Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. This special day celebrates, among other things, the social and economic achievements of women. This day is partly intended to accelerate the equality of women.
As Clay And Glow, with Julia Veer as owner, we fully support days like this. So we asked Julia a few questions in connection with International Women’s Day. Are you reading along?
WHICH POWERFUL WOMAN DO YOU ADMIRE CURRENTLY AND WHY?
“Sara Blakely. This is the founder of Spanx and co-inspired me to start with Clay And Glow. Sara uses the slogan 'Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast' for example. This one has stuck with me and Randy over the past few years while setting up Clay And Glow. In addition, this woman also started all alone without investors and eventually became a well-known brand. Now, this brand has been worn by (almost) every woman in the United States.
Well, that brings us to the topic Julia is most proud of right now. Namely (on personal level) that she has never been dependent on her parents. For example, when she was 18 years old she moved all alone to The Netherlands (because she lived in Curaçao with her parents). In this period she never asked her parents for (financial) support. “I’m very proud of that on a personal level”, says Julia herself. On a business level, Julia is especially proud of the fact that she (as Clay And Glow) was previously ignored by everything and everyone, while more and more people and companies are nowadays asking about the skin care brand by their own initiative. Julia: "I'm proud of the fact we build brand awareness for Clay And Glow, so we can collaborate with beautiful brands like Cabau Lifestyle. I used to admire Yolanthe and now it's simply possible to work with each other's brand. I think that's really cool!"
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HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU ONCE FELT THAT WOMEN WERE GIVEN FEWER ‘OPPORTUNITIES’ IN THEIR CAREERS?
“Not necessarily. Actually, I think this mainly has to do with the insecurity of the woman herself. They say that if you believe in something (or think it is), it will become truth. I was a victim of that myself as well. For example, because I’m not that old (almost 24 years old) and a woman, I often got the impression that I was not taken seriously because of this. Afterwards, I found out that this was really just my own insecurity and that I could certainly change that.”
Julia indicates that women are much stronger than they often think. “A man is really nothing without a women”, said Julia. She also says that it helps to mainly look at what you actually can offer as a woman. Women also like to support other women. For example, if they know that a company/brand is female-founded, it will definitely be appreciated by them. Julia: “However, I find it very harmful that women have far fewer exemplary positions in this than men. While having an example is very important!”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER WOMEN THAT ARE WANTING TO START AN ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
“Just do it! It’s really an insecurity that you create for yourself, so you don’t dare to take certain steps. It’s all about your mindset. When I think back, I have actually received compliments instead of negative experiences. Disbelief soon arises in others, that they don’t believe you’re really the owner. I think that’s pretty bad ass, because then you can tell them it really is and open their eyes. Finally, I think that as a woman you can get a lot more done, for example during negotiations. You just have to see it much more to your advantage!”
In short, enough reason to put the equality of women first. Because women can also make a real career as owners or managers. We vote for less Peter’s as CEO!
