Namasté.
You've seen it all over t-shirts and coffee mugs, you've bent over and done the bow, but do you actually know what it means?
According to The Chopra Center:
If the spiritual traditions of yoga could be encapsulated in one word, it might be namasté. This Sanskrit word brings about the essence of oneness, and an understanding of the true nature of reality. At the base level, namasté is a salutation of respect and reverence.
One simple translation of namasté is:
My soul recognizes your soul.
That is how I felt when I first spoke to Emily Griffith.
Full disclosure, Emily is one of my clients. But since hiring me earlier this year, she has become my very good friend, confidant, soul sister, and full-time cheerleader.
More on that later.
But on our initial discovery call, I instantly felt a connection with her, and knew we were kindred spirits.
Maybe it was all the f-bombs we exchanged... maybe it was the fact that Tina Fey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, RuPaul, Mindy Kaling, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Bruce Springsteen were all mentioned in our first convo... maybe it was the fact that she told me she decided to contact me because of reading my profile on the Creative Lady Directory where I mention my love for nachos... or maybe it was something in the cosmos that told me this girl radiates an inner light and she's meant to come into my life at this moment.
Not your standard reaction to a prospective client call, but I knew we just got each other right away.
Y'know?
Throughout the course of us collaborating, Emily has become such a huge supporter of my business, and me, and my dreams. She is cheerleader extraordinaire, and I am so grateful for her uplifting texts and emails. I can always count on her to participate in my Facebook group for business owners, or DM with a response to one of my Instagram stories. She's the best.
Which is why I'm *so excited* this week to be celebrating Emily's official brand launch!
Emily hired my company for several projects: creating her logo & brand identity, capturing brand photography, and designing her website. It's been one of my most favorite projects to date, and I couldn't be more proud of how everything has turned out. Our team has worked so hard on every aspect of this, as we do for all our clients. But this project was particularly special due to so many different moving parts that all needed to come together in a big, bright, and beautiful way.
With felt Write now open for business, I knew I wanted to publish Emily's Ladies Who Launch story this same week. ( ICYMI, this is a blog series where I chat with badass bossladies around the world who have taken the leap of faith into entrepreneurial life. )
BTW - If you know a bosslady who would be perfect for a future feature in this blog series, send her this link.
Ready?
Let's flow.
Emily Griffith is the Creative HeART ( what an awesome job title! ) of felt Write, a company that provides one-on-one guidance in the Healing Arts via the use of yoga, meditation, writing and brain/heart-storming. The company is based in the NJ/NY area, and launched in 2019.
From the company's website:
felt Write's purpose is to support you on your path of self exploration and freedom to be.
Emily adds:
"felt Write was born out of the belief that my life’s work can be fun, fulfilling, profitable and of service.
I WANT TO BRING HUMANITY BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE AND BE AN EXAMPLE OF AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT BUSINESS THAT THRIVES.
This path has been exciting yet it started from a place of heartbreak. In every decade that I’ve been on this planet, I’ve lost someone close to me. I was 10 when my grandma passed, 19 for my dad, 29 with my sister and 35 for my mom. I processed each loss differently but the outcome was always gratitude for my life and a deeper capacity to love.
My mom and sister were diagnosed with cancer within weeks of each other. After one of my mom’s chemo visits, she went to the library and picked up Kris Carr’s Crazy, Sexy, Cancer book. This was monumental. Kris was a gateway to other spiritual thought leaders and business owners. My girls mortality coupled with Kris’s insight led me back to yoga, taking writing classes, working with life coaches, psychologists and other healers.
I KNEW I COULDN’T FACE THIS ON MY OWN AND NEEDED AS MUCH HELP AS ONE COULD GET.
Any coach, therapist, yoga class, retreat, that I have invested in was an investment in myself. I realized after going through these different mediums that they were conduits for self reflection and expression. I also understood that I will be a forever student.
I LOVE TO LEARN, EVOLVE AND WANT TO BRING THAT ENERGY WHEN GUIDING OTHERS.
Spoiler Alert: I do not have the answers for you. What makes felt Write so unique is that every individual who trusts this process will get out of it what’s authentic to them. You have the answers, I’m here to help excavate and put your answers into action."
I was so excited to hear more about Emily's experience starting her brand, and the inspiration for how it all came to be.
Q: What made you decide to launch your business?
I wanted to create a business that was spiritually fulfilling, money making and being in service. I wasn't getting this experience in any job and I was tired of status quo living.
Q: What is your earliest entrepreneurial memory, long before you decided to become a business owner?
I was president of my student council, captain of my basketball teams and was a peer leader. My parents ran their own business and I was exposed to that kind of life since I was born. I didn't know that I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I knew I was called to be a leader in some capacity.
Q: What does your staff/team look like if you have one?
staff of one! actually that's not true. Once felt Write was born, I started researching lawyers, accountants and graphic design folks. All of the people I've chosen to work with thus far have been women. I support women in business and want that energy around me always!
Q: What is something you wish you knew before starting your own business (the shit nobody tells you about)?
I'm still in development so I don't know if I can answer that yet. I knew full well that there were so many things I wanted to do and cover and that I needed help. I want this business to be my life's work and I don't take that lightly!
One of Emily's favorite quotes, from author Cheryl Strayed:
Q: What is something you're REALLY bad at?
Omg...I'm bad at a ton of things! Being detail oriented, perfectionist tendencies, trying to control the uncontrollable.
Q: How do you de-compress -- such as binge tv, activities, food, hobbies, pop culture guilty pleasures, etc?
de-compress style: watching wild n' out (losing years of my life in youtube rabbit holes), yoga, mindful breathing, going for a walk, listening to music, eating jeni's ice cream.
Fun fact!
Jeni's website was one of the websites Emily was most inspired by as we were in the early planning stages of designing the felt Write website (along w/ the sites for Marie Forleo and Rachel Hollis).
Q: Most-played track on Spotify?
I never use spotify...but if I did this answer can change on a daily basis. I've been putting Janelle Monet's "I like that" on a lot of playlists lately.
Q: Is there a woman who inspires you, or that you look up to?
!!!! just one!? FFFF okay Diane Von Furstenberg. I have never owned a piece of this woman's clothing but I'm obsessed with her story. Also Tina Fey. I want to be the Tina Fey of yoga :)
Q: Favorite inspirational quote?
She (Diane) also has a quote that i LOVE that I first heard on this show called "The Conversation". She said: "I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be." I felt that on a cellular level!
Q: What is your best business tip?
Best Business Tip: we need people. here's another quote: "if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together".
Q: Everyone's got one... what's your favorite curse word?!
FUCK!
Q: What are your Top 5 tools of the trade (i.e., in your day-to-day work, these are the top 5 things you need to do the work and/or that you couldn't live without)?
1) My own yoga practice. 2) Journals... I have 87 of them. 3) Music. The heart beat of the world. 4) Meditation. 5) Connecting with people.
Q: Last question: what about this job & lifestyle brings you the most joy and fulfillment?
I get to be myself! I get to create, inspire, support, serve, love, have fun, and heal. It's the best gift I've given myself so far.
"Change your breath, change your life"
Love this quote that you'll find on the felt Write website.
Sending a HUGE thank you to Emily for sharing her story with me, and bringing us all into her world.
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Are you (or someone you know) perfect for a future feature in this series? Click here!
Read our previous interview: Amy Tipton of Feral Girl Books
Read the next interview: Bianca Lominy of Honey B Media Group
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed within these interview answers are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Alycia Yerves Creative. Any content provided by our interviewees are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.
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