SDH 157: Learn How to Be Comfortable with the Discomfort of Being an Entrepreneur with Erin Bagwell, Founder of Dream Girl
What has brought you courage and strength? Have you ever thought of blending it with your personal brand? What would that manifest into? A product, a business, a space?
After dealing with sexual harassment in her workplace, feminism erased Erin Bagwell’s insecurities and feelings of invisibility. She started reading feminist journals and blogs and decided to create her own, Feminist Wednesday, that provides women like her a forum to share their stories; as well as a platform for women who have overcome those situations and regained their confidence and found success. She became so obsessed and empowered by these women, that she quit her job, and started a kick starter to produce the documentary, Dream, Girl, that tackled gender issues in the corporate world and acted as a visual medium for some of the women of Feminist Wednesday.
It took her 6 months to get her kick starter off the ground, but within 30 days of starting it she had reached her goal of $100,000.
Originally, she thought that it would resonate with strong females in Fortune 500 companies, but found that her documentary scared them. She said they weren’t ready to discuss gender issues in the workplace and thought it would turn off incoming and existing Millennial employees. However, she took pride in the fact that her film was so powerful, that it created discomfort in that ecosystem.
Her documentary was embraced by Influencers, people who were active in their community, such as mentors, and women in charge of uplifting women organizations.
Dream, Girl premiered at the White House in May of 2016, and since its release to the public that following June, it has been seen in 81 different countries.
Stick around and hear more about how Erin turned a soul-sucking situation into motivation to challenge societal norms with art!
In this episode you will…
Know what avenues of fundraising and investing to take when building a business, product, or kick starter
Understand how to stretch and work within your budget
Figure out how to disassociate yourself with your product enough so you can monetize it
Learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of being an entrepreneur
Find the best way of distributing your product
Know how to shift your product and business model in accordance to a target audience change
INSIGHTS
“Sometimes the cards are stacked against you, when you have all old white male, suit wearing superiors. Feminism kind of gave me the tools to dissect that and understand that just because I’m a young woman, doesn’t mean I’m not of value or worth to a company.” –Erin Bagwell
“I became so obsessed with the women I was meeting on Feminist Wednesday. The entrepreneur’s journeys about quitting their jobs and running a company and being successful seemed so romantic to me…I was at such a cross road in my life where I was really open and ready to receive a big idea...I had been so creatively stifled at work, so I was ready to dive all in, and do a kick starter.” –Erin Bagwell
“As artists, we feel this shame and this guilt around selling something we’ve poured our heart and souls into. And in the beginning I felt a lot of discomfort around money and charging for it, because it felt so close to me…it took a couple of months for me to get over and for me to view the film as a product, and as something we need to monetize.” –Erin Bagwell.
“I have no idea what I’m walking into day-to-day, or what’s going to happen, who’s going to need me…actually letting go has been something I continue to work on and think about and try to get better at.” –Erin Bagwell
RESOURCES
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
