Don’t get caught up in trends (they too shall pass) and follow what you are passionate about.
In November 2016, Kelly through her studio, Live What You Love, LLC launched the social initiative Grateful4Her. Grateful4Her is a celebration, a movement and on a mission to change how the world considers, talks about and promotes women. Grateful4Her is a thank you note to women everywhere. It is a movement earthed in gratitude about the ways, achievements and impact of people who identify as women. A way to share her story and show your gratitude for her impact.
Grateful4Her grew out of Kelly’s academic research that examined the differences in perceptions and learning of web-based technology between male and female web designers, users and students. Kelly began this research in 1998 for her doctorate during the early days of web design. She has dedicated over 15+ years researching the human-social design of human-web interaction and the gendering of technology knowledge and skill perceptions. Her research work is published in: Journal of Business Research, Studies in Higher Education, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Interactive Marketing, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Psychology & Marketing, Behavior & Information Technology, International Journal of Retailing & Distribution Management, Marketing Review, Strategic Change, Journal of Marketing Management and Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
Through the website, social channels and its various publications and media assets, the long-term objective of Grateful4Her is to move the conversation about women away from one where women are regarded in some way as ‘less then’; to one in which the abilities, skills and the social impact of women across cultures, countries, history and fields of expertise is celebrated and seen as a ‘social asset.’
Where did the idea for Grateful4Her come from?
Grateful4Her was inspired by the different ways we portray women in the media, and how divergent this was to women who I have worked with, know personally and have interviewed. I was inspired by their stories and impact and found that these stories are empowering to women who are connected to them, and others around them. Yet these are the not the stories the media often profiles. It inspired me to consider a different way to share stories about the lives, work and impact of women. As I did research I observed a gap in how we do this and also the role gratitude has as a social emotion when our gratitude is made visible.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I always start my day with music and reflection as a way to ground me in the projects of the day. My day then is dependent on the work or project I am committed to. I could be giving a presentation or running a workshop for a client, interviewing people or hidden behind a computer writing content for a social or digital media presence. At the moment we are designing an entire series of workshops for young people and adults to explore their identity, story and how they share it with the world.
To make it productive, I am conscious of the place I work and tools I use to facilitate its productivity. I use Asana and Trello to manage task lists and work as productively as possible. Coffee and music also helps.
How do you bring ideas to life?
By inspiring and being a stand for other people, especially women and people who don’t typically have their voice heard or story shared. You can have an idea or story, yet if it isn’t shared with other people it will not have the impact it needs to be truly great. I work with people in workshop and group settings to bring to the surface the ideas that could possibly impact their brand or organization. We then work bring them to life through the different ways they could be shared with the world – via an event, images or video content on social media, storytelling workshops or designing some other means to share the idea. Great ideas are ideas that are shared, that everyone can socially benefit from.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The social impact of people through social media. Today, more than any other time in history people have a voice in the narrative media, company and political organizations share. We are seeing people socially organize and share their voice in issues they are passionate about and agree/disagree with.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I’m a polymath. I am creative, strategic, artistic and analytical. I can write, create photographs, deliver workshops, work with youth and adults and analyze large sets of data. This has afforded me the ability to design and manage multiple projects more productively as I can determine what the project needs in terms of skill sets and who I can outsource to.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t get caught up in trends (they too shall pass) and follow what you are passionate about. Dedicate yourself to it irrespective of what others expect or think of you. It might not be an easy path to live what you love, but it is far more internally rewarding. You can successful at anything you commit to, so why not make it something you love doing and are passionate about. This is the way to happiness.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on?
We can change the world for the greater good and have peace in it. I am often told this a utopian perspective and given the way of human being, it will never happen. I truly believe we can if/when people dedicate themselves to learn about their higher self, and how they can impact and be a stand for others. It is when we are too focused on ourselves as better than others, our individual needs at the expense of others that we lose sight that the world and lives of people in it can change and bring peace.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Create a playlist of your favorite music and listen to in the morning and evening. As an entrepreneur your day can be varied and you are constantly juggling people, projects and commitments. You are constant hustle mode. I have found music is my saving grace. It grounds me and washes away the energy of the day.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Being in conversation with other entrepreneurs and being open to opportunities this may bring irrespective of if it is part of my plan. I have discovered that so much can grow out of conversations and usually when I least expect it.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
In my early twenties I launched a marketing research consulting business in Sydney, Australia. We were small and had a couple of great clients. I was still in college and I thought I could do everything myself in order to minimize costs. I quickly learned we couldn’t meet all the project deadlines so to overcome it we needed to outsource quickly or bring more people onto the team. We lost a couple of our clients during that time.
This taught me how important it is to develop a list of partners or peers who you can refer work to or bring onto a project if needed, and who form a professional network in your business. I am especially dedicated to supporting female entrepreneurs find their voice and grow their businesses.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
In the US there is much confusion over the political process: When elections are? Who is running? What do they stand for? And how can constituents show there support for the policies and bills that are being proposed and passed. Further, the ‘town hall’ concept of bring constituents together is outdated in our socially mediated world. As a result there is a great disconnect between what politicians stand for and what people want to see passed.
A great business idea would be to launch an online social service where everyday people could use social tools to learn about and vote on the top line ideas of a proposed bill. The tool would also make visible any parties such as other governments or companies with vested interest in the bills passing. A politician and his team would then need to show they have community support for the bill through the service before its formal proposal is submitted to the governing body. The service could make the political process more transparent and politicians more accountable to the people they represent.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I purchased in January the Daily Greatness Box Set of journals for $129. These journals are beautifully designed and they provide for deeper insight into what I am working towards in my business and the social initiative we launched last year, Grateful4Her.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
The web service I use above all else is Spotify. Music is a great escape and also sets a great sense of feeling in the office when you are up against a deadline or completing on a project. Asana and Trello are my two go-to services for task lists and project management. They help me organize my projects and see what tasks for each client I have coming up, and who we need to partner with to complete on our work.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
There are two books I’d recommend and they were written some time ago. Daniel Goleman’s, “Emotional Intelligence” and his other book “Social Intelligence”. As an entrepreneur you are constantly negotiating other people’s energy and needs. Having a perspective on yours and the emotional and social intelligence of others is very important.
What is your favorite quote?
“The life purpose of the true social entrepreneur is to change the world.” Bill Drayton.
Key learnings
Creative, strategic, artistic and analytical ~ Kelly Page is a polymath and a social entrepreneur who founded the social design studio, Live What You Love, LLC and the social initiative Grateful4Her. She fundamentally believes we can change the world for the greater good if we dedicated more of our selves and our businesses to social good. She brings ideas to life by inspiring and being a stand for other people, leveraging the social impact of social media storytelling and by being in committed to the work and life of her peers, especially female entrepreneurs. Being open to the ideas and ways of other people is she believes the lifeblood of the social entrepreneur.
Connect
Grateful4Her on Twitter: @grateful4her
Grateful4Her on Facebook: fb/grateful4her
Grateful4Her on Instagram: @Grateful4Her
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.