To wrap up this season of 9 to 5ish, we’ve got a bonus episode with author Avery Carpenter Forrey. She was one of the first employees at theSkimm, who pivoted her career to become a writer. Her highly-anticipated debut novel, Social Engagement, drops on May 23rd, and explores millennial wedding culture, class, and relationships. This week, we spoke to Avery about how she pulled off the pivot, what tactical steps she took to get started, and how she maintained relationships with her former colleagues. Plus, she shares what it’s like to be a new mother while promoting her book.

Bonus Episode: Author Avery Carpenter Forrey on Pivoting Your Career

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Alli Webb was a stay-at-home mom for five years when she realized she needed to get out of the house more. So she started a mobile hair business. She’d go house-to-house and offer $40 blowouts to moms in LA, something that pretty much no one was doing at the time. She soon opened her first brick and mortar and called it Drybar. 100+ locations later, Alli sold the company for more than $200 million. All without a college degree or formal business training. 
In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Alli shares: 


The sunshine and beach-haired days of her childhood growing up in Boca Raton 

How having parents who operated a small biz gave her life lessons in entrepreneurship

Why it felt intoxicating building and scaling Drybar, plus the mental cost that came with it

How her divorce, son’s visit to rehab, and burnout led to her book, “The Messy Truth” 

Why she felt intimidated when fundraising + curating the Drybar board – and how she got through it

Drybar Founder Alli Webb on Scaling a $200+ Million Dollar Business without a College Degree

Before September 2018, the public didn’t know Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. She was a busy mom and professor at Palo Alto University and Stanford. Then, she leveled a sexual assault accusation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a SCOTUS nominee. She testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and 5 million people tuned in. From then on, any concept of a private life went out the window. Christine needed security to go…well, anywhere. Strangers sent her and her family death threats. Five years later, Christine shares how she navigates her new normal, plus the story behind the headlines and soundbites. 
In this episode, Christine shares: 

The behind-the-scenes leading up to her testimony against Judge Kavanaugh

What she makes of her unique connection to Anita Hill

Suggestions on what to say to sexual assault survivors instead of “I believe you”

What parts of working on her memoir, “One Way Back”, were therapeutic – and which were re-traumatizing 


Content warning: this topic deals with sexual assault. Please take care when listening.

Christine Blasey Ford on Detaching Yourself from the Outcome

Zibby Owens witnessed first-hand the payoff of great entrepreneurship as she watched her father build his company, Blackstone, from the ground up. She freelanced as a writer earlier in her career. She focused on raising her kids for 10+ years. Then her marriage ended. So she spent her weekends without the kids rekindling her love of literature – and developing a media empire focusing on all things books. 

In this episode, Zibby shares: 

The story behind her iconic color-coordinated bookshelf

What she learned watching her father build his private equity business, Blackstone

Her recent Vogue article she published – and why she almost wishes she hadn’t

How her podcast became the vehicle to sell her first book

Why building your personal brand is key in almost any industry today

Zibby Owens on Starting a Career Later in Life

Ancestry CEO Deb Liu grew up in one of the only Asian families in South Carolina. To avoid being teased, she mostly kept to herself. It wasn’t until Deb got to Stanford Business School when she realized: she had to learn to speak up. That realization spurred her long career in Silicon Valley. But Deb says, without some openness and vulnerability from herself and others, it never would’ve happened. 

In this episode, Deb shares:

Why she should’ve been fired from her first product management role

How being open and vulnerable with her boss actually helped her career 

Key moments from her tech-heavy product career at eBay + Facebook  

Why being a “strategic introvert” allowed her to contribute more effectively at work

Her most used tip from her new book, Take Your Power Back

Ancestry CEO Deb Liu on Taking Your Power Back at Work

The late-90s bubblegum pop music defined Mandy Moore’s career. She always knew she was her record label’s answer to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Mandy also knew she’d never be them – and that was okay with her. In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Mandy shares advice on how to know your competition without becoming distracted by it. 

In this episode, Mandy shares: 

The boy band she’d tour with again 

Why having parents who didn’t want to manage her was the secret to her success

How she managed to be unbothered by the pop industry’s comparison loop 

Her go-to practices for easing her public speaking anxiety 

A skimm of her latest project, The Boars’ Nest

Bonus Episode: Author Avery Carpenter Forrey on Pivoting Your Career

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