How do you balance it all? My LEAST favorite question.

Why are females asked this over and over and over again?

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It is not about balance. It is about finding the most passionate spaces you want to apply your time and putting the right support systems in place to make it happen. I am a mother, I am a CEO, I am an entrepreneur, I am a daughter, I am a friend and I want to have it all.

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Today my desk looks like this on the daily: a combination of artifacts that represent the work that I do at Black Glass helping CMOs to create a more compassionate and purpose-driven experience for consumers; the responsibility I bear as a mother raising two children; and my role as co-founder of hot sauce company Smaak (which means “to like, love or be keen on” in South African slang and “taste” or “flavor” in Dutch).

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My partner Vikram Tank, product lead for Meta’s AR glasses Nazare, and I created a line of hot sauces where every purchase includes donations to organizations making a difference in the communities from where the products are sourced.

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We did this on the side while delivering for our full-time day jobs.

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Each of these pieces and parts of who I am makes me a better person, makes me more innovative and ultimately leads to the success and bottom line of any place where I invest my time.

And it’s impacting your bottom line too.

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By 2025, half of the US will be made up of entrepreneurs… of people who continue to build businesses that they started, people who are taking a chance on an idea that they have held onto for years (sometimes decades); and folks that currently work inside of your organization who are hustling on the side.

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We are everywhere.

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“Side hustles” are well on their way to being the main event.

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And in truth, the word and stigma around a “side hustle” is more problematic than the act of participating in one.

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I spoke with @Digiday about this last month: https://lnkd.in/gu-RzPuV

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‍Here’s the bottom line: there is no better way to build expertise on how to start and run a business than by being on the frontlines yourself. And so, it’s up to leaders to stop viewing their employees’ side hustles as threats to their organizations. Instead, they should see them as assets and breeding grounds for innovation.

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I start every day with a cup of coffee, an inbox, a love note and a side of Smaak.

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And I won’t be stopping any time soon.