"Keep an open mind and an agile mentality" with Janine Manning

Janine Manning is an experienced business professional with a proven track record in leading startups and early-stage companies to successful outcomes. As a qualified Chartered Accountant (CAANZ), with an MBA and MSt in Social Innovation from The University of Cambridge, Janine has a broad range of financial, management, strategic and practical skills. Janine has a real appreciation of what it takes to grow and scale a business and is recognised for her ability to develop long term quality relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders. www.rebecca-page.com 

Can you tell our readers about your background?

After university, I qualified as an accountant and quickly discovered that I enjoyed ‘rolling my sleeves up’ and working in fast-growing, early-stage ventures. To build and broaden my skills, I completed an MBA 10 years later, and more recently an MSt in Social Innovation from The University of Cambridge. I’ve been a business angel for seven years and I mentor a group each year for the New Zealand Women’s Network in London. In 2018, Rebecca Page was a mentee in my start-up group. She was exploring whether she could turn her sewing hobby into a business, and at the end of the 12-week program, we co-founded Rebecca Page Ltd.

What inspired you to start your business?

Rebecca had a compelling vision to digitally disrupt the traditional home-sewing market by building an online B2C business that sells sewing patterns, products, and services to a global underserved community with highly specific demographics. We are both New Zealanders, we share the same values, get on well, and have complementary skill sets. Rebecca has a double degree in Computer Science and Psychology so she’s in charge of tech, marketing, and the team. I’m responsible for finance, capital raising, and projects.

Where is your business based?

 We are incorporated in the UK, although only 15% of our revenue comes from here. 45% comes from the US, 10% from Australia, and 30% from the rest of the world. Our team all work remotely and are based in 11 countries.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

We started in April 2018 and bootstrapped and self-funded for the first year. We then raised £400K from our New Zealand network in March 2019 and £150K in a SEIS round in the UK in March 2020. We are proud that we are bucking the trend with over half of our investors being female. We also have an all-female board of four.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

We have only been in business for two years, during which time a combination of e-mail marketing to our database and Facebook (organic and ads) has worked well with our target demographic of women aged between 35 and 55 years. In saying that, our fastest-growing demographic is women in their twenties, and these followers respond well to Instagram.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

Both our biggest challenges relate to growing and scaling quickly in a global context. Firstly, how to grow and manage a team who are based all over the world in different time zones, and secondly, selecting new geographies to enter and target for growth.

From a team perspective, we have a weekly Zoom call on Mondays at 5 pm BST, which focusses mainly on us getting to know each other better. After a quick work update, we share the creative projects that we are working on, which is a lot of fun. Knowing each other better helps us to communicate effectively and efficiently for the rest of the week.

For global growth and scale, we closely follow the ‘Lean Startup’ methodology. This has meant that we test on a small scale before we fully launch into new geography. This has worked well for us. We also like to ‘do things ourselves’ before passing a task over to someone else to do.

How do you stay focused? 

There’s no problem focusing when you know where you are going and what you need to do to get there.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Both online and bricks & mortar home sewing businesses are predominantly local ‘cottage’ industries. We stand out because of our ability to build an inclusive and engaged global community.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

We regularly offer our customers ‘freebie’ patterns and sewalongs, which has been a great way to build our community (currently over 370,000 and rapidly growing). There is a strong correlation between follower and revenue growth.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Consciously decide to become a life-long learner. Keep an open mind and an agile mentality.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I prefer books, so I’ve chosen three:

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – a tried and tested process to follow to build an excellent business.

The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth, by Chris Zook & James Allen – a practical, no-nonsense guide to navigating the inevitable problems that come with growing business at speed.

The Monk and the Riddle, by Randy Komisar – a beautiful explanation as to why we should reject the deferred life plan that most people live.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why? 

My iPhone – it goes everywhere with me and has everything I could need (at least in the short term).

Who is your business role model? Why?

My business role model is Susie Barr, my friend who lives in New Zealand and is a gemologist and jewelry business owner (https://www.mwdiamondjeweller.co.nz/). Susie started in the industry as a teenager and has always had an unwavering passion for her calling. She loves her clients, her team, and her business and is the hardest working person I know. And she is always a ton of fun.

How do you balance work and life?

It’s easier now that our four children have grown up! You’ve got to be well organised and have the ability to prioritise so that you don’t miss out on the good stuff.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

During the lockdown, I’ve started sewing again after about a five-year break. I really like a productive hobby with an outcome.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Plans are up in the air at the moment because of COVID-19. We have a new product launch coming up soon that we believe is going to be a game-changer. We’re keeping it under our hat for the moment so watch this space!

How can our readers connect with you?

Email:               janine@rebecca-page.com

LinkedIn:          https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-manning-71b6a41b/

"I don’t worry about myself at night, I worry about the people who work for me and the people who they serve," with Dr. Sean Pastuch

Dr. Sean Pastuch is a thought leader in the health and fitness world whose industry-disrupting company, Active Life, is bridging the gap between performance and rehabilitation. Dr. Sean believes that the larger the problem, the more valuable the solution. He believes that the biggest problem worth solving is the absence of healthcare and the abundance of sick care in the United States and Internationally. That’s why the mission of Active Life is to humanize the doctor, professionalize the coach, and empower the individual. 

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I grew up in the best family anyone could ask for. My parents made sure that I learned how to work hard, stand up for myself, and take ownership of my actions. I am intensely afraid of falling short of my own potential and I feel a calling to help other people find the value in pursuing their own. Since I don’t know what that potential is, I have a consistently burning fire to push myself to do more. Sometimes this is good, sometimes it causes problems. 

What inspired you to start your business? 

I started my career as a personal trainer in 2005 and kept running into situations where my vision for what could be exceeded the industry standard. I kept being told by my client’s doctors that I had to “work around their injuries”, which seemed backward, “who is going to fix their injuries?” I thought. So I enrolled in Chiropractic school to learn how to save the world.

When I realized that most people would prefer not to be in my office at all (because no one wants to make repeat trips to the doctor), I started asking them where they would rather be. One after another they would tell me “in the gym” and “in the ocean” and “playing with my kids”. So I got to work at combining my experience and education as a trainer and chiropractor and began building solutions to help people get out of pain without ever going to the doctor or missing out on their active life. Eventually, that led to creating a whole new industry in which we are teaching fitness professionals and medical professionals how to bridge the gap between them. 

Where is your business based?

We work with people from all over the world. We have clients on six continents and in every state in the US. Our Headquarters are in Long Beach NY. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

My business started as an extension of my clinic and my gym. The first step I took was learning where the threshold was between good enough to launch and perfect. The next step was giving away all of my influence for free on social media, podcasts, Youtube, and anywhere I could. The first workshop of the working model that I ever hosted was attended by 60 fitness professionals from five countries and 22 States domestically. We had over 120 applicants to attend and charged $20 for admission. The $20 was just to hold a spot to ensure the best turnout, everyone who we allowed to attend, who said they would attend, did in fact show up. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

Giving away our influence. We recently gave away $1,811,000 of education to fitness professionals over a one-week period. We built a product that we planned to sell, and instead, we gave it away when the pandemic hit. The value of that has been people deciding to buy from us who previous to getting the free content had no idea who we were. We give away our best stuff on our podcast, Instagram, and Youtube. It’s the same stuff people pay us thousands of dollars to be held accountable to do, and it’s all there for free. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

There are the obvious ones, like losing my businesses in Hurricane Sandy in 2012, being sued by my next-door neighbor for making too much noise in our gym in the same year (we won the lawsuit, five days before Sandy kicked us out anyway), splitting up with multiple business partners who were also my friends, but none of those were as hard as the biggest one which was personal development. 

I believe that if you want to be more successful in business without sacrificing growing your quality of life at the same time, you have to become a better person. That means gaining self-awareness to your blind spots and acknowledging that despite your best efforts, you need to improve how you show up for yourself and for others. I hired coaches and intentionally surrounded myself with friends who would demand of me to improve at all times. I did, and continue to do the difficult work of staring down the areas where I am ineffective and unintentional to make them better. It’s not about you, and everything is your fault. 

How do you stay focused?

My assistant and my team keep me on track. My assistant schedules my every move including when I eat and when I take breaks and when I end my workday to spend time with family. My staff depends on me to be effective and to finish things on time. I don’t worry about myself at night, I worry about the people who work for me and the people who they serve. That will keep anyone focused.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

We give away our value and let people see it. We have a clear story to tell and a clear process that we follow. We aim to be the most human, digitally based company in the world and to do that we need to make sure that people feel our support in an overwhelming way. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

The area of our business that is most lacking is marketing. I don’t have a great answer for you here except that we pump out copious amounts of media and stay consistent with our message. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs? 

Surround yourself with people who you want to be more like. That means spending time watching Youtube of people you want to emulate, watching documentaries of high achievers, listening to podcasts by people doing what you want to do, reading books, making friends with people and spending as much of your time being influenced by the appropriate energy. And above all, take radical action. Ask for forgiveness, not permission. 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

The podcast app - It’s like taking college courses for free.

Blog - I don’t have any blogs I follow.

Book - Blue Ocean strategy - It’s a simple, and elegant way to think. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Mentors. There is nothing more valuable than a person who wants you to be successful and can help you see how to do it. 

Who is your business role model? Why? 

Jesse Itzler. He puts his money to valuable use and prioritizes the experiences in his life that the money affords over the scoreboard that is his bank account. He developed meaningful companies and pursues fulfillment. That’s what I want to do. 

What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products? 

I get my haircut every week on Thursdays at 9 am. 

How do you balance work and life? 

I have hard stops in my schedule and I buy back my time by hiring staff to do things that I can’t do as well as they can or as quickly as they can. The moment that I can hire someone to replace me, I do. I haven’t taken a raise in three years despite growing the company by 800%. I could, but I would rather be a provider for others and have the time I want. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

Barefoot walks

What do you have planned for the next six months? 

I don’t plan that far ahead. I think it’s a mistake that people make, like the five-year plan. Who saw Covid-19 coming? How are those plans looking now? My six-month plan is to be enjoying what I do. 

How can our readers connect with you?

Instagram is the best way, they can find me at @drseanpastuch, they can find my business that helps people get out of pain without going to the doctor or missing the gym at @activeliferx and they can find my business where we mentor fitness and health professionals at @activelifeprofessional

"Just begin--time passes by too quickly and now is the best of times to pursue one’s passion and allow that to lead to a new journey" with Jessica Santander

Jessica Santander is a lover of life whose hardship with listening to her heart led her to take a grand leap of faith in the most unthought moment. After landing her first full-time job in the Digital Marketing field, she found herself feeling disconnected and lost and grew a fascination with what can be from the idea of creating her own path. This idea kept tapping into her heart and led to her lifelong project of what is called Project Moment Designs. 

Can you tell our readers about your background?

My name is Jessica Santander and I’m the Founder and Designer of Project Moment Designs, which is my handmade jewelry business based out of Tampa, FL. I’m originally from Rochester, NY, but had lived most of my teenage and young adult life in Delaware. Growing up, I was fascinated with film and theatre, and was pursuing a career in acting (I was able to work alongside with Mark Walhberg in The Happening) throughout my early teenage years.

I also had a blazing passion for international cultures and aesthetics/ways of life, so I decided to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Marketing from the University of Delaware. Post-graduation, I had spent a few years navigating the fashion and beauty industry at Sephora and still felt yearning energy to continue my education within the fields of Marketing- as I grew an admiration with brands that were breaking the status quo and creating sensory experiences with consumers. This decision led me to move to Tampa, FL where I obtained my Master’s in Marketing. It was during my studies at the University of Tampa that my growing fascination with brand marketing eventually brought me to re-visit my utmost life passion—the grand window of opportunity to create my own business and lead with a differentiated brand voice.

What inspired you to start your business? 

I’ve always known what ignites that blazing passion within my heart—and that has been the vivacious beauty and difference cultivated found in the fashion industry. After completing my Master's Degree in Marketing, I came across a mentally and emotionally difficult roadblock where I was receiving closed doors for almost two years trying to find a job. Though I was fortunate enough to land a job in Digital Marketing, I still felt incomplete and lost with myself as I knew this was not what I wanted to do with my life.

After many moments of feeling sorry for myself, I made the leap of faith to just go for the unthinkable and make my own path. The entrepreneurial spirit of creating with no boundaries and, from such creations, making a difference in the world just feels right to my heart-it’s like no other sensation experienced. 

Where is your business based? 

My jewelry business is located in Tampa, FL, but as we are an e-commerce company, we are sharing our mission of empowering women all across the world. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I started my business out of my living room, working diligently each night after coming home from work on building up my Shopify website to be as user-friendly and eye-catching at first sight. This did require me to invest in a digital camera for my product photos, but other than that, I’ve self-taught myself the ins and outs of growing my eCommerce platform. The beginning stages of launching one’s website and online presence is most definitely an exciting one as you get to see your vision come to life. Hard work certainly pays off when passion leads the way.

 What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

As the social media nerd that I am, I took a deep dive into Instagram and started engaging with bloggers, friends, family members, and basically the network of my network to get the word-of-mouth going for my business. In addition to utilizing the social aspect of social media, attending local markets and trunk shows to connect with new customers personally has been a growing foundation to continuously raise awareness for my jewelry business.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenges thus far have been expanding my online reach as my business is primarily e-commerce, and therefore, there’s that extra roadblock when trying to establish a personal connection to new website visitors. Though this is a daily challenge of mine, I’ve heavily invested in showing up for my brand online through social media and email marketing- engaging with my audience through videos to bring them closer to our business and experience our overall brand voice. 

How do you stay focused?

Every day I remind myself what my mission and purpose are, and this alone drives me to do all I can in nurturing my business on that very day. I pour my passion and love into what I do and I believe this shall be seen and also appreciated day by day.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

My business is grounded on a foundation that’s always evolving with my clients’ journey. As our mission is to empower women to celebrate their moments of self-growth, changes in life and renewed beginnings, we bring this to life by handmaking our jewelry designs and color story to speak to a new moment/experience that resonates to the hearts of a dream-building woman. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

Balancing both consistent content and video marketing with all my platforms has been a valuable marketing strategy that further supports our brand’s mission and aesthetic. Such two aspects of marketing bring to life our brand’s story and touch the sensory experiences of our customers.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Just begin—time passes by too quickly and now is the best of times to pursue one’s passion and allow that to lead to a new journey. No one has all the answers and we’re all learning by doing—believe in your potential and in what you want to begin.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why 

My favorite app is my iTunes podcast as I’m a huge fan of many, many podcasts covering all topics. From running a business to unleashing one’s own inner goddess, I start my day usually listening to one full episode. As for books, I find myself leaning towards resources that nurture a healthy mindset and lifestyle such as Girl Code by Cara Alwill.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

My favorite business tool is my current email marketing platform, MailChimp, as there are numerous features to fully customize not only your templates but also email sequences to resonate with one’s own audience. I appreciate its flexibility in such areas as I’m able to always go back and re-adjust my campaigns to current events, promos, website updates…etc.

Who is your business role model? Why?

My business role model is Cara Alwill as I profoundly appreciate her journey and how hard she’s worked to get to where she is today. Cara is such an inspirational role model helping many women all across the world celebrate themselves and their greatest dreams. She helps me remind myself that anything we set our hearts to, and with a resilient mindset, can happen.

What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products?

I’m such a skincare junkie at heart and have gone through many skincare lines to get to the point where my acne is under control, while also combatting against the signs of skin fatigue. Recently, I’ve been loving the am and pm products from Beauty Bio as it’s a female-founded company that is completely transparent with its honest ingredients. 

 How do you balance work and life?

I honestly take each day to be just one day at a time with a mini to-do list of the 2-3 must-do action items for that day. I, also, make sure to dedicate a full hour of self-care workouts to get my body moving every day.

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

I absolutely love slipping into my comfy PJs and enjoying a warm bowl of oatmeal with no screen distractions. This helps to alleviate my mind and feel calm with where I am and what I am doing.

What do you have planned for the next six months? 

Prior to COVID-19 occurring, I had a full month focused on planning the launch of my Spring/Summer collection, along with setting up an on-campus brand ambassador program with a local university. Now that our entire lives have been shaken up, I’ve taken a pause to discover ways to further be of service to my customers with our products. This reflection has led to many exciting ideas lined up heading into the summer and fall that has a glistening focus on more personalization offerings.

How can our readers connect with you?

All readers can connect with me directly via our website, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.