From Concept to Market with Covey Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Emily DiDonato

Do you dream of being an entrepreneur? Starting your own business or brand starts with finding your niche, researching your market, and believing that your service or your product can do better.

Today's guest shares the behind-the-scenes of how she turned her idea into a successful beauty brand. I am thrilled to introduce you to today's guest Emily DiDonato. Her community of 2.2M Instagram followers may know her first as a model, but in today's conversation, and as she takes her next steps in her newest venture, she is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Covey. Say so long to your 12-step skincare routine (guilty!) and hello to a simple and stress free regimen with three go-to products you can use both day and night.

In today's conversation, Emily shares with us what led her to launch Covey Skin, the value proposition of the brand that keeps customers coming back, her advice on how to change your career and try something new, and much more!

SHOW NOTES:

As a model Emily has always found taking care of her skin was an important priority. She realized there is a lot of varying information on the internet when it came to “how”. Through her own research, Emily discovered what products you actually need in a routine and in what order you really need to use them (0:55.)

Emily found her solution by creating her own 3-step effective routine, Covey Skin (2:19.) 

She found the key to success was finding high-quality ingredients that were compatible with each other and with all skin types (2:53.)

The brand name “Covey” means “a small flock of birds”. Emily chose this as her brand name because she sees her community and products as a “covey” (3:50.)

“Birds fly in flocks to protect and support each other and that is what Covey represents - your skin’s most trusted covey in itself.”

— Emily DiDonato

Creating a product and starting a business has been an exciting venture for Emily! She finds there are many hats she has to wear and even with all the excitement she occasionally will find herself dealing with imposter syndrome (6:17.)

Emily finds through her years modeling that she has developed the ability to take direction and do as she was told; but now as an entrepreneur, it is her job to direct and lead others (7:38.)

“Social listening” differentiates Covey from other brands by actively listening to the internet's questions across platforms. By doing so, Emily and her team were able to develop a product that met the public's needs (8:45.)

“Remember that no one really knows what they are doing at the beginning of a new venture or career. Even experts are figuring it out!”

— Emily DiDonato

When things become overwhelming Emily likes to keep in mind, “this too shall pass” (12:45.)

Emily’s big skin secret is finding a bedtime routine by going to bed and waking up at the same time every night. By doing so, Emily has found that puffiness and bags under the eyes will disappear (13:45.)

Interested in learning more and continuing to follow Emily’s journey? Follow her here! Want to follow Covey Skin? Follow here and use code “BRAVA” for 10% off the Covey Routine!

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Thank you readers, to tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

Honest Storytelling With Founder of The Confetti Project Jelena Aleksich

Meet Jelena, mental health and grief advocate and founder of The Confetti Project: a photography challenge that turned into an opportunity to encourage others to answer the question “what are you celebrating”. Tune in below to meet Jelena, and learn how you can use real-life experiences and honest storytelling to build a brand, community, and more!

SHOW NOTES:

Jelena’s work has served as a source for many brands, people, and start-ups. She was inspired to start The Confetti Project when she left a previous job (1:00.)

After an OK Go concert, she left the event with confetti in her pockets. She was so surprised by it and the confetti brought her so much joy! It made her question, “what does confetti mean” and she immediately started to gather photos of confetti (2:05.)

She then began asking others around her, “what do you celebrate in your life right now?” and “what are you grateful for?” These questions would stop people in their tracks. Jelena quickly realized that this project may be unlocking something bigger than herself and she owed it to herself to explore it (3:02).

“Any time you are carving your own path, it takes a lot of trust. Listen to your internal compass and be fearless. Go after those moments and things that make you feel the most alive. ”

— Jelena Aleksich

After traveling to Dubai Jelena asked people who were all so diverse the same question, “What do you celebrate?” and their answers were exactly the same! She realized we all have way more in common than we think we do.  Celebration and being human is universal (9:00). 

Jelena finds anytime we take time for ourselves to check-in and explore our passions not only impacts ourselves but creates a ripple effect to those around us (11:20). 

“Every human life is worthy of celebration.”

— Jelena Aleksich

Now more than ever people need to be inspired by the good in the world. (17:55)

 When storytelling, the key is to be authentic and genuine and bring to life why you are doing what you are doing. The ‘why’  should be the nucleus of what you do. Your brand becomes the platform to make it happen (19:00).

Jelena’s next projects are Confetti Grams, virtual community confetti circles, such as this healing community workshop on grief, and Casa Confetti where people can share what they celebrate (22:10).

When taking a leap, ask yourself what you are passionate about and believe in yourself. There’s no reason why you can’t do what you want to do. Surround yourself with people that believe in you. The whole nature of pursuing a dream job or starting your own business is constantly learning from it and making yourself excited by growing and evolving from it (24:30).

To learn more about Jelena be sure to follow The Confetti Project on Instagram!

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Thank you readers, to tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

5 Episodes to Inspire Your Monday Morning Routine

New week, new start, who 'dis?☕🌟 Raise your hand if you have ever let the "Sunday Scaries" get the best of you. 🙋

It's hard not to...with growing anxieties from the productivity of your past weekend (or the lack their of) and the potentially portentous week to come weighing heavily on you. Don't get down on yourself for not accomplishing what you wanted to do on the weekend.

Allow yourself to bring new light and energy to your Monday morning routine. A fresh page in your book to start again. You deserve it.

So let’s kick off this morning right! I pulled together my top 5 favorite Brava episodes that will help to inspire your evolving vision, revitalize your workflow, and jumpstart your week with positivity!

Leading Yourself Well With Marissa Nash | Episode 20

Marissa is a Certified Professional Life Coach and Team Coach that specializes in helping YOU to make an impact whether it be within your own organization, your community, with your family or the world. Tune in this AM to lean more about incorporating self-care into your routine and how to perform your own life audit. Use this next 20 minutes with Marissa as your own personal time with your new life coach. She’s got your back because she knows you have big plans for your future.

Celebrating Life’s Moments with Entrepreneur and CEO Kristen Ley of ThimblePress | Episode 19

Meet Kristen Ley, CEO, er, actually I should say, “Chief Confetti Maker and Founder” of Thimblepress. Tune in below to get real with Kristen and her start-up story, learn more about differentiating products in a competitive space and advice on how to make your dream a reality.

Differentiating Your Product with CEO and Beauty Guru Lauren Napier | Episode 16

In this episode Lauren highlights key takeaways of how you can differentiate your brand, gives details about how she launched her beauty line and products, and talks about how she pays it forward along the way. Tune in below to how this make-up artist turned CEO is changing and challenging the beauty space.

Rooting Your Career in Self-Love with Ta’lor Pinkston | Episode 15

Prioritizing self-love and self-care is essential for your career. Tune in to meet Ta’lor Pinkston. Ta’lor is the founder of LADYHOOD journey, LLC and has made it her mission to help women and girls know their worth by making self-love a priority through creating a community for women empowerment.

How to Craft A Life You Love with Amy Tangerine | Episode 14

Let’s discuss how to craft not just creativity, good habits and a good environment, but also a life that you love. To help walk us through this how-to, meet creativity and craft maven, Amy Tangerine! Amy is the author of the colorful and amazing book, “Craft a Life You Love”.

Which episode inspired you this morning? Comment below! #YouGoGirl

Cultivating Community with Wellness Chef and Coach Kara Elise

Meet Kara Elise, a foodie who turned her passion for hosting into a full-time career that allows her to create joy by creating experiences for people around a table. She's curated moments and events for Darling Magazine, Alaska Airlines, Sorel Shoes, and more! Keep on reading and tune in below to get the behind-the-scenes with Kara as we enter her kitchen, where she offers creativity, art, and genuine community.

SHOW NOTES:

Kara got into cooking and food because she loved creating spaces that facilitated nourishment and connection. Food was a great modality to do that (2:00.)

She started her company to bring people together in a connective space. She loves the intuition that comes with preparing food, taking the ingredients in a kitchen and making something magical with it (4:15.)

This created two themes in her work life, first the importance of creating connection around food and two learning how to be intuitive and playful to make art out of food (5:03).

She loves working with brands at retreats because clients are completely taken out of their comfort zone and she can be part of the new environment. This allows Kara to come in, as a chef, and create a comfortable and inviting experience with food (5:20.)

“My vision is for people to feel free in the kitchen. I think the kitchen should be fun, playful, and intuitive. ”

— Kara Dykert

Kara’s book, Toast, offers simple and intuitive meal recipes. Accessible recipes are very important to Kara because they are the starting point for learning kitchen intuition (9:00.)

The biggest universal tip for bringing people together, according to Kara, is a table question. The way it works is you ask the question and then every single person at the table goes around and answers it. By asking the same question around the table it allows everyone to equally voice their own part of their story (13:15.)

She likes using table questions outside of the social space and brings it to the corporate space to help clients connect with their teams on a more intimate level (16:00.)

Kara believes that to pay it forward it’s important to first connect with ourselves: know who they are, be grounded, and operate from a place of self-compassion and self-love. She also has been hosting live cooking classes everyday on Instagram (17:20.)

What’s Next for Kara? She has been building an online course called Hosting with Heart which is a six-part series that teaches viewers how to host well. In addition to her series, she’s still working on her podcast with her finance and filming a pilot for a TV show called What’s in your Kitchen, where she teaches viewers how to use ingredients you have in your kitchen and in life to create something magical and nourishing (19:30.)

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Thank you readers, to tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story! 

Leading Yourself Well With Marissa Nash

Today on the Brava Podcast I am so pleased to introduce you to Marissa Nash. Marissa is a Certified Professional Life Coach and Team Coach that specializes in helping YOU to make an impact whether it be within your own organization, your community, with your family or the world.

In today’s episode we discuss everything from how to avoid burnout, how to incorporate self-care into your routine, and even how to perform your own life audit! So use this next 20 minutes with Marissa as your own personal time with your new life coach. She’s got your back because she knows you have big plans for your future. Let’s get started!

SHOW NOTES:

Marissa’s company, The Vine Collective, is a great resource for leaders, teams, and women everywhere! Her background stems from being a yoga instructor. She now coaches women in the corporate and entrepreneurial space (1:15.)

A lot of her work that she integrates into her practice is by John Maxwell and how to lead well (3:34.)

Looking to create a real impact on others? Marissa believes you can do this by having a positive influence on the people, the environment, and the cause you are most passionate about. It’s creating change that is sustainable. It means to leading with wellness and wholeness and working to inspire others to be the best they can be (5:12.)

Marissa’s Leadership Growth Plan is a roadmap for women to plan their growth for their life and leadership. Check it out here! (6:00.)

On Sunday nights, Marissa plans out her workouts for the week because that is her priority. It creates self-accountability as she plans to succeed in the week for what matters most to her. What’s your priorities? Share in the comments below! (8:00.)

Curious on how you can perform a life audit? You have to know where you are before you know how to make change in your life. She walks women through a 7-step process beginning with your why and your purpose on what you want to do. Continue tuning in to hear all of the 7 step process in her interview (9:34.)

Looking to create change? Marissa would suggest getting clear on what matters to you. Then, identify what gaps there may be in your community. Lastly, take action and remember, it’s ok to start small (11:37.)

Marissa is very inspired by Brené Brown because she is focused not only on strategy but also the heart (13:11.)

Need help with focus? She recommends writing 3 things each morning of different tasks you want to accomplish (14:45.)

Let’s talk books that inspire! Marissa loves the “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” by John C. Maxwell and “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown, but via Audio! (16:55.)

Want to learn more from Marissa? She is starting her next Mastermind in the fall! Be sure to check it out here.

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Thank you readers, to tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes! 

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story!