In Good Company

024: Funmi Fetto. Racism In Beauty. From Print To Digital.

Seasoned fashion and beauty editor Funmi Fetto is something of an anomaly within the magazine world – a black journalist who’s risen to the heady heights of executive editor and beauty director of Glamour magazine, by way of a stint as beauty editor at British Vogue, and an on-going column for the Observer. She’s recently published Palette, a carefully curated beauty guide aimed specifically at women of colour that British Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful has described as “ground-breaking and essential reading”.

We get deep on the subject of racism within the beauty industry, with Funmi sharing her experiences navigating the predominantly white spaces of fashion, and the wider issues that still persist when it comes to how brands interact with black consumers, from colourism and discriminatory marketing tactics to microaggressions and outright racism. Plus – Funmi gives her opinion on the so-called death of print media and how media outlets should adapt to our new digital reality, as well as a few pointers for aspiring magazine journalists hoping to break into an endlessly competitive industry.

Buy Palette: The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour.

Follow Funmi Fetto on Twitter and Instagram @funmifetto.

For flexible, full-service office spaces, check out our episode sponsor Storey.

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

023: Kate Hamilton & Emily Ames. Brands And Storytelling. Business Development.

Consider this episode a masterclass in brand storytelling, courtesy of Kate Hamilton and Emily Ames, co-founders of content and communications agency Sonder & Tell, which specialises in helping brands craft their messaging and figure out how best to communicate with their customers. Since setting up Sonder & Tell two years ago, the pair have worked with clients that range from food startups to sexual health apps, and earlier this year they teamed up with fashion brand Jigsaw to publish an anthology of essays by some of the UK’s leading female writers.

On this episode they share vital tips for brands trying to figure out how to do ‘content’ properly, addressing everything from the importance of creating a strong brand narrative (and how to do that), to why so many brands seem to keep getting it wrong. Plus, find out what to expect when it comes to getting a service-based business off the ground, as Kate and Emily share what they’ve learned about business development, setting their rates, and figuring out which clients and projects are going to be more trouble than they’re worth…

Follow Sonder & Tell on Instagram (@sonderandtell) or head to their website sonderandtell.com

For flexible, full-service office spaces, check out our episode sponsor Storey: storey.co.uk

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

022: Alison Roman. Writing Accessibly. Freelance Money Lessons.

Food writer and chef Alison Roman look set to be the millennial inheritor to Nigella’s domestic goddess crown – funny, sharp, and (cliché though it might sound) effortlessly cool, it’s no wonder she’s developed a cult following in the US (and racked up over 200,000 followers on Instagram). A columnist for the New York Times and contributor to food magazine Bon Appetit, Alison’s also the author of two cookbooks – Dining In, a best-selling collection of recipes published in 2017, and the forthcoming Nothing Fancy (out October 31^st).

On today’s episode we talk about how she navigated the hyper-masculine world of restaurant kitchens as a young woman, the money lessons she’s learned since becoming self-employed four years ago, and the effect having a huge Instagram following has had on her career, both good and bad. 

Nothing Fancy (Hardie Grant) is out on October 31^st.

Follow Alison (@alisoneroman) on Twitter/Instagram.

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

021: Sharmadean Reid. Raising Investment. Predicting Trends.

You’ll likely already be familiar with beauty and tech entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid, who made her name within the beauty industry through WAH, the nail salon and beauty brand that kicked off the nail art trend globally, and went on to shape beauty and girl culture around the world.

A serial entrepreneur, Sharmadean has now turned her hand to the tech world with Beautystack, and on this episode she shares what she’s learned about building culturally influential brands and businesses over the years, touching on everything from social media strategy and trend forecasting, to raising investment and managing your company finances.

Follow Sharmadean (@sharmadeanreid) and Beautystack (@beautystack).  

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

020: Jia Tolentino. Girlboss Culture. Our Online Identities.

“Selfhood is the economic engine of the Internet” – so says Jia Tolentino, staff writer at the New Yorker, and author of Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, a razor-sharp collection of essays examining contemporary American culture that touches on everything from the commodification of feminism and the “nightmare” of personal branding, to the similarities between religion and MDMA, and our cultural obsession with ‘the scam’.

Find out how the author of one of the most talked about books of 2019 (Trick Mirror debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at #2) has been navigating the paradox of self-promotion, her take on the ubiquity of ‘girlboss culture’, and how she manages to stay sane online. Plus – some pearls of wisdom on the art of good essay writing.

Buy Trick Mirror (4^th Estate), out now.

Find Jia Tolentino on Twitter (@jiatolentino) and Instagram (@jiatortellini).

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

019: Liv Little. Raising Investment. Microaggressions.

This month’s guest is Liv Little, founder of gal-dem, a media platform run by women and non-binary people of colour.

Tune in to hear us discuss the business side of building a viable digital media platform, from the ins and outs of raising money from investors to the key to successful brand partnerships.

Plus – the microaggressions that prompted Liv to start gal-dem in the first place, how we REALLY feel about Diversity Panels, and a letter from a listener debating whether or not to pursue a career as an influencer.

Thanks also to our (first ever!) show sponsor Motley London (www.motley-london.com), a contemporary jewellery brand on a mission to democratise design. In Good Company listeners can enjoy a 15% discount off all Motley pieces by entering the code WOMENWHO15 at checkout.

gal-dem.com

Find Liv Little on Twitter (@livlittle) and Instagram (@livslittle).

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

018: Elizabeth Day. Learning To Say No. Dealing With Criticism.

“Everyone experiences failure, but not everyone is honest about it, so it can sometimes seem as if everyone else has perfect lives - and that adds to your sense of personal failure".

Elizabeth Day is an award-winning journalist, acclaimed author, creator of the hugely popular How To Fail podcast - and now author of a forthcoming book of the same name - and on this month's episode we cover everything from feeling like an outsider at work and surviving male-dominated newsrooms, to the major career change that helped her realise her value, and how she gained enough agency to start saying no at work.

Also on the agenda: dealing with criticism and learning to filter out bad opinions. Not relying on external validation to justify your work. The value of sharing your personal experiences with other people.

How To Fail (4th Estate) out on April 4th.

Find Elizabeth on Twitter/Instagram (@elizabday).

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

017: Dolly Alderton. Promoting A Book. Private School Privilege.

Best-selling author, award-winning journalist and chart-topping podcaster Dolly Alderton joins us in the studio to chat about the whirlwind year she's had since her debut book came out, her thoughts on turning 30, the pressure (and joys!) of promoting and selling books, and how she finds the time to write. We also had an in-depth chat about privilege and private education (in light of a much-debated column Dolly recently wrote for The Sunday Times Style), the role that money has played in her career choices thus far, and the business of podcasting.

Plus – advice for a recent graduate who's absolutely hating their first job.

Everything I Know About Love (paperback edition, with a new chapter on turning 30)

Find Dolly on Twitter/Instagram (@dollyalderton)

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

016: Gemma Hartley. Invisible Labour. Office Housework.

“Likeability is still a huge issue for women in the workforce – they can’t just be good at what they do, they have to be likeable in the process”. Sobering words from journalist Gemma Hartley, whose new book Fed Up explores the burden of invisible labour and why it tends to fall more heavily on women both at home and in the workplace - as well as offering up practical solutions on how to better navigate it.

Plus some advice for a listener who’s concerned about the lack of diversity in their office, and not sure how best to address it.

Fed Up by Gemma Hartley

Find Gemma Hartley on Twitter (@gemmahartley)

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.

015: Abigail Bergstrom. Getting A Book Deal. Finding An Agent.

This month's guest is Abigail Bergstrom, Head of Publishing at digital talent agency Gleam. If you dream of being a published author some day, Abigail's got plenty of advice on how to make that happen, from approaching literary agents, to the pros and cons of self-publishing.

Plus – an Ask Otegha segment on coping with a misogynistic work environments.

Gleam Titles: www.gleamtitles.com

Find Abigail Bergstrom on Instagram (@abigailbergstrom) and Twitter (@AbigailBergstrm)

For more career-related ideas and advice, join the Women Who community by signing up at www.womenwho.co, or follow @oteghauwagba and @womenwho on Instagram and Twitter.