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 Claudine
O’Leary launched FeelingBold.com in 2006 to form a community of women grounded
in their passions, desires and with a motivation to share their positivity.
O’Leary’s years in international trade and marketing gave her the business
background she used to launch Feeling Bold. O’Leary’s online community
developed through women submitting their personal stories demonstrating their positivity
through their boldness of spirit. Membership in Feelingbold.com is free.
In
order to take Feeling Bold to a higher level, O’Leary took a partner, Jean
Giovetti, Gio.
“Gio
and I first met in 2004 while we both worked for a global publisher and testing
business called Pearson. Gio was based in the US and managed the technical
development for large electronic testing contracts. I was in London
and Amsterdam, managing the marketing for
Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We established
a firm friendship and I invited Gio to join me in Feeling Bold as partner in
the summer of 2005.”
Considering
that O’Leary left a successful corporate career to start something new and
untested, it wasn’t as rocky as it might have been.
"I’d
been working in the corporate world my whole career while progressing my
personal passions by studying personal growth and development, creativity and
positivity. I had been happy in my corporate role as long as I was learning and
contributing in a meaningful way,” O’Leary said. “I reached a point in time when my need to
follow my own path, dreams and passions outweighed my needs for external
security, financial, ego and provided career path. My time and energy became
increasingly valuable to me. Far more valuable than the lucrative corporate
package I was receiving.”
Although
“positivity” isn’t listed in the dictionary I use, positive is defined as
affirmation characterized by confidence and that is clearly what FeelingBold represents.
O’Leary describes exactly what they want Feeling Bold to be for women.
"I want
Feeling Bold to be a best friend for women. A place where women are respected,
honored and trusted to be their full, most vibrant selves. I want Feeling Bold
to become a community that educates, encourages and inspires women to live life
with positive intent and boldness of spirit,” O’Leary said. “I want it to be a
loyal community of proud women excited to be a part of and to contribute to
Feeling Bold.”
Feeling
Bold offers organic products like teeshirts and hats to generate revenue on the
site. Feeling Bold’s founders use a paradigm shift to the typical business
philosophy and model. “Our products are 100% certified organic cotton,
“Feel-It” and “Power” shirts. We designed them. Not content with simply
sourcing a ready made shirt, we designed and created our own because we needed
to love every aspect. We felt, thought, played with, and consciously decided on
every detail of our shirts, our hearts leading the way. If we like it, we
review it. If we are ok with it, we review it even more. Only when we love it,
do we move forward,” O’Leary said while explaining how and what exactly the
positivity is that affects every aspect of Feeling Bold’s business.
“Of
course we’re aware that this is not the usual way for commercial organizations
to operate and behave, but then “usual” and “behave” are not popular words in
the Feeling Bold vocabulary. Instead we choose to boldly experiment with our
organization in a way that gives flight to our souls,” O’Leary continued. “We
make sure our products are drenched in positive energy through us consciously
deciding on every single detail, large and small. We create new products when
we feel passionate about the positivity and boldness of spirit they will
inspire in our customer’s inner and outer lives.”
“Our
products are designed for women who feel a strong desire to express themselves
in a meaningful and positive way, while contributing to the sustainability of
the environment, hence 100% organic cotton,” O’Leary said. “We strive, wherever
we can, to provide products that are as environmentally respectful as they can
be. That’s why we choose to pay premium prices to our cotton farmers for their
organic certified cotton. All of our shirts are created in an Indian co-op farm
and within a factory that adheres to international standards for fair trade.
O’Leary
continued, “The product mix will expand in order to attract a larger following.
From 2007 onwards, we will implement products geared more towards education as
well as further establishing and building the community of positivity. This will
include like-minded partner sponsorships and advertising,” said O’Leary. “First and foremost we are about positivity
and igniting a boldness of spirit in women through our community and our
products.”
Feeling
Bold has formed strategic alliances with groups where they can give back.
Camp Sunfish was founded seven years ago by
Feeling Bold partner Giovetti. A registered charity based in Minnesota,
Camp Sunfish provides abused, abandoned and
neglected children with outdoor adventure experiences. Kare 11 NBC-TV featured
and awarded Giovetti their “11 Who Care Award” in 2003. Run entirely by
volunteers, Camp Sunfish is donation based.
In 2006,
Feeling Bold partnered with the Breast Cancer Fund. “We were approved by the
Breast Cancer Fund as a recognized partner. Throughout our first year of operation,
Feeling Bold donated financially to the work they (the Breast Cancer Fund) do identifying
and eliminating the environmental causes of breast cancer,” O’Leary said. “We donate a standard $1.50 for every
“healing” design shirt sold. We also have run various time-limited programs
including October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when we donated $5.00 for any
shirt purchased to the cause. Our partnership is particularly relevant as 7 out
of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton have been designated by the EPA as
either “known” or “possible” carcinogens.”
Feeling Bold is created to nurture women’s spirits.
So how does O’Leary think Feeling Bold fulfills her entrepreneurial spirit?
“It fulfils it in terms of me
having the freedom to design and implement my personal interpretation of my
dreams while also empowering me with complete responsibility for the outcome.
Feeling Bold has been and continues to be a lesson in life,” O’Leary said. ”Starting and running a self-funded business
and a product based business at that, requires a personal boldness of spirit
that I get to ignite and sharpen on a daily basis. It’s early days … yet my
original desire for entrepreneurial freedom has already been surpassed … the
rest of the journey is into uncharted territory … my definition of being an
entrepreneur continues to evolve.
As for
the future, where would O’Leary like to see Feeling Bold in 10 years? O’Leary
is as clear and focused on the future of Feeling Bold as she is on every other
detail.
“To
become the leading provider of positive products for women. Significantly
expanding our product line while remaining completely congruent and authentic
with our underlying mission and vision. In 10 years time for Feeling Bold to be
the place women go to in all matters regarding positivity, boldness and living
life fully, vibrantly and with a deep and daily passion,” O’Leary said.
“In 10
years, for young girls to attend Feeling Bold self esteem programs with their
progress monitored through their schooling, college and into their professional
and family lives. For us to provide positivity mentoring and for nationwide
chapters to promote and offer this mentoring to women from all backgrounds and
circumstances,” O’Leary said. “For Feeling
Bold to become the authority in positivity and boldness of spirit and
everything that this encompasses to girls and women of all ages, including
creating a significant community of women that engage and share and act as
catalysts for taking positivity in new and creative means into their respective
societies.”
And
Feeling Bold will really be giving back in O’Leary’s 10 year vision. “For our
charitable contributions to the Feeling Bold Give Back Project to be even more
significant and show a direct positive impact on the lives of those involved.
I’d love for Feeling Bold to be multi-generational and to become another area
of common ground. Where all females can gather together, speak and connect with
understanding and respect to others irrespective of age. I’d love to be a part
of the historic recording of thousands of women’s personal and courageous
stories that demonstrate a boldness of spirit. Stories and experiences that are
not only recorded, but honored, shared and celebrated with others around the
world,” O’Leary said. “To create the first library of “positivity in every day
life” for the women of the world safeguarded for future generations to learn
from, be nourished and inspired by.”
O’Leary
and Giovetti have forged a course that has no predecessors. In that sense they
are truly on their own in uncharted territory. However, considering their
territory is virtual and has the capability to bring FeelingBold.com into the
lives of millions of women globally perhaps they aren’t so isolated.
Positiveness has a way of drawing its own and that’s what FeelingBold is all
about.
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