Finding success with a little spark and hustle
By Becky Beaupre Gillespie
For years, people have approached entrepreneur and “Good Morning America” workplace contributor Tory Johnson, searching for kernels of advice to help their businesses start or grow. She noticed that many had the raw materials for success: an idea, passion, purpose, expertise, knowledge — a spark. But still they struggled.
“You could see this glimmer in their eyes. These weren’t people who were saying, ‘Well, I can’t find a job so I’ll start a business,’ “ Ms. Johnson says. “What they were missing, or looking for help with, was crossing that bridge from having that spark to making money at it. To me, that’s the hustle side.”So two years ago the mother of two founded Spark and Hustle to help women launch and grow their businesses. She leveraged the success she’d already built through regular GMA segments, several books and Women for Hire, her company offering career and recruitment services for women. Now she’s on a 20-city tour drawing hundreds of women entrepreneurs, and a few men, to one-day conferences designed to strengthen attendees’ hustle. She hits the Chicago area July 24 with an Oak Brook event that features local female business owners including Kim Holstein, co-founder of Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels; Terese Lang McDonald, founder of Candyality; and Jill Salzman, creator of Founding Moms.
The tour has drizzle of glitz — Ms. Johnson’s team is traveling the country in a wrapped SUV jokingly termed “the ego-mobile” because it’s emblazoned with her image and name — and a heavy dose of honest, take-no-prisoners practicality. Ms. Johnson, who bans speakers from “selling from the stage” and doesn’t hesitate to share her own mistakes, encourages a candid give-and-take.
“There’s a lot of calling on people and, frankly, calling them out,” she says.
That honest, upbeat vibe has won Ms. Johnson devotion among her fans, who’ve been known to gush. Interior designer Cynthia C. Smith, the owner of Chicago-based CCS Design Studio, will be attending her second Spark and Hustle event July 24 — and sent emails to every female entrepreneur she knew asking them to join her.
“It was women who were energetic, who were motivated, who were willing to do what it takes,” she says of last year’s event.
Her business, which she founded in 2008, is growing — and this year Ms. Smith is looking for guidance as she moves into the next stage of business development.
“There’s an energy I wake up with every morning — I’m excited to go to work,“ she says. “I need help with the hustle when it becomes overwhelming. Things are moving so fast … and I feel like I need to control everything.”
Ms. Johnson firmly believes that entrepreneurs are responsible for their own success, and that any woman with the right spark can learn the hustle needed to grow a successful business.
“The decisions you make and the actions you take each and every day — that’s the hustle,” she says. “And it’s the hustle that defines and determines your success. It’s not about where or if you went to school — I dropped out of college to accept my first job at ABC News. … It’s not about how much or how little money you have in the bank. … It’s not about deep your Rolodex is. People say to me, ‘It’s easy for you — you’re on Good Morning America every week.’ Well, I wasn’t always.”
Becky Beaupre Gillespie is a Chicago-based journalist and the co-author of “Good Enough Is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood.” She speaks on work/life issues and perfectionism at corporations, conferences and to women’s groups, and she blogs at TheNewPerfect.com.
Her posts on women in entrepreneurship appear here every Wednesday.
Follow Becky on Twitter: @beckyinbalance.
Join Crain’s LinkedIn group for Chicago entrepreneurs. And stay on top of Chicago business with Crain’s free daily e-newsletters.
Click Here To Check Out This Mobile Marketing Text Solution
Related posts:
- Finding success with a little spark and hustle
- Sometimes finding real work-life balance means working . . . more
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Finding success with a little spark and hustle
By Becky Beaupre Gillespie
For years, people have approached entrepreneur and “Good Morning America” workplace contributor Tory Johnson, searching for kernels of advice to help their businesses start or grow. She noticed that many had the raw materials for success: an idea, passion, purpose, expertise, knowledge — a spark. But still they struggled.
“You could see this glimmer in their eyes. These weren’t people who were saying, ‘Well, I can’t find a job so I’ll start a business,’ “ Ms. Johnson says. “What they were missing, or looking for help with, was crossing that bridge from having that spark to making money at it. To me, that’s the hustle side.”So two years ago the mother of two founded Spark and Hustle to help women launch and grow their businesses. She leveraged the success she’d already built through regular GMA segments, several books and Women for Hire, her company offering career and recruitment services for women. Now she’s on a 20-city tour drawing hundreds of women entrepreneurs, and a few men, to one-day conferences designed to strengthen attendees’ hustle. She hits the Chicago area July 24 with an Oak Brook event that features local female business owners including Kim Holstein, co-founder of Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels; Terese Lang McDonald, founder of Candyality; and Jill Salzman, creator of Founding Moms.
The tour has drizzle of glitz — Ms. Johnson’s team is traveling the country in a wrapped SUV jokingly termed “the ego-mobile” because it’s emblazoned with her image and name — and a heavy dose of honest, take-no-prisoners practicality. Ms. Johnson, who bans speakers from “selling from the stage” and doesn’t hesitate to share her own mistakes, encourages a candid give-and-take.
“There’s a lot of calling on people and, frankly, calling them out,” she says.
That honest, upbeat vibe has won Ms. Johnson devotion among her fans, who’ve been known to gush. Interior designer Cynthia C. Smith, the owner of Chicago-based CCS Design Studio, will be attending her second Spark and Hustle event July 24 — and sent emails to every female entrepreneur she knew asking them to join her.
“It was women who were energetic, who were motivated, who were willing to do what it takes,” she says of last year’s event.
Her business, which she founded in 2008, is growing — and this year Ms. Smith is looking for guidance as she moves into the next stage of business development.
“There’s an energy I wake up with every morning — I’m excited to go to work,“ she says. “I need help with the hustle when it becomes overwhelming. Things are moving so fast … and I feel like I need to control everything.”
Ms. Johnson firmly believes that entrepreneurs are responsible for their own success, and that any woman with the right spark can learn the hustle needed to grow a successful business.
“The decisions you make and the actions you take each and every day — that’s the hustle,” she says. “And it’s the hustle that defines and determines your success. It’s not about where or if you went to school — I dropped out of college to accept my first job at ABC News. … It’s not about how much or how little money you have in the bank. … It’s not about deep your Rolodex is. People say to me, ‘It’s easy for you — you’re on Good Morning America every week.’ Well, I wasn’t always.”
Becky Beaupre Gillespie is a Chicago-based journalist and the co-author of “Good Enough Is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood.” She speaks on work/life issues and perfectionism at corporations, conferences and to women’s groups, and she blogs at TheNewPerfect.com.
Her posts on women in entrepreneurship appear here every Wednesday.
Follow Becky on Twitter: @beckyinbalance.
Join Crain’s LinkedIn group for Chicago entrepreneurs. And stay on top of Chicago business with Crain’s free daily e-newsletters.
Click Here To Check Out This Mobile Marketing Text Solution
Related posts:
- Finding success with a little spark and hustle
- Sometimes finding real work-life balance means working . . . more
Leave a comment
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