Queens of Pivot: How Staying Flexible Paid Off for These Entrepreneurs
Let’s not sugar coat it—2020 has been a seriously tumultuous year. Staying scrappy, bobbing, weaving, and in general maintaining your flexibility has become the name of the game. It’s a particularly important skill for business owners hoping to thrive (or just plain old survive) during this economic downturn.
If you’re an entrepreneur feeling discouraged (and understandably so), there’s plenty of inspiration and motivation to be found amongst your fellow creators, bloggers, and business owners. Pivoting has gone from being a vague business term to a must-have tool, especially in 2020. Ahead are just a few of our favorite ladies who have mastered the art of staying nimble and going with the cash flow.
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Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, BrainTrust
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson is a social media maven, a marketing genius, and the founder of BrainTrust, an agency devoted to honing the digital brand strategy and online media presence of brands and talent like Halle Berry, Kelly Ripa Home, Dear Drew by Drew Barrymore, and so many more.
Kendra made money moves by founding a strategic partnership between BrainTrust and Beautycon, an immersive beauty experiential company beloved by beauty bloggers and beginners alike. BrainTrust’s mission and purpose has evolved greatly since its conception—it’s now primarily focused on brand management, representation, and development. Not to mention, it’s since expanded into a global agency.
Additionally, Kendra recently partnered with actress and activist Halle Berry for the creation of rē•spin – a new health and wellness brand devoted to empowering women at any stage of their wellness journey. While Kendra was no stranger to the quick pivot prior, the pandemic forced this all-star team to reconfigure how and when they launched their wellness empire.
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Chidinma Asonye, S by Serena
Chidinma Asonye is a rock-star in general, but particularly in the world of beauty and lifestyle brand marketing. After several years with various leadership roles at the beloved Estee Lauder, Chidinma joined forces with tennis legend and BlogHer ’18 speaker Serena Williams at S by Serena, a lifestyle and fashion brand.
When COVID hit, Chidinma helped the brand put together a marketing campaign designed to continue to uplift and empower their community with their #BeSeenBeHeard campaign. It allowed participants to share their stories and be quite literally heard by fellow customers, friends, and beyond.
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Naj Austin, Ethel Club
Naj Austin is the CEO and founder of Ethel Club, a social and wellness club designed to celebrate people of color, online and IRL. Naj launched Ethel Club’s first location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in January 2019, and saw an outpouring of well-deserved love from her community and members alike.
When the pandemic hit, Naj was forced to rethink Ethel Club’s business model because gone were the days of in-person happenings and get-togethers. Naj quickly pivoted to online conferences, clubs, courses, and more. She also elected to ramp up Ethel Club’s social presence. Now, she’s reaching more potential members than ever before.
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Mary Lawless Lee, Happily Grey
Happily Grey founder and BlogHer Biz speaker Mary Lawless Lee takes pivoting to a whole new level. She left her job as a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit nurse to become a full-time fashion blogger, which turned into becoming a hard-core influencer, and led her to her latest venture—the first brick and mortar Happily Grey shop!
The shop exists online and in Nashville, and you can check out all of its gorgeous wares on Mary’s site, Happily Grey.
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Kachet Jackson-Henderson, The Katchet Life
Kachet Jackson-Henderson is another BlogHer Biz speaker, as well as a content creator and business coach with a passion to inspire and empower women to live their best lives and pursue their dreams.
Kachet began her blog, The Kachet Life, as a side-hustle/after-work hobby. Her infectious positivity and knack for social media marketing soon sky-rocketed her to the top. Now, she’s creating content full-time and instructing an online course to help other entrepreneurs and beginners learn how to do the same.
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Candace Junee, Digital Marketing Maven
Less of a pivot and more of a zeroing in, Candace recognized a hole in the influencing and content creating market. She saw very few Black women, Christian-led blogs, and wanted to create an online community that reflected her faith and identity—and that’s exactly what she did.
Soon, Candace was holding in-person conferences for fellow Christian Black women, and teaching courses on anything that might help them succeed in the influencing industry, from content creation tips to SEO best practices. When the pandemic hit, Candace threw herself into restructuring her much-beloved conferences into online courses. This effectively made her content and brand more accessible than ever.
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Sadie Kurzban, 305 Fitness
Sadie Kurzban is a certified party-starter and the mastermind behind 305 Fitness which, ahem, she founded while still in college. The sweaty dance work out is a favorite among fitness lovers, and not to mention at LEAST half of the BlogHer team. When COVID hit, 305 took to virtual courses, where it’s continued to boost the serotonin levels and coordination of dance freaks everywhere.
We’re so looking forward to having Sadie share a little bit more about herself, 305, and her business expertise at BlogHer Biz!
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Mollie Eliasof, Mollie Eliasof Therapy
Mollie Eliasof is the Chief Therapist and CEO of Mollie Eliasof Therapy which provides in-person and teletherapy to clients across the US. While mental health services (particularly those that can be provided remotely!) are more in-demand now than ever before, the number of people who can afford such services is dwindling rapidly.
Rather than gate-keeping her services, Mollie has begun to use her Instagram Live as a resource for her followers and has vastly grown her community in the process. Those who tune-in for her live sessions can access mental health tips for free, which no doubt makes a world of difference for those who need it.
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Angolina Amores, Alpha Femme
Angolina is the founder of Alpha Femme, a company dedicated to elevating women who aspire to be entrepreneurs and make passive income. In true BlogHer spirit, Angolina has ramped up her business since the pandemic hit in response to a serious uptick in women interested in learning how to profit from e-commerce on their platforms. Angolina is all about the economic empowerment of her community of creators and small business owners—which is why we’re all about Angolina!
If you haven’t already, register for BlogHer Biz, where some of these pivoting pros will be sharing tactical advice and plenty of inspo for small business owners.