03: How to Channel Fear and Use It Productively, with Co-Founder of ME to WE, Roxanne Joyal

This week, on 20 Seconds of Insane Courage, Roxanne Joyal joins the podcast! Once you hear Roxanne’s story today, you will be blown away!

 

Roxanne graduated from Stanford University with a degree in International Relations and earned a coveted Rhodes Scholarship and a law degree from Oxford. But, rather than pursue a conventional career, Roxanne decided to bring her training back to the communities that originally inspired her after a high school volunteer trip to Niobe, Kenya. Now, Roxanne is the CEO of ME to WE —  an innovative social enterprise that empowers people to change the world with their everyday consumer choices. Her belief in the transformative potential of social enterprise has taken her from the villages of rural Asian Africa to the top boardrooms in design showrooms of New York and Los Angeles!

 

Roxanne’s continued commitment to the artisan program has led to widespread retail traction, with ME to WE products now being sold in over 12,000 locations across North America and providing fair wages for over 1500 people. What she has truly done with her business is not only amazing on its own — but incredibly inspiring as well.

 

You won’t want to miss this week’s episode where Roxanne shares her key tenets of building a really confident and successful brand, how she overcame her early doubts and fears when starting her business, how to build and leverage your brand’s story, and what your business plan should look like!

 

Key Takeaways

[:49] About today’s guest: Roxanne Joyal.

[2:56] Amy welcomes on Roxanne Joyal!

[3:24] Roxanne speaks about her path in the world and where she is now.

[7:00] What were Roxanne’s 20 seconds of insane courage?

[10:40] What happened the moment Roxanne made the decision to start her business?

[12:23] How Roxanne developed her retail business and some of the early mistakes she made.

[16:10] Roxanne’s fears and doubts in starting her business and how she overcame them.

[18:10] What productive paranoia means to Roxanne and how it works in her life.

[19:53] The role that intuition (or inner guidance) plays in Roxanne’s life.

[22:18] The first steps to starting your business and what your business plan should look like depending on where you are.

[25:42] How have the moments in Roxanne’s business become part of her brand’s story?

[28:50] The importance of a brand story and how to leverage it!

[30:51] Roxanne’s advice for building a confident brand.

[35:10] How Roxanne fuels her personal and professional evolution through her three growth buckets (her five “no matter whats,” her three important tips, and her mantra).

[40:54] What Roxanne wish she had known coming up in the world as a child.

 

Key Highlights:

• How Roxanne went from humble beginnings to massive social enterprise
• Key takeaways for building your retail business
• The true hallmarks of what makes up a courageous leader
• How to leverage intuition in your business
• How to build your business plan
• The importance of your brand’s story and how to build it!
• Roxanne’s tips for building a confident and successful brand

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

ME to WE

WE

 

Connect with my Guest!

Roxanne Joyal’s Websites: ME to WE and WE

Social Media: Instagram and Facebook

 

Hey listeners! Do you want to get your story out into the world in a really big way?

Visit AmySelbach.com/BrandStory to access my free, one-hour brand story planner! In under an hour, you can have a beautifully crafted brand story to use everywhere! Your brand story should be on your website, your packaging, and at the beginning of any presentation you give. A brand story is crucial for pitches to the media, brand deals, podcasts, and investor decks. Not only that, this formula can be used for brand case studies, testimonials, and ad copy.

 

Follow-up with Me!

If you want to get more resources on marketing, branding, content strategy and building a business, you can follow me over on Instagram @AmySelbach or at AmySelbach.com!

 

For more episodes, visit our Libsyn page or listen on iTunes!