Mia Duchnowski is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oars + Alps – a direct to consumer men’s grooming company providing premium, natural products without the markup. She graduated from MIT and has her MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Resources
Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!
Sound Sleeper and EWG – Mia’s small business resources.
The Happiness Project – Mia’s Top Business Book.
Oars+Alps – Mia’s website.
Connect with Mia on Twitter and Instagram.
Free Podcast Course – Learn to Create, Grow, and Monetize your podcast in 15 days!
The Mastery Journal – Master Productivity, Discipline, and Focus in 100 days!
Gift for Fire Nation – Get 15% off on Mia’s products with code FIRE.
3 Value Bombs
1) When you speak in public, pretend you are only speaking to ONE person and tell them every detail you know.
2) Understand that success does NOT happen overnight.
3) There is no perfect timing, just start acting.
Sponsors
DesignCrowd: If you’re not much of a designer, but are looking for ideas for your next logo, websites design or even your new business cards, then DesignCrowd can help! Visit DesignCrowd.com/fire for a special one $100 VIP offer for Fire Nation!
School of Rock: A children’s services franchise where you’ll get to pass the torch of musicality to a new generation of musicians AND operate a profitable business at the same time! To learn more visit Franchising.SchoolOfRock.com, contact the School of Rock team, and tell them Entrepreneurs on Fire sent you!
Show Notes
(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)
[01:01] – Mia is a bit of a nerd and thought she’d be an astronaut
[01:17] – She worked for NASA for a couple of summers before the investment bank, Goldman Sachs, took her on as an employee
[01:29] – Mia fell in love with the trading floor environment, which led her to pivot to her next career move
[01:56] – She applied to Harvard Business School and became a TV reporter/anchor
[02:22] – Mia’s area of expertise is in public speaking
[02:42] – Her biggest tip is to drink warm apple juice before speaking
[04:04] – Assume you’re talking to one person and your goal is to share every detail of what you want to say to that person
[04:52] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: Mia and her co-founder, Laura, have worked together day-in and day-out, and they realized they needed someone to help them with their business. They brought in their first employee, but struggled trying to figure out how to grow the company. When they became venture-backed, a lot of their questions were answered—they really didn’t need an in-house creative
[07:45] – The reason they let go of their employee slowly was because this person was a huge asset to the team
[08:59] – When you bring on your first hire, make sure this person is one you can also be comfortable letting go of if and when the time comes
[09:25] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Mia was a TV anchor for several years, and through that position she had access to the best skincare products. Her husband would use her skincare items when he ran out of his own. The scientist in her knew the difference between female and male skin. She then realized she was the gatekeeper of her husband’s skin
- Mia finally decided to leave her job to open Oars+Alps
[12:31] – What is the one thing you are most FIRED up about today? “I’m fired up about Christmas!”
[13:17] – Mia learned you’re not going to nail it the first time you hit the market
[17:16] – The Lightning Round
- What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “No more hair and makeup every morning”
- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “That creeping feeling is actually a lagging indicator”
- What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “I do think that it’s important to start your day with gratitude and end your day with gratitude”
- Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Sound Sleeper and EWG
- If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – The Happiness Project – “it’s an interesting book”
[21:43] – Make sure that you understand there’s never a good time for anything
[22:18] – Connect with Mia on Twitter and Instagram
[23:15] – Get 15% OFF when you purchase anything on Oars+Alps with Promo Code FIRE
Killer Resources!
1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!
2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!
3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!
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