The Story Behind “Assertion Playing cards”

Morning fam!

A number of you commented on how a lot you really liked these Assertion Playing cards we gave away the opposite week, so I assumed I’d dig up an interview I did with the founding father of the playing cards, Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez, to shed extra gentle on the backstory.

It’s been a few years since we first printed it, so we revisited and up to date it on your viewing pleasure as we speak, and actually hope you get as impressed as I did once I first got here throughout them 🙂 A unbelievable concept, and one which’s very a lot wanted in our group – and the world for that matter!

Huge congrats to Stefanie for all her success with them thus far, and in the event you like what they’re about please do move it round to assist her proceed to get the phrase out 🙏🙏

Now to the Q&A!

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Hello good friend! So I gotta admit – once you first advised me you’ve created your individual line of greeting playing cards I assumed you had been joking, haha… However then I checked them out and so they had been BAD ASS! What acquired you to go down this path? It’s not on a regular basis somebody begins their very own card enterprise!

Again in 2019, whereas planning my wedding ceremony, I used to be completely shocked and overwhelmed (in a great way) by the quantity of outreach, assist and celebration that got here with the year-long expertise of my engagement. I used to be 33-years outdated on the time and had by no means felt something prefer it – the sheer scale of generosity from household and buddies (even relative strangers) asking what I wanted, how they might assist, and many others. It was great.

But it surely struck me that my wedding ceremony was what instigated all of it, and I couldn’t assist however take into consideration how significant it will have been to have simply a few of that assist, encouragement and celebration whereas working towards different milestones – when getting my enterprise off the bottom for instance.

It acquired me fascinated by how assist and celebration continues to be relegated to those very conventional milestones that not everybody has and even desires, and what it will imply to develop what we have fun to incorporate profession and cash milestones as effectively.

That’s how I got here up with the thought of greeting playing cards. As a result of increasing what we have fun is just not essentially about sending costly presents or writing individuals checks, it’s about saying, I see you, I assist you and I need to acknowledge your milestones – whether or not it’s beginning your individual enterprise or shifting out by yourself – which might take years of exhausting work to perform.

And to be trustworthy, in the event you can throw 5 events to have fun your wedding ceremony (engagement celebration, wedding ceremony bathe, bachelorette, rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony reception), it is best to definitely be capable to have one for one thing as life altering as paying off your scholar loans 🙂

I really like that you just’ve branded them “Assertion Playing cards” too – they def. dwell as much as the identify. How has the reception been across the group thus far?

I sometimes use some model of the next to clarify the Assertion Playing cards mission  – ‘ We imagine monetary accomplishments and profession milestones are as worthy of celebration as pregnancies and engagements.’

Whereas unsurprisingly, that’s been a message that’s resonated rather a lot inside the private finance group, it’s additionally been thrilling to see how a lot it’s resonated extra broadly. Particularly amongst girls, who usually tend to expertise backlash and penalties for expressing and pursuing their very own ambitions.

Prior to now yr, we additionally launched a publication known as “Too Formidable” to speak extra about these milestones, what it takes to attain them, and to share the primary hand accounts of these on the journey, together with a number of the roadblocks they’ve confronted alongside the best way.

In actual fact, we have now a complete sequence known as ambition diaries filled with some really stunning first-hand accounts of backlash readers have skilled on account of their ambitions – for instance, having a job supply rescinded after asking for a elevate. Each time I hear a narrative of backlash and bias, (which is rather a lot), it reaffirms to me the significance of our mission, to have fun and assist ambition, whether or not it’s beginning a enterprise, asking for a elevate or getting your individual place.

Have you ever acquired any backlash from the playing cards or Too Formidable thus far?

Hahahah, in fact. My mission is for everybody throughout race, class and gender id to really feel entitled to their ambitions and supported in pursuit of them. That could be a direct menace to the established order (extra on that right here). However as I prefer to say, it’s a established order that must be threatened.

Something that’s stunned you going from idea to actuality? Businesswise or elsewise?

Launching a bodily product has been a studying expertise to say the least. I dwell in a one bed room residence with my husband, and once I acquired the primary spherical of merchandise printed and delivered to our door, the ten bins had been stacked increased than our doorway.

I’ve needed to discover artistic methods to retailer the stock round our place, however which means each time I get an order I’m digging bins out from the again of the closet, below the mattress and behind the sofa. Over time, the system has turn into barely extra optimized, however three years in, I’m nonetheless a great distance from “figuring it out”.

The opposite factor to notice from a enterprise perspective, is that the up entrance price of a comparatively low-cost product like a greeting card may be fairly excessive, particularly in the event you’re prioritizing sure issues like collaborating with prime notch designers (shout out to designer Lauren Ver Hage), printing within the US, Trademarking, and many others. Every card requires over a thousand {dollars} price of up entrance funding. So it’s important to promote a fairly excessive quantity of playing cards earlier than you break even.

I’ve a ton of card concepts I’d like to supply, and I get particular requests the entire time, however I’ve actually labored exhausting to remain targeted on my current choices and method subsequent steps strategically so I don’t overextend myself.

What’s your favourite card out of the batch?

It’s not possible to choose! The hottest card says ‘you’re not too costly, they simply can’t afford you but’, which I believe resonates with individuals for apparent causes – particularly within the freelance/solopreneur house. (Shout out to my lady Erin Lowry/Broke Millennial for the brainstorm sesh that led to that gem).

Although one in every of my private favorites is the cardboard that congratulates individuals on getting their very own place – whether or not it’s buying their very own residence or simply shifting out on their very own.

I used to be brainstorming say ‘congrats on getting your individual place’ in a method that was distinctive and enjoyable with a few of my fellow finance author buddies. And I believe it was the nice Kristin Wong who stated, ‘Effectively, what’s one thing that you just do once you’re at residence alone?’ So we began arising with an inventory of issues – mine was belting out Broadway karaoke, I believe another person stated consuming a bathtub of ice cream, binge-watching Actual Housewives got here up too – however we in the end settled on dancing round bare in your front room.

Then Lauren Ver Hage got here up with this actually enjoyable graphic for the entrance cowl of the cardboard that claims ‘prepare to bounce bare round your front room….’ And once you open it up it says, ‘congrats on getting your individual place’.

For those who might get ANYONE on this planet to cease by and decide up a Assertion Card from you, who wouldn’t it be?

One other not possible query! Once we launched, it was Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Since then, we’ve launched a card that options a complete slew of bold girls all through historical past that encourage us, so I’d say nearly anybody on that listing.

Something we are able to do to assist unfold the phrase or provide help to attain your objectives quicker?

For those who just like the playing cards, please share them with the individuals you’re keen on. Extra than simply getting the playing cards out into the world, getting the message out behind them of increasing the sorts of milestones we have fun is a brand new mission of mine. So even when it’s simply liking and sharing our instagram web page – it goes a great distance!

It’s my core perception that once you create methods of celebrating sure milestones, you additionally create a dialogue and assist system round attaining them. I come again to the instance of my wedding ceremony. It wasn’t simply the day I acquired married that individuals confirmed as much as assist me, it was the entire yr of planning and folks asking how they might assist by the method that was so highly effective. Think about in the event you might have that very same system of assist whereas working to turn into debt free or whereas saving up for a down cost?

I believe that celebration can function a robust device and entry level to a much more substantive system of assist, which is what we’re making an attempt to construct upon with the introduction of the “Too Formidable” publication and group.

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Thanks Stef!

You’ll be able to study extra in regards to the playing cards at StatementCards.com. They price $5.00 a bit, with reductions in the event you get 6 or extra.

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