Skimm'd From The Couch

Nancy started her career at Goldman Sachs — but she always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. She had grown up helping her grandmother and her mother make natural home-remedies for hair and skin, and realized there was a gaping hole in the beauty market. But she didn’t quit her day job right away: instead, she stayed on the trading room floor for another four years and worked evenings and weekends to run her own business, Briogeo, on the side. Talk about time management skills.  In this episode, Nancy talks about: What she learned on Wall Street during the 2008 financial crash Figuring out when to quit your day job Putting product development before branding Making choices during a company’s early stages When to think about outside funding for a business

This week, we’re throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from last year. What does it actually mean to know your worth at work? This week, we asked the queen of confidence (and of morning TV), Gayle King, how she found hers. She told us her self worth came from years of salary negotiations, building strong support systems, navigating setbacks, and dealing with tough bosses.  In this episode, Gayle shares:  Her mindset going into negotiations How she gained a sense of self worth as a junior reporter Why tough moments and failure can add to self worth  How she leans on her support system  Why celebrating other people’s success adds to your self worth (hi, Oprah)  How she dealt with being underestimated 

Lindsey Vonn isn’t just physically tough – she’s also known as one of the most mentally strong athletes. She started competing in international skiing competitions when she was just nine years old, and went on to become the most decorated female skier in history, including winning three Olympic Winter Games medals. And along the way, Lindsey dealt with a number of terrifying injuries, which challenged her mental and physical strength. After retiring from professional skiing, Lindsey’s switched arenas, starting her own production company, writing a memoir and leading her own foundation. In this episode, Lindsey talks about: How competition has served her - and hurt her  Career setbacks and how injuries actually helped her Learning to trust people she was competing with Building a risk-tolerant mindset

Melissa Wood-Tepperberg went from working in nightclubs and modeling to becoming one of the first people to start streaming workouts online. That turned into her own health and fitness app, which now has thousands of paying subscribers. Today, Melissa has almost one million Instagram followers and her app, Melissa Wood Health, is a case study at Harvard Business School — despite the fact Melissa never went to college herself. In this episode, Melissa talks about: How meditation changed her life Experimenting as a way to figure out your career path Learning to listen to your gut How she stopped comparing herself to other people

Fran Lebowitz found fame as a writer in the 1970’s, when she started out writing movie reviews and magazine columns. She went on to publish two essay collections containing her observations of New York City and the people around her — cementing her as a definitive voice of a generation.  In this episode, Fran talks about: Finding her writing process Networking without the internet Improvising when she got writer’s block Refusing to follow the crowd

Dana Canedy is a Pulitzer-winning reporter who’s set goals for herself since her first internship. But halfway through her career as a reporter Dana lost her fiancé, which shaped the rest of her life and her career. And Dana figured out how to keep going — becoming the first person of color, the youngest, and first female administrator of the Pulitzer Prize and the first Black person to head up a major US publishing imprint.  In this episode, Dana talks about: How she set goals for herself early on Switching roles throughout her career How her personal life shaped her professional trajectory How to recognize all your successes — even the small ones

Sheila was at Harvard Business School, rifling through the Yellow Pages to find care for her infant son and her elderly father when she realized finding care should be easier. But unlike some Silicon Valley founders, Sheila wasn’t in a rush: instead, she prioritized building her leadership and management skills before she launched Care.com.  In this episode, Sheila talks about: Figuring out what skills she needed to learn before launching a company What qualities she looks for in potential managers Why people teams are essential to startup success Finding your style as a manager and owning your mistakes

Carly worked her way up from management trainee at AT&T, going from fighting for respect from her male colleagues to taking the top job at Hewlett-Packard and becoming the first female CEO of a Fortune 50 company. She oversaw a contentious merger, job and pay cuts. And after she was fired, Carly served as an advisor to John McCain and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns — in between beating breast cancer and running for President herself. She’s no stranger to criticism and tough feedback, and this week, she shared how learning to take feedback has helped her on her journey.  In this episode, Carly talks about: Working your way up Making unpopular decisions as a leader Distinguishing feedback from criticism Unlearning perfectionism How to respond to tough feedback

Brooke Shields has been a household name ever since she did her first commercial, at just 11 months old. As a teenage model and actress being managed by her mother, Brooke found her own image sexualized — but refused to play along with the media’s expectations. Since then, she’s acted on Broadway, starred in sitcoms and TV dramas, raised two daughters and written two memoirs. We spoke to Brooke about how to survive and stay sane amid intense public scrutiny. In this episode, Brooke talks about: Working with her mother — and choosing to fire her The small things she does to help her compartmentalize  Staying true to herself under pressure Not taking criticism personally

Shawna Thomas has always stood out — from winning a prestigious college scholarship when she was 13 years old, to working her way up the ranks at NBC News from intern to senior producer. Over the course of her career, she’s won multiple Emmys and a Peabody, among other awards. Today, she’s in control of one of the nation’s top morning news shows, CBS Mornings. Listen to this week’s episode, where Shawna talks about how to shine in front of your boss and potential employers. In this episode, Shawna talks about: Making an impression during a job interview Why all work experience is relevant — even if you’ve changed careers How to make your resume stand out  Why going to therapy can make you better at your job How she learned to manage people

When Emily Ratajkowski was asked to appear in a music video in 2013, she didn’t expect it to catapult her to overnight fame. Since then, she’s appeared in movies like ‘Gone Girl,’ walked the runway at New York Fashion week and launched her own swimwear line. And last year, Emily’s essay for ‘The Cut’ about objectification and power imbalances she experienced went viral, landing her a book deal for her new essay collection, ‘My Body.’ This week, she’s joining us to talk about how she learned to advocate for herself.  In this episode, Emily talks about: How her career trajectory shaped her politics Recovering from moments where she felt professionally undermined Deciding to disclose others’ bad behavior — and dealing with the backlash Learning to take her time with decisions How motherhood has changed her relationship with herself and her work

It’s impossible to know how Hillary Clinton’s life would have run without Huma Abedin. From the late '90s through 2016, Huma occupied a central role in running Hillary’s life as an aide and personal advisor. She remained private even when both her personal and professional lives were embroiled in simultaneous crises, from her previous husband’s infidelity to Hillary’s emails. Now, she’s setting out to define herself in her own words. In this episode, Huma talks about: Staying connected to her roots Working her way up in the White House Keeping her professional and personal lives private Seeking help for her mental health  Creating a reputation of her own

When she was in college, Alexa von Tobel realized she knew nothing about personal finance. And she couldn’t find any good tools out there to learn. So she set out to learn about managing her own money — a journey that led her to dropping out of Harvard Business School after just one semester, writing two books, and starting two multi-million dollar businesses. We spoke to Alexa about the basics of business, money management, and what makes a successful start-up. In this episode, Alexa talks about: The pros and cons of business school How to get investors to buy into a business plan How venture capital funding works Taking care of your mental health as an entrepreneur Running a company as a parent

This episode mentions sexual assault, which could be triggering to some listeners.  Tarana Burke coined the phrase “me too” to help young Black girls in Selma, Alabama talk about sexual assault over a decade ago. But when #MeToo went viral overnight in 2017, Tarana had to figure out how to share her life’s work and its resources with a broader audience. Today, Tarana’s facing new challenges: how to offer sexual assault survivors the resources they need over the internet, and learning to balance her own needs alongside her work. In this episode, Tarana talks about: How “me too” began How she keeps going when personal and professional overlap How she approaches burnout and recovery Why rest is important for work

Julianna Margulies went from pouring G&Ts and filming commercials in Manhattan to being one of the most-awarded actresses on television. She’s famous for roles on “E.R.,” “The Good Wife,” and “The Morning Show” — and despite always having a backup plan, Julianna’s biggest decisions have been guided by her intuition. We spoke to Julianna about making big life decisions, taking risks and turning down lucrative offers. In this episode, Julianna talks about: Planning for the future  Trusting that the right work will find you Saying no to professional opportunities (hi, E.R.)  Clarifying your career focus How she stopped people pleasing

This week, we’re throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from last year.  Erica Williams Simon is a writer, host, and the CEO of Sage House media. Her new book reveals how she re-wrote her life story and shares how you can do the same. She walked us through how she makes tough decisions, starting with how she quit a perfect-on-paper job and changed her life.   In this episode, Erica shares:  What growing up in a church community taught her  How she made the decision to quit  How to navigate the financial burden of leaving a job  How to craft and tell your career story  How to learn from an unfulfilling job

Rea Ann Silva spent two decades working as a makeup artist for music videos, movies, and television. And on the side, she started developing a tool to make her work easier: the Beautyblender. Little did she know, she would end up transforming the beauty industry. And what helped her along the way - from movie sets to becoming CEO - was her relationships and her network. So this week, we’re getting her advice on how to start - and grow - your own.   In this episode, Rea Ann shares:  How she climbed the career ladder How she tapped into her industry’s networks How to work up the nerve to cold-call What it was like to see Beautyblender in the Smithsonian Museum

Gabrielle Union hit her big break as an actor more than 20 year ago. Today she’s a household name in pop culture, as well as an advocate and author. And along the way, she’s had to learn one of the biggest (and hardest) career lessons: how to stand up for yourself. From navigating toxic workplaces, to challenging inequity and bias in Hollywood, to speaking out about pay parity, Gabrielle’s a hero to many for standing up to broken systems - and for how open and honest she is with her fans and her readers.  In this episode, Gabrielle shares: Realizing when vulnerability can be a superpower Standing up for yourself — and others — at work Navigating your professional reputation Knowing your value in pay negotiations Why you need to talk about money  Using preparation to counter anxiety

Welcome to a special bonus episode of 9 to 5ish with theSkimm. A few weeks ago, theSkimm's co-founders and co-CEOs Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg hosted a Back to "Normal" power panel, talking about what a return to “normal” in the workplace looks like amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We were joined by… Tina Tchen, then-president and CEO of Time’s Up Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance And, Tami Forman, CEO of Path Forward It’s no secret that women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic: One in 10 moms with young kids quit their job — with half of them saying it was because of school or daycare closures. Gender equality in the workplace was set back more than a decade. And women were feeling burned out at faster rates. Now, as women head back into the workforce and office, it’s important to make sure they’re equipped with the information and tools they need to mak

Morgan DeBaun was one of the only Black women working in Silicon Valley when she quit her job and started Blavity, a news media company focused on serving Black Americans. But as Morgan started to learn, raising money isn’t easy - especially when so little funding goes to women and women of color in the first place. This week, we spoke to Morgan about raising capital, overcoming obstacles, and selling your story to investors. In this episode, Morgan shares:  Bootstrapping your business and delayed gratification Defining your company mission Learning how different types of funding works Staying true to your vision when pitching it Bringing Black creators into the spotlight in the tech space