070: Staying Grounded and Aligned With Jaime Schmidt

Entrepreneurship isn't easy. That's something that Jaime Schmidt, founder of Schmidt's Naturals knows all too well. Jaime is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who after partnering her business with Unilever, went on to start another company and an investment fund to support other founders. Jaime bootstrapped her business for many years and in this episode, she shares the lessons she learned along the way, her biggest pain points and what kept her going. She talks about the importance to her of staying grounded and being aligned with what she does. She also gives us the inside scoop on her new book, Supermaker: Crafting Business on Your Own Terms.

What's in this episode:

• What it means for Jaime to craft a life she loves
• Why she decided to move and make a change
• How she continued to explore and search for her passion 
• Her turning point where she realized her personal care products could be a big business
• How Jaime felt going through the process of taking her business to the next level
• The progression of her company growing through word of mouth
• Pain points she reached as she grew her business
• What kept her going as an entrepreneur
• Why she wanted to build her brand without taking on investors
• Her experience of getting approached by companies to sell Schmidt's Naturals
• What made her decide to partner with another company
• Why she started her business, Supermaker
• The most common pain points she see's female entrepreneurs going through
• How she stays grounded and aligned with her values
• Her non-negotiables for her daily life
• How she bases her decisions on what's best for herself and her family
• Why she started an investment fund to help support other founders 

 

About Jaime:
Jaime Schmidt is an entrepreneur and the founder of Schmidt's Naturals, a brand of natural personal care products that she started in her kitchen in Portland, Oregon in 2010. Jaime is known for modernizing natural personal care products, including the customer-favorite deodorant, and bringing them to the mainstream market. Under her leadership, Schmidt's grew into a household name lining the shelves of retailers including Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Walmart and CVS across 30 countries. In 2017, Schmidt's partnered with CPG giant Unilever, with Jaime continuing as the brand's founder and spokesperson.

Today, Jaime is focusing her efforts on helping emerging entrepreneurs pursue their own dreams. In June 2019, Jaime launched Supermaker, an editorial-driven platform that celebrates diverse, independent brands and creators, and hosts conversations that empower progressive values in the workplace. She has also authored the book Supermaker: Crafting Business on Your Own Terms, releasing April 2020 in partnership with Chronicle Books.

Additionally, Jaime is the co-founder of Color, an investment portfolio that supports diverse and underrepresented founders, and co-owner of local entrepreneurial collective Portland Made.

She is regularly profiled in prominent business media including Inc., Entrepreneur, Forbes and Fast Company. Jaime is an inaugural member of the Inc. Founders Project and has also been recognized as 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs (Goldman Sachs, 2017 & 2018), PNW Entrepreneur of the Year (Ernst & Young, 2017), Inc.'s Female Founders 100, and the Create & Cultivate 100.

 

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