Storytelling, Social Strategy, and Allyship with Social Strategist and Consultant N'Yaisha J. Aziz

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With each episode, the Brava Podcast® seeks to celebrate women and their accomplishments, normalize the success of women and advance women through a community of their contemporaries. I’m honored to introduce you to today’s guest: N’Yaisha Aziz.

N’Yaisha is a powerhouse in the social media marketing space delivering strategy and consulting work for a variety of brands and agencies such as MILK MakeUp, Laundry Service, Unilever, and more! Continue reading and tune in below to hear how she began her career in social media, her perspective on the changing industry landscape, and her influence and impact for allyship in the workplace as a member of the #HIREBLACK Initiative.

N'Yaisha J. Aziz and the Brava Podcast

SHOW NOTES:

N’Yaisha Aziz is a member and the marketing mastermind behind #HIREBLACK, an initiative with a goal to help 10,000 Black womxn get trained, hired, or promoted. She always knew that her passion revolved around telling stories about the hard realities of lives lived (2:05.)

Storytelling in marketing is so vital to tell the narrative of products and brands. Like history, there are many perspectives to tell for one story (3:10.)

Throughout her career N’Yaisha found working with agencies a great way to start to experience a full spectrum of opportunities and that it provided diverse perspectives and projects. On the other hand, she found working for a specific (or one) brand provides more peace and allows you to dig deeper to focus on the in and outs of the specific brand (5:40.)

“I love this transition of prioritizing engagement in brand marketing to use social media to build deeper connections.”
— N'Yaisha J. Aziz

Volunteering excites N’Yaisha as she works to bring budding business’ visions to life (19:15.)

The #HIREBLACK Initiative started as an idea on Juneteenth to help black women with their resumes. Today it consists of a network of over 1000 people and counting (27:15.)

N’Yaisha heard a powerful quote from a collective she is a part of called Monday Night Mentorship and referenced it in our conversation, “When it comes to being an ally, the best way to thwart microaggressions is with microcompassion” (30:55.)

“The best lesson 2020 has taught me is to take the ebbs and flows by being open and vulnerable to opportunities.”
— N’Yaisha Aziz 

N’Yaisha is very excited as she is working on a new secret project that will be coming soon to Instagram (35:40.)

Bite & Chew. Slow down and focus what is in front of you before you take on more (37:00).

When you take a leap, a net will appear. Where there is risk, comes reward. The universe will reward people that bet on themselves (39:00.)

Want to continue to learn more about N’Yaisha? Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn!

Interested in becoming a member, an ally, or a partner with the #HIREBLACK Initiative? Visit hireblacknow.com.

Thank you readers for tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

Leadership and Mentorship in Tech with Etsy Senior Engineering Manager Najla Elmachtoub

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In today’s discussion we’re only scratching the surface of the very present gender gaps women in STEM (and STEAM) careers face from their time in school to the workforce. Meet Najla Elmachtoub, a voice in the industry that serves as a catalyst for change. Najla is the Senior Engineering Manager at Etsy, a one-of-a-kind global online marketplace and community that supports independent makers and creators. Keep on listening to learn more about Najla’s career, her perspective on role models and mentorship, and much more!

Show Notes:

Najla Elmachtoub started her path in STEM in high school studying computer sciences. She is now the Senior Engineering Manager for Etsy (0:40.)

Especially when it comes to tech, Najla found interning at as many diverse programs as possible would provide her the best scope of the industry (2:40.)

To start off each day, Najla finds makes sure to take the time to exercise, meditate, and write before she kicks off her work day (5:30.)

“The fact that I am a woman plays a big part in how I am perceived and some of the opportunities that I was allowing myself to take and others were allowing me to take.”
— Najla Elmachtoub

Najla realizes that sometimes self-depreciation can be the only thing holding her back and that she has the ability to solve any problem (7:40.)

Having a role model especially in the STEM field is so important. Najla found her role model while at Etsy, the VP of Engineering, who really made her feel like she could rise to any challenge (9:05.)

“Being able to provide psychological safety and full transparancy as a leader are the most important aspects to provide people with the trust and space to be themselves and make them feel that they have the ability to do their best work.”
— Najla Elmachtoub

As a leader Najla discovered, it's not about the qualities that you have but rather, how you make others feel (13:00.)

When in the field of STEM it's important to have an advocate and a mentor. It is common to change your domain of expertise and is super important to adapt. Seek out someone who will bring growth opportunities and will fight for your space in a growing company (14:00.)

Outside of reading the New York Times, Najla likes to seek out opportunities to broaden her knowledge. She likes to ask her role models what they are reading to understand what inspires them (15:50.)

“If I am the smartest person in the room, I am in the wrong room.”
— Najla Elmachtoub

One day, Najla aspires to be the CTO or VP of Engineering for a small company but until then she loves managing her team and plans to take things day by day (17:40.)

Follow Najla on Twitter @najtube to stay connected and follow her journey!

Interested in talking with Najla about tech, product engineering, or leadership? You can check out her office hours here.

Thank you readers for tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

Turning a Tweet Into a Community with Founder of Black Girls Who Blog Morgan Pitts

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Meet today’s Brava guest, Morgan Pitts, the creator of the social account Black Girls Who Blog, a community that celebrates and lifts the voices of black girls and women. Tune in to today’s conversation to learn her start-up story and the behind-the-scenes of how one tweet became a future network for more than 100,000 women to connect and amplify each other’s voices!

SHOW NOTES:

Morgan is the woman behind the online social account, “Black Girls Who Blog”, a community of more than 100,000 women that amplifies and celebrates the voices of black women and girls (0:30.)

After the creation of her own blog and reading the blogs of others, Morgan realized she would love to create an illustration of the phrase “Black Girls Who Blog” which then resulted in an apparel collection and the launch of the infamous Instagram handle (5:00.)

“Despite your best intentions someone is always going to disagree with you or have a piece of criticism. Remember where your heart is and take those comments in stride. Don’t let it diminish what you know to be true. ”
— Morgan Pitts

Through the use of the hashtag [#BlackGirlsWhoBlog], Morgan identifies women in the community to surprise-feature and honor on her platform (9:45.)

No matter how great of a marketing campaign you have, the best advertisement is word of mouth referrals. Readers develop a certain level of trust in the products and services bloggers discuss (15:10.) 

Morgan recommends to find your tribe, you need to expand your circle to communities with like-minded interests and build genuine relationships with people that inspire you (18:25.)

“Just be yourself and do things that are true to you. ”
— Morgan Pitts

What’s next? Morgan is taking things one day at a time and letting the universe guide her to the next project. She is appreciative of the amazing reaction “Black Girls Who Blog” has had so far and will continue to do her best every day. (22:10.)

Want to continue to follow Morgan’s journey and Black Girls Who Blog? Follow here!

Thank you readers, to tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

Build a Life You Love With Author and Entertainment Executive Tara Schuster

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Brava listeners, if you are needing a dose of inspiration - you must tune in today’s episode. Meet Tara Schuster, best-selling author, playwright, and accomplished entertainment executive. She served as Vice President of Talent and Development at Comedy Central where she was the Executive in Charge of the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning ​Key & Peele​, the Emmy® Award winning ​@Midnight​, and Lights Out with David Spade.

In today’s episode, Tara touches on the inspiration behind her first book, Buy Yourself The F*cking Lilies, that debuted as the #1 New Release in Humor Essays and Self-Help on both Audible and Kindle. InStyle, People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Goodreads, BuzzFeed, Goop, and many others have chosen Buy Yourself The F*cking Lilies as one of the best new books of 2020.

Keep on listening to get inspired, get real, and get that does of motivation to build a life you love.

TaraSchusterBravaPodcast

SHOW NOTES:

Tara has a career path that makes you think, “yes!” (because it’s so dynamic and successful) and she notes how often we don’t stop to think and congratulate ourselves on doing what we’ve set out to do (1:43.)

“Persistence” is the foundation of Tara’s career. She refuses the word “no” and always finds an alternative solution (2:10.)

“I think a lot of people stop with the first ‘no’. We hear ‘no’ and we think, ‘that’s that’. You can always go around it. ”
— Tara Schuster

Tara’s university education started at Brown and she quickly realized that playwriting and her want to write would need to be matched with a career choice that could help to allow her to save and earn money. This challenged emerged an opportunity: an internship on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (4:00.)

Her first position was as a Production Assistant at Comedy Central and it served as her ultimate foot-in-the-door in her dream job in entertainment (5:55.)

“Instead of ‘what promotion can they give me,’ ask yourself: ‘what work can be done? What value can I give?’”
— Tara Schuster

Tara snuck into the pilot of Key & Peele and immediately had a lot of ideas of how to use the content she viewed and how it could be used on multiple platforms. She was promoted to Digital Producer for the show and helped to create segments for the shows moving forward. With Key & Peele under her belt, the development team took notice of her and with a lot of “asking” and by proving her value she became the Vice President of Talent Development (8:15.)

“Ask for what you want. ”
— Tara Schuster

She asked herself, what works needs to be done, not work she wants to do (11:50.)

Tara believes that confidence is a huge asset. If you can be confident, reliable, kind, and pleasant to be around - then you are in whole other league (14:15.)

“I don’t want to be an expert, I want to be a beginner because a beginner has enthusiasm, passion, and curiosity. ”
— Tara Schuster

Tara’s book, Buy Yourself the F*cking Lillies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, From Someone’s Who’s Been There allows Tara to use her creativity full-time (15:44.)

She never set out to write a book, she set out to save her life. Anything where she could check off a box (getting an internship, goals at work, or getting good grades) she was good at, but on the inside she was miserable. She decided to change, using the persistence she used at work, but for her personal life (17:38.)

Tara is interested in us, on the inside. She believes we need to learn how to take care of ourselves (22:05.)

Running into a challenge? Multiple challenges? Tara recommends you change the way you treat yourself and to be gentle. She also believes it’s the small steps and attainable goals before your worry about the big picture (25:42.)

Tara’s self-care go-to routine is journaling each morning, writing a gratitude list, and including exercise (30:15.)

Tara sees a 2nd book coming in the future. She also knows she wants to live her life in service to others and is trying to figure out how to marry that passion with storytelling for ideas in the future (33:30.)

Follow Tara on Instagram to stay connected and continue following along!

Thank you readers for tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

Innovation and Clean Beauty with CEO and Co-Founder of Wander Beauty Divya Gugnani

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Raise your hand if you have ever done your beauty routine on-the-go. Wait a minute, so I’m not the only one that has sat in a parking lot applying make-up? Ok, then I’ll admit it, that mysterious stain on the roof of my car? Mascara. How you ask? An over-packed schedule and a last minute dash for a touch-up gone wrong.

Meet Divya Gugnani, a serial entrepreneur who has taken the beauty industry by storm. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wander Beauty, a brand built for the modern woman that offers a line of multi-tasking beauty essentials so that you can take your routine on the go, mess-free, and stress-free.

Read on and tune in below to hear more from Divya as we discuss the power of clean beauty, how to differentiate your brand, her tips to growing a successful business by following your instincts, her beauty favorites, and much more.

DivyaBravaPodcast.png

SHOW NOTES:

Divya was inspired to launch Wander Beauty while on the NYC subway. She was applying make-up and realized many others were doing the same. She realized she was continuously finding herself doing her beauty routine on-the-go all the time (1:20.)

The need of an innovative solution emerged from a multitude of experiences and situations: from wanting a clean and safe beauty alternative to a product that fits a multitasker’s daily lifestyle (2:30.)

Wander Beauty focuses on real women in the context of their real lives (4:14.)

The driving force behind Wander Beauty’s fast five year success? Outworking the competitors. Divya speaks to the passion and intelligence of her team that has helped drive the incredible outcome and success of her brand (5:00.)

Wander Beauty is created by products that skin loves. (It’s free of parabens, phthalates, synthetic fragrance, and mineral oil. Wander Beauty is also gluten free and cruelty free.) The “clean” beauty movement is very important and a current topic of conversation in today’s industry. What makes Wander Beauty stand out is that their mission was developed from a personal story, not a trend (7:15.)

“The average woman is ingesting 5lbs of damaging chemicals from her beauty products every single year. ”
— Divya Gugnani, CEO and Co-Founder of Wander Beauty

Divya’s go-to tips when shopping for clean beauty products? She steers clear from parabens, phthalates, and sulfates (10:00.)

Her must-have products that she uses daily include 1) Mist Connection Essence and Toner, 2) Baggage Claim Gold Eye Masks, 3) Dualist Matte and Illuminating Concealer, and 4) Mile High Club Volume and Length Mascara (12:12.)

Let’s talk morning ritual: to balance her days with her busy schedule, Divya meditates for a few moments each morning, drinks ginger water, has breakfast with her kids, empties her inbox, streams a 15-minute workout, then starts her day. This allows her to focus on what she calls “deep work” when she gets to the office where she focuses on key projects that uses her full brain power (14:00.)

One of the things that Divya has learned through the years is to trust your gut (17:05.)

“It’s great to take feedback. As an entrepreneur you should listen to everyone: your team, your retail partners, your customers, and read every comment on social; but, you need to react only to things that make sense to you when you see the wholistic picture.”
— Divya Gugnani, CEO and Co-Founder of Wander Beauty

Looking to enter the beauty space as an entrepreneur? Find an opportunity in a white space and innovate. Divya advises to “innovate, don’t imitate” (22:25.)

Follow Divya and Wander Beauty on Instagram to stay connected and continue following along!

Thank you readers for tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story!