Focus. Every time I think of entrepreneurs I admire, they all have this one quality in common.
My friend, Alex, has mentioned the story of Spanx founder Sara Blakely to me several times over the years. Sara created a women’s hoisery product that shook up an industry. At 42, she is the only female self-made billionaire in the world.
I’ve been inspired by Sarabeth Levine of Sarabeth‘s restaurant and specialty food company ever since seeing her a while back on a morning talking show. Sarabeth turned her family’s 200-year-old recipe for Orange-Apricot Marmalade that she made in her kitchen into a company that now has a jam factory, 9 restaurants, and an entire specialty food company.
Frownies are another amazing product created by a single female entrepreneur, Margaret Kroesen, who continuously turned difficult circumstances into business opportunities with her beauty products. She created her original wrinkle-reducing facial pads in 1889 for herself and her daughter to reduce fine lines and wrinkles without harsh skin treatments.
These entrepreneurs built companies based upon one single product that they perfected. These women created a simple product they loved and then pounded the pavement to get it into the hands of people who would benefit from it. What one, simple product can you build, perfect, and sell to begin crafting your story and your fortune?
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
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