outlet was the campus newspaper. We realized we were hitting on an unmet need- for an online hub of content targeted specifically at college women, and a platform for aspiring student journalists- and we sought to address this need on a broader, national scale.

NM: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced running a business while going to college?

SK: Not having enough time! This past year, we were all full-time students at Harvard (Windsor and I just graduated), taking courses, doing extra-curriculars, holding campus jobs, while also running a business on the side! We had so much we wanted to do with Her Campus, but there was only so much time to do it. We are thrilled to devote all our time to our venture. Other than having time as a constraint, we found the Harvard community to be incredibly supportive of our work, and we also had easy access to so many resources and contacts as students, which was incredibly helpful.

NM: What’s the biggest startup lesson you’ve learned?

SK: Introduce yourself and talk to as many people as you can! Be proactive and take the initiative at every single step. You never know when you will make a helpful connection or learn something really valuable from someone. Network as much as possible in order to learn from others in the field as well as let others know what you’re up to.

NM: You cover a lot of fashion on Her Campus. What’s your power outfit?

SK: My power outfit is an olive green tank with any great-fitting black, white, or blue jean bottom, and my super bedazzled Enzo Angiolini sandals. I like to dress simple and classic but with one unexpected touch, and I always wear green when I want to look my best because I have green eyes.

NM: What is a day like “in your heels?”

SK: Unpredictable! Running a start-up in its early stages is so fast-paced; every day is different and I never know what to expect in my inbox. I have so many projects I’m juggling at any given time that I feel like I get to work ten different jobs at once. But generally I’ll be in the Her Campus office working on my laptop, meeting with Windsor and Annie, having meetings and phone calls, attending events, etc.

After work, I’ll get together with friends in Harvard Square, or go to the gym, or watch TV shows I’ve DVR’ed (current obsession is “Say Yes to the Dress”), and then usually do more work before I go to sleep! With a start-up, the work is never-ending, but it’s also so fulfilling and so much fun.

NM: Thank you Stephanie!

Be sure to check out www.HerCampus.com.

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In Her Heels Goes to Harvard! My Interview With Stephanie Kaplan is a post from She Takes on the World

Natalie MacNeil: You started Ruby Media Group right out of college. What made you decide to take the leap into entrepreneurship rather than jumping into Corporate America?

Kristen Ruby: I decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship rather than jumping into Corporate America because I love the satisfaction of feeling that I have created something and that I have ownership of it. I think there is a big myth in America that you need to follow the system and climb the corporate ladder to gain experience. By strategically aligning with the right partners and choosing business mentors, you can gain invaluable experience that you may have otherwise not been able to gain inside of a corporation- it is a much more “hands on” approach to learning. My ultimate mission is to encourage more people to create their own businesses out of college by branding themselves appropriately in a specific niche. The media is constantly pushing out statistics about how students from 2009 do not have jobs. They should view this as a great opportunity to build something for themselves rather than jumping into a pile of competition.

NM: How have you used social media to build your business?

KR: I have used social media to build every aspect of my business. To this day, I still have not created one print advertisement. All of my new business comes through speaking engagements, conferences, my columns, or other means of social media communication. You have to commit the time to blog not only for your clients but for your own business to help build a voice and establish credibility in the marketplace. All of these things are unpaid activities but in actuality they are really your own marketing investment in yourself and your company. I utilize my blog, my web site, my Facebook and my twitter to share relevant content related to my business, as well as to promote interesting accomplishments of my clients. For example, with the help of Ruby Media Group, my client John Nevius at Anderson Kill & Olick was recently placed on Bloomberg television (twice).

NM: What tips do you have for people to make the most out of online networking?

KR: My tips would be to let your personality shine through. In the beginning of my use of social networking, I was afraid to let my personal voice shine through because I wanted everything to appear more corporate. The problem is that this looks too cookie cutter. People want to see the human aspect of your business, not just pre-canned tweets, etc. Today, I try to really share my life and blur the line between personal and corporate personas. Granted this is not the best approach for everyone, but as a blogger I feel that you have to inherently share part of your life with your audience, followers and fans to really increase client engagement.

NM: What are the top 3 lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?

KR: The top 3 lessons I have learned as an entrepreneur are:

1. Don’t be afraid of big numbers. Entrepreneurs usually have a shift at some point in their first year of business where their business model changes, or they realize that the scope of the project is larger than they budgeted for. It is better to price accordingly than under price and wish you had priced accordingly from the beginning.
2. Don’t let people bring you down as a woman in business. Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished as a female entrepreneur. Only keep people around you who will lift you up and inspire you. As a female entrepreneur, you may often receive a difficult time from some people who may say you are “too businesslike,” “not feminine enough,” and you are not “traditional enough.” Don’t let these people get you down! You are a woman of example!
3. Learn from every deal that you don’t close. This is critical, especially for early entrepreneurs who are not used to dealing with a lot of rejection. Every deal that you don’t close can teach you invaluable lessons for making future deals go smoother. I used to pour so much time into writing out detailed twelve page proposals only to have people utilize the information I wrote for them and shop it to someone else. I learned very quickly that being over-generous with upfront information can actually help you lose a deal rather than close it. Don’t give away the cow for free! You wouldn’t go into BMW and say, “Can I take this BMW home with me and then see if I want to buy it?” The same is true for your marketing services. Don’t give people the services before they have bought them or you will lose the allure of what you are selling.

NM: I have experienced people using my proposals too. It’s annoying but definitely a good lesson to learn early on. What is a day like “in your heels?”

KR: A typical day in my heels is extremely busy! The two things I love most in this world are my business and my stilettos (and of course my Dog, Morgy). I am usually running back and forth between client meetings, managing a team of five interns virtually on Skype, and having calls with partner firms. I only stop for two minutes to pick up a large coffee and half a muffin. I barely have time to eat and my Blackberry is usually buzzing. I spend a lot of my time tweeting for clients, blog writing and creating ad concepts for them. I also spend a lot of time working on the PR side of blogger outreach, pitching and placement. I love the feeling of securing placements for clients- there is nothing better than that! One of my mentors, Peter Giles, President of Giles Communications, taught me something invaluable. He said, “Always ask your clients if they are happy with what you are delivering.” I try to bring this approach into every aspect of my client relationships today.

Towards the end of the day, I always make room for an hour at the gym and some form of spiritual practice to clear my mind. After stopping for a quick bite, it is back to work! As you can tell, a day in the life of Kris Ruby’s heels is usually very entertaining- there is never a dull moment to say the least

NM: Thanks so much Kristen!

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In Her Heels: Interview with Kristen Ruby is a post from She Takes on the World