Christina Griffith

I would say resilience. Another driver is when someone typically says I can't do something, my response is "Watch me." I've always been somebody who's had so much crap given to them, and you know that fight or flight response? I've always turned to fight mode. I've had a rough upbringing, and I've been through a lot of trauma in my early 20s. There was a point in my life where I felt ashamed of it, now I embrace it all as it shaped me and gave me the strength to become who I am today. Now, I have the opportunity to help inspire other women to find that strength within themselves - that's what drives me. I've really been on a transformational journey of my health and my life overall for the last eight years. I got myself involved with a lot of people that were inspiring for me to get out of my shell and just jump at any opportunity possible. When I started doing that in school, it just really made me press forward at whatever came to mind, to just go for it, because life is short. When I ended up going through a layoff at one point during my career in insurance, it was one of those life altering moments that taught me nothing is guaranteed. Why not go for something that's going to give me that spark of life? Getting everything out of life, being able to live it to its fullest - that's what I value most.

It is difficult for me to answer this question. I have been the trailblazer. Most of my life I have had to do things alone and be self-taught. However, I can provide advice that I had learned, and it was actually a lecture I had given called: "The Comeback is Stronger Than the Setback." I did this lecture when I was in the Honors Society about how life's hardships can actually become your strengths. This mindset has really shaped how I approach challenges. Not only can this be applied to one's career, but to one's personal life as well. An example of this during my career was when I was laid off due to company restructuring. I felt as though the rug was ripped out from under me. I had dedicated everything to that previous employer, and I was terrified of where my life would go. I was fortunate to have found a job really quick in that same field, which lead to having security during the pandemic and I will be forever grateful. However, that layoff opened my eyes that I should really follow my heart and not just stay where my current skillsets were. It was terrifying. The idea to leave and start over in my late 30's but also exhilarating! So, if you feel as though you had fallen behind in your career, or it took a path you hadn't seen coming, if you shift your perspective and press forward it can be far better than the path you had been on previously.

Don't second guess yourself. If you truly feel that there's something within you that is pulling you towards your dream, go for it, because it doesn't matter if you don't have any skills - all skills can be learned. So just put yourself out there. I'm very much someone who just jumps in the water and learns how to swim, and a lot of times that's how you should do it anyway. Fear is crippling, and the more you face your fears, the better you become at it in other circumstances. Just get started and don't let fear hold you back. I am still learning and always will be. Continue to be open to failure as it is a part of the process. Don't be ashamed of the mistakes you make and don't strive for perfection. Constantly try new things, network, research and never stop being the student. As the saying goes, "If you're not growing, you're dying."

I know the challenges I've had are trying to figure out the right type of places to be able to have my business model at to be noticed. Finding the right venues where I have my vending at, like craft shows are absolutely horrible for my business model. I ended up learning very fast that health-oriented, woman-oriented, and sporting events were the only places for me to really go, because otherwise, many places like craft-oriented events, people just walked on by. They just were not in that type of a mindset to have any interest in it. Another challenge I had that I was rather surprised to find out, was how certain people that were quote-unquote organizers took advantage of vendors - if you paid for a certain space, they didn't actually supply that amount of space to people. They didn't end up advertising as they stated they would, which lead to nobody showing up, and I found out there was politics involved with certain organizers. Things of that nature just kind of really set me off guard that I wasn't expecting. There's also just trial and error of still trying to figure out certain products, how to make them, how much to make, being very careful about profit loss. I'm still self-funded - I'm not taking out loans or anything like that. I've done everything on my own and started everything at small scale first so that I can get a feel on how people respond. I also get suggestions from customers at vending events which has been very helpful. As far as opportunities goes, making conversations with customers at in-person events is huge for me. It allows for me to connect with them, allow for them to get to know me, my story and why I started my business. It's important for people to get to know me to determine if the business is one they want to support. I am going into a very difficult industry that already has big, well-established brands and pre-existing funding. So doing the groundwork by putting myself out there is vital. It had helped me get discounts on certain events to vend at that I couldn't be more grateful for. I am looking forward to seeing how more opportunities continue to unfold as my small business grows.

I value my integrity and vulnerability. With the foundation of this business being built on my personal experiences, it is important that people see how truly safe of a space it is that I provide. My whole life ever since I was a child, I was the friend people could turn to. Someone they could trust and lean on. In a world that is full of cruelty and uncertainty, I always want people to be able to believe in my word and know that they will always have someone to turn to. That is why the foundation of my business focuses on the mental and emotional health. Our health journeys are not linear and in order to overcome whatever gets thrown at us, we need to have the right mindset to help us persevere. Be it a good laugh or an inspirational message to bring out that powerful woman to make her feel unstoppable. I wanted to create a safe space where women from all walks of life can feel welcome, no matter what stage they were at or what happened in their life. I wanted to be able to provide something that gives a mental push when they need it most. Allowing myself to be vulnerable and share my story, provides others with a sense of connection and safety. The very core of who I am.