Johanna Zlenko is the founder of The Closet Trading Co., an upscale consignment boutique. Johanna founded this brand while she was a freshman at the University of California Santa Barbara, grew the brand to 4 successful locations, and is now looking to expand nationally.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
- Bob Parsons founder of GoDaddy
- Neal Courtney
When business started difficulties overcame:
“I was so young and so clueless. I had never had a real job before never mind any experience as a business owner… learned everything from scratch and most of the lessons the hard way. I didn’t know anything about being an employee which I’m sure was very challenging for my early employees. I didn’t know a single thing about marketing of financial statements or payroll or licensing or inventory management”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants Book by Malcolm GladwellFavourite Quote:
“I’ve learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition and not on our circumstances” Martha Washington
Recommended Online Resources:
- Canva – Create beautiful designs with your team Use Canva’s drag and drop feature and layouts to design, share and print business cards, logos, presentations and more
- Monday.com – Team Management Platform to Manage Any Work & Any team. Monday.com is an intuitive team management platform for effective teamwork. Teams use monday.com to plan, organize and track their work in one visual, collaborative space
- Google Suite – An integrated suite of secure, cloud native collaboration and productivity apps powered by Google AI Includes Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Meet and more
- HubSpot offers a full platform of marketing, sales, customer service, and CRM software — plus the methodology, resources, and support — to help businesses grow better Get started with free tools, and upgrade as you grow
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“we are our own worst enemy. We tell ourselves we are not enough, capable enough, knowledgeable enough, outgoing enough, strong enough, smart enough. But the truth is that everyone feels that way at one point or another. And to succeed as entrepreneurs we have to push through those doubts. We have to get up, get dressed, put on a brave face even when we don’t feel like it because at the end of the day like I said the people who make it, the people that succeed are the ones who actually execute on their dreams, on their ideas”…[Listen for More]
More About Johanna Zlenko:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“The only way you are going to have success is to have lots of failures first.” Sergey Brin, co-founder, Google
Other Quotes From the Chat with Johanna Zlenko:
- “I would highly recommend building a support network of some sort before launching. I think an advisory board is a great place to start. If you can recruit a few mentors and asked them to meet with you even if it’s just by phone once a month so you don’t feel like you’re imposing on their time. That opportunity to bounce ideas off of them and get feedback is just so valuable. And if you are not sure where to find those individuals, I would recommend joining a networking group in your area and to start attending their meetings”
- “I wish I had understood the value of mentorship much earlier on. I got my first advisory board after about seven years in business and that was a total game changer. Having a diverse group of experienced businessmen and women holding a mirror up to my organisation helping me to identify the holes I didn’t even know I had was the most valuable shortcut I could ever imagine. So, I would definitely recommend getting advisory board early on and if you can start your business already having one in place you will benefit from the lessons of many instead of having to learn everything on your own”
- “I think trying to wake up in the morning interface down your fears is probably one of the hardest and bravest things that you can do”
- “it still feels very much like you are going at it alone as an entrepreneur”
- “I think centring yourself and pushing through the fears is the secret to success. Because so many people have great ideas but the entrepreneurs who are successful and the ones who push through and actually execute on their vision”
- “we don’t need to look at our ‘disadvantages’ the way that we’ve always seen them, we need to look at them and see what advantages we have”
- “when I take the time and energy to think of what I am grateful for it changes my whole outlook and opens my mind to new possibilities”
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