Here at Vagaro, we aspire to have a workplace that reflects all of the diverse communities that we serve. We know that when we build diverse teams, we are able to produce more innovative ideas, products, services and the ability to better support our businesses. In light of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we sat down for a chat with two of our top women in leadership here at Vagaro. Meet Charity Hudnall, our VP of Marketing, and Armita Rostamian, our CFO.
CHARITY HUDNALL
This year’s theme for IWD is #EmbraceEquity. What does this mean to you? To me, embracing equity is an education mindset. An action to embrace every individual for who they are and what talent they bring to the workplace. It is the conscious effort to break free from stereotypes and embody an inclusive culture.
Which women inspire you most? Women, in general, inspire me every day, particularly those who balance all of their roles in life as a mother, wife/partner, sister, daughter and their career & life goals. But, if I had to choose, I’d say Sarah Franklin, the CMO of Salesforce, and Dara Johnson Treseder, the CMO of Peloton.
What is the most important piece of advice you have been given? One valuable piece of advice that was given to me was to not take anything personal. My goal is to do what is best, not only for the business, but for the people and the culture. So, my decision-making should not just be reactive, but should be based on sound business decisions.
With that said, emotions do have a place in a professional environment in the form of inspiration, passion and showing the human side of yourself.
How can we encourage more women to pursue entrepreneurship or senior leadership roles in their career? The encouragement needs to happen every day, every week, every month. Recognizing women that have the potential to grow and investing in them. Also, including more women at all levels in the conversations. As women that are in current leadership roles, we need to be more visible and more accessible to other women as well.
What is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers My advice to all women is to set your bar high. Never become complacent and don’t be afraid of hard work. Pressure makes diamonds. As not only a woman, but also a minority woman, I have had to work harder than everyone else to get to where I am. I am okay with that, because I learned so much along the way and I can bring value to every conversation because of that journey.
ARMITA ROSTAMIAN
This year’s theme for IWD is #EmbraceEquity. What does this mean to you? To me, it means realizing that everyone has their own unique story, their own way of achieving their full potential, and realizing that one size doesn’t fit all. It’s embracing the fact that we are unique and different in our own ways, and we all need different resources or support in our challenges to achieve our maximum potential. It’s coming to the realization that we all come to work for a reason—to make the world a better place and each of us do it in different ways.
Which women inspire you most? A year ago my answer would be different, but today, I would say the women in Iran inspire me because they fight for their freedom and basic rights. They go into the streets and put their life on the line just for basic freedoms. I have the privilege of being in a country that gives me these freedoms, so they inspire me every day.
What is the most important piece of advice you have been given? When I was trying to get into a top college, I was like, “There is no way I can make it” because I was studying engineering. My dad told me, “Nothing is impossible, just push through and if you get in, then you get in. But even if you don’t, then you’ll know you tried your best.” I always tell my kids, “Nothing is impossible, just work hard. If this time you don’t get it, next time you’ll get it.”
How can we encourage more women to pursue entrepreneurship or senior leadership roles in their career? Definitely during our hiring and interview process, we have to make a conscious effort that we want to promote women, we want to be able to provide opportunities to women. The organization should understand the value of women in leadership and what they contribute to the organization. We should commit to building a pipeline of opportunities for key roles in our organization for women. We should also create a mentorship program for women who want to pursue leadership with those who are in it. We need to create an inclusive culture that eliminates all sorts of unconscious biases between men and women. So, if we create this culture internally, it will impact the organization overall.
What is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers I saw a quote that said, “The move you are scared to make today might just be the one.”
Stop playing it safe and be passionate about your dream. Go for it; it might be scary, you might even fail, but you won’t know if you don’t try it. Going back to the advice my dad gave me: Just go for it. Nothing is impossible.
Over all, follow your passion. Be eager to learn. Just realize we all have our own way of doing things, and our own individual strengths and weaknesses. Be your own person, play your own game. Just go for it.