As part of the W Hotel’s WHAT SHE SAID series — a ladies-only panel with a mission to create global conversation amongst women — the W Boston hosted a panel this week to address some of the biggest qualms from female entrepreneurs.
The panel featured Olympic gymnast, Nastia Liukin; James Beard Award Winning chef, Jody Adams; Founder of Vega Vitality, Ashley Hilmes; and Founder of Handstand App, Tiffany Hakimianpour. The varied backgrounds of these leading ladies evoked a memorable conversation with noteworthy advice on making mistakes, coping with stress, building a business (or shall we say empire?!) and most importantly, maintaining self-care no matter how busy your days, weeks or years may get as an entrepreneur.
Here are 16 of the outstanding quotes you should probably add to your mood boards ASAP.
On building a business:
“Ask questions. It’s ok to not know things. It’s not ok to not ask.” — Nastia Liukin
“My answer is always love. I built my business one person at a time. I believe If you make people feel like they are welcomed and wanted, your business will be successful. It’s all about how you treat people.” — Jody Adams
“If you aren’t willing to ask for help, chances are, you won’t do a lot of other crazier things that come your way.” — Tiffany Hakimianpour
“You will be surprised how many ‘yes’ responses are waiting for you and how many people are willing to support your vision if you put yourself out there and really believe in it… At the end of the day, you are your brand.” — Ashley Hilmes
On making mistakes:
“We’re all human and at the end of the day, there will be those who will stand beside you cheering you on whether you win or lose, so you better be sure you’re spending your life doing what you love. That’s what counts.” — Nastia Liukin
“It is so important that you put aside the fear of looking like you might not know what you are doing and just ask for help.” — Ashley Hilmes
“Pick up the phone and fix it. It forces you to connect, to hear the issue and address it.” — Tiffany Hakimianpour
“If I could give one piece of advice it would be perservence. You can’t give up. Be yourself.” — Jody Adams
On coping with stress:
“My mom taught me to never quit on a bad day. What I learned from this is that we will all have bad days, there will be times when you’ll want to give up but wait to make a decision on a good day, or else you might regret your decision.” — Nastia Liukin
“Learn to rest, not quit.” — Tiffany Hakimianpour
“If there is doubt in your head, keep going and it will leave. And if you can’t get it out of your head, take a break. Change your focus and ideally, change your routine if you need to.” — Tiffany Hakimianpour
“Say fu*k sometimes. It helps.” — Jody Adams
Founder of Vega Vitality, Ashley Hilmes and Tiffany Hakimianpour. Photo courtesy of Russ Mezikofsky
On leaving time for self-care:
“My mother used to always say that I should treat my body like an expensive car, only using the best fuel to feed it. I realized on my own, throughout rigorous trainings, that she was right; what I put in my body is what I’m going to get out of it.” — Nastia Liukin
“If you feel like sh*t get on a bike and sweat it out.” — Jody Adams
“Like what Aristotle said: ‘We are what we repeatedly do.’ Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. This is what health is: consistent little changes every day. We become healthy by incorporating and integrating it into our lives.” — Tiffany Hakimianpour
“In a kitchen, your mis en place, makes or breaks a night. In French it means to put things in their place. Each ingredient, each utensil has a place. It’s how cooks prepare for a meal. From there you can work from muscle memory. This can apply to all aspects of your life. What’s necessary for your mise en place to have the life you want? What do you need to put in place? How do you prepare for each day?” — Jody Adams