7 Innovators Show You How to Stay Strong Through Hard Times

One of my podcast guests, Liz Lange, reminded me that entrepreneurs were built for tough times. We know how to get through ups and downs; we know how to pivot, we know how to tackle situations we’ve never faced before. This month, I’ve gathered thoughts from my entrepreneurial and executive guests on how they're taking this opportunity to make themselves and their businesses even more durable. 

Read on for the highlights, and then listen to the full episodes for more insights.

1. Turn loss into an opportunity to learn. 

Dan Fleyshman started his first business at 17 and, at 23, became the youngest founder of a publicly-traded company in history, “Who’s Your Daddy” energy drink. He has since launched five other businesses, invested in 36 companies, and created a charity that creates backpacks filled with supplies for the homeless. 

“I don't mind failure... I expect failure because I try to do so many things,” he says. In this episode, you'll hear the story of how losing his online poker company overnight led to a lot of his later successes—and how anyone can learn from challenging moments to move forward. 

Listen to the full episode.

2. Take care of your people, and they’ll take care of your business. 

Eugene Remm is the co-founder of Catch Hospitality Group, which houses several businesses in the food and restaurant industry, and Rumble Boxing, a fast-growing group fitness company. Both are massively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In our conversation, Eugene gets real about the tough decisions and pivots this crisis has required. From the start, he’s been prioritizing his staff, because he knows it’s the people he surrounds himself with that make him unstoppable. 

“Take care of the staff, the staff will take care of the guests, guests will take care of the bills,” he shares, along with tons of advice on growing a successful and authentic business, no matter what the world throws at you. (Related: How to Inspire Your Team from Afar During a Pandemic)

Listen to the full episode.

3. See the potential in the problems you face.

Liz Lange founded Liz Lange Maternity—which revolutionized the industry in the late 90’s by selling stylish clothes that pregnant women would want to wear—and has since grown it into a nationally recognized brand that is sold at Target locations across the country. She ultimately decided to sell the brand and is now an investor and general entrepreneurial genius. 

She thinks one of the biggest reasons she’s gotten this far is that she uses challenges to propel her forward instead of holding her back. “I don't really see problems. I only see solutions,” she shares. Hard times give you the chance to examine how you've been doing things, scale back, and become a smarter business, or pivot. It’s time for entrepreneurs to get scrappy again. And we could all learn a thing or two from the ways Liz grew her business. 

Listen to the full episode. 

4. Get back to the core need. 

@Meghan Asha is the woman behind FounderMade, a platform that connects the most innovative consumer businesses, retailers, distributors, and investors, typically through massive trade shows, conferences, and events. FounderMade was quick to pivot, launching an online wholesale marketplace, a weekly professional development series with the best in the biz, and a virtual discovery conference coming up in June. 

Meghan says they were able to react so fast by revisiting the core need she was trying to serve: “Take a step back and look at what the world is and what needs you’re filling, and then from there you can start to build again.” In this episode, she shares the writing exercise that helped her see this positive future for her business—and why adapting involves taking care of your own needs.

Listen to the full episode. 

5. Believe in your ability to succeed.

Leslie Blodgett is the entrepreneur who created the beauty company bareMinerals and has spent her life shaking up the beauty industry. She’s also the author of the new book, Pretty Good Advice.

One of my takeaways from the book is the idea of believing in your luck. “Even when crappy stuff has happened to me, I always looked at it and said, ‘It’s lucky that happened because it could’ve been worse,’” she says. “If you believe it, you will be it, and that's the whole thing with luck.” (Related: Aim High. It All Starts There)

Listen to the full episode.

6. Stay ahead of the change. 

Gregg Renfrew is the founder and CEO of Beautycounter, a clean beauty brand dedicated to getting safer personal care and beauty products.

Gregg stayed ahead of a shifting industry to find her unique distribution model, which uses a team of 50,000 individual consultants to help get the word out about her brand. Noticing that the department and big-box stores that beauty brands typically target were waning, she realized she needed to find a more innovative way. “I love the idea of mobilizing a group of committed women and men to create a movement,” she shares. “And when I realized that we could do this through people, I became really, really excited. It was like a light bulb went off.”

Listen to the full episode.

7. Make use of this time of unbusyness.

Sheri Salata spent decades working for The Oprah Winfrey Show, eventually working her way to executive producer and then helping start OWN. She’s now written a book called The Beautiful No.

Her biggest advice is to use the forced slow down to look for more ways to take care of your wellbeing and grow internally to prep for whatever comes next. “Some days, I do this better than others,” she admits. “Some days, it’s a Netflix binge and too much wine, but most days it's the mindset that I am getting ready. I’m creating a new Sheri for a new normal. And that Sheri is going to be even more resilient, even more filled with possibilities, even more innovative, even more creative, even happier, even more joyful, because that's the mindset that's going to take me to the next level.”

Listen to the full episode.

You Might Also Like:    

You’re Hired! CEO-Approved Resume Advice to Stand Out During (and After) a Pandemic

“Unstoppable” Podcast Month-in-Review: Executives and Entrepreneurs Answer the Big Question, “How Do We Move Forward?”

How I Know Who to Trust in Business

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of San Francisco–based Hint, a healthy lifestyle brand known for its delicious unsweetened flavored water. Since launching in 2005, Hint has introduced an oxybenzone- and paraben-free sunscreen collection using its signature fruit essences, and most recently, a plant-based, aluminum-free eucalyptus + lemon deodorant. Kara produces and hosts her own podcast, Unstoppable with Kara Goldin, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and disruptors across various industries. Keep up with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.