7 Unique and Motivating Podcast Episodes on Women Business Owners

”Tatcha: Vicky Tsai"- How I built this with Guy Raz (Aired 7/13/ 2020)

The only type of make-up that didn’t irritate Vick Tsai’s skin was from Japan, and it wasn’t from a department store. But make-up used by the centuries-old Geisha community. Determined to figure out a way to bring this type of natural make-up to the U.S., Vicky didn’t give up when retailers said Asian brand cosmetics are not en vogue or had any potential for success. She knew how the product made her feel and how it looked on her skin and had the intuition that others would feel the same way. This episode will take you from the very beginning of Vicky's career in NYC to living in her parent’s home and working out of their garage to build her cosmetic company, Tatcha. After listening to this episode, you will truly understand the meaning of persistence and intuition.

“How to Find Your Big Idea with Spanx’s Sara Blakely”  Masters of Scale (Episode #22)

Founder and CEO, Sara Blakely had a vision that one day she was going to be on the Oprah show. When she had this vision she didn’t know how or what would get her on the show, but set an intention for herself to figure it out. And she did, with Spanx. Sara didn’t have a background in apparel manufacturing or design, but she was hungry to learn and driven to make it happen. Listen to the episode on how she turned a homemade undergarment into a multi-million dollar brand.  Sara’s story starts at 8:40 mins into the episode. I love Masters of Scale podcast, but sometimes their mini intro is not really necessary, this is the case for this episode!

“Smart Out Loud: How Janice Bryant Howard Learned to Own Her Brillance” - Without Fail Podcast from Gimlet Media (Aired 8/19/2019)

This is an inspiring episode of how Janice Bryant Howard built a billion-dollar company, Act One, by starting out with helping her brother-in-law with temp work at his office. Janice quickly realized the office wasn’t organized or running smoothly, so she took hold of the situation and created processes and systems. Her brother-in-law believed in her abilities and encouraged her to start her own temp to hire agencies. 40 years later she has grown Act One into one of the top agencies in America. She is one of the first African-American women to own and manage a billion-dollar business in the U.S. In this episode, Janice shares why finding a mentor and being a mentor is an essential for building a business.

“Marie Kondo in Katie's Closet” - Next Question with Katie Couric (Aired 11/30/17)

Have you gone through your closet to see if the items still spark joy for you? If you have done this exercise or have heard this, you are practicing the “Konmari Method”. Marie Kondo made home organization into a new lifestyle. She started organizing closets in college and now has created an international certification course based on her best-selling book. In this episode, Marie shares with Katie the principles of her organizing method and why she thinks her passion for tidying sparked it into a multi-million dollar business.

“M.M. La Fleur: Sarah La Fleur” - How I built this with Guy Raz (Aired Feb. 3, 2020)

When CEO and founder, Sarah La Fleur had to go shopping for suits and dresses for her corporate job, she became frustrated with the options and fit. So she decided to do something about it. Sarah didn’t have a background or degree in fashion design but knew there was a problem to solve for women. In this episode, Sarah shares how she learned about the industry while she was starting her business. And how being an outsider helped her find success in building one of the highly sought-after online women's' workwear brands, M.M. La Fleur. This is one of my favorite episodes from HIBT, maybe it's because it’s about a company that disrupted the fashion industry? Let me know if you feel the same way too.

“How a Stay-At-Home Mom Started an Empire” - Without Fail by Gimlet Media (Aired Aug.19.2019)

I love this story of how Jenny Doan, a stay at home mom, was faced with a serious financial challenge back in 2008, so she took her side hustle of quilting and made it into a business. Jenny’s business took off when her son uploaded a Youtube video of her explaining how to do a simple quilting technique. Fast forward over 10 years later, Jenny has over with 2 million views per episode and over 690K YouTube channel subscribers from all over the world. The Missouri Star Quilt Co. not only has made part of its wealth through streaming videos but also turned their small town into a quilting destination and building a community of businesses to support the tourism. Real true story, you have to listen to it!

“LÄRABAR: Lara Merriken”   How I built this with Guy Raz (Aired March 18, 2018)

Lara Merriken found herself divorced and without a job, so to make money on the side, she made natural energy bars. She eventually found a job at her local Whole Foods and shared her bars with co-workers, it was an instant hit! She was encouraged by her friends to pass her homemade energy bars to one of the buyers at Whole Foods to try it out. The buyer took loved the bar and took a chance on Lara by ordering a test run. Over ten years later LÄRABAR is one of the top-selling natural energy bars and is now a part of General Mill’s brand. This episode is all about staying motivated, even when you are doing some serious bootstrapping for your business.