LEAVE YOUR MARK: Freshly Brewed Career Advice with Aliza Licht

Do you know how to ask for more? Well, meet Alexandra Carter, best-selling Author of ASK FOR MORE: Ten Questions to Negotiate Anything. Alexandra is the Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School and a world-renowned negotiation trainer for the United Nations. Her new book is #3 on WSJ's Best-Seller list. In this episode, you will learn the art of negotiation, the difference between mirror and window questions, and how learning to negotiate effectively will unlock all your future opportunities. This episode is essential learning no matter what stage of your career you are in!

What happens when you don't take a no for an answer and look at it with a win-win mindset? Answer: Great partnerships. Felita Harris is a forward-thinking executive with extensive experience driving sustainable revenue growth, formulating business strategies, and cultivating collaborative partnerships.

During her career, Felita has served in senior positions, including those of Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer at Harlem's Fashion Row (HFR)/ICON360, Executive Vice President of Alexander Wang, and Senior Vice President of Donna Karan Collection (LVMH), where we worked together side by side for over a decade. She has a track record of increasing revenue, identifying innovative business opportunities, and cultivating partnerships with brands such as LVMH, Tapestry Group, Amazon, Nordstrom, and Pinterest.

In this episode, Felita discusses her journey in fashion and her experience as a Black woman who was supported early on for her talent and potential. Felita credits the leaders who provided her with mentorship, networking opportunities, and a sense of inclusion. From this experience, she believes that if black and brown individuals are given the same tools and opportunities, they too can feel and experience the same sense of belonging and success she has felt throughout her career.

In addition, we learn how Felita expertly taps her network and connects with one person to get to the next and next to get the introductions needed to make her projects happen. Felita also shares the difficult decisions she has made and why it's imperative NOT to get paralyzed in the now and to make any decision to see another tomorrow.

Felita is passionate about professional development and building a pipeline for marginalized and underrepresented businesses in a constantly evolving industry. In 2020, she earned a certificate from Cornell University in Diversity and Inclusion. Felita is a founding member of RAISEfashion, a nonprofit network of fashion industry leaders that provide pro-bono consultation to Black-owned businesses and individuals. Additionally, she is a thought leader for Open to All®, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the principle that everyone should be welcomed regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, religion, or disability.

She advises brands in wholesale strategy, pipeline programs, merchandising, and diversity & inclusion. Among her business achievement awards are Fashion Group International Hilldun Business Innovation, Luxury Daily Women to Watch, Accessories Council Design Excellence Awards for Tech Innovation, BRAG, and Girl Scouts of Greater New York Women of Distinction.

“If you want to be a singer, you have to pack up your stuff and forget I’m your mom,” are the words Maria’s mom warned. Her mom wanted her to grow up being financially independent, especially coming from Venezuela with limited opportunities. The concept of pursuing creative opportunities wasn’t in her cards. It wasn’t until Maria was in her 30’s that she took a major leap of faith by leaving her well-paid and safe job as a corporate lawyer to follow her creativity and pursue a career in the art world. It’s safe to say the risk paid off.

Fast forward to the current day, and Maria is an award-winning contemporary art advisor to clients like Gwyneth Paltrow, curator, and author of the new title, How Creativity Rules the World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas into Gold. You could say that Maria is a creativity guru with a knack for the intersection of art and business.

In this episode, Maria shatters the lies we have been told since childhood about careers in creative fields and how her upbringing of being culturally educated led her to start the career of her dreams. Maria shares how one of the biggest factors she had to overcome was what people were going to say about her once she left her well-paid career as a corporate lawyer to pursue a career in the arts. Maria teaches how to cultivate your creative ideas and turn them into “gold.” This is an episode filled with intelligent and motivating advice on how you can transition to the job of your dreams.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be crazy rich? Liz Lange can. In her new podcast, The Just Enough Family, she shares her story of growing up in the Steinberg family, a name as famous as Bezos back in the day. After graduating from Brown, Liz didn’t need to work but started a career at Conde Nast in the features department. She dreamed of becoming a writer, but that’s not what happened. Instead, Liz became an accidental entrepreneur as the “first maternity wear designer”, catering to pregnant A-list celebrities. In the early 2000s, Liz gained recognition as a retail pioneer and a global trendsetter by forging multiple major licensing deals with Nike, Target, and HSN that catapulted her into a household name. But Liz wasn’t enjoying work-life balance and recognized that while we love to say women can have it all, the truth is, something always gives. In this case, one of her life areas that needed attention was her kids. She decided to sell her business to focus on her family.

Entrepreneurship always runs under the surface, though. In December 2020, Liz acquired Figure, a New York-based luxury resort-wear brand, most notable for their kaftans, dresses, and soft separates, that she is a fan and customer of. Today, she is the CEO and Creative Director, intending to continue the brand’s legacy of dressing fashionable women around the world while also expanding its categories and reach.

In this episode, Liz delightfully shares her truth- the good, the bad, and the scandalous. She transparently explains her rise from building her incredible brand with no design or business background to recognizing where she was falling short. We dive into her leadership style and expectations and how her childhood has shaped her perspective. She takes us on her new journey with Figure and why she believes her second act will be just as exciting as the first.

I hope everyone is everyone is having a happy and safe holiday season. Cheers to what's next!