Five Pearls of Wisdom for Achieving your Dreams in Business and Beyond

The beginning of the year is always a time of goal setting and action for me and so many others. My journey started at my kitchen table. From there, I built a global accessories empire. Women who are thinking about starting a business often ask me, “What do you think contributed most to your success?”

Personally, I’m an innovator. And, I’ve always been most passionate about building new opportunities that open pathways for women to reach their full potential while feeling their best. That’s actually the theme that brings together my drive to make change – from creating fashionable, affordable accessories, to building a supportive network for women business leaders, to sparking a movement for inclusive medical research.

Find your mission and your passion.

During college I used to string beads onto leather cords and sell my necklaces and bracelets so I had some pocket money. I eventually started my business at my kitchen table, once I had a few toddlers in my life. I officially founded Carolee Designs in 1973 – not exactly a year when there were many women CEO role models. Turning a creative gig which afforded me some financial independence into a career and a global brand didn’t happen overnight, and there were so many barriers I had to push through.

I envisioned building an enterprise that inspired and gave women confidence to feel and be their best. I had no idea that revolutionizing the jewelry industry – how it was produced, marketed, sold and distributed - would be a first step in contributing to feeling chic and fashionable.

Dream big and act boldly.

Along the way, it was the positive response from women that fanned the flame of my entrepreneurial drive. My goal was to create designs which were the highest quality yet widely available. As I worked to grow the business, I had to focus not just on creating jewelry and other accessories, but creating a strong and viable company and a global brand. I surrounded myself with peers who had sharp business skills and I also brought my creativity to create global marketing campaigns that featured and celebrated women.

Because helping women succeed has always been so central for me, I wanted to do things differently as a female CEO and employer. My workforce was over 85% women – which was not the industry norm. And I noticed something. For women, and for all of us, our health is an extremely important part of our productivity. I offered health club memberships as a standard benefit for my employees – long before this was a real trend – and it made a big difference for all.

After a nearly thirty-year journey from kitchen table to multi-million-dollar global accessories empire, I sold my precious company, Carolee Designs, in 2001.

Make the network you wish you had.

When I looked back across the thirty-year story of building my business, I saw the tough decisions, the sleepless nights, and the times I wished I had better advice. Professional and personal networks are so critical to success. In 2015 I created a network – AccessCircles – of brilliant, successful, and fierce women who have risen to the top of their industries or careers. I set out to create a community to provide women with insightful knowledge and enriching experiences that focus on enhancing health and wealth.

Go after the problems you see in the world.

My work with AccessCircles opened my eyes to just how often health is a barrier to women’s success – whether they are held back by their own health issues or those of a loved one that force them to prioritize caretaking over their own career. I started to research the issues, and to talk to my network, and what I found was so profoundly shocking, I knew we needed to create a shift and a change.

When I looked into women’s health issues, I learned that before 1993, most testing done in clinical trials and diagnostic and device development was conducted on men and didn’t include women at all. I still get fired up when I think about that. The current lack of funding for clinical research including and focused on women is critically limiting the potential of women and it is also holding back the potential growth of the global economy.

That’s why I, with the support of many incredible peers, created WHAM! (Women’s Health Access Matters). WHAM! combats gender inequity in clinical research by directly funding innovative research focused on women’s health, convening leading researchers and clinicians to understand issues and prioritize investments, and providing a clear case for change by quantifying for the first time the enormous economic impact that increasing investment in women’s health research will have. Through WHAM! we are driving lasting change that empowers everyone, and especially women, to reach their full potential.

Be relentless.

I hold myself and my life to a high standard – and that’s not something for which I will ever apologize. I think to create, to take a vision and make it real, you have to be relentless. The barriers and obstacles never stop popping up, and you just have to keep on pushing past them and jumping over them and bringing others along.

I am so incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to create opportunities and environments for women to recognize their potential and to provide them with the ideas, tools, and skills to succeed. I am grateful for the path paved for me and in awe of the next generation of women innovators, scientists, makers and leaders. It’s such an honor to contribute to advancing the health and wellness of women. When we do, the possibilities are endless.

I hope you will follow along in the next few weeks as I share more of my story! Join us on WHAM!’s social channels @WHAMnow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.