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The Business Expert: How To Build A Brand In 2025! They're Lying To You About Work-Life Balance!

2025-05-05 People & Blogs
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The Diary Of A CEO
The Diary Of A CEO
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Emma Grede is the founding partner behind the globally successful brands like SKIMS with Kim Kardashian, Good American with Khloé Kardashian, and Safely with Kris Jenner. She was named one of Forbes ‘Richest Self-Made Women in America’.  ▫️ How to build a winning brand strategy in 2025, what actually works in today’s market ▫️The key hiring traits behind her billion-dollar teams and why grit and adaptability beat experience ▫️ Why hustle culture isn’t toxic and how ambition fuels Emma’s business growth and company culture ▫️The leadership frameworks she uses to scale fast and build high-performance, mission-driven teams ▫️How she grew SKIMS and Good American without design skills: by doubling down on vision, execution, and speed ▫️Why every founder must zoom out and audit their business regularly, or risk scaling failure instead of success 00:00 Intro 02:17 Becoming Emma Grede 03:58 Acting as the Mum and Raising My Siblings 11:06 My Dream Was Always Fashion 12:20 Understanding Money Attachment Styles 14:32 Emma's Recipe to Achieve Anything 17:55 Customer Feedback 19:30 The Importance of Reliable Decision Partners & Mentality Shifts 21:38 Do People Need Mentors to Succeed? 24:06 The One Skill That Made Me an Entrepreneur 26:09 The Three Most Important Words for Career Advancement 27:25 Does Working in an Office Make Employees More Successful? 31:11 Traits of Future Successful People 33:32 Interview Red Flags & Work-Life Balance 39:32 Can You Be Successful and Have Work-Life Balance? 40:58 You Can't Be a Leader and a People Pleaser 43:51 Being Cancelled as a Leader and Public Figure 46:29 Racism and Sexism in the Business Industry 50:56 Dealing With Business Struggles and Crises 53:33 Top 3 Valuable Practices for Founders 55:58 Don't Get Stuck, Keep Fresh Eyes 57:15 Brands Copying Other Brands 01:00:42 Advice for People With Unsupportive Partners 01:05:45 Meeting Kris Jenner and Pitching to Her 01:12:05 Pitching to Khloé Kardashian 01:12:43 Turning an Idea Into a Business 01:14:23 Strategies Deployed in Business 01:16:24 Building a Brand Strategy in 2025 01:21:11 First Principles of Business 01:25:59 How to Become the Best Salesperson 01:33:01 Learning How to Fire People 01:37:17 Attracting Top Talent to Your Company 01:39:37 What a Founder Shouldn't Do in Business 01:41:33 Hiring Exceptional People 01:45:42 Prejudices in the Workplace 01:49:09 Why Prejudices Shouldn’t Limit Anyone 01:50:39 How to Stop Giving a F*** 01:54:16 When Do Successful Women Have Children? 01:56:01 My IVF Journey and Miscarriages 02:00:30 The Taboo Around Surrogacy, Freezing Eggs & Pregnancy 02:04:51 Emma Grede's New Podcast ‘Aspire’ 🃏 The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): ⁠https://thediary.com/products/the-conversation-cards-2nd-edition 📧 Get email updates: ⁠https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=QSijwy&g=UmhJ8p ⁠ 📣 Think like a CEO - join the 100 CEOs newsletter: https://bit.ly/100-ceos-newsletter Follow Steven: ⁠https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo?_branch_match_id=1443935875697260069&utm_medium=marketing&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTzcqzTHQSywo0MvJzMvWT89zL%2FQx8Sz29k6yrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAG23N%2FTwAAAA%3D Follow Emma:  Instagram - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emmagrede/?hl=en⁠  Good American - ⁠https://www.goodamerican.com/⁠ SKIMS - ⁠http://skims.com/⁠ Safely - ⁠https://getsafely.com/⁠  Aspire With Emma Grede Podcast - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aspire-with-emma-grede/id1811878340⁠ Sponsors: "Vanta - https://vanta.com/steven Bon Charge - http://boncharge.com/diary?rfsn=8189247.228c0cb with code DIARY for 25% off"

Top Comments (10)

@Alooshiiii 2025-05-05

I don’t agree with her philosophy on work-life balance. It’s easy to promote that mindset when you’re ultimately the one profiting by millions. Why should someone dedicate themselves so heavily to a company just for a standard salary? That’s the real issue today — the return on effort for the majority is minimal. People like Steven or Emma can afford to champion the ‘work hard, stay ambitious’ narrative because they’re the ones receiving the lion’s share of the rewards.

2.8k 189 replies
@MissColette86 2025-05-05

The days of breaking your back for a company are over. I've seen some of the most hardworking people I know get completely overlooked while the person with the least amount of interpersonal skills get the promotion. We're all replaceable. Don't let these companies fool you. We're not a family.

1.2k 40 replies
@committedtodd 2025-05-05

to anyone listening to this: you do not need to buy into this mindset to be happy. the only luxury in this life is your time. everything else is hollow.

977 20 replies
@m.o9820 2025-05-05

I’m starting to think that we put too much emphasis on “rich people” as if it is an abundance of money that is going to make us happy and content in life.

512 9 replies
@HarambeFilms 2025-05-05

I see why they say most CEOs are narcissistic.

456 10 replies
@TheDiaryOfACEO 2025-05-04

📣If you enjoy this conversation, please leave a comment sharing your favourite part - I'd love to know what resonates with you most ❤ (also, would be doing me a big favour if you could subscribe & like the episode 🙏🏾🥲) appreciate you - SB! X

189 28 replies
@ratidzomudzengi9099 2025-05-10

When she said ‘we are not a family’…..I respect the honesty.

161
@sacha242 2025-05-06

The comment section is low on grit. Do what works for you but greatness comes at a cost. Define what success is for you and keep it moving.

118 3 replies
@josephillidge-ipcoach191 2025-05-25

The idea of wanting an extraordinary life without extraordinary effort being crazy is spot-on.

110 3 replies
@simonkagwe5632 2025-05-09

I like her honesty; she's one of the most straightforward CEOs you've brought on the show.

35

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