Dave and Maya

Last night, my husband and I, tired of the the exploits of political idiots on The Daily Show (most days it's funny, but some days I find the stupidity and hypocrisy downright depressing) caught Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts. This smart show pairs up two unlikely figures and let's them just talk, debate and get to know each other. Pairings have included people like Ashley Judd + Madeline Albright; skater Tony Hawk + director/actor Jon Favreau; activist Desmond Tutu + entrepreneur Richard Branson.

We watched as comedian Dave Chapelle met with poet, activist, and general inspiration Dr. Maya Angelou. What a pairing! It was a poignant meeting of a wise older soul passing life lessons onto a 30-something man who has been through a lot but is still on his journey. As some of you may know, Dave walked away from his hit TV show and $50 million dollar contract at Comedy Central a few years ago just to get away from it all and save his soul. Maya seemed to understand this act, while many others have not.


You could see in Dave's eyes he wanted to just soak up as much knowledge and insight from this woman as was humanly possible. And she was eager to share, teach, praise and comfort. It was just awe-inspiring to watch so much love pass between two souls right in front of your eyes.


I am a huge lover of independent film and adore many of the selections on the Sundance Channel. Having attended the Sundance Film Festival 5 years in a row (2009 was the first year I'd missed it in a while), I love the energy of storytelling and community that permeates Park City for 10 days out of the year. But I often have a hard time with some indie film that is avant-garde for the sake of being avant-garde, rather than in pursuit of the story. Sometimes shocking is just shocking and it doesn't work. I will never forget an interview I saw back when Melanie Griffith was promoting the film Working Girl in 1988 (not that I would ever confuse that film with an arthouse classic, but bear with me on this point...). She was justifying a scene where she is vacumming the house topless because she's in a rush as "central to the story and what my character would do" or something like that. Seriously? That was pivotal to the entire plotline to have you vacuum topless and was not just a shameless attempt to sex up a late 80's film? I love non-cerebral entertainment just as much as the next guy, but let's call a spade and spade, shall we?


But I digress. Often Sundance Channel carries over some of the best films from the festival, ones that never got full distribution in the light of day. And original, smart, compelling, and eye-opening series like Iconoclasts actually help me regain some of my brain cells back from shows like I wrote about last time. True, honest, insightful storytelling is why I love film so much and showcases its potential to change minds, hearts and the world.

SHOP '08: Inspiration on a Rainy Day

Yesterday I had the good fortune to be in a room with over 100 women for 8 hours - and I wanted to hear every one of their zany and inspirational stories. How often do you get to attend a conference where everyone in the room is an interesting person? Exactly.

I'm talking about SHOP '08, a conference for independent women business owners here in Seattle. Networking diva and my new best friend Melody Biringer brought together women who have launched everything from eco-boutiques to consulting businesses to crafts shops to catered meals on the go to production companies to design firms to spas to you name it. The day featured panels for each session, not just one speaker, which offered a triple play of content for each hour. I even got to moderate a panel in a pinch when the fabulous Kelley L. Moore, lifestyle editor, could not make it due to illness (I'm not one for questioning opportunities when they land at my feet - I just snatch them up). My panel was "How to Turn Your Passion into Profit" featuring gorgeous smarties Anne-Marie Faiola of Bramble Berry, Larisa Goldin of DreamClinic and Rachel Brandzel of Real Card Company. Other panel topics ranged from to "Capital with Confidence - Decreasing your costs and improving your bottom line to "Be True to Your Brand - Do you have a business soul?" to Building Your Brand" to HELP! Can you build me a website?" All of the panels were chock full of sage wisdom from women who bear the scars and want to save you the hassle.

I thoroughly enjoyed the branding discussion (brand diva that I like to think I am) and the focused point that "Brand is not just a logo." Amen, sisters. Founder Sharelle Klaus of Dry Soda has created a lifestyle brand that is elegant and cool - all from her dilemma of not being able to drink wine when she was pregnant. They are so fanatical about their luxury, sophisticated brand, they carefully choose the types of paper clips used in the office. I think I've totally found my people. Oh, and their Rhubarb soda zips along your tongue like a firefly on a hot summer night in Eastern Long Island. Now I know why the French Laundry serves Dry Soda (and why they won't let discount blue box chains of which we will not speak sell them and spoil the brand image - at least not yet.)

Overall, it was a great day of inspiration and wisdom that I will not soon forget - both for the content and the lively connections I made. This beats my old IT/Application Development/Data Warehousing trade shows I was forced to endure for so many years where attendees care more about which booth has better free giveaways than the actual content presented. Thanks Ladies!

Ladies Who Launch: Who Knew?

Stepping into the foray of entrepreneursip with the birth of my consultancy, Red Slice, has opened up a whole new world to me. A world of LLC documentation, checks to the Secretary of State, business bank accounts, and more than a weekly need to speak to an accountant or lawyer. Who knew this land existed? Well, apparently lots of people.

While my grandparents all came to this country and managed to open their own businesses with little English skills and lots of gumption, my immediate family has always been a "Do one thing and retire with the gold watch" kind of gang. My dad worked for over 25 years at the same company, doing the work he loved best: engineering. We may have felt more comfortable with the establishment-type jobs, but not at the expense of doing something you hated. And come to think of it, my Uncle owned his own business and so did one of my brothers for a time - so maybe it's in our genes somewhere.

I always envied those people who were like, "I have this kooky idea..." and then 3 months later, there's a storefront on Union Street and a shout out in Daily Candy. I felt like they were inducted into some mystical world; a place I would never understand, navigate or see. "I like security, paying my rent and buying expensive wine," I told myself comfortingly.

Ha.

A whole new world has opened up for me since hanging out my shingle. A world where ideas become reality just because someone can show you the steps you need to take. And those steps are reasonable and possible in and of themselves - you just need to break things down. A world where people come up with ideas and do something with them, not just talk and talk. A world where there are experts to turn to, sites to visit for advice, and never a shortage of folks who are more than happy to show you their scars and help you avoid your own.

I'm talking the world of entrepreneurship.

I had the divine pleasure of freshly completing a 4-week session called The Incubator, thrown by Ladies Who Launch. Ladies Who Launch is a nationwide resource and connection network for women who want to "start" anything: a business, a book, a new travel venture. Basically women who want to make a positive change in their life and build their career or personal life in the way that best suits them, rather than forcing themselves into a life that doesn't fit. Their motto: Creativity and Entrepreneurship as a Lifestyle.

For 4 weeks, women in your city come together (small groups) to gather support, find energy, gain encouragement, network and share resources on whatever initiative they want to launch. We work through our ideas, verbalize them, and paint a vision for others. I had low expectations, ranging from "This will be a business plan course" to "This will be a female whine-fest" to "This will be like therapy or a really painful episode of Dr. Phil."

Surprisingly, I was wrong, wrong, wrong - and a little bit right in a good way. I found a group of women sharing their career (and often personal) dreams, fleshing out their business ideas, offering advice and feedback, sharing resources and ultimately, cheering each other on. It often felt so bizarre, like something unreal. And then I figured out why: I had never in my entire career been in a group of women who encouraged each other to brag, who did not judge when others celebrated success, who had no ulterior motives for helping each other. No one thought Susie talked too much about herself or Sally thought she was "all that" - this behavior was encouraged and celebrated. And how sad that this positive experience is not what we women in the workplace have created for ourselves. The Glass Ceiling be damned - 9 times out of 10, I have seen women be the saboteurs of other women, whether through talking behind their back, being cruel just to show they were tough, gossiping or holding a gal's own success against her lest she think "she's better than everyone else." This negativity has nothing to do with men, ladies.

The 8 women in my group ranged from current business owners looking to branch out, corporate types wanting to make a change but not sure how, women who were trying to find a way to build a business out of their passionate talents, and those who had a vision of a business venture but had never been encouraged or assisted in pursuing it. Most of all, women who are tired of being scared, or bored, or concerned with "what other people thought" and who want to start living their lives for the only human that will judge them on their death bed: themselves.

In just 4 weeks, I bonded with these women in a way I often do not with gal pals. I now consider them all close confidantes, my own personal and professional Board of Directors, who I will consult and give back to as long as they will let me. Because of them, I now have more clarity around what I want Red Slice to be, what clients I want to pursue, and more importantly, I feel more than ever that some of my crazy ideas and schemes (opening a wine bar someday) are POSSIBLE. People open businesses every day and, damn it, I can figure it out, too!

Ladies out there, if you have the opportunity to make a change or have an idea to build a business, I highly encourage you to sign up for the Incubator in your city. You will be oh so surprised at what you find in these other women - and in yourself.

PS - and by the way, starting up my own thing means living on a budget for a while. So I'm halting the expensive wines - but only for a bit. Paring back in and of itself is cathartic and eye-opening so it's just another unexpected blessing from this new phase.