58 | Layering in New Products and Working Towards a Freedom Business Model with Chelsea Sonksen, Bossladies Magazine

Chelsea Sonksen is the founder and Editor in Chief of Bossladies, a movement that began with a print magazine in 2016 and has grown into a vibrant in-person and online community of entrepreneurs through her monthly event series, Work Sesh.

On today’s episode we’re talking about the mission behind Bossladies, how Chelsea is layering new products and services that will give her the freedom and flexibility to work from both California and Maine. Chelsea also shares her thoughts on why making a good first impression is so important.

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

Chelsea’s motivation for starting Bossladies and why she choose publishing as her method for sharing her message with the world
 Her background as an editorial assistant
Why she decided to stop reading other publications for the first six months of Bossladies
The mission behind Bossladies
How she decides which women to feature and which brands to include in each issue
 How Chelsea is layering in new products and services while staying true to the mission of Bossladies
What Work Sesh is, how she facilitates it, and what the goal is
Chelsea’s experience working with a significant number of contractors all over the country
How she has found her contractors
The way Chelsea decides what questions to ask the women featured in Bossladies
How she defines success
The advice she would give to a new entrepreneur
What’s next for Bossladies & Work Sesh

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KEY TAKE-AWAYS

“I try really hard to take a month before we start designing the magazine, not to actually look at any publications for that month because I find that my design preferences and tendencies get swayed by whatever I’m seeing at that time. I think it’s just easier to be original when you have periods of time where you sort of hibernate and block out all of the input.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“The Bossladies mission has three parts. It’s to inspire, educate, and provide community for the growing group of women who are wanting to create their own businesses.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“I feel like that’s really important for founders, as you’re starting a company, it has to be what you want to be doing and what you want spending your hours doing and the people you want to be spending your hours with.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“My company is a people first company.” – Katie Hunt

“I love seeing the natural progressions that happen when people come together, when women come together, entrepreneurs. There’s just so many things we have in common, and so many ways that we can leverage each other’s experiences for good. We can help each other where we feel weak in something, we can leverage other people’s skills and experiences, and also give back ourselves.” – Katie Hunt

“Communication is always the most important thing and I’ve learned how to be a more efficient and effective communicator before launching into a project.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“I find that whenever it’s time to do the interviews, I’m usually in a certain season of life and I’m interested in certain kinds of things. So that’s where I start every interview, what are the things that I’m most interested in in that moment and what are their thoughts on those things.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“I view success as freedom.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“It’s really important to study other companies. You have to learn from people that are experts at what you are trying to do.” – Chelsea Sonksen

“You have one opportunity to make a first impression, and your branding and what you present of your brand, is that first impression.” – Chelsea Sonksen

CONNECT WITH CHELSEA SONKSEN

Websites: Bossladies | Instagram: @bossladiesmagazine | Facebook: @bossladiesmagazine | Twitter: @bossladiesmag

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct