263: Further Your Business and Relationships through Collaboration, NOT Competition with Jaclyn Johnson

I’ve been stalking following today’s guest, Jaclyn Johnson’s @createcultivate IG page for quite some time now. In fact, before I knew her personally, her event photos helped inspire me to create my own stage for The Bliss Project. But here’s the thing, Jaclyn’s events are way more than a gorgeous stage – they’re all about collaboration and helping other women create and cultivate the career of their dreams.   Don’t be fooled though, Create & Cultivate conferences aren’t just for entrepreneurs – they’re for all women who are looking for a refresh of inspiration in all things business.   Jaclyn and I talk about her rough start as a naïve 23-year-old entrepreneur who didn’t know what she was doing, the lessons she learned from it and why it helped her become the wildly successful CEO Creative & Cultivate she is today. Jaclyn also shares why Creative & Cultivate is thriving and why she hopes to help others with her new book, WorkParty, by providing tips on how to run a business, how to start thinking like an entrepreneur and how to maintain friendships, relationships and partnerships along the way. Since this interview I’ve completed her book and it’s definitely an inspirational must-read!     --   Question Highlights: Where are you at right now and how did you get there? What would you tell someone who’s looking for the next thing to get started and take the leap? What’s a question you’ve never been asked that you think people should ask when they’re starting a business or in a business? What does white space mean? What is a lesson that’s been painful and awesome? How did you learn not to take things personal? What do you do for yourself in order to make decisions and implement the culture you want? What is something you’re most excited about and something you’re working through right now? What is something you do with your team every single week to keep your team cohesive? What are the most important messages of your book, WorkParty? Who is someone you look up to right now for inspiration? What are your Creative & Cultivate events/conferences like? How do you let go of people/relationships that aren’t serving you? Why this book right now and who needs it?   In This Episode We Talk about: How Jaclyn’s entrepreneurial journey started and lead to founding Create & Cultivate Why we tend to be more creative when we have nothing to lose Runway and goal-setting Jaclyn’s definition of “white space” in the business world The importance of getting things in writing in terms of getting serious and legalities Friendships and business Approaching business from a human perspective by not escalating and remaining level-headed and fair Why work is part of Jaclyn’s self-care Keeping separation between business and those friends who are near and dear Scaling and growing a business while maintaining authenticity of the brand The most important messages of Jaclyn’s book, WorkParty Going against the status quo of what business looks like for women Handling hard decisions in the best way Why it’s so much better to collaborate vs. compete with others Why Jaclyn wrote WorkParty And so much more…   Quotes   “The reason I was wildly successful was because I didn’t play by the rules.”   “You’ll never know unless you just do it.”   “Start by just starting.”   “Collaboration over competition.”   “So much more can happen if we’re on the same team.”   --   Jaclyn Johnson is a powerhouse entrepreneur. By the time she was 28, she had sold her first business, (No Subject), invested in one of the country’s top female owned startups, Away, and launched her second multimillion dollar company, Create & Cultivate.   Johnson recognized a gap in resources for female millennial entrepreneurs and responded with solutions, Create & Cultivate and now, WorkParty. In the process, Jaclyn’s own philosophy, built on female empowerment, hustling-hard and innovation have propelled her voice to the forefront of the discussion on career, a new thought-leader for millennial women and Gen-Z-ers. Known for her powerful messaging and often imitated never duplicated style of digital and experiential marketing, Johnson is reshaping attitudes on female entrepreneurialism, work culture and the gig economy for women all over the world. In August, Jaclyn’s new book, WorkParty releases via Simon & Schuster, offering her rallying cry for women in the workplace. Resources: CreateCultivate.com WorkParty.com IG: @jaclynrjohnson IG: @createcultivate Book: WorkParty by Jaclyn Johnson - Order Now on Amazon WorkParty on iTunes  Check out my website at loriharder.com. Follow me on social media @LoriHarder on Instagram and Lori Harder on Facebook.