9 to 5ish with theSkimm theSkimm
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- Business
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The work advice you need, from women who’ve been there. Every week, join the co-founders and co-CEOs of theSkimm, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, as they help you get what you want out of your career by talking to the smartest leaders they know.
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Drybar Founder Alli Webb on Scaling a $200+ Million Dollar Business without a College Degree
Alli Webb was a stay-at-home mom for five years when she realized she needed to get out of the house more. So she started a mobile hair business. She’d go house-to-house and offer $40 blowouts to moms in LA, something that pretty much no one was doing at the time. She soon opened her first brick and mortar and called it Drybar. 100+ locations later, Alli sold the company for more than $200 million. All without a college degree or formal business training.
In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Alli shares:
The sunshine and beach-haired days of her childhood growing up in Boca Raton
How having parents who operated a small biz gave her life lessons in entrepreneurship
Why it felt intoxicating building and scaling Drybar, plus the mental cost that came with it
How her divorce, son’s visit to rehab, and burnout led to her book, “The Messy Truth”
Why she felt intimidated when fundraising + curating the Drybar board – and how she got through it -
Christine Blasey Ford on Detaching Yourself from the Outcome
Before September 2018, the public didn’t know Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. She was a busy mom and professor at Palo Alto University and Stanford. Then, she leveled a sexual assault accusation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a SCOTUS nominee. She testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and 5 million people tuned in. From then on, any concept of a private life went out the window. Christine needed security to go…well, anywhere. Strangers sent her and her family death threats. Five years later, Christine shares how she navigates her new normal, plus the story behind the headlines and soundbites.
In this episode, Christine shares:
The behind-the-scenes leading up to her testimony against Judge Kavanaugh
What she makes of her unique connection to Anita Hill
Suggestions on what to say to sexual assault survivors instead of “I believe you”
What parts of working on her memoir, “One Way Back”, were therapeutic – and which were re-traumatizing
Content warning: this topic deals with sexual assault. Please take care when listening. -
Zibby Owens on Starting a Career Later in Life
Zibby Owens witnessed first-hand the payoff of great entrepreneurship as she watched her father build his company, Blackstone, from the ground up. She freelanced as a writer earlier in her career. She focused on raising her kids for 10+ years. Then her marriage ended. So she spent her weekends without the kids rekindling her love of literature – and developing a media empire focusing on all things books.
In this episode, Zibby shares:
The story behind her iconic color-coordinated bookshelf
What she learned watching her father build his private equity business, Blackstone
Her recent Vogue article she published – and why she almost wishes she hadn’t
How her podcast became the vehicle to sell her first book
Why building your personal brand is key in almost any industry today -
Ancestry CEO Deb Liu on Taking Your Power Back at Work
Ancestry CEO Deb Liu grew up in one of the only Asian families in South Carolina. To avoid being teased, she mostly kept to herself. It wasn’t until Deb got to Stanford Business School when she realized: she had to learn to speak up. That realization spurred her long career in Silicon Valley. But Deb says, without some openness and vulnerability from herself and others, it never would’ve happened.
In this episode, Deb shares:
Why she should’ve been fired from her first product management role
How being open and vulnerable with her boss actually helped her career
Key moments from her tech-heavy product career at eBay + Facebook
Why being a “strategic introvert” allowed her to contribute more effectively at work
Her most used tip from her new book, Take Your Power Back -
Mandy Moore on Not Letting Competition Distract You
The late-90s bubblegum pop music defined Mandy Moore’s career. She always knew she was her record label’s answer to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Mandy also knew she’d never be them – and that was okay with her. In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Mandy shares advice on how to know your competition without becoming distracted by it.
In this episode, Mandy shares:
The boy band she’d tour with again
Why having parents who didn’t want to manage her was the secret to her success
How she managed to be unbothered by the pop industry’s comparison loop
Her go-to practices for easing her public speaking anxiety
A skimm of her latest project, The Boars’ Nest -
Alex Wagner on Being Persistent to Get What You Want
Growing up with a politico father in Washington D.C., Alex Wagner initially swore off any career that dealt with politics. 25-ish years later, Alex is the primetime anchor of MSNBC's “Alex Wagner Tonight,” a show about the news and politics shaping our world. Talk about a 180. In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Alex tells us how doing everything she was not “supposed” to do jump-started her media career.
In this episode, Alex shares:
How a pair of vintage heels nearly ruined her job interview with George Clooney
The influence her father’s political work had on her own career
How she wiggled her way into media with zero connections in the industry
Why writing her memoir was the hardest thing she’s done professionally
The lessons she learned from Rachel Maddow when she took over her primetime slot
Customer Reviews
Jen Psaki…
Amazing woman. Amazing interview. Loved her thoughts on men in mentorship for women, and not being a person (man or woman) that climbed the ladder and pulled it up behind them. 💯
Very grounded. Incredibly authentic. A home run here. Well done. And THANK YOU!
Platforming an Anti-Abortion Politician
Gross.
Amazing podcast
I LOVE this podcast! I often find that my podcast feed is filled with male voices, stories and perspective, and it’s so refreshing to have 3 women each episode talk about business! I learn something new every time.
I often send friends and colleagues this podcast, and want to send them quotes from the episode to get them hooked. I wish you all provided a transcript so it was easy to quote and search in the episode to give better recommendations to friends!