offer that advice or help to the next up-and-comer . Community and Entrepreneurship go together like organic , no sugar added , farm to table , GMO Free PB & J . It ’ s just easier to say .
BM : Have you had experiences with women involving competitiveness or jealousy ? How did that affect your mission ?
CM : I ’ m sure most people expect me to say we all started out sitting around the sewing circle , outwardly cheering each other on but secretly whispering under our breath , “ Why is HER cross-stitch so much better than mine ?” But … I ’ m pleased to say that hasn ’ t been our experience with BRA . I think we are hardwired to feel jealousy , it is a natural feeling . But what I think sets BRA Network apart is that we recognize when we are feeling jealous and we talk about it . Those feelings don ’ t mean we ’ re inferior ; jealousy just means someone did something you wanted to do , but they got there first .
Now competitiveness is not a natural hardwired feeling , it ’ s a personality trait . That ’ s why there are varying levels of competitiveness . I ’ m competitive , I ’ m the Serena Williams of being competitive with myself .
For BRA . I wanted it viewed from every angle , through every lens and with every message that we are not a click , you can sit with us , and that we firmly believe in collaborating over competing with each other . Because , guess what ? There is enough business for us all and since business has evolved to be more about the person behind the product rather than the product itself , it requires us all to leverage our own unique self . Yes , we could be doing the same thing or selling the same thing as the next person , but it is our individual brands that get people to buy from us . You aren ’ t just a woman with a business , YOU are the business , woman !
BM : How do you encourage women to deal with competitiveness or jealousy with other women ?
CM : It ’ s hard . Ya know , one of my personal goals in 2018 was to stop with the comparisons . I read that “ Comparison is the theft of Joy ” and WOW that could not have been more true in my first year building BRA . I was following big female empowerment brands like Girl Boss and Yellow Collective and kept finding myself stuck , unable to move forward , because I would get obsessed with how well they were doing . Did they speak an Adobe language I hadn ’ t heard of ?
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