Successful people work their asses off to get what they want. That’s our November theme. If you want it, go get it—put in the time, pound the pavement, pick up the phone, send that DM, ask that question, pitch that project, make that connection. Scroll ⬇️ to meet a few hard workers that inspire us.
First up, Lindsay Jang, entrepreneur many times over, and fellow Edmontonian(!), currently running her empire from Hong Kong after a long stint in NYC.
We spoke to her one Edmonton/Mexico night and Hong Kong morning, and whatever we thought we were going to learn we came away with a shared feeling of ‘Ok, she works HARD for whatever she wants, and that feels inspiring and attainable! And damn, she has an infectious attitude.’
Lindsay has founded three restaurants in Hong Kong—Yardbird, Ronin, Roti Tori, a spirit brand—Sunday’s Spirits, and a creative agency—HECHO Creative. And girl’s got other projects in the works that she hinted about… We hope you enjoy her words of wisdom as much as we did.
For the readers out there 👋 we’ve done our traditional takeaways with some timestamps if you’d like to hear more straight from the source.
✴️ 0:29-3:40: How do you work with so many friends (risky!) and maintain trust?
Takeaway: Comfort is a positive, especially during conflict. You want to go through rough patches with people you trust, but also celebrate the highs with them.
✴️ 3:40-7:47: What makes a person stand out to you when you’re looking for someone to hire or collaborate with to bring one of your big ideas to life?
Takeaway: You want to partner with people who can do all the things you can’t—who have different skill sets.
✴️ 8:30-15:40: How were you able to scale one business, not to mention five to date, in another country? Was it relationships, marketing, branding?
Takeaway: You need a solid product. You can market the shit out of something, but if the product isn’t good, no one is going to buy it. [Mic drop.]
✴️ 15:40-17:45: How on earth do you keep up with all the businesses you run?
Takeaway: Lindsay has a system, and she knows the role she’s meant to play in her business. In other words, she stays focused on her objectives.
✴️ 17:48-20:30: How do you balance your day between business, family, friends, life?
Takeaway: Lindsay schedules everythinggg. Work, exercise, downtime (she makes time for it!), etc. And, always a good reminder: She knows when to say no!
💫 Biggest takeaway from Lindsay
Nurture the relationships you have, and be open without immediate demand of return. You never know what will come of making a connection or taking a call.
In other words, respond when someone tags or messages you, and reach out to people you admire folks! If they have Lindsay’s attitude (one we’re certainly adopting) they may just reply and be gracious with their time. On that note, thank you again for *your* time, Lindsay!
What lies below
The *woman* who changed advertising in the 60s/70s
Permission to fail from the (other) man behind YEEZY
Legit negotiation bootcamp: The science of the deal
As always: A little #northandnow background
💥 How ad legend Mary Wells changed advertising forever
4ish minutes
Moly: I love this thread as a reminder of how creativity and thinking differently can be so powerful. It’s so easy to follow ‘what’s working.’ Mary was the OG creative who made airlines sexy, and she changed the way drugs like Alka Seltzer were advertised—taking tummy troubles in a fun direction (the video in the thread is cute and worth a watch).
Moirae: WOW! Mary is incredibly inspiring, not to mention being a woman killing it in the workforce during the 60’s & 70’s—talk about no excuses and knowing what she is good at and going after it without a question! I mean, $300k as a salary in the 70’s... you know you got talent and you are doing something right. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
🙈 Permission to fail | Jon Wexler
15 minutes
Moirae: Jon Wexler (former global entertainment and influencer marketing VP at Adidas + GM of YEEZY, new VP of Shopify’s creator and influencer program, and you know, my new BFF and mentor, all still unbeknownst to him) gives a snapshot into his life and career, sharing one of the BIGGEST (and public) career blunders ever when he spilled the beans on a big Adidas contract. But he shares how it set him up for success, and basically put him on the map in a big way. Moral: follow your passion, make your own mistakes, and go after what you want!
Moly: My takeaway from Jon’s talk is that having a goal gives you confidence to take risks that may seem counterintuitive from the outside. When he was going after a big sale back in the day he tried the traditional things and when that didn’t work he went against conventional thinking to get the sale, getting the client’s attention in a way that would normally be a no-no. He was out of options, he took a risk, and he landed the sale. #norisknoreward
🤝 The science of the deal | Work Life with Adam Grant
38 well-worth-it minutes
Faaiza: First off, the best thing about Adam’s podcast is how he integrates case studies to make his point. I’ve heard the idea of an ‘anchor’ in negotiation before but I didn’t think about having multiple anchors and using them to approach negotiations as a collaborative compromise. For example, in a job, I’ve always approached pay as my key anchor. But that’s not the only thing I care about. Especially when I’ve applied for a role where I know what the pay range is going to be. I also care a lot about the work environment, work style, development, growth opportunities, etc. So why not include some of those as my negotiating anchors?
Moirae: I loved when Adam calls out “Negotiation is not the first phase of making a deal it's the third. The first two are preparation and information exchange, understanding the other party’s needs.” This is exactly how I got $4,500 off my couch, except I didn’t even know I was doing it. Now that I have some knowledge to power my negotiations WATCH OUT, folks 😉
Moly: If you’re nervous about negotiation like me, but have that feeling of ‘If everyone is getting discounts on their couches then I want a discount!’ and you push yourself super hard to negotiate your phone bills, etc. Then 1. Good for you! And hello, friend! 2. You gotta listen to this podcast. His explanation of how setting a range works (no one wants to offer the bottom of your range), and the other strategies mentioned above really take the intimidation factor out of negotiation.
A little background
North & Now started as an idea for a conference in 2016, and though we shelved that, we’ve continued to gather around these beliefs:
1. Look at leaders in other industries in order to be leaders in your own
2. Identifying opportunities is a learned skill (this one’s our favourite)
3. A fresh perspective on something familiar to you can be a game changer
If you want to send us links you think we’d like or want to discuss a fun idea, hit reply or send us a note:
Faaiza → Twitter (most active) / Instagram (infrequent posts, frequent scrolls)
Moirae → Instagram (her stories are 🔥) / Twitter (all business, no play)
Moly →Instagram (follow for wine/podcast recs) / Twitter (work in progress)