The Founder of Create & Cultivate Is Helping Empower Female Entrepreneurs
If you’re a maker, artisan, DIY-er, artist, illustrator, designer, techie or rocking any other #girlboss path that touches the digital space, chances are you’ve heard of Create & Cultivate. The movement, geared toward female entrepreneurs, hopes to help women design and live the career of their dreams by serving up digital content and IRL lessons at their uber-popular conferences. And we can all thank Jaclyn Johnson, the founder and visionary behind Create & Cultivate and the digital marketing agency No Subject. Below, Jaclyn talks career goals, meaningful conferences and how she convinces celebs like Jessica Alba to headline the big events.
B+C: Give us the lowdown on what Create & Cultivate is.
JJ: Create & Cultivate is an online platform and offline conference for women who want to create and cultivate the career of their dreams. We host multiple conferences per year. Next up is our NYC Spring 2017 conference in May. We’re also a growing platform where women can read the advice they need, from how to launch your startup and deal with founder depression to interviews with amazing boss ladies who are changing the game. We want to be the go-to resource for any woman trying to make her way as an entrepreneur in the world.
B+C: Where did the idea for an event geared exclusively toward female entrepreneurs stem from?
JJ: I needed advice and I couldn’t find it — not even pages deep into Google searches. I was starting a business and I wanted tangible advice about the struggles of being an entrepreneur from women who had gone through the same thing. I knew people were out there, and I just wanted to give them a platform to share.
B+C: What do you think women entrepreneurs do better than anyone else? What do you think we need to do better?
JJ: Everything. No, really. This is our time as women. Women are killer at multitasking and the internet is made for multi-tabbing. We’re also great at asking for help and going to our community to get the advice we need. Women think they can do everything, because a lot of the time they do. It’s amazing to believe in yourself that much; it’s also important to recognize when “it” is too much.
B+C: How do you get such powerhouse #girlbosses, like Jessica Alba, Chelsea Handler and Rachel Zoe, to sign on as speakers?
JJ: Emails, persistence and follow-up. Don’t assume that someone (or their team) doesn’t want to attend or participate or is too busy to talk to you simply because they’re famous. People want to be part of conversations that matter. And women — very powerful women — are on board because this conversation about women entrepreneurs is important and it’s not going away.
B+C: What does Create & Cultivate’s future hold?
JJ: 2017 is a game-changing year for us. In January, we teamed up with iconic footwear brand Keds to launch our first Create & Cultivate 100 list which honors one-hundred women across 10 categories. We are heading to NYC in May for our next full C&C conference and doing a pop up at SXSW. Many more collabs with amazing women are in the works. Don’t worry: The future is still female.
B+C: Your aim is to keep women creative. How do you personally stay creative?
JJ: Luckily, It’s easy for me. How could I not be inspired by all this boss energy? Sure, I get tired and work long days. But the conversations we have on a weekly basis are key to keeping me on my toes, both in the business sense and creatively. You stay creative by taking the conversation outside yourself.
B-C: When you’re not planning the next Create & Cultivate conference, what do you do to recharge?
JJ: I hang out with my dog, Noah, who’s my firstborn, go on hikes with my fiancé and drink wine. All of the wine.
Planning to attend the next Create & Cultivate conference? Tweet us @BritandCo and let us know!
(Photos via Create & Cultivate)
