Sex = Awesome.

If Jessica Ladd has her way, she’ll make it even more awesome.

Jessica, a self-described “Idealistic Nerd,” is the founder of Sexual Health Innovations in Baltimore, Maryland.  Through Sexual Health Innovations flagship project, “So They Can Know,” Jessica and her team are dedicated to improving the sexual health of Americans through technology. 

Jessica began her impressive career working in the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy and then as a Public Policy Associate at The AIDS Institute, and as a sexual health educator and researcher for a variety of organizations.

Jessica continues to gain momentum and spread her wings, all for the benefit of our good health.  It was my privilege to speak with Jessica about her passion for great, healthy sex.

SG: Jessica, what are you passionate about?

JL: Using technology to improve sexual health. I really want people to have happy, joyful, fulfilling sex lives, and I think that there’s a lot we could and should be doing with tech to help that happen at very low cost.

SG: What make you a successful health innovator and entrepreneur?

JL: I’m a total nerd. I’m a sexual health nerd, and have been since I was 17, and I’m a statistics/data nerd. I’m talking full-on no-I-can’t-answer-your-text-on-a-Saturday-night-because-I-just-found-a-new-dataset-to-analyze nerd. But luckily both the public health and tech communities seem to find that an asset.

SG: What is your greatest hope for Sexual Health Innovations?

JL: I hope we become so good at what we do that we become unnecessary. That all the tools that are needed to help people to be sexually happy and healthy will be easily available to them and the providers that serve them. That online sexual health information will be easy to understand, accurate, and entertaining. That we find a way to build the technology that makes it easy to do socially awkward things for social good.

SG: What is So They Can Know and how will it change lives and communities?

JL: So They Can Know (https://www.sotheycanknow.org) is a website to help people who’ve been diagnosed with STD’s to inform their sex partners that they need to get tested. We provide people with tips and video about how to have that difficult conversation, and we allow people who aren’t willing to have that conversation to anonymously email their partners to let them know. Right now, only about 23% of at risk-partners are notified. We think that if we push that percentage up to around 50% or 60%, we could eradicate curable STD’s from some communities in the United States.

SG: Talking about sex can make us cringe, and talking about STD’s can be worse! What 3 tips do you have for sex and STD talk to be less awkward? 

JL:

1. Embrace the awkward. Maybe even acknowledge it at the start of the conversation. With rare exceptions, parents talking to their kids about sex is going to be awkward for everyone. And for the vast majority of new couples, talking about STD’s is going to be awkward too. That’s OK. If you wait to have the conversation because you’re trying to come up with a non-awkward way to have it, you will never have the conversation.

2. Sometimes it’s helpful to start with a question, like “do you have a condom?” or “have you been vaccinated for HPV?” It opens up the topic and is a lot more natural than stating “I will only have sex with you if you wear a condom” or “I have HPV” when things are getting hot and heavy. You can and should say those things if you want, but sometimes it’s best not to open the conversation with them.

3. If telling a past partner that you’ve bee diagnosed with an STD, do it soon after you’ve been diagnosed, and make
   sure to let them know you didn’t know you had it when you had sex (if that’s true). Saying that right off the bat can help the conversation move forward, because otherwise they’ll be wondering it in the back of their minds.

SG: Who are the women that inspire you and why?

JL: Melody Barnes, Charlotte Gaydos, Sharon Camp, and my mom.

Melody Barnes was a supervisor of mine at the White House, and I was so impressed by her intelligence, her desire to fight for justice, and her ability to make the people around her feel valued and empowered.

Charlotte Gaydos was my advisor for my Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins, and now serves as the Chair of the Board of SHI. She is an incredible mentor- always so willing to network people together and to give her valuable time for good causes.

Sharon Camp is just a total bad-ass. She’s pretty much the woman who made Plan B happen and is a terrific model for any female social entrepreneur.

And my mom, who has always dedicated her time to making the world better for other people and animals, and especially making it better for me.

SG: What is the one thing you know now that you wish you had known when you were 20 years old?

JL: I wish I had known to never shy away from something I enjoyed simply because it didn’t seem practical at the time. I stopped taking math and never took computer science in college because I didn’t see how they would help my career path at the time, and despite the fact that I loved math and programming. Now, I’ve found a field where pursuing those passions back then would have been very helpful.

  …never give up on what you love…

Visit SoTheyCanKnow.org

In her latest book, Hidden Treasure: Uncovering the Truth in Your Life Story, Gangaji challenges readers to ask themselves a crucial question: “Who am I?”  As she reveals, it is often our own cynicism, denial and refusal to be open that makes us “too smart” to receive simple help.  

How are your stories (we all have them) directing your path?  Let’s take a look.  

SG: Let’s start at the very beginning, what is “our story?”

G: Our story is whatever we are telling ourselves about this experience of being a human being. Our narrative has heroes and villains. At times it is thrilling and enriching, at other times it is horrifying. It delivers profound insights about what it means to be alive, or it delivers nonsensical drivel. It is unique to each of us and yet formed in part by the prevailing winds of biology and culture.

Each story is mysterious and wonderful. And, luckily for self recognition, stories can be deconstructed. As real as your story seems and feels, you can recognize it to have no inherent reality. When you look closely and soberly at your story, you see how ephemeral and unreliable it is.  You can recognize that you are the solid, conscious presence that is free in any story. You can know yourself to be the continuity of life that all stories (yours and others’) appear and disappear in.

SG: How does “our story” express itself in our present life, relationships, experiences?

G: Our story is a point of view that functions as a magnet. It draws supporting evidence from the internal and external events to itself. Much of the substance of our particular points of view is inseparable from our sense of being a particular body. We can recognize the uniqueness in our children, our friends, our lovers, and in fact in all life forms. We can also recognize that particular habits, conditionings, food choices, or even weather patterns are filtered thorough our original uniqueness to form a sensed “Me.” This magnetizing, filtering process is experienced in our minds as the narrative, or commentary, that makes sense of it all. Definitely wondrous  but if we are slaves to our narrative, our story becomes fixed and defended and we then suffer unnecessarily.

Rarely does any one moment get appreciated as it simply is. Rather we normally filter all the impressions of a moment through our internal mental “casting director” to quickly ignore what doesn’t fit our story, and magnify what does. We miss a lot of the mystery and beauty of life by being bound by our story making powers. We miss truly meeting each other when “other” is simply part of our story.

SG: What are the first 3 steps to unwrapping ourselves from our story?

G:

1. Most importantly, be willing to recognize or “hear” your internal narrative (especially in charged situations.)

2. In the midst of telling your story, stop. Simply stop the narrative without waiting for it to come to a conclusion. Be still.

3. In that moment of “storylessness” recognize what is present without any need for story. Recognize what is always here. You, free of story.

SG: On page 70 you have one of my favorite, most reassuring lines in the book, “Harmony is not the absence of stress…”  This is great news!  How does stress exist in a harmonious life?

G: As we breathe, stress can come in and stress can move out. Living is a dynamic experience, so the movement between activity (stress) and inactivity (rest) is present in all life forms. When one side of this dynamic is out of balance, harmony is absent. Our disharmonious lives today are generally geared toward over activity. Our identity gets wrapped around how active we can be.  We then become exhausted and collapse.

When we recognize disharmony, we can choose to listen more carefully to our rhythmic needs of activity and rest. Both internal and external activity—stress—is sometimes pleasant and sometimes not, but without it we aren’t fully alive. The possibility is to live fully, embracing both activity and rest in whatever harmonious balance is uniquely right for you. In an inquisitive, deepening life, even periods of disharmony can be balanced with the profound nourishment of rest. 

SG: HerExchange readers are women on the move both personally and professionally.  With that in mind, what is the importance of the phrase “keep quiet” and how can we begin incorporating that practice into our over-scheduled lives?

G: At any moment, regardless of the intensity of the moment, we have the capacity to retreat for an instant. Staying conscious in this instant of retreat reveals the spaciousness of the open mind. This innate spaciousness is nourishing for mind and body, and in that moment it can mysteriously spread to other minds and bodies. It is an instant of simply being yourself, with no story of yourself dominating the space. It is an instant of pure nectar! If you like it, you can devote more time in you day to tasting the nectar of yourself. One instant can reveal what is available at any instant.

SG: I ask all interviewees, what is the one thing you know now that you wish you had known when you were 20 years old?

G: That the surge of life I felt in my mind and body was trustworthy. That it was conscious of itself and would eventually recognize itself in everybody and everything.

Get more http://www.gangaji.org/

Stephanie Goetsch, October 2012

What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?  I bet it didn’t come from Facebook, Twitter or from a Real Housewife. I bet it came from someone you loved, trusted and looked up to; a friend, professor, parent or grandparent.  In his new book, No One Ever Told Us That; Money and Life Letters to my Grandchildren, John D. Spooner gives us a peek inside one of his closest relationships –his grandchildren- while giving them wisdom that can only come with experience.

For decades, John has been one of America’s leading financial advisors.  Now, as his own grandchildren are on the cusp or adulthood, John has chosen to impart his wisdom to them –and us- in the form of old-fashioned letters (remember those?!).  This is the book that every grandparent has wanted to gift their children and grandchildren….and reading it truly feels like a gift.

It was my pleasure to speak with John -my first male interviewee for HerExchange- about lessons learned from his own journey and his best advice (listen up graduates, we talk job hunting!).  Lean in close, you’ll want to hear this…

SG:  Why write an advice book that covers everything from finance to career to relationships?

JS: I gave a speech at Brandeis University four years ago to graduate students about what they’d see when they got out into life after school.  A young woman raised her hand after the remarks and said, ‘No one ever told us that.’  I thought, ‘Why, you know? There is so much financial illiteracy and cluelessness among the young about so many things, why not do an advice book in a practical way that they can understand? In English, plain English.’  And it turned into this book. 

SG: While reading No One Ever Told Us That, I learned so much that I never even considered before.  It was eye opening! 

JS: Well thank you, that’s about the nicest thing that anybody could say. You labor in solitude as a writer, even if you’re trying to teach lessons, you have no idea who’s out there. Is anybody out there? In this digital age where the virtual life is to replace the real life, I say people are desperate for advice and counsel in an old fashioned way. They want personal contact and that’s what No One Ever Told Us That, is about.

SG: You’re a national leader on investing and best-selling financial authority, how do you find yourself stacking up against some of the other major financial advisers? I ask because I recently went to a conference where Suze Orman spoke. She created audience frenzy when she came on-stage!  Do you find yourself pushing away from, or pulling towards, financial-“celebrity”?

JS:  A lot of the financial gurus who have written books don’t actually manage money themselves; they just spout, pontificate, or offer good advice.  That’s fine, but I actually manage all of the money myself, with my team. Not only do we try to do advice and counsel about all kinds of things in life, but we actually make all of the management decisions too. 

SG: And it’s the difference between an expert and a “talking head?”

JS: Correct.

SG: In your letters to your grandchildren, numerous times you mention the difficult economy they are entering post-college graduation.  Did you feel a sense of urgency around getting your advice out because of the economic climate?

JS:  Well I started to write it in the beginning of 2010 and finished in 2011 and we’d been in the financial collapse that whole time. So I wrote it not so much as ‘these are the tough times’, it just happened to work out that way. There was no rush to finish it before terrible times turned into ‘let the good times roll’, because the good times are not going to happened right away, in my opinion.  I really think that we are in the most Darwinian period that you and I have ever seen in our lives. It’s survival of the fittest.  It’s going to continue to be a tough atmosphere for those trying to find jobs or people in their 50’s, if they’re laid off, getting jobs. They need practical advice and some inspiration to look at things in a way they hadn’t thought of before.

SG: I absolutely agree. You state that human nature is really quite simple, it always comes back to one of two things, fear or greed.  When has fear been a factor in your life? 

JS: I think the bumps in the road teach us more about life and what we’re made of then good does. I’ve had many bumps. One thing I try to teach young people is have faith in yourself but you’re going to have to put it out there. Life isn’t going to be delivered to you. You’re going to have to put the uniform on and drag the wagon as much as you don’t feel like it.

SG: I work with women to identify careers they love and I’ve noticed that more than ever, women see entrepreneurism as their best career option instead of joining corporate America.  Are you sensing the same in the young people you speak with?

JS: I am.  Fire in the belly, desire, means more than talent very often.  [To succeed though] you have to look at the world in a different way and find what your niche is going to be. Generalists are going to find it tough. So you have to figure it out early, ‘what do I really care about?’, and then pursue your passion.

SG: Did you know, you are the first man that I have ever interviewed for HerExchange, in a year and a half?

JS: No Kidding.

SG: *laughs* Can you believe it?

JS: Well I’m incredibly flattered!  One of the things I say, indeed there is a chapter in the book, that you should always have friends of the opposite sex. Long-term relationships. I learn so much from women because, in my opinion, women are bedrock. They subliminally get so much more than guys do. Because in my opinion guys are basically put on the planet to go out, kill the brontosaurus, and bring home a steak.  Beyond that they have trouble with lots of things… I have hundreds of women clients and strong female friendships and I learn so much about the world. I feel very lucky; lucky to be a man in what I see as definitely a women’s world in many ways and particularly talking to you.

SG: Well thank you and I couldn’t agree with you more about women as bedrocks!  Let’s talk SPARK.  Can you pinpoint a moment of spark – a moment you knew you were on your destined professional path?

JS: Yeah, and again, it was tough stuff that got me there. I was pushed into the financial world.  I always thought I wanted to write and actually, my father, who had been in the world of finance, decided that I would be in finance.  I told my father, “I can’t even read a stock page in a newspaper, zero knowledge; I have zero interest in [finance], I want to write.”  He said “Well, you’re going into this business but if you want to write badly enough you will no matter what you do.” So I took that as a challenge and I wrote. Early in the morning, lunchtime, late at night, drunk or sober, determined that when, not if, my first novel was published, I’m out of here; I’m leaving the world of rude commerce.  It took me about three years to both write my first novel and get it published.

SG: What’s your favorite career advice for students preparing to graduate in May?

JS: I see dozens of resumes from young people who want to write, who want to come into the money business, and most of them are just plain vanilla boring, academic credentials, summer jobs. I like to see something that jumps out at me.  It’s your hobbies and interests that are going to get you jobs, not your academic career.  There are certain clubs in life, things that young people have done that they consider irrelevant on the resumes, but they’re not. For instance, women’s ice hockey, field hockey, wrestling, crew, these are clubs that a lot of people have played and if you have something like that on your resume, chances are that somebody who interviews you rowed crew and they will zap onto that.

SG: With all your lessons learned and advice, can you boil it down?  What is the one thing you’d tell your 20-year-old-self if you could go back?

JS: I think the one phrase that is truer than any other, no matter what you do in life and where you are, all life is relationships. That phrase means more to me than anything.

It’s a tale of two cities – New York City and somewhere-Eastern-Montana converging in this real-life love affair that is both relatable and inspirational.  

Jessie Knadler was a NYC girl – until she met Jake, an old-school gentleman in cowboy boots.  Soon after, Jessie traded in the big city lights for chicken coops in the country for a marriage with her cowboy.  What came next?  Jessie found herself Rurally Screwed…much to our luck, we get to come along for the ride.

Meet Jessie and step inside her true-life love story…

her SPARK

SG: Describe the experience of getting your first book published, Rurally Screwed.

JK: Professionally I feel validated. I can finally legitimately call myself a writer.  The comments from people are great, like, “You’re a great writer…” .That has been incredibly rewarding for me because as an artist and a creative person, I constantly second guess myself: ‘Am I good or do I just suck? Am I the worst person, the worst painter, sculptor, writer, in the world?’, so [getting published] has been very rewarding on that front.

I also think that my story is universal to a lot of women, how we give up so much of ourselves and sometimes what we give up is too much. Sometimes we compromise who we are for the sake of our special relationships. I think that speaks to a lot of people.

THE ART OF COMPROMISE

SG:  Let’s talk compromise – a major theme in Rurally Screwed.  Whether it’s compromising in a relationship, at work, etc., what is the line where compromising becomes too compromising?

JK:  It’s such a tricky thing because we want to go outside of our comfort zone, that’s a very important part of life, you want to push yourself, you want to do things that are unfamiliar, that’s how you become a more well-rounded, stronger person.  But in my own experience, building farm fences and being a farm builder and doing all of this rustic manly stuff, instead of feeling proud, I actually felt foolish. I felt foolish most of the time and the foolish feeling never went away and after a couple of years feeling really foolish I finally just looked in the mirror and said ‘What am I doing? I don’t have to do this stuff just because I live in the country and I married a cowboy, I can be myself.’ I think it comes down to, do you feel proud and happy or do you feel like an idiot?

SG: Absolutely. I like the Idea of finding honesty in your emotions that way.  Do you find your honesty more quickly or do you still find yourself in foolishly compromising situations?

JK:  No. I feel like I finally know who I am, what I’m about, what I’m put on this Earth to do and I feel very focused now after so many years of feeling lost and confused about where I was going in life; that feels phenomenally wonderful.

CROSSROADS

SG: When have you experienced your own personal crossroads moment and how did you get through it? 

JK:  My husband had a lot to do with my ability to keep pushing, he wouldn’t let give up even though I wanted to give up.  Even when I walked out on our marriage, he always provided a safety net and open arms. 

FINALLY FULFILLED

SG:  In the book, you talk about the time when you had had enough and walked out on your marriage, went back to NYC, where feelings of dissatisfaction and disappointment followed you.  You discovered that your feelings weren’t tied to where you were, they were stemming from you, so no matter where you went or who you were with, you felt the same.  This is a huge discovery – one I’ve had myself!  How did you move past dissatisfaction? 

JK:  I finally realized, ‘Wait a minute, it’s not the country that’s making me unhappy I’ve always been unhappy. I’ve always been on the run.  I’ve always been looking over my shoulder. I’ve always had this grass is greener mentality.’ At some point I knew that that mindset was going to destroy me and my marriage.  If you’re always looking over your shoulder you’re never going to be happy.  For me, it was looking at my life, my track record [and realizing] that I’ve never really been happy. I don’t want to be that person; there are too many people like that out there, too many miserable people. I don’t want to be like that.

SG:  That’s absolutely right, my natural tendency is to look at the glass half empty.  I have to constantly will myself into seeing that there’s something in the glass at all!

JK:  Right, at the same time, your outlook, your glass half empty outlook, is probably what kick started you to start HerExchange and to actually make something of yourself.  So there is something to be said for ‘I have to do better!’

BREAKING INTO THE BUSINESS

 SG: It was such a professional journey for you to this place now of great professional success, what advice do you have for someone who is entering this job market right now?

JK:  You have to be fearless, that’s number one.  You have to be willing to put yourself so far out of your comfort zone because the people who put themselves out of their comfort zones are the ones who get noticed. The people who play it safe, “No, I don’t want to call this editor for the 5^th time,” those are the ones who have a harder time getting a job.  You just have to start harassing people, if it feels like harassment you’re doing a good job.

SG:  Yes!

JK: Being shy doesn’t really work; you tend to just get ignored.  You have to be the girl who goes up to an editor at a luncheon and say, “Hi, my name is…. I really enjoy your publication, can I drop the portfolio of my clips off to you?” That’s how it starts; you have to be fearless because everybody else around you is full of fear.   

LUCKING OUT

SG: You and your husband, Jake, are polar opposites.  Is the old saying true, opposites attract?  Is that the secret to a lasting, happy marriage? 

JK: I don’t know! I think when you meet “The One”, you know it; it doesn’t matter if he’s wearing a cowboy hat or khaki Dockers. I don’t know if opposites or similarities have anything to do with it. When you look in someone’s eyes and you see a similarity it doesn’t matter what their outward appearance is.

SG: I think you lucked out with Jake.

JK: I definitely did.

Connect with Jessie on her Blog and Twitter.

Kodak.  Zippo.  Bausch + Lomb.   Recognize those brands?   I know why – Butler/Till.

Sue Butler and Tracy Till are co-CEOs of Butler/Till – the media agency with the power to connect brands and consumers.   But this powerhouse media team didn’t start at the top -no one ever does- their journey began 13 years ago with a great idea and a lot of heart. From looking to leaping, maintaining a healthy partnership and staying ahead of the curve in a fiercely competitive industry – this dynamic duo shines a light on their path to success to illuminate yours. 

Looking to Leaping

Butler/Till was born in your living room – inspirational!  I hear from many women that have a great idea, but nothing ever comes of it.  What 3 steps did you take to bring your great idea to life?

I (Sue) started Butler Marketing & Media (the precursor to Butler/Till) in 1992 in my living room.  I had just left my previous employment and was debating between going off on my own or accepting a position with either an advertising agency or media outlet.  The decision was made more challenging by the fact that I was the primary wage-earner for my family.  Three steps I took at this time, when I did “take the leap” were:

 1. Used existing resources for the start up.  Some savings I had covered my initial capital investment needs and by working out of my home I kept my start up costs low.  This allowed me to start the business without borrowing money.

 2. Developed a business plan that included projected revenue and a timeline to hit key financial goals.  I was prepared, if the business did not hit key milestones, to revert to “plan B” – close the business and accept a position with another firm.  It is important to note that my financial goals were modest and I did spend quite a few years making much less than I did prior to starting the business before things really kicked in (which required sacrifice from me and my family).  But what I made was enough to allow me to keep going and growing, and the business progress gave me confidence that I could achieve my desired financial goals with time and continued hard work.

 3. Gave it my “all” – worked long hours, lived and breathed the business.  Thankfully I had wonderful support from my family which helped make this possible.

What’s the secret ingredient to making a partnership work?  What lessons have you learned about what “not to do” in partnerships?

It’s important to be honest with yourself and with your partner about your strengths and weaknesses, what interests you and what doesn’t.  We made good partners right from the start because our strengths and skills are complementary and we kind of “fill in the gaps” for each other.  We each played to our strengths and broke down roles and responsibilities accordingly.  This approach, combined with a tremendous degree of respect and trust between us, has made our partnership very successful and enjoyable.

Media Approach:  Advice for Entrepreneurs

The Butler/Till approach is tailored to each client’s product, goals and consumers.  When creating a start-up, what comes first, defining the product, goal or consumer-base?

When creating a start up you have to define the consumer need first.  Who is your target audience and what products/services do they potentially need or want from you?  Once you understand that you can ensure that your product/service meets those needs/wants, and then establish your goals and action plans for developing awareness, interest, consideration, and ultimately purchase.

How should a start-up approach media?  Speaking from experience, it can be overwhelming!  Are there communication channels that should NOT be missed?

All media plans should begin with an in-depth understanding of the target consumer.  Who are they?  What’s important to them?  How do they spend their day?  How, when, and where do they consume media?  These are all critical to developing a media strategy that will be relevant, effective and efficient.  Given this, desired communication channels can vary dramatically.  The “must have” communication channel for a “C-suite executive” for a B2B product/service is much different than the “must have” communication channel for the 20-something, single guy fresh out of college and just starting his first job.

Ahead of the Curve

After many years in business and countless big-name clients, how do you continue to stay innovative with each client that walks through the door?

One of our guiding principles is that “we drive the media bus, routes and schedules change daily”.  What this means is that our industry is evolving constantly, and it is up to us to be at the forefront of those changes.  We do this in a number of ways, starting with hiring the right people.  We seek energetic individuals who are insatiable about knowledge, want to be trend setters, and are never willing to accept the status quo.  We invest heavily in training and development, both internally and by sending team members to conferences, seminars and other learning opportunities.  When they attend they are charged with sharing the learnings with the agency as a whole so all employees – and clients – can benefit.

Looking Back

With so much success behind you, is professional fear and self-doubt a thing of the past?  If not, how do you deal with it when it arises?

There is nothing wrong with having a “healthy level of anxiety”.  We run a fairly good size company and many individuals and their families rely on Butler/Till for their livelihood.  Regardless of our past success, we are always vulnerable to competition and business loss.  Knowing this, we believe in constantly “keeping our foot on the gas” – pursuing new clients, developing new service offerings that will benefit our existing and prospective clients, and generally recognizing that “yesterday is no guarantee of tomorrow”.  Fear and self-doubt are normal human emotions and we are certainly not immune to them, but recognizing how self-defeating they can be – and pushing your way through them when they do arise – is key.

Please finish the statement:  If I could, I would tell my 20-year old self…

Everything you are doing now will contribute to the person you will become and the business you will create.  It’s all good – keep going.

Listen up, Ladies!  The biggest conference of the year is right around the corner! 

The 4^th Annual Get Radical Women’s Conference is coming to Reston, Virginia on March 30-April 1, hosted by HerExchange spotlighter Doreen Rainey. 

If you’re dreaming of a bigger, better version of yourself, if you need some inspiration, this is the place to be.  Listen to powerful keynote speeches from Jillian Michaels and Suze Orman, engage in one-of-a-kind informative interactive workshops, and participate in exceptional networking and VIP events.

Whether you’re on the Life Compass Track or Entrepreneur Track you’ll get the opportunity to choose between 10 different workshop sessions, enabling you to get information on something relevant to your own life.

Topics include: Get Your Promotion Now!: 7 Fast-Track Strategies to Drive Your Career to the Next Level, The Four Foundations of Success, Relationship Expert, Get Paid What You’re Worth! A Guide for Professional Women, among others.

Don’t pass up a premier or VIP registration and get a chance to participate in the RADICAL Awards Celebration, celebrating the winners of the RADICAL Woman Award and RADICAL Entrepreneur Award.

            After 3 RADICAL days, you’ll come home a different woman, full of education and motivation about your career, business, finances, and health. Don’t miss this chance to get the information and inspiration you need to achieve a successful and balanced life.

Join HerExchange in this remarkable event. Register now with a friend and get two tickets for the price of one. Don’t pass up your ticket to success! Register HERE

 2012 Program Highlights:  Keynote Sessions

Doreen Rainey:  The Mindset to Create RADICAL Success

What are the traits and characteristics of those who create self-defined success? Discover the mindset strategies of those who achieve their personal and professional goals. Success lies in what you think, your perspective, and your ability to create from the inside out. Doreen will share how to position yourself to have a clear vision and move into action.  Register HERE.

Jillian Michaels: The Unlimited Life – Inside & Out

Forget surviving; it’s your time to thrive. You do have the ability and potential to achieve unlimited health, wealth, and happiness. Getting there won’t all be easy – nothing worthwhile ever is –  but the possibilities are unlimited. Your life is waiting for you to break free and claim it. Jillian will be sharing her strategies for getting dramatic change in your life – NOW.  Register HERE.

Suze Orman: The Money Class

With honesty, empathy, and a dazzling knowledge of how money works, Suze will share how our lives and finances can prosper in harmony. Her insights will help you financially take care of your family, your home, your career, and planning for retirement—no matter where you are in your life or where the economy is heading.  Register HERE.

Lisa Nichols: Surpassing Average and Ordinary to Reach Extraordinary

Learn to leave average and ordinary way behind and only settle for radical and extraordinary results in every area of your life. Lisa shows how you can adopt the “No Matter What” mentality and how to achieve your goals regardless of what is happening around you. Understand how to use your bounce back muscles to get what you want EVERY time.  Register HERE.

Ali Brown: Reinventing Success

Can you feel it? There’s a change in the air. The old way of doing business isn’t working anymore. Whether you’re a corporate professional or an entrepreneur, there has never been a more ideal time for women to step up—and recent studies and data are documenting the trend. Ali shares the 7 compelling trends that are paving the path for women to step out of the supporting role and into the spotlight.  Register HERE.

Monique Greenwood: Having What Matters

Monique Greenwood knows that having it all isn’t where it’s at—it’s having what matters. The former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine now owns acclaimed bed-and-breakfast inns. Through her varied life experiences, she’ll share actionable advice on how to achieve the elusive balanced life, making time for “me”, and still make your dreams come true.  Register HERE.

If you have a child, niece, or nephew or have ever walked through the toy section of any major retailer, you are familiar with Baby Einstein.  Because of that, you already know that Baby Einstein is the hottest line of multimedia products and toys for children; soothing little ones with colors, classical music, art and poetry since 1996.  What you may not know is the brilliantly successful mom behind the creation of Baby Einstein - Julie Aigner-Clark.

Born out of the desire to have a quality video for her daughter, Julie and her husband created the first Baby Einstein video; quickly, Baby Einstein took off.  At one point in 2009, the brand was estimated to be worth nearly 400 million dollars based on revenues. In 2001, Julie sold Baby Einstein to Disney for an undisclosed amount.  Make that money, honey!    

As with all of us, the journey to, and through, success is not always easy.  In my candid interview with Julie, she opens up about success, balance, self-doubt and kicking cancer’s ass – twice.  Come along for the ride…

SG: in a matter of just a few years, you went from school teacher to stay-at-home-mom to millionaire.  How do you put into context that level of success?

JA:  [Baby Einstein’s success] speaks to how cool the business was but also the fact that [the concept] really had legs.  The idea of exposing babies to great things and providing quality concepts for babies wasn’t just a fad.   It’s really cool to create something that has sustained itself for the length of time that it has. It’s awesome.

SG: I’m going to take you back to 1995 when you launched Baby Einstein.  You spent a year incubating the idea of quality videos for babies before bringing it to market.  What happened in that year to make the business such a success? 

JA:  It was really organic.  I had the idea in my head for a year and I kept looking for [videos] on the market and they weren’t there.  That’s really how Baby Einstein started; I wanted this for my child and it didn’t exist so I thought ‘OK, well I’m just going to make it.’  I started doing the ground work, looking at the kind of things that [my daughter] liked and what she liked to look at, what were the songs that she liked to hear and what were the books that we liked to read together.  I started putting together my own market research, in my own little playroom in my own house with my own baby. 

SG:  I’ve read you created the first Baby Einstein video in your basement with a hand puppet and your cat!   How great is that!?  Millions and millions later…

JA:  It’s crazy, right? It started simply, but then once I brought props, video editing software, hiring speakers for the nursery rhymes, it added up.  In the end, the first cost us about $15,000.00 out of our own pocket; that was a ton of money to us. So once you invest in your idea, that’s where you really go ‘OK, this is real and now I need to make that money back.’

SG: Was there a point of self-doubt or fear? That negative self-talk voice that creeps in and says, “What are you doing, don’t dream so big!”

JA: You know it did creep in, I’d be lying by saying it didn’t.  As I would talk to people about my idea -moms, my friends and playgroup- and say “I’m thinking about putting this little video together and set it to classical music,” people would look at me and say “um, sure I guess.”  I didn’t have a lot of people going “WOW that’s the best idea in the whole wide world!” I did have a wonderful husband who thought it was a great idea and I’d say that it’s really important to surround yourself with people who really believe in you.  People who aren’t just going “well yeah… sure good idea” yet you can sense their lack of commitment to your idea.

Even now as a successful entrepreneur I am often surrounded by doubt.  I think it’ just a natural part of the process of anything we do. I’m thinking about writing a book for women, many of whom are moms, thinking of great ideas for businesses.  I’ve been floundering because many times I think, ‘Who’s going to care about this book that I want to write?’  The truth is, doubt it a good thing in many respects because it encourages us to question what we’re doing; is our idea really a good one, how deeply do I believe in it?  If you come back to the idea, it indicates it’s probably a really good one. 

SG:  Yes!  How you use fear, I believe, is what separates people with great professional success and those that simply dream of it.   

SG:  Let’s talk about balance.  I work with many women that they want to create their own businesses to create more work/life balance.  But the reality is, starting a business requires so much of you, it’s typical to find yourself more out of balance.  How did it work for you?

JA:  When you’re a woman, in particular, there’s such guilt.  Whether you decide to stay home with your children or you decide to work outside of the home and still be a great mom – it’s hard.  And no matter what, you’re always filled with guilt; “Am I doing a good job? Am I balancing it right?”  To find better balance with your career, my first rule is, you can’t do it all.  I was so fortunate because I had a fantastic partner in business -my husband- and he was able to do all the backroom stuff that I would have been terrible at: doing the books, figuring out the balance sheets, handling the lawyers,  and all of the stuff that’s involved in running a business.  Know what you’re really good at and hire somebody, or marry somebody, for the rest that will free up more of your time to spend parenting.   

SG:  In the midst of your professional success and raising two daughters, life threw you a curveball when you were diagnosed with breast cancer – twice.  How has battling cancer shaped your perspective and goals?

JA:  The first time I was diagnosed I was 37 my kids were 6 and 9.  I was in the middle of a new project; a new company I started call The Safe Side, when I was diagnosed.  At the time, I felt like I was really lucky because I caught my cancer early, it was Stage 1; the tumor was really small it had not inundated any other part of my body or my lymph nodes.   I was like, “Get this cancer out of my body!”  I had a double mastectomy.   I had a PET scan following the surgery and it was all clear.  The cancer was gone I was thrilled! I moved full-force ahead with my business, worked really hard and completed two videos [for The Safe Side]. 

I found out 4 and ½ years later -I was almost at that 5 year mark that everybody wants to get to after they survive cancer- and I found a second tumor.

I found it in almost the same place that the first one had been.  I had no breasts anymore, I had implants, but [doctors] didn’t get all the breast tissue.  Unfortunately [the cancer] had moved and deposited itself all over my liver – there were multiple tumors on both lobes of my liver.  I got a second opinion and the doctor told me, “Don’t even bother getting treatment.  You might as well go home and say goodbye to your family because you’re not going to live longer than a year.”  That was 3 years ago. I went through 6 rounds of chemotherapy – I was not willing to give up!

My life has changed since; now I’m all about reducing stress from my body and trying to do really good things for other people.  I’ve talked to a lot of women who are newly diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer that are in the same position I was in by being told by a doctor that they’re going to die.  I say, “You know what? Bullshit!”  There is hope for you every minute you’re here. And every minute you’re here you need to live your life to the greatest degree that you can.  I want people to remember me as doing good things for other people. Whether that is I made a baby laugh with Baby Einstein or I helped an elementary school kid understand what to do in a situation that might be uncomfortable (work with The Safe Side),  or whether it is helping a woman who has an idea for a business feel better about her idea.

I wouldn’t say that cancer’s a gift, but it is a teacher.  It taught me how to live in a different way, and I hope it’s a good way.

SG:  If you could tell your 20 year old self something, what would it be? 

JA:  It’s okay to make mistakes.  And, forgive yourself for the mistakes that you make.

SG: Three words that sum you up?

JA:  Three words that sum me up… grateful, stubborn, and oh gosh I’m trying to think of the right word… optimistic.

Working from home can be wonderful; you have the option to wake up later, avoid morning commutes, stay in pajamas, and get tax write-offs on rent.  It can also be challenging. There are more distractions, such as television, family members, and household chores. A home office is the best of both worlds; a space in your home reserved for all things business.

Whether you are the owner of a home-based business, a virtual worker, or you simply want to establish a space in your home to handle the demands of your off-site business, carving out a home office can help you be more productive at home and maintain your sanity when family and household issues threaten to impede your work.  Creating a work space that promotes productivity but doesn’t feel sterile and out of place in your home is no easy task, to help define and create your perfect home office space HerExchange called on interior design expert, J. Allen, founder and principle designer of Perceptions Interiors.

Business is about making money so don’t worry about breaking the bank to create a functional, beautiful home office space.  According to J., “An exceptional design solution does not necessarily require a fantastic budget; only a willingness to explore unusual applications with existing products.”

Let’s get started with J.’s 5 Tricks of the Trade: Home Office Checklist

1. Claim Space

2. Identify Work Station Needs & Style

3. Storage

4. Seating

5. Lighting & Accents

1. Claim Space: Most homes no matter how small have a fair amount of poorly designed or unused space; these are the spots you want to target when planning your home office. Closets, corners, foyer areas, kitchen nooks, 2^nd floor landings, stair wells… the possibilities are endless. When determining whether an area has the potential to become your new work space consider everything that you’ll need to be productive. Create a plan incorporating those items (storage/tools/work table/ computer) everything you’ll need to work effectively must have a home in this space in order for your office to be a functional place to work.

2. Think outside the box: While you want this space to function like an office, it should look like the rest of your home. Be sure to incorporate your personality and style just as you would in your living or bedroom. Don’t limit your design selections to what can be found in an office supply store as this is a surefire way to create an uninviting and impersonal work space. By incorporating pieces that translate to the other areas in your home you’ll keep the space from becoming an awkward eyesore and instead a place you enjoy.

3. Grow-up: Be sure to give your home office room to grow by taking advantage of vertical space. Keep shelving and stored items from becoming an unattractive distraction by creating a substitute for wall art using groups of decorative baskets or boxes with graphic prints to camouflage work related clutter.

Boxes, Bins, & Baskets – The Container Store 

4. A Comfortable Chair: Furniture items that you wouldn’t use anywhere else in your home have no place in your home office. There are no rules with it comes to office seating so make a statement- any comfortable chair will do!  An old dining chair painted in fun or funky color, an acrylic ghost chair, even an antique wingback can be used as work space seating and give the space personality. Just keep in mind standard desk and dining table height is between 29” and 30” inches so be sure the seat height on your selected chair is at least 17” high or you’ll have to get crafty.

5. Lighting:  Choose home office lighting as you would lighting for any other area of the home.  Office lighting can be sterile and harsh. Don’t miss an opportunity to add interest to your work space. Shaded lamps should have at a minimum 65 bulb to provide sufficient task light. Lamps with three-way settings up to 150 watts are ideal.  (All Options: Pottery Barn)

Creative work space/desk solutions for small spaces: 

World Mart – Alden Foldout Convertible Desk $230

A big idea for small spaces! Our Alden Desk is an impressive feat of design. This wall-mounted desk folds down to create the perfect workspace, complete with file organizers, two adjustable shelves and a corkboard for notes and messages. When not in use, simply lift back into frame and latch shut.

Crate & Barrel – Flip N’ Dine Table $499.00

Slick orange gateleg table by Jonas Wahlstrom opens on a moment’s notice, then folds to store out of the way. Table is perfect for drafting, & crafting, and closes to a compact console to be stored neatly in small spaces.

 CB2 – Peek-a-boo Clear Console $379.00

Now you see it. Now you don’t. This transparent console floats in the room without taking up permanent visual residency. Thick-cut plexi in one seamless turn adds clean mod edge to works spaces in an entry, hallway, or behind the sofa.

World Market -Verona Cabinet Desk -$279.99

A pullout desk and two drawers – one for desk supplies and the other perfectly-sized for file folders – tuck away behind a door. It’s a stylish, contemporary home office solution disguised as a rustic find.

Storage Ottoman (Every Price Point Target-Container Store- Crate & Barrel…)

Use as an alternative seating option, tuck under a console, store hanging files or office supplies the possibilities are endless with this small cube.   Boxes, Bins, & Baskets shown above – The Container Store

Want more?  You’ve got it!

Photo Credit>Pepper Design Blog & Desire to Inspire

SPECIAL THANKS to J. Allen of Perceptions Interiors! 

“It is my life’s purpose to make living well accessible to everyone.” – J.

Perceptions Interiors was founded in 2001 by HGTV Design Star finalist J. Allen. The company motto, “perception is reality”, is also its design philosophy. The goal is to make the ordinary appear extraordinary by creating environments that reflect and evolve with clients’ lifestyle, tastes, passions, and dreams. J believes extraordinary design outcomes require close collaboration between designer and client. She prides herself on her ability to guide clients to create highly personalized spaces where inspiration and imagination coincide with the realities of everyday living.

Tomboy, energetic and goofy is how Sonya Lowery, founder and host of World Next Door, describes herself.  I’d add kind, beautiful and ambitious to the list.

After launching and sustaining a successful graphic design business, becoming a published author all while raising her two children, Sonya burned for a career of passion; for fulfillment and adventure.  With the support of her family, she created Sonya Lowery’s World Next Door, an online television show, sharing local area adventures that prove to her audience that adventure is closer than you think – in your own backyard.

Immediately after meeting with Sonya for our interview, I took out my notepad and wrote, “When you have a dream, you make a way.”  A phrase that captures the path she’s on – an inspiration to every woman unwilling to give up on their dreams.

BUSINESS

SG: How did you prepare to start your own business? 

SL: I had a partner and kept my full-time job while we started our graphic design business. After a couple of years, I found out that [my partner] was spending more money than we made; it wasn’t smart business so I broke off and started my own business.  That was 8-9 years ago.

SG: Did you find branching out on your own, leaving your business partner, scary?

SL: No, that was actually easy.  It felt like an anchor had been lifted from around my neck; it felt like I could fly.

SG: What made you successful when so many small business start-ups fail?

SL: I didn’t spend everything that I brought in.  You cannot consume your way into wealth, you have to save something. What I consider success, however, may be different for someone else; success for me is being able to work from home and be there for my kids when they get home from school.

CROSSROADS

SG: Has hosting an adventure travel show always been a dream? 

SL: No, but I have always wanted to do television.  When I was young, I’d see people [on TV] like Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence having fun and bringing people along for the ride. I think things are much more enjoyable when you’re among friends like they were.

SG: Producing a show is no easy task, do you have help?

SL: I have my dad who is the executive producer and my brother who is the sound man/camera man.  We have friends in television so we started out borrowing cameras and equipment – it kind of just came together after that.

SG: When have you stood at a professional crossroads?

SL: I’m at the crossroads right now actually. I’m at a BIG crossroads right now…..I’m trying to do a big push with World Next Door. It’s at the point where I feel like it has to happen - through hell or high water, it has to happen.

SG: It takes that one door.

SL: Sometimes you need a little bit of a boost because you feel down like you just can’t do it anymore – or the task seems too big and the hurdles too high. You’re getting beaten down every day by everybody – but it’s preparing you for bigger things.  I look at Beyoncé and I look at Oprah, I look at people who have been in it for so long and they wanted it so badly that they kept going until it happened.  I am determined.

BRANDING

SG: You wrote The Secret Language of Business Cards about branding your business.  What are a few top secrets to branding?

SL: Everything starts with a logo and a business card; it’s your first impression, [consider] the logo and the paper, what you say on [the card], even your email address.  If [your email address] is something at yahoo.com or hotmail.com then I think, “Okay, you’re not really running a business, you have a hobby.”  Also, stick to one thing.  I have a friend who started a business and wanted to do real estate, he also wanted to add styling and something else and I said, “Stop right there!  You can’t pick all three.  Start off with the one that will give you the surest footing.” If you’re a jack of all trades no one is going to hire you for anything.  Let people know, this is what my expertise is.

LIFE FULFILLED

SG: You’ve said you’re pursuing a ‘life fulfilled.’ What would that look like for you?

SL: It sounds really corny, but I envision being on my deathbed with my grand-kids walking up to my bedroom. They’re passing a wall of pictures where I am flying a plane or scuba diving with sharks; they’re looking at all of the pictures and they say “Damn, Grandma was a badass!” To me, that is what a full life looks like – I’m doing everything I can to make that happen. I’m trying to expose my kids to all those things too so that they’ll have that sense of adventure and they won’t be afraid to try anything at least once.

BEST ADVICE

SG: Finish this statement: I wish I could tell my 20-year old self that…

SL: To be quite honest, I would tell myself to stay in school – I have three years of college that equate to one full year. I changed my mind too much. I thought to myself, “I can write, I could be a photographer, I could be a chef, or an artist”… and I could be really good at all of them.  For me, choosing one thing wasn’t going to happen. I would tell my 20-year old self, ‘Pick something already and get that degree!’

SG: And when they look back on your life, they’ll say “Sonya did…”

SL: It all!

xo – Stephanie

It’s the season of love – Happy Valentine’s Day – and who better to talk to then the first lady of reality love, Trista Sutter. 

We were first introduced to Trista as a contestant on  season 1 of The Bachelor. She finished runner-up, but won the hearts of America and was rewarded with her own chance to find love as The Bachelorette.  Her final rose went to Ryan Sutter and on December 6, 2003, the couple was married. Two children later -Max, 4, and Blakesley Grace, 2- Trista has created a whole life she loves; masterfully using the opportunities afforded her by fame to bring her professional passions to life.

Stephanie chats it up with Trista on how this gorgeous mom-of-two balances family and career, her advice for working moms, plus her take on the evolution of The Bachelor – when you read on.

SG: How has starring in Season 1 of the Bachelorette helped or hindered your career as a businesswoman and in what ways?  

TS: It has completely changed my career.  Before the show, I was a pediatric physical therapist and I have no reason to think I wouldn’t have stayed in that profession until retirement.  Taking the risk and asking for a leave of absence, changed the course of my entire life.  

SG: You’re beautiful with an equally gorgeous husband and two small children, where do you find the time to pursue your career passions with Vintage Couture Inc.?  What gets compromised in your juggle?  

TS: #1…I ask for help if I need it.  I’m not too proud to beg, and luckily I have in-laws who love their grandkids and can come up to play “trusted sitter” every so often.   #2…I take advantage of ANY and all the time I can where the kids are sleeping or at school in attempting to get my work done.  We [with husband Ryan Sutter] don’t have a manager or publicist, so I work on that as well as designing for Vintage Couture, Inc.  I won’t say that it’s easy, and if anything gets compromised, it’s me.  On the priority list, my needs are WAY toward the bottom, but truly my needs are all about everyone else’s, so it’s all good.

SG: You are now designing for a beautiful children’s clothing line, Vintage Couture, what can mom’s expect from your fashion line?  

TS: Vintage Couture is a children’s clothing that was started based on vintage patterns.  My involvement with them started after they had a successful business and I was just brought along to join in the fun.  I thought it would be incredible to not only design something and use my creative juices, but to also do something in which I could see the fruits of my labor on my kids.  They look adorable in VC’s clothing…that is, when they let me dress them!  Women and moms can expect one-of-a-kind prints and patterns that will make you, your princes, and especially your princesses stand out in a crowd.  They can also expect to help support working moms who have started their own Fashion Stylist business as well as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to where we donate a percentage of the profits from my designs.  

SG: What advice would you give working women and/or mothers who want to start their own business?  

TS: There are SO many avenues out there for working women and mothers these days. I think it’s a matter of really knowing yourself and what makes you happy and researching the opportunities out there.  Vintage Couture, like so many other direct sales companies, allows mothers to personally raise their children and also contribute to their family’s bank account through super fun parties and adorable clothing.  I’ve worked in direct sales and got involved specifically so that I could continue to be home with my babies, but also feel like I was using my adult brain cells…and that felt great.  Go for it and believe in yourself!!

SG: Change of topics!  What are your feelings about how the Bachelor(ette) show has evolved?

TS: I’m not necessarily a fan of how things are handled these days, but I will say that I am thoroughly entertained.  Bottomline, I’ll always be a fan (and tweeting every Monday night it’s on @tristasutter) because it reminds me of how I fell in love with my husband and that all things are possible in love.  

SG: Finish this statement: I wish I could tell my 20-year old self that…

TS: …everything truly does happen for a reason.  Heartbreak and loneliness are no fun, but they have a purpose and will get you to a world of dreams come true for you so stay the course and be grateful.  

 YES – many wishes that you find love in your whole life; personal, professional and beyond!

Follow Trista on Twitter and visit Vintage Couture Inc.

xo-Stephanie Goetsch