Great advice from Good American CEO Emma Grede

Good American CEO Emma Grede shared some wisdom with CNBC Make It.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE     CLOSING THE GAP Thursday, November 11, 2021 This week, CNBC Make It work editor Hanna Howard shares some resonant career advice from Good American CEO Emma Grede. You can follow Hanna on Twitter @_hannahoward.   One of the joys of our work here at Closing the Gap is that we get to shine a spotlight on women with truly impressive and inspiring careers. As an editor — and a woman building her own career — I feel like I get a bonus out of these articles. Not only do I get to have a hand in bringing these stories to the Make It and Closing the Gap audiences, but I also get to tuck away the lessons I learn for myself as well. One of my current favorite articles came courtesy of my colleague Brandon Gomez, who recently talked with Emma Grede.    The businesswoman may be best known for her collaborations with two of the Kardashian sisters: she co-founded Skims with Kim and co-founded Good American — for which she serves as CEO — with Khloe. But her proximity to one of America's most famous families isn't the reason she's notable. The Brit started her own entertainment marketing agency at the age of only 26, and in the 13 years since has become a business powerhouse. Last month, she became the first Black woman investor to appear on ABC's "Shark Tank" (CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank").   Unsurprisingly, Grede shared some wisdom with Brandon that will hopefully resonate with you as much as it did with me.   Two pieces stood out to me in particular.  First, the rule she lives by: "You have to do things that scare you."   Seems simple, right? In theory, sure, but in practice it may be a bit harder than you think. For Grede it meant taking the plunge and starting her own business, ITB Worldwide, and learning as she went. "For six or seven months, I had to do everything myself from scratch. I would go out and win the business, service the business, and then go back to the office late at night and make the invoice to get paid," she said. "I hired people that I was paying more than myself, because I needed to compensate for my own inadequacies or gaps in my knowledge."   Second, something that we can especially relate to here at Closing the Gap: "Part of your responsibility when you're successful, especially as a woman, is to understand that journey for other women."   Grede spoke to how as a woman, and as a Black woman, her experience of fundraising for her own ventures provides her with a window into the struggles other women entrepreneurs face — and it's part of the reason she decided to do "Shark Tank."    "I'll support as many Black women as I can afford to," she said. "But it's really about it becoming the norm."   What's the best career advice you've ever gotten? How do you support other women through your own career journey?  Share your thoughts with us at askmakeit@cnbc.com  More articles from Closing the Gap More than half of October's job gains went to women After months of slow job growth, the economy came roaring back to life in October, adding 531,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. October was a promising month for women reentering the workforce, too, as nearly 57% of the new positions created went to women, reports the National Women's Law Center.  Read More Dakota Johnson shared the life-changing career advice she got from Emily Blunt In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dakota Johnson revealed that fellow actress Emily Blunt was the one who pushed her to do the first "50 Shades of Grey" movie when she was having doubts, sharing advice that would change her career forever.  Read More Ava DuVernay says Oprah taught her the best lesson on handling criticism Despite her many successes, director Ava DuVernay always had a hard time taking criticism, she told The Cut in a recent "How I Get It Done" segment. But she got some pretty good advice from none other than Oprah Winfrey — of course Oprah has the best advice. Read More Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Digital Products   Feedback Terms of Service Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBC Universal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS