Powerful Ladies Podcast Blogs and SEO

In the roles I have filled with Powerful Ladies, I have worked on Marketing Management, Strategy, and Content Creation. Much of that content has been for social media and blogs. I have worked the overall marketing and brand strategy for the Powerful Ladies and Kara Duffy brand, as well as lead sales and business development strategy behind CEO Kara Duffy.

how moving to Telluride changed the way I see myself

by: Shae LaPlace

About 5 years ago, I fell in love with Telluride Colorado. This past year, when my life started to feel stagnant, I knew it was time. No matter how daunting it may have seemed, it just felt right. Deciding to move to Telluride has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. A place that had always felt curiously like home. In the back of my mind, it was always there. There’s a sort of magic about Telluride, just a feeling that floats in the air. You breathe it in as you walk through town, or wander the trails into the San Juan mountains that surround you in every direction. The result? A release, a sense of deep relief, the kind you didn’t know you needed.  

I began by telling myself it was going to happen. Then, I told other people I was going to move there. Once other people knew, there was no backing out. I began to search for housing. Everyone told me this would be the hardest part. I was prepared for a challenge. I began my search, about 8 months before I wanted to move in. One day, something somewhere in the cosmos must have aligned. A message appeared in my Facebook inbox. A space was available, in my price range, and living situation that just felt right. That was it. 

With my housing locked in, I began to reach out to potential employers. I scheduled a trip to go see the house, and take job interviews. When I headed home from that trip with a place to live and two jobs. It was really happening…

Hiking my first fourteener: why you should start climbing mountains

A few weeks after moving to Telluride, a friend asked me if I would want to hike Mount Wilson with him, and a group of friends. My initial reaction was to jump on the opportunity. It was a fun, exciting outdoor activity, with new people. The excitement shifted to slight panic once I realized that Wilson was not only a Fourteener, but one of Colorado’s most difficult. 

I am a confident hiker, but something about hiking one of the states most difficult hikes... with a group of boys well adjusted to high altitudes… yikes. I’m usually not one to let men and boys intimidate me. But in this case I felt physically inferior. I was slowly drifting towards the idea of bailing. Skipping the hike, and trying for my first Fourteener another time. My friend assured me that I would be fine. I’d be able to tackle the hike as well as anyone else. His confidence in me began to seep into my self-doubting brain. 

Screw it. I told myself, if I don’t go, I’m quitting before I even try. Feeling like a quitter is something that my competitive nature simply cannot handle. I organized my things, and tried to get to bed as early as I could. Planning to be up and out of bed at 5am the next day for the hike. 

I woke up in the pitch blackness of the morning. Fumbled around my kitchen to make myself a small cup of coffee and some breakfast. I shoved a bunch of completely excessive preparations into my backpack. Moments later, I got the call that the boys had arrived to pick me up. I heaved myself into the back of a ‘98 Bronco, filled with sleepy but stoked mountain boys…

HOw to overcome creative anxiety and start using it to your advantage

People in all kinds of professions face the fear of rejection. Those of us in creative fields are asked to set our creative anxiety aside, and bare all in order to get a job. So, how do we overcome the creative anxiety? And once we’re able to overcome it, can we use it to our advantage? Overcoming any challenge begins with acknowledging it. Only then can we manage it, and hopefully find ways it can benefit us, rather than hinder us. 

If you have creative anxiety you might find yourself wanting to apply for jobs, but being afraid to share your portfolio or your body of work. If you’re anything like me, the fear can even prevent you from submitting the application all together. Clearly, this sort of reaction to creative anxiety is counter productive. If you never let anyone see the work, you block yourself from receiving the positive feedback that you need to hear. 

Accept that the only way to overcome the fear is by risking the rejection. So, how do we prepare ourselves for potential rejection? One thing that can be effective is reminding yourself why you do your art. No matter what creative field you find yourself in, there is a reason you do what you do. Regardless of the outcome, there’s value in the way your express yourself. Whatever the work may be, it reflects a part of you. The value of such a risk, is in the way your art impacts others. The reward, and the relief are not possible without the fear and risk…