How This Woman Went from a Part-Time Gig in a Pet Store to Owning Her Own Company

We love an inspirational quote. The right set of words can guide us through a case of the Mondays (and any day, for that matter). A expertly expressed feeling reminds us that we're all more connected than we think. And who doesn't love reading something that makes you laugh and cry at the same time?

As part of International Women's Day (which we celebrate year-round), we've gathered some of our favorite quotes by a bunch of our favorite women. Scroll through, pin 'em to your motivational boards, and share favorites with any woman in your life who could use a digital pep talk.

Keep the courageous, confident, and creative vibes flowing today, and all days!

Follow us @BritandCo for more quotes to fuel your week!

This post has been updated.

Mom entrepreneur Diane Le designed a blanket/backpack combo with her family hikes and picnics in mind, but after testing the concept, she found it had broader appeal. Not sure where to start the manufacturing process, she asked for help. Thanks to our partnership with Office Depot OfficeMax, we are sharing Diane's founder story and how she learned through Selfmade that networking gets you everywhere.

B + C: What motivated you to start MiniAlps? What problem are you trying to solve for your customers?

DL: For me, it was a product I really wanted for my own personal use and it just didn't exist. I love spending time outdoors with my family but outdoor blankets are so bulky to carry. I remember going on a day hike with my husband and daughter and I had to carry a backpack on my back with our water, food, diapers, sunscreen and supplies and then I had to carry our picnic blanket on the front and hold my dog's leash all while hiking. It was just too much.

I thought "Why can't an outdoor blanket actually be a carrying bag and it can do double duty by carrying my things as well?" That's when MiniAlps was born.

B + C: How has the company evolved since your initial "aha" moment?

DL: Originally, we were only focusing on moms who really liked multitasking products but after testing the concept, we actually found out that late teens and 20-somethings really loved the idea of a stylish blanket/backpack duo. It was perfect for picnic outdoors, wineries, music festivals or just being on the go.

B + C: What startup challenges have you faced along the way?

DL: We've had two really big challenges. First, neither Sharlene Bisram (my co-founder) nor I had ever launched an apparel or outdoor product, so there was a really big learning curve for us in terms of fabrics and performance. We bought so many fabric samples just to make sure we had the right materials. The second was manufacturing. Manufacturing during COVID times has been tricky. We aren't able to travel to meet manufacturers in person, production times are much longer than normal, and shipping times are very delayed.

B + C: What strategies helped you overcome them?

DL: Networking and asking for help has been the best strategy for us. Whenever we run into a challenge, we've reached out to our networks to just ask "Does anyone know someone who knows XYZ?" and we've met many amazing people that way. I think there was a session in Selfmade that talked about that exactly - that being able to network effectively was one of the best ways to grow a business. I'm a big proponent in paying it forward as well. If there's some help someone is looking for, I'm happy to share any information or potential leads with them.

B + C: What would you say are your top successes so far?

DL: Designing a product I'm really happy with is probably my favorite success so far. We've gone through seven different iterations before landing where we are and I'm pretty proud of what we've created. Our bag is everything we wanted it to be: stylish, minimalist, modern, and incredibly practical.

B + C: How have you approached marketing your brand and raising awareness?

DL: We're a startup so we have very limited marketing funds. It's been a fun challenge to figure out how to build our brand on almost no budget. We use Canva for a lot of our branding materials. For awareness, we are active with promoting to our local community and utilizing social media and social ads to drive traffic to our target market.

B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?

DL: It really does start with mindset. When we had the first course about mindset, I was really confused on why we weren't focusing on more "business" type things first. But as I started building my business, I realized how important it is to be in a positive, winning frame of mind before anything else. It helps you weather all of the ups and downs of startup life.

B + C: Who and what inspires you?

DL: I have so many people in my life that I admire, it's hard to narrow it down! My daughter Camille was born with a rare disease and disability and she inspires me to beat the odds everyday. I also have to shout out to my mentor Sarah Grover, who is just a brilliant marketing and branding guru and Nurit Raich, who has been my incredible coach through a lot of life's challenges. It truly takes a village.

B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?

DL: Just get started! Don't let the fear of failure stop you before you even get started.

B + C: What's next for MiniAlps?

DL: We're opening up for pre-orders on our first production run very shortly! Sign up for more information at minialps.com.

B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot OfficeMax scholarship to Selfmade done to help you grow your business?

DL: It has been so helpful to have the support of Office Depot OfficeMax scholarship! It was only through the scholarship I was able to access all of Selfmade's amazing resources, from the networking to the coaches to the sessions, it's been a combination of motivating, inspiring, and supportive. I couldn't imagine launching MiniAlps without Selfmade.

B + C: How have Office Depot OfficeMax services/products helped you accomplish more in your business?

DL: It's honestly not possible to start a business without the right tools and Office Depot OfficeMax has been my go-to source. Their printing services in particular are fantastic; it's high quality, affordable, and a quick turnaround.

Thank you Diane for sharing your story! You can follow MiniAlps at minialps.com and on Facebook.

Need help bringing your idea to market? Let Office Depot OfficeMax give you the confidence you need with a suite of business services & solutions to help you put your best foot forward. Make a good first impression with business cards & build the business pitch of your dreams with custom presentations. With Office Depot OfficeMax you'll find the tools to reach your customers with confidence. Learn more at Office Depot's Selfmade page.

Want to join the next Selfmade cohort? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.

Mariska Hargitay is the woman of the hour anywhere she goes, with her iconic Law & Order: SVUrole as Olivia Benson under her belt for the last 25 years. The character is an absolute advocate to women — and assault victims of any gender — through her words, actions, and powerful convictions of each perpetrator on the show. She takes great care with her victims and pursues perpetrators with fervor, and slowly as you watch the show..the line blurs between Olivia and Mariska.

This isn't anything new — just recently Mariska literally stopped production on the show to help a child (who mistook her for an actual police officer) find her mom. It's just who Mariska is. She walks the walk and talks the talk — including during her speech at Variety's Power of Women's Power of Women event.

Image via NBC Universal

As a Power of Women honoree, Mariska was recognized in regards to her work as an advocate for sexual assault survivors. She took the stage and used her platform to discuss rape and assault conviction reversals, shining a light on the recent overturned ruling in Harvey Weinstein's landmark NYC case. Here's what she said:

Today I want to talk about reversing convictions, and more specifically I want to talk to you about how impossible it is to reverse mine. It’s impossible to reverse my conviction that survivors matter. It is impossible to reverse my conviction that what happens to us matters, and that our society must respond to survivors with a more a compassionate, holistically, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of what healing means.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that after a trauma, survivors can reclaim lives of hope, of possibility, of audacious risk, beautiful intimacy, and glorious, glorious abundant joy. And I stand before you as evidence of that statement.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that we must listen to survivors as experts on what justice means. It is extraordinary how little their voices are consulted, let alone incorporated, in the process of deciding how to repair harm. Justice is not a one-size-fits-all journey.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that patriarchal impunity has to end. Patriarchal impunity is when a male-dominated system exempts perpetrators from punishment. Studies show that only 20% of all rape cases in the U.S. are reported to the police, and that between 5 and 0% of all rapes result in a guilty plea or a conviction. So why do 80% of victims not report? Because they're met with a system that grants impunity to perpetrators; a system that blames victims; a system that accepts only those victims who are experienced as "real" rape; a system that completely misunderstands the neurobiology of trauma, which causes behavior in women that doesn't fit the picture of how a "real victim" would act.

Is that change needed that victims should just pull themselves together? Just buck up and report anyway? No. No, it's the system that receives them that needs to change

It is impossible to reverse my conviction — and the conviction of my extraordinary team, The Joyful Heart — that the backlog of untested rape kits can be brought to zero; that the testing of all new kits must be mandated; that we need a statewide kit tracking system; and that survivors have the right to access the status of their kits.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that grammar — yes, grammar — that we use when we speak about rape must change. In the sentence, "A woman is raped," there's a crime and there's a victim, but there's no perpetrator. Where's the perpetrator? Where is he? Statistically, as we know, most likely he's walking free. He's so free that he doesn't even appear in the language about the crime that he committed. Is that not extraordinary? It's extraordinary that in the very grammar, the perpetrator goes free. Reintroducing perpetrators in the language of rape will make some very unwieldy grammar, but that's the nature of change. It's unwieldy, it's messy, it's uncomfortable, but it's necessary.

Image via NBC Universal

Hargitay continued on in her prolific speech to describe that rape shouldn't be considered a "crime of passion" because it's "not simply the next step in the trajectory of his passion" when a man takes a consensual hookup too far and assaults a woman against her will. She stated that it's "an exercise of power," doubling down that the language we use is important.

The speech went on to address that rape is both about power and control, as a "construct" that was "built, and assembled, and reinforced over time." She noted that there are people with these positions of power — and she specifically called out those in the entertainment industry — that could make a difference and aligned themselves to victims and survivors.

After this and some other remarks, Hargitay specifically called out the Weinstein conviction reversal. She said:

I do want to say something about the Harvey Weinstein conviction, specifically about the reason that it was overturned: too many women's voices. Too many women's voices were allowed to speak. Hallelujah! Amen! I can't imagine anything more beautiful than that. The Daily podcast episode talked about how it was so risky for the prosecution to have that many women testify. Risky to let women speak? You're damn right it is!

Too many women speaking brings change. Too many women speaking shakes the establishment. Too many women means we get listened to more, and people might actually hear what we have to say. Look what happened when women started saying just two words, right? Me too — just as an example — a tidal wave of change. Me too.

And then of course, there was the response: the Me Too Movement. The backlash. The examination of whether the changes that have come are lasting, or are even positive. Of course there's a backlash! What did they expect? For women to speak repeatedly, loudly, together, with a purpose — for there to be no backlash? The backlash is evidence of how powerful those voices were, how powerful those voices ARE.

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Header image via NBC Universal