Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

My guest this week is Steve White, president and special counsel to the CEO of Comcast. He just released his newest book, Uncompromising: How an Unwavering Commitment to Your Why Leads to an Impactful Life and a Lasting Legacy.

Steve grew up as the son of a fiercely determined and hard-working single mother. His book explores the defining – often heart-wrenching – moments on his path from the housing projects to president of Comcast West and how he positively made a difference in his life and for those around him.

He hopes that his readers will reflect on the book's seven pathways and seek out ways to make a difference for others.

2:53 – Steve 101

• He was the perfect candidate to be a victim, to not be a contributor to society. He lived in housing projects with his single mother and three brothers.
• His mom was determined that her sons would have a better life than she did.

8:14 – Learning from his mother

• Our job is to find out why we were placed on this earth. His mother's job was to raise four boys to help change the world.

17:31 – Serving others

• Steve discovered if he was going to have any kind of success, he had to serve others.
• He learned why he was placed on earth through adversity

22:28 – Paying it forward

• Steve's story shows that the American dream is real, and he wants to pay it forward.
• Ask yourself: Why were you placed on this earth?

31:33 – How faith has guided Steve

• Steve gave himself to the Lord in a small Indianapolis Baptist church.
• He has waivered in his faith over the years, but he knows the success he has had in life has come from the Lord.

37:33 – Finding your purpose

• The key is to find moments when you can be quiet, by yourself, and reflect on the question of finding your purpose.
• What are you good at? What would you do for free because you love it so much?

42:05 – Uncompromising book

• When you find your purpose, that is what you're uncompromising. There will be naysayers. You just stay focused on your purpose.
• Have a life of impact. Challenge yourself to identify your fight and stay focused on it.

45:44 – Get to know you

• Favorite movie? Godfather I and II
• Book he's reading? Bible and daily devotional

FEATURED QUOTES

You die twice. You die the day that they put you in the grave. The second time and the final time is the last time someone mentions your name.

My vision, and everyone's vision, should be, long after we're gone people are still mentioning our name, because that is a life of legacy. That is a life well lived.

I was the perfect candidate to be a victim, to not be a contributor to society.

Why were you placed on this earth?

CONNECT:

https://www.stevewhitespeaks.com/book/

https://www.stevewhitespeaks.com/

Thank you to our partner of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don't forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guests this week is Marci Zaroff, who coined and trademarked the term "ECOfashion" in 1995. She is an ECOlifestyle entrepreneur and educator who believes that millennials are driving the rapidly growing movement for sustainable and ethical fashion.

Marci has been instrumental in driving authenticity, environmental leadership and social justice worldwide for nearly three decades. With a degree from the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley, Marci co-founded a thriving health and environmental educational center in 1990 with an organic café, AVEDA concept salon, and national magazine.

Now known as The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, it is the largest professional health coach certification program in the world.

4:53 – Marci 101

• She began a path to conscious products when it was still new.
• When you start to understand how food is energy and how agriculture affects people and products.
• She started thinking, "What about fashion?"

7:53 – Appealing to people aesthetically

• First and foremost, appeal to people aesthetically. In food, it has to taste good. In beauty, it has to smell good and work. In fashion, it has to look good and be quality.
• Once you get that what you put in your body matters, you start to realize that oh, I have a relationship with the actual ingredients that go into me?

18:16 – Ecofashion

• When people hear "ecofashion" they have a very specific image in their heads.
• Marci calls it the crunchy, frumpy, boxy, beige and boring viewpoint.
• People often ask her, "Can you smoke it after you wear it?"

27:11 – Marci's book

• Marci's book is ECOrenaissance: A Lifestyle Guide for Cocreating a Stylish, Sexy, and Sustainable World
• Don't go home and throw everything away. It's about slowly integrating this mindset of oh, I can be part of the solution versus part of the problem just by making different choices?

34:14 – This is too expensive. This is too hard.

• What is her response to people who say, "This is too expensive. This is too hard"? It was the same argument when organic and natural food came out. People called it "whole paycheck." It's a supply and demand thing, not because it's organic.

42:26 – Prince Charles

• She worked with Prince Charles in the early 2000s to help connect the consumer with organic agriculture. People don't realize how passionate he is about organic agriculture.

45:43 – Get to know you

• Her guilty pleasure? Steam, massages and chocolate
• Favorite ethical fashion brand? Stella McCartney and many others

FEATURED QUOTES

First and foremost, appeal to people aesthetically. In food, it has to taste good. In beauty, it has to smell good and work. In fashion, it has to look good and be quality.

Once you get that what you put in your body matters, you start to realize that oh, I have a relationship with the actual ingredients that go into me?

Don't go home and throw everything away. It's about slowly integrating this mindset of oh, I can be part of the solution versus part of the problem just by making different choices?

I don't think people realize how passionate Prince Charles is about organic agriculture.

ABOUT MARCI ZAROFF:

Since coining the term "ECOfashion" in 1995, Marci Zaroff has spent several decades driving positive change through business. She has been planting seeds of consciousness globally; as a serial ecopreneur, (Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Under the Canopy, Good Catch Foods, and Beyond Brands) keynote speaker, mentor, innovator and advisor. The seeds have now taken root, with ECOfashion Corp, her GreenHouse of brands that includes YES AND–contemporary, GOTS-certified sustainable apparel; Farm to Home—GOTS-certified bed and bath available on QVC; Seed to Style—GOTS-certified, size inclusive apparel, available on QVC; and MetaWear—a B2B turnkey sustainable fashion manufacturing solution that is the engine behind all her brands. Marci's leadership in transforming the industry from within— building innovative and transparent supply chains, spearheading sustainable fashion retail launches, and serving on an array of non-profit boards, has solidified her position as an organic authority and expert trailblazer. In fact, Marci was a key driver in defining the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) as well as the world's first Fair Trade textile certification with Fair Trade, USA. She shares her expertise in a regular column in Women's Wear Daily, "The Outside View." Marci is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and is the author of "ECOrenaissance: a Lifestyle Guide for Cocreating a Stylish, Sexy & Sustainable World."

CONNECT:

• https://marcizaroff.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/marci-zaroff-b5990a3
• https://www.amazon.com/ECOrenaissance-Lifestyle-Cocreating-Stylish-Sustainable/dp/1501123564

Thank you to our partner of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don't forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guests this week are Kara Livingston and Nicole Boynton, founders of Hand Me Up, which sells pre-loved capsule clothes for kids.

From high school friends going through each other's closets for outfits to wear to the next party to mom life friends going through their kids' closets to keep their growing kids clothed, they have been friends through many ages and stages of life, navigating high school, college, married life and now motherhood.

They started blogging, podcasting and making planners as the duo Simply Whole Moms. They talked to a lot of mothers, and one thing they discovered is the power of moms to completely change the world.

3:30 – Kara 101

• Her favorite thing is being a mom to her kids, 6 and 5.
• She started Hand Me Up with her best friend.
• After working in corporate America, she decided she didn't want to do that job anymore. She wanted to be a stay-at-home mom but also do some kind of work.

7:03 – Nicole 101

• She and Kara met I high school and have been friends for 20 years. She is married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two girls, 6 and 8.
• She decided to be a stay-at-home mom, and Kara urged her to blog about ethical fashion.

9:56 – Hand Me Up

• They send out a capsule bag of kids' clothes that have been worn before. If the parent sends back some of their kids' clothes, they'll get $10 off their next bag.

11:01 – The idea

• Their original concept was doing something similar to the company Stitch Fix.
• They take clothes that aren't up to par and turn them into dolls, headbands, etc. and they donate some clothes.

12:27 – Logistics

• They talked to a lot of moms, especially those who were entrepreneurial, to get feedback about their idea.
• Moms gave them free clothes to help start their business.
• The clothes come in, and they sort them. They also donate to teen moms.

15:38 – What they learned

• They learned that people weren't ordering clothes for young babies. First-time moms with young kids are pickier about what clothes their babies wear, and they also are gifted a lot of clothes.

29:20 – The sustainable journey

• Start small when trying to create a sustainable lifestyle. Try starting with kids clothes.

33:54 – Difficult to change

• Kara's hardest habit to change is shopping at Target.
• Nicole struggles to buy her kids' clothes second hand, even though that's what she does for a business. She also loves shopping at Target.

47:08 – Get to know you

• Favorite kids' clothing brands? Hanna Andersson
• Example of true generosity? Emotional generosity is nice when someone will sit with you.

FEATURED QUOTES

Moms are so generous. Moms are just awesome. They just give us their clothes. – Kara

There are so many big, big things happening. – Nicole

I am in the phase where I am mostly just consuming second-hand clothes and bags. – Kara

I think people really have a desire to give their stuff somewhere intentional. I think people are starting to realize that dropping it at Goodwill is not that. – Kara

CONNECT WITH HAND ME UP:

• https://handmeupshop.com/

About Kara & Nicole:

From high school friends going through each other's closets for outfits to wear to the next party to mom life friends going through their kids' closets to keep their growing kids clothed. We've been friends through many ages and stages of life, navigating high school, college, married life and now motherhood.

We started blogging, podcasting and making planners as the duo Simply Whole Moms. We talked to a lot of mothers, and one thing we discovered is the power of moms to completely change the world. Somewhere along the journey this idea hit us, and we knew we could make an impact.

Thank you to our partner of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don't forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guest this week is Thomas Vozzo, CEO of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.

Tom has served as the first-ever CEO of the nonprofit since 2012. He has led the organization forward, bringing his business expertise and vision to implement a strategic and mission driven development plan for the organization that has resulted in growth all around.

He has cultivated Homeboy's portfolio of job-training businesses (e.g., Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café, and Homeboy Silkscreen & Embroidery) and increased revenues from Homeboy Industries' enterprises in order to decrease the organization's reliance on donations and government funding, as the organization receives less than 5% of annual funding from any government resources.

Most recently, he has helmed Homeboy Industries' acquisition of Isidore Electronics Recycling, rebranding the full service, certified B Corporation as "Homeboy Recycling," and establishing a new job creation stream that supports the organization's comprehensive, free rehabilitative services. The venture marks the first of its kind in the electronic waste industry where a for-profit entity is leveraged to both provide jobs and generate revenue for a not-for-profit organization.

4:18 – Thomas 101

• Homeboy is based in Los Angeles and helps gang members change their lives.
• He wants to help people heal.
• Before Homeboy, Thomas was in the corporate world and ran a $1.8 billion business. His values didn't line up with the corporate world.

9:01 – Running businesses

• He came in and used business techniques to improve certain areas. But Homeboy changed him as well.
• Homeboy is a chance for people to get a job. They give people a lot of latitude.
• They need to teach people how to work.

13:53 – 10,000 people a year

• They're first and foremost a human services agency.
• 10,000 people come through Homeboy's doors every year to get some type of service and help.
• They help take tattoos off people's faces for free since it hinders them getting jobs.

16:09 – How Homeboy has change Thomas

• Thomas came to Homeboy wanting to help, but he had the hubris of a company executive.
• There really are two Americas – the America that Thomas and most of us live in … and then the plight of the really poor, the demonized.

22:22 – Poverty in America

• Poverty is America has not changed much
• People aren't in gangs because they want to be in there. It's because it's ingrained in them from a young age.

28:15 – Clients became managers

• More than half of Homeboy's management team members are former clients.

32:53 – Homegirls

• Thomas tells the story of a client who was friendly and polite but had a hard life. She had health issues and debt and turned to prostitution to make money.

44:04 – What Thomas has learned

• When he talks with people, he tries to find out what's behind their frustration, anger and pain.

46:50 – Get to know you

• Favorite meal at Homegirl Café – Carne Asada tacos with hot sauce
• What actor should play him in movie? Steve Carrell
• Most played music? Bruce Springsteen and classical music

FEATURED QUOTES

We need to teach people how to work along the way.

We're first and foremost a human services agency. Ten thousand people come through Homeboy's doors every year to get some type of service and help.

There really are two Americas – the America that I live in … and then the plight of the really poor, the demonized.

CONNECT:

• https://homeboyindustries.org/
• https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

ABOUT THOMAS VOZZO:

Thomas Vozzo left a lucrative career in corporate America convinced there had to be a better way to define success. In 2012, Vozzo became the first-ever CEO of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.

Each year, thousands of former gang members from across Los Angeles enter the doors of Homeboy Industries seeking hope and the tools to make positive change. They are welcomed into a community of kinship, love, and exquisite mutuality, alongside access to the needed support services to ensure their own success—including case management, tattoo removal, anger management training, mental health services, parenting classes and more. The overarching goal is to support individuals as they work to heal from their complex trauma and help them see hope in their futures and the importance of their contributions to their families and communities.

Vozzo led the nonprofit organization forward, bringing his business expertise and vision to implement a strategic and mission-driven plan that doubled the organization's size and impact. He has cultivated Homeboy's portfolio of social enterprise job-training businesses (including Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café and Homebody Electronic Recycling), and increased revenues from Homeboy Industries' social enterprises while only having less than 5% of the organization's funds come from government sources.

Vozzo's journey goes from billion-dollar revenues—his last corporate role was as CEO of the $1.8 billion ARAMARK Uniform and Career Apparel Group—to a voluntary, unpaid CEO of a nonprofit built on compassion, kinship, empathy and social justice. Along the way, he has learned hard-earned insights from motivational and sometimes heartbreaking stories of former gang members determined to break the cycles of incarceration and violence of their own lives.

In Vozzo's first book, The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life, he gives readers practical ways to address some of our most vexing social issues and provides a new path for personal and business leadership.

Thank you to our partner of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don't forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guest this week is Olowo-n'djo Tchala. Born in the village of Kaboli, Togo, West Africa near the border of Benin, Olowo-n'djo grew up sharing an 8'x10' room with seven siblings and his mother.

Although they did not always have enough, his mother, Ina, instilled in him the importance of kindness and generosity by always sharing what they could. Unable to afford school fees, Olowo-n'djo dropped out of school in the sixth grade to help support his family.

After meeting his wife he founded Alaffia in 2003. In 2004, armed with his understanding of the value of indigenous West African resources and sustainable business ideologies, he launched Alaffia's first collective. Alaffia continues to redefine the natural products industry through its values of beauty, equality and empowerment.

Alaffia handcrafts award-winning clean, green beauty and grooming products and is a social enterprise on a mission to invest in a more equitable future.

4:25 – My personal testimonial

• I'm such a huge fan of Alaffia. My son Amos, who is almost 6, had horrible eczema as a child. We tried everything. Somebody recommended Alaffia to me, and I became a believer.
• It was safe and smelled amazing. It was a lifesaver.

6:09 - Olowo-n'djo 101

• He sees Alaffia as everybody's brand, not just his. He feels honored to do something that he believes in.

10:43 – Meeting his wife

• Olowo-n'djo's wife, Rose, studied chemistry and is from Washington state.
• He decided to follow her because, "You have to follow the one that touches your heart."

14:38 – Meaning of Alaffia

• Alaffia means peace and health. His beauty brand represents a social movement, not just a business.

18:55 – How his business sprouted

• Olowo-n'djo's mother instilled a sense of responsibility in him. He wanted to be a subway engineer at one point to help find clean water.

21:20 – Fair trade model

• Alaffia has gone above the idea of the "fair trade" model. He is setting a standard for other companies.

24:36 – Funding births

• Olowo-n'djo has funded over 6,500 births.

29:24 – Women's issues

• I am so grateful to Olowo-n'djo for talking about important topics, like women's' maternal health.
• Women often have to advocate for themselves, so it's nice to see a man advocating for us.

33:53 – Biggest challenge

• The biggest challenge he faces depends on the day. The challenges are continuous, and there are incredible difficulties.

37:09 – His products

• Alaffia makes a lot of bath products, but they also make creams for moisturizing the skin.

41:29 – Get to know you

• Who would play him in a movie? He would play himself.
• Who would play his mom in a movie? His aunt

FEATURED QUOTES

I don't want anyone to feel sorry for us. We have so much to offer the world.

I get to do something that I deeply and profoundly believe in, really deep in my heart and my soul.

CONNECT:

https://www.alaffia.com/

About Olowo-n'djo Tchala:

Olowo-n'djo Tchala, founder and CEO of Alaffia, was born and raised in the village of Kaboli, Togo, Africa located in the Central region near the border of Benin. Growing up, he shared an 8' x 10' room with his mother and seven siblings. Olowo-n'djo's mother taught him the importance of kindness and generosity and by the age of five, Olowo-n'djo was working on the family farm to help support his family. After meeting Prairie Rose Hyde, who was serving in the Peace Corps at the time, he came to the United States and worked his way through school, eventually graduating from the University of California, Davis with a degree in organizational theory. Shortly before graduation, Olowo-n'djo and Rose felt they had the responsibility to fight the injustices that existed in West Africa. They founded Alaffia, which handcrafts award-winning clean and fair trade beauty and grooming care. The organization advances gender equality and alleviates poverty through the fair trade of indigenous African resources such as unrefined shea butter, African black soap, coconut oil and neem extract.

Thank you to our partner of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don't forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

I'm so excited about this episode. Can you believe that it's episode 280? I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do for episode 300. I've been doing this podcast for nearly 5½ years, which is crazy.

Today's show is about 22 ways you can be happier in 2022. This list is a chance for you to think about things and see if there are areas that you might want to improve, grow or change in 2022.

4:46 – Learn to laugh at yourself 5:19 – Put your phone away 5:52 – Learn something new 6:45 – Go outside 7:53 – Declutter your stuff 8:32 – Make mistakes and acknowledge it 9:00 – Pick your battles 10:11 – Serve others 10:48 – Eat tacos or burritos 11:00 – Text and call your friends 11:36 – Call your family 11:47 – Forgive someone 12:48 – Try a lo-dough ($) month this year 13:38 – Face a fear 14:09 – Learn to accept a compliment 14:42 – Perform random acts of kindness regularly 15:17 – Take a trip 15:33 – Exercise 16:26 – Turn off social media and news media 17:05 – Create a gratitude list 17:28 – Pray 18:02 – Dig into God's word

Ok, now that you've read my list, what would you add to it? I want you to know I'm praying for you, and I'm truly grateful for you. You've had a massive impact on my life. It is so meaningful anytime you listen to my show and share it.

19:55 – Interview with my kids, Lilly and Amos

• The funniest animals on the farm are the guineas and baby goats, which jump like maniacs.
• If we could add any animals to the farm, it would be cows, horses, and peacocks.
• If you want to be happier in 2022, you should skateboard, take a walk, get outside and come see our baby goats.
• Follow our mom on Instagram and you can see 3,000 videos of our baby goats.
• We saw the baby goats being born, and all the moms there were like, "I feel ya, girl. I feel ya!"

FEATURED QUOTES

The Creator God gave us this beautiful creation, the earth and the sun and the sky ... Just get outside. It can do so much for your emotional and mental health.

This list is a chance for you to think about things and see if there are areas that you might want to improve, grow or change in 2022.

Learn to laugh at yourself. People who take themselves way too seriously tend to have a tougher time rolling with the punches.

Put your phone away. No, seriously. Put it away.

For me, learning more about the Lord and his nature has been life changing, perspective shifting and one of the most impactful things in my life.

Thank you to our partner of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don't forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guest this week is Joy Eggerichs Reed, author of Get to the Publishing Punchline, released in June. She is also the founder of Punchline Agency and has been a speaker over the past decade.

Between 2005 and 2015, Joy worked as Conference Director for her parents Love and Respect marriage conferences. She later created the Love and Respect Now website and The Illumination Project small group study as resources for her generation on the topic of singleness, dating and marriage. In 2014, Christianity Today named Joy one of 33 leaders under the age of 33 shaping the next generation.

Over the course of the last decade of creating content and speaking, Joy has discovered a love for learning through interviewing. She enjoys hosting events, interviewing speakers and mediating dialogues.

She has taken several years of improv comedy classes to help her listen, add levity, and let the conversation and event unfold in a unique way. She enjoys helping others communicate on camera, be themselves on stage and develop talks and presentations.

3:45 – Joy 101

• Joy grew up as a pastor's daughter and watched her father speak on stage. She loved being on stage and watching people talk, but she often felt dumb and out of her lane.
• She thought about going into fashion but decided it wasn't for her.

10:11 – Living in Paris

• Joy and her husband Matt have been living in Paris, France since 2017 and have two children, Millie and Emerson.

15:08 – Improv comedy

• She took improv classes for five years and loved SNL, especially when she was in high school.
• When you get into an improv community, it's kind of like a family.

25:59 – Good comedians

• Try using "yes, and" instead of "no, but" in conversations to move it along in a positive way.
• One of the things that she noticed about really good comedians is that they're noticers. They notice every single, little detail.

33:11 – Reel challenge

• Joy and Molly are doing Reel challenges on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXWEO8MIgCG/)

43:20 – Writing a book

• She wanted to help kids in the foster system and encourage them to write.
• People sometimes feel really lonely in the writing process and it can be overwhelming, so she wanted to create something to help writers.

53:47 – Get to know you

• Best concert she's attended? Coldplay and Harry Connick Jr.
• Do audio books count as reading? Yes!

FEATURED QUOTES

When you get into an improv community, it's kind of like a family.

One of the things that I noticed about really good comedians is that they're noticers. They just notice every single, little detail.

People sometimes feel really lonely in the writing process and it can be overwhelming.

CONNECT WITH JOY:

• https://punchlineagency.com/
• https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Bernard-Baguette-Silly-Discover/dp/1955051046
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXWEO8MIgCG/

Thank you to our partner of the show:

MamaSuds helps label-reading moms create a safe and nontoxic home for their family by creating synthetic free household cleaners. And one of those cleaner is MamaSuds

Fine Linen Soap- which is the best thing since Sliced Bread.

Wash your high-quality sheets, linens, delicates, and organic fabrics with a Fine Linen Soap to keep them looking newer and softer longer.

Use 3-4 capfuls for high-efficiency machines on delicate cycle, 4-6 capfuls for regular machines on delicate cycle.

Head over to MamaSuds.com and use code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guests this week are Nancy Zeffman and Eileen Willett, co-founders of Cucumber Clothing. Their brand offers luxury, cooling, sustainable clothing and nightwear for women.

After meeting at school gates 20 years ago, they became friends and started Cucumber four years ago. They wanted create clothes for busy women who wanted luxurious, everyday clothes without having to wear sky-high heels and uncomfortable garments.

Their simple, multifunctional designs slip perfectly into every woman's wardrobe, and the ultra-modern performance fabrics mean the clothes move with you, not against you and always feel beautifully soft against the skin.

4:41 – Nancy 101

• Nancy is from London and started her career in advertising. She took some time off to be a mom and do some charity work before starting Cucumber.
• She also mentors small businesses and gives talks about female entrepreneurship.

5:57 – Eileen 101

• Eileen is Japanese-Canadian and was born in Vancouver. She moved to England for several decades and started a family.
• She loves mentoring women and helping them with mid-life pivoting.
• Eileen and Nancy also love to exercise.

9:32 – How Cucumber started

• They wore workout gear a lot and wanted to replicate the comfortable feeling in something that you could wear all day.
• Their company is all about sustainable, comfortable fabrics.
• Making anything leaves a carbon footprint, but they try to do it in the lightest way possible, in a way they feel proud of.

12:09 – Fabric-led fashion

• It's a fabric-led fashion brand.
• You can wear Cucumber clothes to bed, to work, to the club, anywhere.

17:20 – Customer feedback

• They launched with six nightwear clothes, and they branched out after customer feedback.
• Some people said the clothing was great for breastfeeding moms.

19:00 – Researching fabrics

• You can work with agents who work with mills that make fabrics or you can approach mills directly to get samples of their fabrics.
• Their fabric feels like cotton and is lightweight but doesn't absorb sweat.

24:47 – Preloved section

• Some pieces are pRELOVD returns and are clearly labeled as such. Others are end of line, new or unused/never made production samples.

33:52 – How to get started

• If you want to start a business, just start. At some point, you just have to go for it.
• Having a co-founder is a fantastic thing, because it allows you some flexibility.

38:07 – Get to know Nancy and Eileen

• Nancy's favorite thing about being a Londoner? She loves being a city girl
• Eileen's most versatile clothing piece? Her Cucumber strappy top

FEATURED QUOTES

We wanted a business we could feel proud of. – Nancy

Making anything leaves a carbon footprint, but it's trying to do it in the lightest way possible, in a way that we feel proud of. – Nancy

Our clothes look really lovely, and you can dress them up, you can dress them down. You can wear them to bed. You can wear them out clubbing, if you want to. – Eileen

CONNECT

https://www.cucumberclothing.com/ Discount code: purpose15

ABOUT NANCY AND EILEEN:

Co-founder at Cucumber Clothing, Nancy is a born and bred Londoner. She began her career in advertising, working at Saatchi and Saatchi on some major blue-chip clients and FMCG brands. Following this she worked for several years in the charitable sector before co-founding Cucumber Clothing, a fabric led fashion brand. Chosen as one of small business Britain's #ialso2020 celebrating top female entrepreneurial talent, Nancy is also a speaker on female entrepreneurship and slow fashion. She also mentors start-up businesses and co-hosts round table events on a variety of female facing subjects.

Born in Vancouver to Japanese parents, Eileen trained in fashion in Paris and San Francisco before settling in London to work at Nicole Farhi where she was instrumental in growing the menswear brand. She founded and ran her successful bespoke accessories brand before launching Cucumber Clothing with her Co-founder Nancy Zeffman in 2017 making 'luxurious clothing for everyday', using ultra-soft technical fabrics. Shortlisted for the 2020 Asian Woman of Achievement Awards, Eileen is a speaker on female entrepreneurship/slow fashion and co-hosts i:Entrepreneur's weekly Wednesday Lives series of interviews featuring entrepreneurs from a diverse background.

Thank you to our partner of the show:

MamaSuds helps label-reading moms create a safe and nontoxic home for their family by creating synthetic free household cleaners. And one of those cleaner is MamaSuds

Fine Linen Soap- which is the best thing since Sliced Bread.

Wash your high-quality sheets, linens, delicates, and organic fabrics with a Fine Linen Soap to keep them looking newer and softer longer.

Use 3-4 capfuls for high-efficiency machines on delicate cycle, 4-6 capfuls for regular machines on delicate cycle.

Head over to MamaSuds.com and use code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guest this week is Bethaney Wilkinson, a facilitator, author, and champion of race-conscious leadership. She has dedicated more than a decade to exploring the intersections of community, racial justice, and social change—specifically in the organizational context.

In her work with business and non-profits, she co-designs and facilitates learning and culture-shaping experiences for teams. As part of her work in diversity and cultural change, Bethaney is an invited speaker at major conferences and top global companies.

She is host of the popular podcast, The Diversity Gap, and is the founder of The Diversity Gap Community, an online learning platform for leaders seeking to pair their good intentions for diversity with true cultural change.

9:29 – Bethaney 101

• She is a facilitator and racial justice educator who helps teams be more supportive of diverse groups of people.

10:14 – What led to her passion?

• She ended up doing the work after trying to support people in her community.
• She wanted to fill the gaps and help people work together.

12:41 – Challenges organizations faced

• One of the biggest challenge was many leaders go-to action was let me diversify my team and board.
• That intention was positive, but they weren't asking If their culture supported diversity.

14:38 – Media hype versus real change

• If you're not experiencing the harmful effects of racism, it is very easy to turn it on and off.
• Think of it like an iceberg. What you see is diversity, and most people stop there. Below the water is where actual transformation and reconciliation happens.

19:53 – Creating culture change

• Culture is the stories we tell ourselves – who is the victim and who is the hero?
• Focus on values, the ways you behave and what you prioritize.

26:03 – Fear of making mistakes

• You will say the wrong thing, and you will do the wrong thing. After you get over that hump, the real work is being willing to receive feedback.

31:15 – Receive feedback

• A good lesson for any leader is to be able to receive feedback.

37:22 – Get to know you

• Best concert she's ever attended? Rising Appalachia

FEATURED QUOTES

Do you want to do the hard work it takes to maintain that relationship?

How are we willing to change to adapt to actually serve people who we're not practiced at serving?

If you're not experiencing the harmful effects of racism, it is very easy to turn it on and off.

You will say the wrong thing, and you will do the wrong thing. After you get over that hump, the real work is being willing to receive feedback.

CONNECT WITH BETHANEY:

https://www.bethaneywilkinson.com/

About Bethaney Wilkinson:

Bethaney is a writer, leader, and social entrepreneur who has dedicated more than a decade to exploring the intersections of community, racial justice, and social change. Bethaney began her career as co-founder of Atlanta Harvest, a high-production development farm on a mission to create jobs and strengthen economies in disadvantaged communities. She then founded G.Race Dialogues, a faith and community-based initiative designed to support individuals and organizations pursuing racial reconciliation. Bethaney expanded her research and broadened her reach after joining the team at Plywood People, a non-profit in Atlanta leading a community of startups doing good. As part of her work in diversity and cultural change, Bethaney is an invited speaker at major conferences and top global companies. She is host of the popular podcast, The Diversity Gap, and is the founder of The Diversity Gap Academy, an online learning platform for leaders seeking to pair their good intentions for diversity with true cultural change.

Thank you to our partner of the show:

MamaSuds helps label-reading moms create a safe and nontoxic home for their family by creating synthetic free household cleaners. And one of those cleaner is MamaSuds

Fine Linen Soap- which is the best thing since Sliced Bread.

Wash your high-quality sheets, linens, delicates, and organic fabrics with a Fine Linen Soap to keep them looking newer and softer longer.

Use 3-4 capfuls for high-efficiency machines on delicate cycle, 4-6 capfuls for regular machines on delicate cycle.

Head over to MamaSuds.com and use code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

My guests this week are Michelle Myers and Somer Phoebus, the founders of She Works His Way. Their organization counteracts culture's way with a gospel-centered approach to work and womanhood. They also believe that community is greater than content and that women's priorities should be Christ, home and work, in that order.

What started as a Google Hangout with four friends has now grow into a global ministry that reaches thousands of women daily.

5:55 – Somer 101

• Somer lives in Annapolis and is a pastor's wife. From a young age, she enjoyed working and had an entrepreneurial spirit. She has two daughters, 19 and 21.

9:07 – Michelle 101

• Michelle despises birds (☺) and lives in Asheville. She is also a pastor's daughter who married a pastor. She has three kids, the oldest is 10, and the youngest is 5.
• She quit her job and went to seminary. She wanted to learn more about ministry and find out what God wanted her to do with her life.

12:47 – She Works His Way

• It's a discipleship community for working women to encourage and equip them to stop compartmentalizing their faith.
• When you're in your purpose, everything, all the hard, it has purpose.

15:12 – Mixing faith with profit

• This can be done well or poorly. It depends on what your motives are. It's one thing to put your faith on your company website. It's another to live it out.
• If you make decisions based on what you think other people's perceptions of you are going to be, you're going to struggle for the rest of your life.
• If you're called to put faith on your billboard, put it on there.

25:35 – Achieving balance

• When we try to achieve balance, we try to be everything that God has called us to be and then everything that the world expects us to be. But it's not balance, it's bondage.
• Women often feel like they're on a hamster wheel on a tightrope.

37:44 – Drowning in information

• The first place they send women is to the local church, because community is so important.
• We're desperate to be inspired and get motivation, and we are drowning in information.
• They suggest informational fasts for women to take a break from consuming so much information.

52:09 – Analysis paralysis

• If you feel overwhelmed, try these three simple steps:
  • Do a weekly brain dump on a sheet of paper
  • Categorize your brain dump by home, career, big projects
  • Schedule it on your calendar

FEATURED QUOTES

If you make decisions based on what you think other people's perceptions of you are going to be, you're going to struggle for the rest of your life. – Somer

If you're called to put faith on your billboard, put it on there. – Somer

When you're in your purpose, everything, all the hard, it has purpose. – Somer

What is your view of God, and who are you? – Somer

What are you called to? What is God asking of you? And then you step in obedience to whatever that is. – Somer

CONNECT:

https://sheworkshisway.com/

https://sheworkshisway.com/book/

Michelle Myers had no idea what started as a Google hangout at 5am with three friends would one day result in the title of "founder" of she works His way. But here we are, six years later, with thousands of women gathered for the same reason we started: How can I glorify God, honor my family, and serve others at work? Basically, her happy place is encouraging + equipping working women to live for the glory of God and the good of others. Home will always be her favorite place to be, with her husband, James, and their three children, Noah (9), Cole (6) and Shea (3).

Somer is a lead communicator + managing partner at she works HIS way. She spent the first half of her career building the businesses of others and the second half building and selling a few businesses of her own. She is also the creator of Productivity Academy + the owner of Somer Phoebus Consulting, where she coaches other working women and female entrepreneurs in the areas of productivity, leadership, brick and mortar business, and scaling for growth -- all while keeping their priorities in line: faith, then family, then business. Somer is married to Kent, a pastor at Redemption Church in Annapolis, MD, and mom to their two lovely daughters, Kennedi (19) and Ava Liz (17).

Thank you to our partner of the show:

MamaSuds helps label-reading moms create a safe and nontoxic home for their family by creating synthetic free household cleaners. And one of those cleaner is MamaSuds

Fine Linen Soap- which is the best thing since Sliced Bread.

Wash your high-quality sheets, linens, delicates, and organic fabrics with a Fine Linen Soap to keep them looking newer and softer longer.

Use 3-4 capfuls for high-efficiency machines on delicate cycle, 4-6 capfuls for regular machines on delicate cycle.

Head over to MamaSuds.com and use code MOLLY for 15% off your order!