Women are leaving their corporate jobs to be a part of something bigger and more meaningful. A shocking 86% of women surveyed in a study by REAL left their corporate jobs to start their own companies. In this survey, 43% of respondents said they left because they weren’t following their passion, and 33% said they felt too restricted in their current corporate life.
Katie Cunningham has spent 20+ years in senior roles in corporate. Everything was going fine until she HIT 40. Cunningham’s job was reorganized out after 17 years. A year later her younger brother passed away. Six months later Cunningham went to work in San Francisco for a promising startup that had 100 employees that failed due to lost funding round after 6 months so the whole thing failed. Then she was approached and hired by a big 4 consulting firm which was the worst professional year of Cunningham’s life. Katie Cunningham wasn’t happy so she decided after a health scare that it was time to do what she loves. Cunningham was willing to bet on herself.
Katie Cunningham’s life has been a huge lesson that changed how she lives and the things she values the most in her life. Like many professional women, Cunningham thought the corporate world was her dream job.
‘’The last 6 months have been the most challenging and rewarding months of my life. I’m 44 and I’m finally doing something I’m really passionate about and having fun doing.‘’
Tell us about LYFETYMES, how does it work?
LYFETYMES is your free party planner; you can plan all the aspects of a party in one place. It’s great for Birthday Parties, Baby Showers, Bridal Showers, Holiday Get together, Graduation Parties, Engagement Parties, or Any Occasion to Celebrate. Takes the stress out of planning allowing you to spend more time celebrating.
You can start planning a party in 30 seconds from your couch in your pajama’s. You can send Invites, RSVP’s & Manage Guestlists, Create A Celebration Website, Add Registry & Gifts, Checklist & Budgets, Shop Decorations, Pin Pictures, and DIY Ideas and more. You can plan multiple celebrations at one time. And you can invite other hostesses to help with planning and assign tasks, share ideas, etc.
What inspired you to start LYFETYMES ?
I was hosting my friends Baby Shower along with another hostess. I was happy to do it, but I was also busy and traveling a lot with work, so I did what we all do, I typed “Plan a Baby Shower” on Google and What I got back, shocked me. Despite technology advances in other industries, there wasn’t an end to end solution that was easy to use. I was quickly “in over my head.” I knew a digital solution could be built, saving people time and sanity. I was quickly overwhelmed. I was worried I would forget something or let her down. I thought I could not be the only one going through this. After speaking with a ton of moms, I realized I wasn’t. So we reimagined the entire party planning process into one experience. And we are just getting started.
What are your goals currently?
Planning a celebration is hard, stressful, time-consuming, and task-oriented. LYFETYMES is not just to be a “One and Done” party planner; we want to be a valuable resource for all your LYFE’s Celebrations and Moments. We want to be a part of bringing family & friends together, celebrating. Not spending countless hours stressing over planning details or worse; not celebrating milestones at all because it’s a painful process
How is LYFETYMES different and what are the Unique Selling Points of your business?
With LYFETYMES you can Create a Free Celebration Website to share party details, RSVPs in a click and include your registry to take the guesswork out of gifting. Easily to read dashboards to keep track of important information and updates, assign tasks, track a budget and countdown clocks. You can build Inspiration Boards to share your favorite ideas to shop decorations, cakes, themes, Vendor and Venues Your “party marketplace” of all things you may need from bakeries to face painters
We know that not every day is a party, but it’s still important to remember someone’s birthday, anniversary, or any special day, so we created LYFEMINDERS- Lyfe’s little reminders – you pick the day, and we will send you a reminder so you can send your love.
We have also personalized every party goers role, so whether you’re the
LYFE OF THE PARTY (Guest)-Guests will be able to view invitation details, mapping directions, gift, and registry information and send the host or co-host questions.
HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS (Hosts & Co-Hosts)- We eliminate the confusion. Share tasks, updates, ideas, manage budget all in one place.
STAR OF THE SHOW (Guest of Honor)- GOH can collaborate with Hostess(s) on their special day with limited view (so you don’t give all the details away!) to help with invites, provide registry information, and personalize the event.
Who are your customers?
Moms that have very little time but still have to be Wonder Women and pull off a great Birthday Party, Couples planning a Superbowl Party or Holiday Party together, Friends who are hosting a Baby or Bridal Shower, Parents who have a demanding teenager with a Sweet Sixteen or Graduation Party, this LYFETYMES is your new best friend.
We also have partnered with over 2,000 local Bakeries and Venues and continue to grow. We partner with popular DIY bloggers and sites to make sure we have the best resources, ideas, and trends in the industry from cakes to decorations.
What is a skill you think all women should learn and why?
Women are master multitaskers. They have an EQ that makes them amazing leaders. Studies show over and over women lead companies to do better period. If I had to name one I would say always be honing the Negotiation Skill. Because it can be applied so broadly but most importantly we need to value ourselves and what we bring to the table. It’s obvious in the gender pay gaps; it’s obvious when you look at female CEO ratios of top companies, its obvious in the percent of female-founded startups that receive funding. So when we negotiate for our equal place, we are setting a higher bar for our value.
What else motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
A culmination of things. When I was growing up, we didn’t celebrate Holidays or Birthdays due to religious reasons, so I always obsessed about having that experience. Coupled with the loss of my brothers, which I know how short life is and I treasure those family memories, and I enjoyed planning birthdays and showers for my kids and friends.
I just got lucky enough to have a passion, that matched an opportunity in the market and the work experience of seeing startups innovate industries. If I didn’t do it, I would regret it. I don’t want to live with “what if I would have bet on myself” every day.
Being an entrepreneur what are the cons and pros?
Well after you do the dance because you made the jump, reality sets in very fast.
Pros:
- You can set your schedule- no more cattle drive at Costco on Saturday because you can go at 10 am on Tuesday when it’s empty
- Enhanced Skillset- Social media has taught me how to be creative, visual, and crystallize my message – You only have a few moments to land a punch so that forces you to streamline content.
Cons:
- It’s lonely- Build a good network of people. Not just online but over the phone. It’s important to have people you can bounce ideas off, share struggles & wins. Forums like WOT are supportive communities that have great resources.
- It’s Harder than you imagined- Whatever difficulty you have in your mind, times it by 100. Expenses? Times it by 10. Time? Forget Costco; you can’t even find time on a Tuesday.
There is a cost of admission. The hard truth is it takes hard work to be successful at anything.
What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?
Too many to list. But I think it is life’s redirection at times. I’ve had three jobs “fail” in my 40’s- a time where I thought I had it all figured out. But what I didn’t know at the time, each “failure” was a gift and laid the foundation for the next chapter in learning and gave me insight and experience to bring me exactly to where I am today. Could not be here without going through that. I can smile and see that now, but not at the time. Distance gives you perspective. The biggest lesson and advice? Always get back up, never stay down.
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![From Music to Perfume: How did your background as a music teacher influence your transition into perfumery, and how do you incorporate your musical sensibilities into creating fragrances? I’ve always thought in terms of metaphors, and music has many that can be related to perfumery! Beyond just thinking in terms of top, middle and base notes [soprano/alto/tenor in choir], I approach each fragrant idea as a composition. When documenting my ideas, song structures often come to mind. As the scent brief is visited, I meditate on what the fragrance should convey - do I want to create an accord or a “chord” of fragrance note combinations? Do I want an a capella soloist (a particular ingredient to stand out more than others?) Many of my thoughts regarding song composition transfers to my scent formulation process, with me treating each note as an intentional soliloquy at some point.
Brand Origin: What inspired you to start Pink MahogHany in 2005, and how has your vision for the brand evolved since its inception?
An avid lover of all things pleasantly scented (with slight modesty), looking back in retrospect, it’s no huge surprise that I’ve created an indie perfume house with just an idea to provide unique options for those who may be sensitive to unnecessary pungency. Initially, I just wanted to evaluate various blends to note their aroma profiles when “played” together…it wasn’t until I had friends and family asking if I knew of brands that catered to those who may be on the more olfactory sensitive side, that I really began to take my research more seriously. In the almost 20 years that Pink MahogHany has been in existence, our micro visions for the brand have evolved to larger territory. Where Pink MahogHany used to only be a personal brand, we are now also a bespoke formulation service provider to other indie brands seeking unique fragrance offerings for their products. These products range from (but are not limited to) perfumes, candles, body butters and lip balms. Ingredient Transparency: You emphasize transparency and the use of desirable ingredients in your products. How do you select your ingredients, and what challenges have you faced in maintaining this standard?
Being an indie brand often comes with a set of assumptions and misconceptions - one of them being more negative than positive as it relates to ingredients used. There is a lot of “fluff” in the industry with labeling falsification. Because fragrance formulas are a trade secret, not every molecular breakdown of a material has to be noted on the ingredient label (it would be incredibly long), but we at Pink MahogHany™️ adhere strongly to the IFRA [International Fragrance Regulatory Association] regulations that state for common and potential allergens to be listed on our ingredient label. We’ve taken this a step further to also include these ingredients listed on our website to promote further transparency, all while protecting our intellectual property. Unfortunately, we’ve had companies to unethically sell lesser expensive “dupes” of our artisan perfumes, so as a way to create a better authenticity stamp, we make it our duty to be honest about our claims. If our perfume says “Rose Bulgaria”, it is in fact just that and not a component of rose being passed off as the source material. Collaborations and Custom Scents: Can you share more about your work with private label clients? What excites you most about creating custom scent solutions for other indie brands? I could easily sum this up in one word and say “Funding.” True, there is money out there, but I’m always thinking outside the box. Having a program that has an “Each One Fund One” mentality doesn’t exist (that I’ve been made aware of). Bootstrapping can be quite the challenge, even when you’ve reached the 6-figure mark annually. Competition to be seen and set apart is extremely high, so having quality packaging and branding is a must. There are lots of factors to consider, though when desiring to make upgrades. If there were a unique, tier-geared funding operation available, it would help perfume brands offset packaging and bulk material costs in the beginning stages.
Industry Challenges: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an independent fragrance house, and how have you overcome them to grow your brand? As the brand continues on the path of organic growth, I would like to expand our reach into schools, offering perfumery as an arts elective for middle and high school. I’d love to partner with botanists, farmers and horticulturists directly to grow and source raw materials for the students to work with in the creation of tinctures. My passion is getting back to nature as best as possible, as nature was my first “scent experience” as a child. We would also love to witness our fragrance creations being used to scent model homes, our focus diffuser blends being used in automobile dealerships as well as partner with Air Bnb and boutique hotels that specialize in highlighting minority, indie brands. Personal Journey: How has your personal experience, particularly as a divorced mother and someone who has experienced the loss of a child, shaped your approach to life and your work in perfumery?
Because I homeschool my twin sons, we are together a lot more than most, so one thing we all do is have moments of sharing where a neutral “floor” is laid to converse about anything. Though they are quite communicative by nature, I realize that sometimes I can be in work mode so much that it spills over into what should be our quality time. My sons see the authentic me and learn how to communicate through seeing authenticity. I’ve learned not to feel as if I have to be the epitome of perfection but allow them to see my imperfections vulnerably but with discernment. Having had two traumatic experiences pretty close together has taught me how to truly slow down and enjoy the simplicities of life - igniting a spiritual aspect that I’ve always carried but never fully explored…until Kenji’s sudden passing (2018.) Grief has a way of catapulting us into a quest for more meaningfulness in both life and business. After Kenji’s passing and my processing through the initial stages of grief, I was able to incorporate our spiritual bond into Pink MahogHany by way of essential oil diffuser blends for both focus and sleep and most recently aromatic perfume elixirs. It’s been quite the process channeling the void of his physical presence, but I also have peace knowing he can be honored in a great way through scent. I noticed once I began to be more open and receptive to spiritual signs, synchs and “winks”, more ideas began to flow. It’s been this way since his transition. Emotional Expression: Fragrance is often tied to memories and emotions. How does your personal life influence the fragrances you create, and do you have a particular scent that holds special meaning to you? My creative process is much more alchemic now, and I include Kenji by talking out loud to him, believe it or not. I’m a firm believer that when our loved ones transition from the physical plane, they are still present - just in another form. I choose to keep his memory alive by not pretending he never existed (even if for a brief period of time). I am working (slowly) on a book and accompanying fragrance, but I know it will require me to revisit some memories I’m not quite ready for, so until then, his big brothers will launch their debut fragrance, The Peaceful Tiger (they chose the name.) I’ve learned that even in what we consider “small things”, our transitioned loved ones want to be recognized and acknowledged. When the twins and I designed their fragrance label (with a designer out of the country that didn’t know anything about me personally), we had issues with the graphic - so much so that the designer asked if they could rework the design. When they sent the proof for approval, the Tiger was not only younger but sleeping, with an uncanny, angelic resemblance to baby Kenji! Becoming more aware and being more sensitive to my intention for launching a fragrance has definitely made room for more divine situations like these to occur. Healing Through Scent: In what ways has creating fragrances been a form of healing or expression for you, especially after the loss of your son, Kenji Mwamba? I know my sons may not necessarily want to be perfumers, but they definitely have an entrepreneurial heart. My desire is that whatever they decide to pursue (acting, script-writing, music or architecture), they know that anything is possible with the right amount of determination, grit, belief and immersion. One reason I chose to homeschool is so they could enjoy learning without restraint and have ample time to devote to their own separate passions and it still be fun. They know Pink MahogHany is theirs if they want it (many, many years from now - lol), and we are already discussing business structures for whatever they choose their role to be once I retire. Work-Life Balance: How do you find balance between your professional responsibilities and personal well-being, and what self-care practices do you prioritize? I’m not just a perfumer; I’m also a consumer, and self-care is huge for me. I often take salt baths to reset my energy and clear my mind after being around large groups of people or free a long day. I’m a habitual perfume sampler, and I have so many to choose from to wear as my “nightcap.” Even if just for 10-15 minutes, I cherish each moment I’m able to have some “me-time.” When time and co-parenting schedules permit, I’m definitely on a flight somewhere to indulge in some delicious food and mouth-watering mocktails!](https://www.womenontopp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_3812-1200x720.jpeg)
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