How being 'resilient' helped these female entrepreneurs find success during a time of crisis

How being 'resilient' helped these female entrepreneurs find success during a time of crisis

GlobeNewswire

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LOS ANGELES, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After over a year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it’s safe to say the majority of the population has experienced some sort of unforeseen circumstance. This has caused many to be forced to adapt and find new ways to power through, whether that be through starting a new endeavor or completely changing up one’s path. Regardless, the one common theme that has remained necessary in order to achieve success and seize new opportunities has been the power of resilience. *Attract* has surveyed several female entrepreneurs to find out exactly how these individuals have been able to successfully navigate uncharted challenges, and furthermore, what has helped these female entrepreneurs remain resilient during a time of crisis. 

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below:

*Sara Blakely* (@sarablakely)

*Founder/CEO*, SPANX

Sara Blakely is the founder and CEO of shapewear brand Spanx, which sells undergarments, leggings, swimwear and maternity wear in over 50 countries. Blakely started Spanx in 2000 with $5,000 in personal savings and has never taken any outside investments. Sara had originally come up with the idea for Spanx in response to a problem she was having with the hosiery that was available at the time. She quickly came to realize that she was not the only person who was looking for a better solution with regard to women’s shapewear. 

A major break came in late 2000 when Oprah Winfrey featured Spanx on her popular nationally syndicated television talk show. Thereafter sales skyrocketed, and the charismatic Blakely rapidly built an empire without advertising or outside investment. By 2012, Blakely was recognized as the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire. Despite her wild success over the years, Blakely and the Spanx organization faced a major downturn in 2020 due the coronavirus pandemic, which decimated the live events and galas industry. 

Despite this unexpected drop in demand for shapewear, Blakely has been implementing a number of strategies to keep revenues going while quarantined in an RV with her family in Florida. In moments of challenge, Blakely says, "the ones who make it are the people who take obstacles and turn them into opportunities."

*Marielle Reussink* (@mickeyme)

*Founder,* The Emms

Marielle Reussink, founder of The Emms, believes in the power of the individual and that entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses hold the key to the future! Having consulted for and worked with over 100 founders and start-ups, as well as major companies such as ExxonMobil, Unilever, EY, GE and Danone across various projects of local, regional and global scale, Marielle is passionate about using her expertise and knowledge to help companies big and small achieve their goals.

Despite being struck by the hardships of COVID-19, losing clients and having to shut down their promotional activities and events, The Emms managed to go completely digital. Additionally, inspired by spreading some festive cheer through these difficult times, Marielle created a marketing campaign called the Singapore Wishlist, which helped small businesses gain new reach and have a successful Christmas campaign. 

For Marielle, the greatest thing she’s learned as an entrepreneur is the power of sharing the journey by learning from others and getting their inputs and feedback. “As an entrepreneur, knowing who to call can be the make or break of your business. Networking is key!”

About The Emms: From logo design and branding, website development, campaigns, consulting and training, The Emms is a marketing company on a mission to help start-ups, small business and entrepreneurs across the world achieve their goals.  

*Channing Muller* (@channingmuller)

*Principal*, DCM Communications

When it comes to entrepreneurship, DCM Communications’ principal Channing Muller believes resilience is a trait that's as important  to a business as any website, logo, product or service offering. To her, it's not a matter of IF something goes wrong, but when. 

“As I've encountered each obstacle building my business, I have always come back to one thing that got me through: I believe wholehearted in my gut that I AM extremely good at what I do and this is 100% what I am supposed to be doing with my career,” she says. In addition to having a portfolio of repeat clients since DCM’s founding in 2014, event industry publications validated this further in 2020 honoring her as one of Connect Corporate’s “40 Under 40”  and a Special Events’ “25 Young Event Pro to Watch.” 

Her advice: Step one, take a deep breath. Every business problem can be solved with the right attitude and support.

Step two, focus on what you CAN control.

“I think one of the best things the pandemic taught us is exactly that. We cannot control everything around us but we can control SOME things. Focus on what you can control and what you can fix/change now,” she says. 

*Rachel Svoboda* (@rachelsvoboda.oc)

*CEO,* Sunday Brunch Agency

Rachel Svoboda is the CEO of Sunday Brunch Advertising/PR Agency and the Founder and visionary behind Lynxx Spirits. Svoboda has represented companies across Southern California for the past 20-years as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and marketing maven. Svoboda’s mission is to build businesses and products that support and encourage women with clients ranging across industries from restaurants to technology, real estate, design, nonprofits and many more. She hosts a streaming video series called, The Brunch Club, where she gives women a platform to champion their journey and tell stories about business, services, platforms and tools that empower women. She is currently an official MBA mentor at Chapman University and a featured speaker on the university's inaugural Women in Business Association series. Svoboda serves as a Board of Director at Working Wardrobes, American Heart Association, and was named Women of the year by The National Association of Professional Women.

For Rachel, her first-hand knowledge and experience as a Domestic Violence survivor was a mistake she only needed to learn once. Through this experience, she gave herself permission to reframe failure as an opportunity to build resilience. She learned how to stimulate change, no matter the risk. Now, Rachel applies that life lesson and skill of stimulating change to her company, where she leads with intention instead of compliance. Even in her latest endeavors, she jumped out of her comfort zone in order to follow her dreams of being an entrepreneur. Years later, Rachel’s happy to report that the risk was worth the reward to create a company that herself and others believe in. "You can't be what you can't see." These words have taken on a real meaning in Rachel’s own life, and inevitably, she’s more compelled to see these words manifest in the lives of others around her as a result.

*Ozlem Tuskan* (@ozlemtuskan)

*Founder/CEO,* The Resilient.co.uk

Ozlem is a transformational strategist, business mentor and resilience coach who for over 20 years has been working to serve C-Suite leaders of multiple FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies with resilient strategies. Her first business was an award winning brand design consultancy which she ran for 7 years. Currently, Ozlem is the founder and CEO of The Resilient.co.uk where her vision is to unlock resilience for future entrepreneurs and leaders through brand value creation and the development of leadership mindsets.

For Ozlem, being resilient has enabled her to have the agility and elasticity needed to create a branded company that can pause, reflect and recalibrate in order to transition through change and adversity with positive dynamism. She believes resilience provides her business with the perspective, agility, connections and awareness needed to create effective brand strategies that prosper the next generation of trusted, conscious entrepreneurs and leaders looking to bring positive change. “Resilience pushes us beyond growth to a place where we and others are thriving. Be responsive and flexible. Look for the messages in the messes. Be resilient and stay committed.”

*Nerissa Malloy* (@nerissa.malloy)

*Founder,* Nerissa Malloy LLC

Nerissa Malloy works with busy, high-achieving women who aspire to be entrepreneurs, strive to make a difference in the world and build a business they love. Nerissa’s services are designed to aid in clearly defining goals and introducing the framework necessary for the successful design of her client’s dream businesses. Her journey has not been an easy one. As a teenage mom she defied all odds and climbed the ladder of success, not only raising a baby, but becoming a Nursing Director, launching her business and founding a non-profit for teen girls.

Believing ‘bigger’ is Nerissa’s one piece of advice for overcoming professional obstacles. “Believing in yourself and your abilities to achieve success allows you to master any self-doubt, so that you can propel yourself forward into becoming the best version of yourself and your business.”

*Amber Auger* (@amberaugerrdh)

*Founder,* Amber Auger CORP

Amber is a dental hygienist who teaches other dental hygienists how to optimize their careers in the industry. Amber focuses on providing high-level education to her clients, so they are able to create practical approaches to implementing the latest in oral science to their patients. Additionally, Amber has created a post-graduate course for Dental Hygienists to teach clinical and business skills that they did not learn in school.

After losing 85% of her business at the start of the Pandemic, she began leveraging her business to incorporate digital learning, where she has created online courses to meet the needs of dental hygienists. “The hardest times that I have had in my life led me to the biggest life lessons that I needed.” Amber’s outlook on success is to identify where you want to be and reverse engineer your future.   

*Cecilia Iafrate* (@ceciliaiafrate) & *Angelika Facciponte* (@gelfacciponte) 

*Co-Founders*, Subcultr Inc

Toronto-born creative agency and lifestyle brand, SUBCULTR Inc, specializes in branding and web design, helping entrepreneurs develop cohesive and aligned brands through authenticity and strategy. Cecilia & Angelika’s unique approach empowers their clients to grow their business and build confidence as they expand into their full potential. “We believe that branding goes far beyond the visual design and that is why we provide our clients with the necessities and assets they need to connect to their audience and carry their brand to the top.” 

Working in hospitality for over ten years, Cecilia and Angelika spent most of their early days earning their income as servers. Having earned degrees in marketing and media communications, Cecilia and Angelica took over the role of the Marketing Manager for their restaurant, where they were able to make a significant impact in increasing brand awareness and attracting new customers. 

In 2020, after being laid off twice, they were forced to think about the security of their futures. Their internal fire was lit and they decided the best thing to do was to build their own brand. Cecilia and Angelika’s take on resilience as an entrepreneur is that you must break through tradition even if it feels uncomfortable. With this in mind, they hope to empower others to lead a life of purpose, passion and freedom just as they have done for each other.

*Joleen Boers* (@my.name.is.joleen)

*Co-Founder*, JO Creative Agency

JO Creative Agency started out as a personal freelance gig for Co-Founder Joleen Boers. More than just a marketing agency, Joleen gives entrepreneurs business and marketing tips that they can use long-term for future businesses they will launch, specializing in branding, web design and marketing strategy. 

When the Pandemic hit, Joleen’s interviews with big-time agencies in Toronto fell through due to hiring freezes. Despite receiving resentment towards her big idea of creating an agency where she wanted to provide job opportunities to minorities, Joleen took a leap of faith and created JO Creative Agency. Joleen wants to be known as the place where all entrepreneurs can go to gain inspiration and learn how to promote their businesses. Regardless of the moments of discomfort and obstacles faced when growing a business, Joleen feels that obstacles are just opportunities waiting to be seized, much like how she used the quiet time of the lockdown to grow her business. 

*Bri Tartaglione* (@brianatat)

*Host*, Bri Undeniably

Bri Undeniably is a podcast in the self-help and development space, geared toward assisting individuals in understanding their real potential. Started under the Bria Dorothia LLC model, Bri Undeniably takes her joint graduate degrees in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, pairs them with her unique personal story, and creates a listening experience amplifying our human potential. As Bri discusses different psychological processes, she explains how each plays a part in our limiting beliefs, then offers the reframe for listeners to use as a therapeutic technique for success.

Bri Undeniably was birthed out of resilience which brought it from an idea to a journey. In March 2020, Bri was rushed to the hospital as she felt her body collapsing beneath her. She spent the next two weeks in complete paralysis from the waist down, trying to understand her new reality. Bri did her first podcast on this story and continues to offer a transparent look into her own journey as means to demonstrate how development of an individual and an idea can take form.

“Obstacles are not only *part* of the journey, they *are* the journey.” Bri believes we never stay static in the space of success in the same way that we never stay fixed in the space of the obstacle. Obstacles in business are means to success if you continue to ride the wave. However, success is not the end result, it’s a celebrated milestone in the continual path onward.

*Kristen Swallow* (@birdsnest_coaching)

*Owner,* Bird's Nest Coaching

Bird’s Nest Coaching is a coaching company dedicated to helping people find the wings they were born with so they can soar. BNC believes that everyone is fully capable of fulfilling their potential, and exists to reveal those capabilities. Officially started in March 2020, BNC has had to cope with growing pains during a pandemic. Kristen has learned many strategies that have become advantages due to this, including how to utilize technology in coaching. This allows Bird's Nest Coaching the ability to serve clients world-wide. Kristen believes that self-kindness, awareness, and a feeling of connection are the main ingredients for achieving success and overcoming obstacles. 

*Karen Forest* (@montaukprofessionalservices)

*Founder,* Montauk Professional Services, LLC

Karen Ann Forest is the Founder and CEO of Montauk Professional Services helping small business owners, authors and coaches market for brand recognition and growth on Social Media. Her creativity and business background are a unique combination where Karen blends both to successfully match her clients' needs. Gaining recognition for each client in their respective fields and growing her clients professionally and financially is her passion.

Continuing to work and learn during this unsettling time has been beneficial for Karen as she is signing new clients monthly. Difficult times bring out a determination that drives her forward to succeed and surpass where she once was. Karen believes obstacles can happen in business as in life and it's how we handle them that counts. “When challenges are out of our control, stick to what you know and keep your eyes open for new trends that could help your business. Network as much as possible to lay the foundation for new relationships while building stronger relationships with those already established. Most importantly... Keep Going!”

Be sure to follow each of these amazing female entrepreneurs, as they continue to pave the way through uncharted territory and showcase what it truly means to be resilient. Each of their Instagram's have been directly linked here. Finally, we would like to thank Attract for taking the time to put this article together.

Attract is a Los Angeles based PR and marketing agency that is on a mission to elevate the platform of socially conscious entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Attract has worked with hundreds of leading names in the online coaching industry, becoming the go-to agency for entrepreneurs seeking to scale their reach and impact online. 

For more information, visit attractgrowth.com and follow on Instagram @attract.

*CONTACT: *Taylan Alpan
*COMPANY:* Attract
*PHONE:* +1 714-394-9553
*EMAIL:* hello@attractgrowth.com    
*WEB: *attractgrowth.com 

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