We had a\u00a0chance to sit down with the previous Fortune100 company advisor to learn more about the\u00a0Marie Mae Business School and how we, as consumers, can be more\u00a0socially aware of the products we purchase.<\/p>\n
What inspired you to create ethically-made office products as opposed to other products (i.e. beauty, fashion)? Was there a specific moment that motivated you to start the Marie Mae Business School? What is the one learning lesson you hope women get out of the Marie Mae Business School? What advice would you give to the women who are hesitant about starting their own business? How can we, as consumers, be more socially-conscious (i.e. in the way we live, products we purchase, etc.)? Which Marie Mae product is a fan-favorite? xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n P.S. Psst! Have you signed up for the #FabFitFun box yet? Don\u2019t miss out on $200+ in amazing beauty, fitness, fashion, and lifestyle products every season. Join today<\/a>!<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/span><\/em>Marie Mae Company was founded in 2014 with a lofty objective: to offer beautiful office products people can utilize in everyday business and change the world while doing so. To me, there is such a nice symmetry between the modern day professional that utilizes our products in everyday business and the students it provides business skills training for. And quite honestly, there was a gap in the marketplace, and I am a paper nerd and always have been.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/em>Up until I launched Marie Mae, I spent my career in DC advising Fortune100 companies on how to do business in emerging markets, specifically sub-Saharan Africa. It was fascinating work that I enjoyed, but I wanted to do more at the local level in the areas we were working in to help invigorate the private sector. Marie Mae started as a side project to fund one business boot camp, and quickly became so much more. As soon as I stepped into that room of women in Rwanda, I found the missing piece of the puzzle that infused my career with the purpose and impact that we all crave.<\/p>\n![\"MarieMaeRwanda-WEB-166\"](\"https:\/\/static-blog.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/12125433\/MarieMaeRwanda-WEB-166.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/em>The one thing I hope everyone takes away from the MM Business School is the self confidence that they can do it. We spend a lot of time focused on the practical matters of building and running a business as well — including topics such as public speaking, how to find your market, and business planning — but empowering our students with the belief they can be successful is the basis for everything we do.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/em>Do it. I know it sounds cliche, but you will never know until you try. And while starting and running a business is the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done (and often makes me question my own sanity), I wouldn\u2019t change a thing. It\u2019s this process that shapes you into the leader and professional you are today, and it\u2019s the process — as grueling as it is — that helps you build a fantastic business that can make an impact on the world.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/em>The number one thing that has helped me to become a more socially-conscious consumer is to really think about how the products that I buy are made. Where are they made? Who made them? Somehow I grew up thinking that machines make 99% of our products, and that just isn\u2019t true. We can — and do — make such an impact on the world with our purchases. Let\u2019s make sure we are building the kind of world we would like to live in.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/em>Our \u201cWrite with Purpose<\/a>\u201d spirals are definitely the fan-favorites at the moment! My personal favorite is our berry spiral<\/a>, which looks great with the FabFitFun “Thank You” Card Set.<\/p>\n
![\n<\/a><\/p>\nHow can we, as consumers, be more socially-conscious (i.e. in the way we live, products we purchase, etc.)?\n<\/b><\/em>The number one thing that has helped me to become a more socially-conscious consumer is to really think about how the products that I buy are made. Where are they made? Who made them? Somehow I grew up thinking that machines make 99% of our products, and that just isn\u2019t true. We can — and do — make such an impact on the world with our purchases. Let\u2019s make sure we are building the kind of world we would like to live in.<\/p>\nWhich Marie Mae product is a fan-favorite?\n<\/b><\/em>Our \u201cWrite with Purpose<\/a>\u201d spirals are definitely the fan-favorites at the moment! My personal favorite is our berry spiral<\/a>, which looks great with the FabFitFun “Thank You” Card Set.<\/p>\nxx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\nP.S. Psst! Have you signed up for the #FabFitFun box yet? Don\u2019t miss out on $200+ in amazing beauty, fitness, fashion, and lifestyle products every season. Join today<\/a>!<\/p>\nTo get the most out of your box products, make sure to check out the Insider page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"Photos courtesy of\u00a0Doug and Kelsi Klembara Photography In a world where everyone is trying\u00a0to become ...","author":422344,"featured_media":96574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[201],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/06162839\/MarieMaeRwanda-WEB-1661-660x400.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/06162839\/MarieMaeRwanda-WEB-1661.jpg","formated_date":"December 12, 2016","category_name":"Members Only","category_icon":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/11113301\/iSiu0EDM.png","author_name":"Monica Chang","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#e21493","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/422344"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/static-blog.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/12130048\/MarieMae-Cards-7.png\"){kind=link}