From the or Founder to the Amazing Internal Team, Unexpected Mentors, Doubters, Failures, and Beauty Professionals – A Year of Lessons, Laughter, and Unveiling Purpose 🚀🙏
As the year wraps up, I've got my reflective hat on (it's pink, of course) and a heart bursting with gratitude for all the things, both good and “bad”. Because I’m way too long-winded, this gratitude post will have two parts. Part 1: GRATITUDE FOR MY BUSINESS SQUAD and Part 2: GRATITUDE TO THOSE WHO KNEW ME FIRST; FAMILY & FRIENDS.
Are you ready for me to spill the tea on how this underdog with stupidly wild dreams survived, almost died, then thrived in 2023? If so, keep reading…
TO MY INTERNAL POSHED™ TEAM:
You have been distant friends for years but have now become my right-hand teammates in this crazy venture. Thank you for keeping all the pieces of the company tied together, while I run around throwing out the next big thing we need to bring to life. While your work ethic, brains, and business contributions are freaking fabulous, it’s who each of you are as people that make me the most proud. I know you are kind, honest, loyal, and care deeply about doing what is right in a business world that is tainted by a**holes. An a**hole, you are not. Thank you for being GOOD people. I know I can trust you and, at the same time, I know you will challenge me when I’m steering the company in the wrong direction. That is a hard combination to find. As we’re underdogs on a mission to break the status quo in the beauty industry and in the male-dominated technology sector, I know I’ve got the right people on my side. Before it was ever trending on Twitter, we believed in the power of our femininity, diversity, authenticity, inclusiveness, uniqueness, and most of all, the power of love while growing our billion-dollar dream company. I promise, when we make it big, free beauty treatments for everyone! Because, let's be real, we’ll all need a glow-up after surviving our startup chaos!
TO MY UNEXPECTED MENTORS:
These magical beings swooped onto my Zoom screen, armed with wisdom, lots of serious questions, and a dash of reality about the road ahead that wasn’t always fun to hear. To those mentors who continue to give me their time without asking for a dime, you're the real unicorns in the startup world. Some of you have repeatedly said to me with all seriousness, “Just remember me when you make it to the very top.” You have no idea how much those words mean to me. For you to even think I’m mildly capable of building this company to a fraction of the goal I have in mind… it hits me in the feelers every time. I hear it and think, “Maybe I’m not so crazy for thinking we can actually do this.” Your words hold weight. I hear them, I hold onto them, and you better believe that I will remember them when Poshed™ Inc. makes it to the MFin’ top. I will make you proud and, you better believe I will repay you 10X over when we get there.
TO MY DOUBTERS:
Where do I begin? Let’s start with a massive THANK YOU. I need you more than you know. I thrive on rejection, failure, and being given the chance to prove people wrong. I mean, I’m a redhead after all, what did you expect? So, thank you for the mocking giggles, boisterous scoffs, the raised eyebrows, and for saying to me, "You aren’t going to build a billion-dollar company, so stop saying that. It’s ridiculous.".
At first, I listened to you. I’d be silly not to heed your advice being that you’ve been in this game far longer than I. Then, I began to look at the data to figure out what caused your comment, and for a moment I began to agree with you because statistically, you’re correct. Who was I to have such audacious dreams?
But then… then, I remembered who the f*ck God created me to be and your skepticism turned into rocket fuel for my faith. Every little jab just added more fire to my burning belief & personal truth. It reminded me that the mission was and always will be to show the world how God can use a nobody like myself to do something completely extraordinary. At the risk of sounding batshit crazy (mission complete!), He didn’t put me on this path to play small. He put me on this path to show the world that miracles still happen when we trust that His greatness lives within us.
So, to all my doubters, please keep those doubts coming because you aren’t doubting me so I won’t get offended. Instead, I get more excited to show the world what is possible with a little bit of faith and a whole lot of hard work. We're turning your doubts into confetti for our victory parade, and we’ll use your full name as a chapter in our book to share the amazing things that God can do when we choose to live in faith instead of fear.
TO MY FAILURES:
Ahhhh, my dear friend, Failure, you cheeky lil’ devil. You taught me lessons I never even knew that I needed to learn. You’ve humbled me & made me ugly cry on several occasions. But more importantly, you helped me develop empathy for leaders under pressure. In that, you taught me how to forgive situations that scarred my heart and let go of resentment. You reminded me that we’re all human, and we all have room to grow. Then, you took my ugly moments and mistakes and made them moments of genius, creativity, and company-altering pivots.
Thank you for the crash course in resiliency, remaining compassionate & kind while under an immense amount of pressure, and the ability to laugh in the face of my own f*ck ups. I knew that you were a good teacher, but I didn’t realize the depth of your power until this past year. I’m excited to meet you again in 2024, because with each meeting Poshed™ and I continue to get wiser, stronger, and smarter. So cheers to our future collisions, Failure, I welcome them with open arms!
TO OUR BEAUTY PROFESSIONALS:
A special shout out to the beauty professionals who hopped on board before we had an app to flaunt, and for sticking around during the past year while we scrambled behind the scenes to figure all the things out!
There is a lot more to building this brand, community, and technology than what meets the eye but you’ve been here through it all and we cannot thank you enough for that! You saw the potential beneath the messy moments and the chaotic twists and turns, and we love you for believing in us!
Furthermore, thanks for being the reason WHY we exist in the first place! We’re here to empower you to step into your unique potential by learning more adept business & mindset strategies, all while using our tech platform and business model to have a more profitable & sustainable beauty business. As we get to know each and every one of you, hear your story, and learn your heart, we are further committed to our mission to break the status quo in an industry that has long neglected the professional artists that it stands on. We see you, we hear you, and we’re creating an army to FIGHT FOR YOU in an outdated and under-respected industry.
Thanks to you joining and believing in us, we are more driven than ever to create change. Before it was ever trending on Twitter, we believed in the power of our femininity, diversity, authenticity, inclusiveness, uniqueness, and most of all, the power of love while growing our billion-dollar dream company. Others might say it's not possible, but we say "Watch us." Thank you for believing in what we’re building together, hand-in-hand! We know none of this is possible without you!
Whew…I hope that wasn’t too mushy or deep for you, friends! All that to say, we’re stoked for 2024! We’re taking all these lessons, the support, the doubts, the laughs, the relationships, the faith, and the people we love and see so much potential in, and we’re creating a movement that will lead to a billion-dollar mission-driven company. I've got bigger dreams than a Swiftie watching Travis & Taylor clips on TikTok, and because of your support, we’re not holding back in 2024. So, here's to the wild ride, the messy moments, and the chaos that leads to uncovering God’s greatness in each one of our lives. Buckle up world – we haven’t even got started yet!
Dream big,
Ruth Shrauner
P.S. Download the app below and start scheduling your pampering appointments wherever you are - to support collaboration between small businesses that are mainly owned by females and minorities! Book a specialty holiday makeup look! Book a post Thanksgiving facial! Book some speciality nail art! And put the code POSHEDKC in the notes for $10 off!
Remember, every appointment you book supports this small business and the small business of your beauty professional!
