The Story Behind “Assertion Playing cards”

Morning fam!

Numerous 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 revealed 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 after I first got here throughout them 🙂 A improbable 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 up to now, 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 pal! So I gotta admit – whenever you first advised me you’ve created your personal 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 received 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 marriage ceremony, I used to be completely shocked and overwhelmed (in a great way) by the quantity of outreach, help 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 I used to be 33-years outdated on the time and had by no means felt something prefer it – the sheer scale of generosity from household and pals (even relative strangers) asking what I wanted, how they may assist, and so forth. It was great.

However it struck me that my marriage 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 help, encouragement and celebration whereas working towards different milestones – when getting my enterprise off the bottom for instance.

It received me fascinated with how help and celebration remains to be relegated to those very conventional milestones that not everybody has and even desires, and what it will imply to broaden what we have fun to incorporate profession and cash milestones as nicely.

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

And to be sincere, in the event you can throw 5 events to have fun your marriage ceremony (engagement social gathering, marriage ceremony bathe, bachelorette, rehearsal dinner, marriage ceremony reception), you must actually 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. stay as much as the title. How has the reception been across the group up to now?

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 throughout 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.

Previously yr, we additionally launched a e-newsletter referred to 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 among the roadblocks they’ve confronted alongside the way in which.

The truth is, we’ve a complete collection referred to as ambition diaries filled with some really stunning first-hand accounts of backlash readers have skilled because of their ambitions – for instance, having a job supply rescinded after asking for a increase. 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 help ambition, whether or not it’s beginning a enterprise, asking for a increase or getting your personal place.

Have you ever obtained any backlash from the playing cards or Too Formidable up to now?

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 may be a direct menace to the established order (extra on that right here). However as I prefer to say, it’s a establishment that must be threatened.

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

Launching a bodily product has been a studying expertise to say the least. I stay in a one bed room condo with my husband, and after I received the primary spherical of merchandise printed and delivered to our door, the ten packing containers had been stacked larger than our doorway.

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

The opposite factor to notice from a enterprise perspective, is that the up entrance value of a comparatively low-cost product like a greeting card will 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 so forth. Every card requires over a thousand {dollars} price of up entrance funding. So it’s a must to promote a reasonably 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 onerous to remain centered on my current choices and strategy 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 only can’t afford you but’, which I feel resonates with folks for apparent causes – particularly within the freelance/solopreneur house. (Shout out to my woman 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 folks on getting their very own place – whether or not it’s buying their very own house or simply shifting out on their very own.

I used to be brainstorming learn how to say ‘congrats on getting your personal place’ in a method that was distinctive and enjoyable with a few of my fellow finance author pals. And I feel it was the good Kristin Wong who mentioned, ‘Nicely, what’s one thing that you just do whenever you’re at house alone?’ So we began arising with an inventory of issues – mine was belting out Broadway karaoke, I feel another person mentioned consuming a bath of ice cream, binge-watching Actual Housewives got here up too – however we in the end settled on dancing round bare in your lounge.

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 lounge….’ And whenever you open it up it says, ‘congrats on getting your personal place’.

For those who might get ANYONE on the 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 formidable girls all through historical past that encourage us, so I’d say nearly anybody on that record.

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

For those who just like the playing cards, please share them with the folks 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 good distance!

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

I feel that celebration can function a robust instrument and entry level to a much more substantive system of help, which is what we’re making an attempt to construct upon with the introduction of the “Too Formidable” e-newsletter and group.

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Thanks Stef!

You may study extra concerning the playing cards at StatementCards.com. They value $5.00 a chunk, with reductions in the event you get 6 or extra.

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