WorkParty

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has challenged small businesses everywhere to rethink the brick-and-mortar business model. With physical retail locations closing and e-commerce on the rise, it's been crucial for small businesses to pivot to digital to weather the pandemic. By the numbers: Online sales grew by nearly 50% at the peak of the pandemic, and experts are predicting the shift may be permanent. According to a recent survey, 41% of consumers are currently shopping via social media and 51% say they’ll continue to use in-app shopping post-COVID. Bank of America recently released their yearly survey of small business owners in the 2021 Small Business Owner Report. Their research found that business owners have started to regain their footing as economic confidence, business revenue expectations, and hiring plans bounce back significantly from levels seen in the fall. For example, 50% of SBOs are confident the national economy will improve – up significantly from 37% last fall, and 60% expect their revenue to increase – up even more from 34% last fall. To address the impact of the pandemic, business owners tapped into various funding sources to stay afloat and made operational changes that they anticipate will continue going forward. More than half of SBOs tapped into funding sources such as personal savings, business credit cards and PPP loans. A majority of SBOs anticipate that the operational changes they made in response to the coronavirus will continue beyond the pandemic – specifically enhancing their sanitation practices and further building a digital sales strategy. Regardless, entrepreneurship is on the rise—and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Today, nearly 40% of the workforce is made up of freelancers, temps, independent contractors, and solopreneurs, and a growing number of millennials and Gen-Zers are becoming solopreneurs—61% of independent millennials are planning to stay independent as solopreneurs. So, how do you successfully lead your business through COVID-19? How do you turn a seemingly insurmountable challenge into an opportunity? And how do you start planning for the “new normal” when the future is still unwritten? Thankfully, we're joined by a particularly savvy business woman who can help answer all of these questions - welcome Ellen Marie Bennett! Ellen is the founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett, the leading Los Angeles based culinary workwear brand, and today they are known for more than just their aprons! They create culinary workwear, gear and outfits for over 6,000 restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, resorts and hundreds of thousands of home cooks all over the world. • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Produced by Dear Media

2020 was filled with unexpected challenges that most small business owners were unprepared for, requiring us to pivot and adapt to new, ever-changing realities. Now, after a year of quick pivots, it's time for us to identify and capitalize on new opportunities in 2021 with purpose, which is why I'm so excited for today's conversation with Alana Branston and Ali Kriegsman, the co-founders of the online wholesale platform Bulletin. It’s safe to say these two entrepreneurs know a thing or two about changing course. Since launching in 2015, they’ve pivoted their business several times, from a shoppable newsletter, to weekly pop-ups, to brick-and-mortar shops and now, to an online wholesale marketplace that has thrived during COVID. I’m so excited to talk to them today about how they’ve pivoted, identified and capitalized on new opportunities, secured venture capital funding to scale, and so much more. So, without further adieu . . .Welcome to WorkParty, Alana and Ali! • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.CoorsPure.com to see where you can find Coors pure! Visit www.Athleta.com to shop their full range of shorts! Visit www.Issuu.com/podcast and use promo code PARTY for your free account or 50% off your premium account. Listen to Armchair Expert for free, now ONLY on Spotify. Produced by Dear Media

Welcome to a special episode of WorkParty Live from our Self-Care Summit with Monique Rodriguez, the founder and CEO of Mielle Organics. This founder knows a thing or two about scaling a business! In 2014, she started mixing up homemade haircare solutions in her kitchen. Now her brand has grown into a multi-million-dollar company with products sold in over 100,000 major retailers, including Target, Walgreens, and CVS. And, earlier this year, Monique secured a “significant investment” for Mielle Organics from Berkshire, which typically makes equity investments of $100 million to $1 billion in size. But it’s not just about turning a profit for Monique. She’s paying it forward with her More Than a Strand philanthropic initiative, which includes $200,000 in scholarships for HBCU students and $1 million for the brand’s Global Education and Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with Rutgers University and the Newark Business Hub. In this episode of WorkParty, Jaclyn chats with Monique about how she scaled her business from self-made to shelf space and how she’s paying it forward to fellow entrepreneurs along the way. • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.CoorsPure.com to see where you can find Coors pure! Visit www.StitchFix.com/PARTY for 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix. Visit www.Freshly.com/PARTY for $40 off your first two orders Listen to Armchair Expert for free, now only on Spotify. Produced by Dear Media

How many times have you been told to “follow your passion?” It’s advice that pops up in graduation speeches, Instagram captions, and dozens of career articles. But following your passion is easier said than done. According to a recent Deloitte survey of 3,000 full-time U.S. workers, across job levels and industries, only 20% say they are truly passionate about their work. Thankfully, today's WorkParty guest knows a thing or two about how to follow a passion and turn it into a profitable business, and she's here to share her insights. Jess Rona has turned what was once a part-time career as a dog groomer into a full-fledged business complete with a celebrity client list, a coffee table book, and an HBO Max series. And it all started with a viral Instagram video. I can’t wait to talk with the actress, comedian, and celebrity dog groomer about how she turned her passion into dollars and cents. So, without further ado—welcome to WorkParty, Jess! • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.CoorsPure.com to see where you can find Coors pure! Visit www.Athleta.com to shop their full range of shorts! Listen to Armchair Expert for free, now only on Spotify. Produced by Dear Media

Over the past year, at-home workouts have soared––but there is one platform that stands out from the rest. Meet P.volve: the accessible, at-home fitness method everyone is talking about. In short, this method combines resistance-based, high-intensity, low-impact movements to strengthen, sculpt and energize the entire body. The brand offers a global on-demand platform featuring hundreds of workouts, a growing line of patented equipment, and physical studio locations in NYC, Chicago, and LA. The wellness-forward startup has garnered attention for flipping traditional fitness on its head, and captured an impressive and loyal community. Today, I’m sitting down with P.volve Co-founder, Rachel Katzman, for an inside look behind the revolutionary fitness brand––including driving the creative vision of the company forward, growing the digital platform, looking to establish P.volve’s footing in the fitness space ––and doing it all successfully in sweatpants (...a true legend). Welcome, Rachel! • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.Freshly.com/PARTY for $40 off your first two orders Visit www.Athleta.com to shop their full range of shorts! Visit www.Issuu.com/podcast and use promo code PARTY for your free account or 50% off your premium account. Visit www.justfab.com/WOKPARTY to become a VIP and get your first pair for only $10 Produced by Dear Media

The experience of thinning hair is not only a physical journey, but an emotional one. Many people, especially women, suffer from hair loss and thinning without support or understanding of why it is happening. But the truth is, this is an incredibly common experience for both men and women, and something that affects hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. alone––including my guests here today. For this episode of WorkParty I'm sitting down with the founders of Nutrafol, Giorgos Tsetis and Dr. Sophia Kogan, MD, to dive into their personalized and education-driven mission that has helped thousands and thousands of people around the world. • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.CoorsPure.com to see where you can find Coors pure! Visit www.StitchFix.com/PARTY for 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix. Visit www.justfab.com/WOKPARTY to become a VIP and get your first pair for only $10 Produced by Dear Media

Do you remember your favorite television shows growing up––the shows that not only got you through your adolescence, but where you discovered your first ‘tv crush’ or shed a few tears during that ‘one episode’ that tugged on your heart strings and left you wanting more? We’ve all been there. And we bet you can recount those memorable scenes and quotes too. So where do the creators of these newly reimagined television shows even start when they want to reintroduce their beloved show back to the world? And how do they continue to keep their episode topics relevant and trending in an industry where the audience's attention is so quick to jump ship? Today I’m sitting down with producer and Emmy-Award-winning writer, Tracey Wigfield, to discuss exactly that - how she helped create and write the highly anticipated and reimagined Saved By The Bell TV Series, on NBCUniversal’s streaming service  Peacock. We’ll be tapping into the reimagined show, and the path that got her there - including her winning an Emmy alongside Co-Writer Tina Fey (Hello, amazing partner!) - and how she balances being a working mom in the process. Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Produced by Dear Media

Special LIVE episode from our Future You Festival! You know our next speaker from quote-unquote “the small screen.” Ashley Tisdale has starred in wildly popular movies and TV shows, playing every character from an enterprising teen as Maddie Fitzpatrick in “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” to a scene-stealing antagonist as Sharpay Evans in “High School Musical.” But now, she’s stepping into a new role as a health and wellness industry trailblazer. As the founder of the health, wellness, and beauty site, Frenshe, she’s disrupting a saturated content market by rejecting unattainable beauty standards, confronting mental health stigmas, and opening up about her own self-love journey. I’m so excited to dive into the incredible career of this successful multi-hyphenate. • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.JustFab.com/WORKPARTY to become a VIP and get your first pair for only $10 Visit Athleta in store or online at ATHLETA.com to shop their full rang of shorts, available XXS-3X. Produced by Dear Media

Julianne Hough is the epitome of a multi-hyphenate. She's an actress, dancer, singer-songwriter, and producer. Not to mention, a serial entrepreneur who's taking on the health and wellness space—and generating multiple revenue streams in the process. Last year, she launched her innovative fitness platform KINRGY, and recently started a wine brand with her BFF-turned-business-partner, Nina Dobrev. All this to say, Julianne has experience when it comes to pursuing her passions, managing her money and businesses, and inspiring others to chase their dreams along the way. I’m so excited to dive into the incredible career of this successful multi-hyphenate. • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.Freshly.com/PARTY for $40 off your first two orders Visit www.CoorsPure.com to see where you can find Coors pure! Visit www.Athleta.com to shop their full range of shorts! Visit www.Issuu.com/podcast and use promo code PARTY for your free account or 50% off your premium account. Produced by Dear Media

Podcasts are the hottest content medium of the moment—and their popularity doesn't seem to be slowing down. In 2021, people will have already spent 15 billion hours listening to podcasts, with an estimated 100 million podcast listeners in the U.S. projected by 2024. With over 20% of people listening to podcasts on a weekly basis, podcasts pose a huge opportunity for creators to reach massive, highly engaged audiences. Not to mention, a sizable revenue opportunity: In 2019, podcast advertising revenue reached over $708 million. So, how do you build a podcast that attracts loyal listeners, and turns 45-minute conversations into revenue streams? And how do you decide when to follow metrics and when to follow your gut when curating guests and topics? Thankfully, Olivia Perez — host of the podcast Friend of a Friend, a weekly talk show where she interviews the next generation of luminaries like Maggie Rogers, Bella Hadid, and -  — is here to help answer these questions. • Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com. Visit www.DrinkBev.com/PARTY to receive 20% off your first purchase, plus FREE SHIPPING on all orders. Visit www.FunctionOfBeauty.com/party and get 20% off your order. Visit www.BetterHelp.com/party for 10% off your first month. Produced by Dear Media