Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Mimi Ikonn, Founder of Intelligent Change (part 2)

Transcript

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Mimi Ikonn, Founder of Intelligent Change (part 2) · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  Welcome back. Here are the six quick questions. So question number one, what's your why? Why are you doing what you're doing? We've covered this, but I'll ask it all the same.
• 0:20
  Yeah, for me, it's knowing that what I do every day, I know it sounds like a little maybe cliche, like makes the world a better place. Even with my social media content, which I never really monetize, except for like one sponsorship deal that I've done in like,
• 0:36
  more than 10 years of my life on social media because I genuinely love Audible. When I put out any content on social media, I'm always like, is this going to make people feel better? Like, if not, then what's the point of sharing it? You know, so I avoid posting on days when I'm not feeling good or if I feel like complaining or like sharing something that's not actually...
• 0:59
  raising the vibrations in this world. So anything I do, this is my why, is that it has to improve people's lives or make them feel better, make their day brighter. The products have to make their life easier or improve their life in some way. So knowing that gives me the satisfaction and makes me feel like I'm useful in this world.
• 1:22
  Totally having that impact and impact at scale. I love it. Question number two is what do you think it could be out of Luxie hair or it could be out of intelligent change, but what do you think has been the number one marketing moment that's made your businesses pop?
• 1:41
  For sure, you know, with Luxe Hair, this was such an obvious one, but I can share in both Luxe Hair and IntelliJ Change. Luxe Hair for sure was the YouTube. You know, we used YouTube as our main tool of showing and showcasing our products. And because hair extensions, they're so visual, you can see the before and after. The transformation is so exciting that people...
• 2:03
  want to have what they see. And then you don't even need to tell them to buy. We never did. They find the info box and they find the website and they buy it by themselves. So it was extremely effortless way for us to market the product. Whereas with Intelligent Change, it was getting the tools in the right hands. So one of the really big wins was at one event, our previous partner, UJ,
• 2:29
  gifted the 5-Minute Journal to Tim Ferriss, you know, the author of The Pharoah Workweek. And it was like a full circle where, you know, Tim Ferriss' work inspired us to start our first business. But then our journal made a huge impact on his life. And he's shared about 5-Minute Journal so many times on his podcast, in his book, Tools of Titans.
• 2:51
  in videos, like he, he talks about it all the time. He's been using it for years. It's really helped his mental health. And that's why he's probably gifted it to many people as well. It's, it's been a huge win. So getting it in the right hands of people who are not just influencers, like somebody like Tim Ferriss, they, like what he shares even changes culture. And that was pivotal in our growth as well and intelligent change.
• 3:19
  That is so crazy. So crazy. I mean, talk about right place, right time, right. There's so much serendipity in that moment for him to actually, A, accept something from someone in the audience and B, actually want to use it and then actually want to share about it. Not even just once, but a million times. It's crazy. So crazy, powerful stuff. That's amazing.
• 3:42
  Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What do you read or listen to or subscribe to at the moment that other founders would benefit from knowing about?
• 3:55
  You know, I actually consume very little. It's a funny question because, like, I'd say I hang out with myself. And I think when I find the space to be more quiet in things like even meditation, I can hear a lot of what I need to do that comes from the inside of.
• 4:14
  Of course, I do listen to lots of audio books and I think they can be extremely beneficial in like changing the mindset, thinking bigger, believing in yourself. But ultimately, I think if you find a quiet space to listen to your heart and your intuition, you're going to be able to listen to your mind.
• 4:32
  You'll know what to do in any situation. You'll know if this business is right or that opportunity is right. Or if you should hire this person or not hire this person or partner with this person or not partner with this person. All the answers are within. So making the time and space to hear that. But also, of course, surround yourself by great, successful people. If not in real life, then watch their YouTube channels or listen to their podcast. You know, How I Built This is a great podcast. I find inspiring.
• 5:00
  But again, it's not something I do like on the regular. You know, once in a while I'll go and like binge listen through a few episodes. But oftentimes, yeah, just I make space to connect with myself. And there's a knowing that knows what needs to be created and what will be popular, what people need. Because what I need is what people need. Because there are at least a million people like myself in this world. Like we have a world with like, what's the population now? Like more than 7 billion people probably.
• 5:30
  And it's growing. And if you can make yourself happy with the product or the service that you're creating, trust me, there will be thousands of people just like you. So connect with yourself. Ask yourself, what do you need? Are you happy with this product? Are you happy with this service? Tweak it. Change it. Improve it. Constant evolution. And then...
• 5:51
  I can assure you it will become a success if you do it that way. Rather than, you know, getting distracted by what that person is doing or this person is doing. This person says you need to use TikTok. That person says, you know, it's not, not everything's for everyone. You don't need to do what everybody's doing. Do what makes you happy in the way that makes sense to you. And stay true to that authenticity in yourself. I love that.
• 6:19
  This kind of leads into the next question in a nice segue, but question number four is how do you win the day? What are your own AM and PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and motivated and successful and productive?
• 6:35
  So how do I win the day? I think the easy one is just starting day with gratitude. For me, using the five-minute journal in the morning and in the evening, it takes just two and a half minutes. If I have a really busy morning and I don't manage to fill out the journal, I do it in the shower. When I take showers, I'm grateful for my healthy body. I'm grateful for...
• 6:57
  that I'm present. All the things that I want to embody, I say out loud that I'm grateful for them. Then also working out in the mornings has really helped me have more energy and feel like more like myself because I find that when I go through periods of not doing any physical activity, I feel more like...
• 7:16
  down and more lethargic. So that gives me extra energy, which is, you know, kind of you would think like by working out, you're using energy, but definitely it gives you fuel and fire. So, you know, that's really important to me. Then using Productivity Planner, which is another one of our products and tools. And I'm not just trying to market it again. These products have been created because...
• 7:38
  because we had the struggles before and we created the products to help deal with the struggles. And I actually love our new productivity planner, which is like a desktop. The original one is, works for people who work every day, let's say, and have like a consistent schedule. Whereas for me, I'm at a point in the business where I do a lot of the creative work. So there's times when I'll work
• 8:01
  three days like full on and then I won't work for a week. Or I mean, I never stop working, but like I don't need to be in front of my computer. So I don't need to use it every day. So the desktop is something that you can use like randomly on any day that you need to like really have that focus. And the productivity planner
• 8:19
  The reason it's so great, such a great tool, is just like you address the most important things in your day first because oftentimes we do the small things and never get to the big things. But if you start with the big thing and you're like really hyper-focused and you avoid multitasking,
• 8:35
  Multitasking is the worst thing ever anybody can do. It's been marketed to us that it's a good thing, but actually it's the thing that actually makes us so incapable of accomplishing things we want to. If you just do one thing only, you'll feel so much better and you'll finish it. So that's kind of the strategy there. Again, you can just go on our website, intelligentchange.com. You can see the inside of the journal information.
• 9:00
  If you can't afford it, get it. If you can't, just start it in a blank notebook. The tools are there, all you have to do is use them. So in terms of productivity, that helps me. And then, you know, fueling your body with healthy food because you are what you eat, that makes me feel great. And then walking, I love walking. A lot of my work that I do is done on the phone. Even creating products, like I'm walking and I'm holding my phone, putting things in the notes constantly.
• 9:27
  But I realized that this is partly why I think I never liked traditional education is like my brain thinks differently when I move. It's hard for me to think and sit still. I don't know if that makes sense. I'm sure for some of you it will make sense and you relate. For me, I think better when I move my body.
• 9:47
  So once I realized that I just like, I go for these long walks just to, you know, sometimes I have appointments or meetings. So instead of taking a cab, I'll walk for an hour. And as I'm walking, I'm actually working and like creating a product, putting down notes or responding to messages or having a call. And yeah, I feel great. It's just, um, instead of just sitting in front of a computer for like eight hours, I think that's the biggest thing I realized after doing it for some years that it really depresses me and doesn't make me feel good.
• 10:16
  I know what you mean about the education thing. I went to the Van Gogh immersive experience a few days ago that's happening in London at the moment. And it's like this huge room. Have you seen the, have you been to it yet? Within, yeah. It's great.
• 10:30
  But I was there and I was thinking, why don't kids learn like this at school? Because like if I read this in a history book, I struggle and I cannot. But there, you know, they're telling you on the screen, there's music, there's sounds, there's like crazy visuals. It's so easy to like remember his life, whereas...
• 10:49
  In school, it's so difficult to learn like that. I was like, this is how people need to learn. This should be school. Like, this is how kids should be experiencing this stuff. It's crazy. Totally get that. So I can imagine the good work is being done on those walks. I can totally imagine.
• 11:06
  Two more quick questions and we're good to go. Of course. If you had $1,000 of no strings attached grant money, where would you spend that in the business? And it's kind of a question around like, what's the most important spend of a dollar for you?
• 11:21
  I think I would definitely give the products away, you know, and we already do that a lot because again, every product is different, of course, but we have products that actually don't cost a lot. With Luxie Hair, it was more difficult to just give them away because the cost of the product, each unit was so high. Whereas with journals, it's more forgiving. So you can give more away. And it's like the more you give them...
• 11:46
  The more people use them, they benefit from them. It's a win-win. We're getting to our mission, which is to positively change the lives of 1% of the world. But also, once people use it and they love it, they tell their friends, they buy it as a gift, and the message spreads. So for me, that's where we have and we constantly use the dollars in the business is to give away the product so that more people can know about it.
• 12:13
  Yeah, I love that. Can I just add one more thing here? Because I think it's so important because I am on the side of being an entrepreneur, but also as an influencer. And I get lots of people trying to send me products. I think when you send your products out, it's so important.
• 12:30
  This is key, okay? Everybody who's listening, who has a business and sends the products out, it is so important to do it unconditionally. The moment you send a product and you're like, test it out and can you please post about it? First of all, send them the product and just ask for their feedback. Once they receive the product and they give you some feedback, if they tell you they love
• 12:51
  Then maybe you can say, I would so appreciate it if you could share about it. But don't just, you know, send it in the first email and have that expectation just by sending the product. They're going to have to now. They owe you. They don't owe you anything. It's a gift. That's why it's called a gift. So just, I think, an important thing to mention because, you know, as an influencer, like I never want to owe. So I never accept any products that are sent my way with that kind of attachment, you know.
• 13:20
  I totally agree. It just needs to be like left, left out there. If something happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Totally agree. Last question. Question number six is, how do you deal with failure? What's your mindset when things don't go to plan?
• 13:36
  It's a great question and I'm glad we're ending on this note because some women or men who are listening to this podcast, you know, could be thinking, oh, well, she's so successful. She's just lucky. You know, it happened to her. It won't happen to me because she's the lucky one. But in reality, I've had so many failures, you know, in my life all the time.
• 13:58
  And I think at the end of the day is your relationship with the failure. How do you look at it when you fail? Is it the end of the world? I look at it as an experience that gives me more knowledge and diversity and actually makes me stronger. I learn so much when I fail. I actually learn more than when I fail than when I succeed. Yeah.
• 14:20
  So, you know, to give you an example, even with the fashion business, I've tried to enter that market three times through various different projects. And I was just never happy enough with the end product to go to market. So did I fail? You could say yes, but I don't look at it even as failure because I learned so much of what not to do and how to approach it next time if I go in that direction. And...
• 14:48
  The learning part is the winning part. So you never really fail. I would say the only time you fail is when you don't try. That's real failure, is getting to the end of your life and you're dying. And you know you have like, if you're lucky enough to know, some people just go and disappear. You know, and you know you're at the end of your life. Maybe you're just, you know...
• 15:11
  Already in your 80s, 90s, you know you're not going to start a business at that age, most likely. I'm sure there's exceptions. And you realize it's too late. You haven't tried, you know. So I never want to look back and say I haven't done things I wanted to do. I think that the doing is the winning, not the actual outcome.
• 15:31
  Mimi, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show today and share your story and all your amazing insights and learnings. I truly value you. And, you know, I really admire the kind of leader that you are and the person who you are showing up in the world as. So thank you so much.
• 15:50
  Thank you so much for having me on the show and big hugs to everybody who is listening. Thank you for what you do and the knowledge you share with your community. I'm sure it's changing lives and helping people create so much success and purpose in their lives. So keep on doing what you're doing as well. Thank you.
• 16:15
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 16:40
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 17:02
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 17:19
  Hey, it's Dune here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 17:43
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 18:06
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.