Inspired by: Emma Sievers, Founder BA. Women
Interview by Elena Strohfeldt
Introducing Emma Sievers, Founder of BA. Women, a community of women unapologetically succeeding, supporting and empowering other women to become the best versions of themselves. Their conferences inspire and educate women to be the most badass versions of themselves and provide insights, connections, and excitement to help you reach your goals.
I met Emma at the ‘Girl Boss Rally’ in LA, June 2019. We sat side by side in one of the dozens of lectures on over a two day conference. I was immediately drawn to her warm and welcoming spirit, and we connected instantly as young business owners on a similar path. We swapped deets and have since supported each other across the sea. Emma took time to share her journey, mission, life lessons and more with our project manager Elena Strohfeldt….
BA Women was founded with the mission of connecting powerful women in a space where they will be heard. What was the catalyst for this mission?
“What if every woman is a badass?” This simple question has been the catalyst for BA.Women. In the past, my friend groups were typically made up of majority men. I had this belief that I ‘got along better with men’ which caused me to deflect women, whether with friendships, mentors and women of power. But the irony of it all was that I truly wanted powerful, life-giving friendships and mentors with other females. I am fascinated with self-discovery. In 2017, I took a seminar, Landmark Forum – through this work of self-discovery in the Landmark Forum, I saw what was running my life. My entire context of women was creating my insecurities, my judgements, my assessments, and my results. And remember, all I’ve wanted was powerful females in my life, but all I was doing was pushing away the very thing I wanted. I decided in that seminar to shift and create my new filter for all women with one simple question, “What is every woman is a badass?” I walked out of the Landmark Forum with this new context and filter, and everything transformed; how I listened to women shifted, how I saw women, friendships created, mentors I’ve attracted, and what has birthed this powerful community, BA.Women. This tiny shift in perspective caused clarity for me to finally see the many badass women who were surrounding my life. What started as self-discovery and a great deal of vulnerability in that seminar, has transformed into a movement; where all women are badass’ and creating space for all to declare and discover what they truly want.
What inspired you to create the BA.Women Podcast?BA.Women has always been about having conversations about our ideas and how to bring them into existence. I wanted to bring this conversation to life, sharing the value that I was learning from our BA.Women on a broader scale. On the podcast, we uncover and discover the endless ways we are badass. Each conversation, we are gaining new perspectives, experiencing women be real, open & authentic, sharing unique experiences, crazy/scary/amazing stories, leaving me inspired and astonished by each woman behind that mic. I’m constantly overwhelmed with gratitude for those who make the choice to be on the BA.Women Podcast; welcoming our badass audience into her badass world. Each woman reminding me of why BA.Women exists.”
Emma, you are the promoter of all things badass. What does being a badass woman mean to you?
My mom once told me that the greatest gift you can give the world is your authentic self. The world needs our unique ideas. If you are willing to uncover, take a stand for who you truly are, and be a contribution to others along the way, then I know I am being a badass woman. And have some fun! Life doesn’t need to be so serious!
Do you have any advice for how our community can bring out their inner badass?
BE, DO, HAVE! There are no instructions on how-to-be a badass woman. It is as simple as deciding, choosing, and stepping into BEING the badass woman you are. I ask myself daily, “What would a badass woman do?” This question alone shifts my mindset from doubt to do. Continually taking actions that push you out of your comfort zone and closer to what you REALLY want, that is what I want for BA.Women. To own their badass, take actions towards what she desires, and have the results she wants. Trust yourself, you already know the answer.
You quit playing College Volleyball to pursue your dream of studying and living abroad. Exchanging stability for the unknown can be intimidating, what advice do you have for our community who are or may find themselves at a similar crossroads in their life?
One of the most difficult choices of my life and to be completely honest, I still have regret as I cared so deeply for my team and the game. I think I will always have the fear of “letting people down” and that’s okay because I really love the people in my life. Good news is the people who care about you will push you to grow and that’s exactly what happened. Life is one big transition and sometimes the first step is 20 seconds of courage.
The most difficult decisions can lead to the biggest lessons and empowering outcomes. I grew exponentially that year and my world completely opened up. I probably wouldn’t be having this conversation with you today if it weren’t for taking that risk. Aussies are the best! And remember, vulnerability hangovers (s/o to Brene Brown for this distinction) happen, there normal and a sign you are living all out!
Yes Queen’s mission is to fight workplace bullying, with self-care/wellness a common theme. How important is self-care to you? How do you practice self-care day to day?
Self-care is a practice. I just want to emphasize the use of the word “practice” with self-care. I used to think self-care was some end point that I could come to and then I’m good to go. Yeah, Nope. As my friend Kristin says, “the art of self experimentation” is how you create a self care formula that works for you. Weekly I see a therapist and have been for years. Daily the most constant for me is getting outside, calling my sister Rachel and moving my body through yoga and F45 (another amazing Aussie creation!). Putting my health first transforms all areas of my life. BA.Women is a result of that!
What are your top 3 life lessons?
My coach Lori once said, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” and I have never forgotten it. No one is going to make my dreams come true and I am responsible for the experience of my life. One of the many reasons I created BA.Women is because I didn’t have a community of powerful women that I could relate to. Instead of waiting to meet this type of empowering community, I went out, invited and created the first BA.Women event. Almost 200 women came to the first event and continue to come! It worked!
Learn why people are the way they are. Both my parents were special education teachers so they always challenged me to look past what I see and hear and listen for what is really being said. There is always more than meets the eye and the gold is in your listening for others.
Do one thing a year that I don’t think I’m capable of doing. I can thank my boyfriend Tim for this one. If I do one thing a year that I may seem impossible, when I accomplish it, it reminds me that I can do anything. Last year I registered to run my first marathon and I am NOT a runner. Never have been, but I did it and did it well.
What is next for BA Women?
Our primary focus is the podcast and exploring cultural limitations we may apply to ourselves by talking about some crazy cool badass stuff! We’ve had a lot of requests to bring BA.Women to other major cities in the US, plan to create pop ups, new apparel launches and of course our huge conference in October! Who knows… maybe Australia will be our next move ;)
Any goals in particular you are aiming to kick in 2020?
October is when we have our major conference each year. This year we are on a mission to put Minneapolis on the map as the midwest hub of badass women. A huge result would look like us tripling our attendance to a 1,000 women conference and bringing in women from major partnering cities. Think of how many communities would be influenced by that many women having the opportunity in their own self discovery?! Anything is possible!
Workplace bullying can have detrimental effects on a person’s mental wellbeing and self worth. Do you have any advice for our community who are either currently in a toxic workplace or have left and are trying to move on?
I first want to acknowledge how difficult it is being in an unhealthy environment and how much it affects your life. It can feel paralyzing and infuriating all at once. Remember, everyone is on their own healing journey…always, and you know and need to do what’s best for your own health. I stepped away from a space in the medical device industry that was not working for me and it was an extremely challenging experience. The world needs your talents, ideas and most importantly your authentic self, so don’t waste anymore time and take action BA! Trust yourself.
Entrepreneurship is on the rise. What advice would you give to a young start-up?
When in doubt, focus out. Get connected to your why behind what you are creating and challenge yourself to have your why be so big, that it might actually scare you. It’s good to be scared and excited, means you’re up to something big and that you care! If you make a decision from your why and your intention is clear, you can’t go wrong.