New York City is filled with women entrepreneurs for the first-ever S.H.E. Summit Week. This empowering week kicked off yesterday morning and has over 35 events lasting through Sunday, which are hosted by entrepreneurial leaders and dreamers.
This week the intent is that these women can help empower and inspire other women—even collegiettes—on their journey to their dreams. Attendants can participate in different workshops and go to various events, which are all designed to cater to inspirational needs.
Claudia Chan, founder of ClaudiaChan.com, has spent the past two and a half months planning and prepping for this event. “When you have women on a mission you can make things happen,” she explained. “Just two in a half months ago we began prepping for this event and it sparked like wildfire. It just shows that women are ready to work.” She launched her website this past March with the mission to interview and profile successful women, women leaders, visionaries and change makers.
At one of the first events this week Her Campus had the chance to sit down and speak with Claudia Chan. She gave amazing inspirational advice geared toward collegiette women on what you can do to achieve your dreams. Here is her life advice for those of you who are unable to make it to S.H.E. Summit Week this year:
On dreaming and doing big with purpose: “First of all, when you’re coming out of college, always dream. Really figure out what you love, what you enjoy, what serves your purpose, what your curiosities are, and what you’re passionate about. But also be cognizant—as you go out there and achieve what you want to achieve be cognizant of helping others along the way. I think so much of coming out of school is just exploring and getting experience in as many different things as possible in the areas that you feel you have interest in. Keep that in mind as your coming out school, as you have your first jobs, and next jobs that at a certain point it’s going to hit you and you’ll go through up’s and down’s, but when it does hit you, the timing, when it’s right you’ll know that it’s right because all of a sudden the pieces will just start coming together and all of a sudden it’s just more realistic to go after what you want to go after.”
On pressure and competition with peers: “When you do the right thing you always win. I know for example even going into this week that there are tons of things to be scared about and to be intimidated by. When you do the right thing and build your values you and define yourself, as a person who always does the right thing everything will eventually work out. Even if you don’t get the thing you wanted to get, or the project you wanted to be able to do, or receive a response to an email – it’s important to know that it wasn’t meant to be. Personally, as long as my actions are aligned with my values, I know I’ve developed this mission-based life. As your coming out of college you have to figure out what the values that you want to live by are and what you want to represent. You have to go inside for that. You have to figure out what kind of person you want to be, what kind of role model you want to be for others, and focus on being that while not caring what other people think and bosses will notice that. When you have integrity, even when someone else beats you to a position, it’s okay because eventually the right thing is going to come your way. I really believe in doing the right thing. At the same time you have to work really hard, be really strategic and equip yourself. Go to the workshops, take a class, go to things like what’s featured at the event this week. Then you can really win based off merit – your own talents and skills.”
On receiving life advice and developing personal thoughts: “With life everyone is going to be giving you advice—everyone will tell you their opinions. But in life there’s no better way of really getting to know yourself than by going out into the real world and falling down a million times. Unfortunately, I think that’s always where you learn the most. Eventually you start developing that sense of who you are and what’s important to you. When other people start to give you advice or tell you their opinions you can take bits and pieces of it, but at the same time mix it up with what’s inside of you already. It’s a combination of following your gut and also surrounding yourself with mentors and people that you trust to give you an opinion. But you have to learn yourself what to say yes to and what to say no to—and a lot of that just comes with time and experience.”
On finding your true calling: “I’m 37 years old and I finally believe that I am doing my calling in life—being here to promote women. I am here to bring awesome women together and to really be the place that aggregates and covers them while doing it in a very cool and fashionable way. That calling didn’t really hit me until two years, but when it hit me it hit me. It took me until I was 35 to realize what my true calling was, but now I have this dream, and it took a long time—so just remember that. Honestly all the hard stuff that you go through really teaches you the most. If you just live a life where everything just comes easy to you than you don’t really ever learn anything. I always say that obstacles create opportunities. I always say that when you are going through really hard things to stop and think for a second and realize that you’re going to appreciate this hard thing. Think that this challenge is here to make me stronger, to make me wiser, to make me more experience, to make me fuller, and it’s going to make me better. Of course we will find the solution because we always do.”
Photo Credit to ©Stephanie Badini