In case you didn’t know, March is Women’s History Month! This year, we’re highlighting the next generation of trailblazing women on our Blawg with our Ladies Who Lead interview series. Today, we’re highlighting Bridget Brown of The Advisory Guild.
Vital Stats:
Occupation: Founder (along with my husband Nick) of The Advisory Guild, approachable business consulting for creative entrepreneurs. We work with female founders to expand the vision of their company, discover unique ideas and act as a sounding board. From our previous businesses we know that building a business can be lonely, daunting and confusing. We’re here to alleviate those problems.
Background: Originally from Mississippi, attended Mississippi University for Women and graduated with a degree in English/political science. Was in a washboard band during college. You read that right. Which instrument did I play? The washboard, duh. After graduation immediately started law school at Mississippi College School of Law, graduated and moved west to San Francisco in 1998.
Power Lunch: Vegan cheese and crackers with sliced apple or leftovers from last night’s dinner. This feels very uninspired or like the lunch of a kindergartener.
The Good Stuff:
1. Was your path to your current work linear, or did it take twists and turns? Well, I came up with the idea for my first company, Bella Bridesmaid, in 1998, shortly after meeting my now-husband, Nick, who was a recent transplant to San Francisco from Yorkshire, England during the dot com boom. We launched Bella in 2000 in a tiny Victorian walk up in the city. We were busy FAST and quickly saw how this company could grow nationally. After opening 5 additional locations of own across the US, we franchised in 2006 and grew to 43 locations before selling the company in 2012.
After taking some time off to travel in Europe for a year, we moved back to our home in Sausalito and started thinking about what’s next. We’ve always wanted to make a product and experience the process from ideation to manufacturing. I had recently moved to a vegan lifestyle and was struggling to find well made, non leather handbags, so we launched Filbert, a line of mindfully made luxe vegan bags made in the USA. This business was HARD AF. It took every ounce of energy and creativity we had in us. We struggled to find a consistent factory in the US and worked our way through 10 factories in 2 years. We learned a LOT about domestic manufacturing and how to produce an ethical and eco product.
In 2019, as I was starting to figure out if Filbert was a sustainable business for us, I got approached by a female branding agency to ask if I would consult for them on a project. I had no idea what this meant. I mean, I knew what I knew, but was the knowledge I had valuable to someone else? I hesitantly said yes, and that was the beginning of The Advisory Guild. We now know that there’s a need for the type of service we offer to entrepreneurs—acting as a source of support and helping to guide and find the answers to the million questions you have as a small business owner.
2. What does leadership look like to you? Serving as a source of support and empowering entrepreneurs and creative brands so they can tap into their potential. Leading by example, offering a helpful, authentic, and collaborative experience.
3. What is your biggest motivator in your work? Our clients. Watching their brands thrive and seeing the shift in them personally when we make changes that result in wins. A lot of times this is more of a shift in their mindset which then opens up more space in their body, mind and every day life to focus on the thing they do best.
4. Can you describe a time when you faced a challenge or setback in your work, and how you overcame it? Our vegan handbag company Filbert was by far our most challenging business. But I believe you learn more in the failures than you do in the successes. Without the “failure” of Filbert, I don’t think I would have the confidence to consult other entrepreneurs.
5. What advice would you give to others who want to create a purpose-driven or innovative space in their industry, but aren’t sure where/how to start? Just start. Poke around and ask a lot of questions, do a lot of research, and ask friends, family , acquaintances and other business owners if they see value in your idea. Really take the time to peel back the layers of the idea and make sure you’ve done your homework. Launching a business is hard, and you want to make sure you’re starting off on the right track.
6. Are you one of those people who “enjoys” networking? What tips do you have for others who are a little less enthusiastic about it? I love meeting other female founders and I have a group of women I call my “collective” that I refer to my clients, and that I download with regularly. I’ve never liked the word “networking” because it brings to mind the image of a stuffy corporate event with cheap warm wine, bad lighting, and mediocre snacks. I think just adjusting your mindset and thinking of it more as shooting the shit with like minded folks in your industry helps!
7. If you were going to embark on a new business opportunity, who would you want to be your co-founder, and why? Besides my husband (who I’ve now co-founded 3 companies with), I don’t think anyone else would want to partner with me! I’m an Aries and can be bossy and tend to think my way is usually the best way. But I will say that my idea of a great collaborative work experience would be working from home with anywhere from 5-16 small, senior rescue dogs at my feet. (I currently only have one small senior rescue dog at my feet, Presley, our CDO (Chief Dog Officer) and the best boy.
8. Any resources you’d like to share with our readers that will help them level up their leadership skills and empower them to keep changing the world? I highly recommend finding your own “collective”—a group of people in your industry that you can lean on and ask advice of on the reg. It really helps to have this support system in place. I am also a huge fan of handing over things in your business that take up your time, or that you don’t enjoy doing. Support another woman’s business by outsourcing those tasks and it’s a win win.
How to Support Bridget:
Social Media: Follow her on Instagram @theadvisoryguild.
Thank you for chatting with us, Bridget!