Embrace Your Inner Lady Boss: Tips to be Successful in the Office and at Home

WildRock is a boutique public relations and marketing agency that started in March of 2012 when Kristin Golliher took a giant leap of faith. With a toddler at home and another on the way, Kristin decided to pursue her dream of starting her own PR and marketing agency. Yes, you read that right. Not a drop of liquid courage during her first year of business, talk about willpower!

Alicia Beard, one of Kristin’s former employees at OtterBox, heard her announce she was going to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and quickly volunteered to jump ship and join on the WildRock journey. The two jokingly refer to this as their “Jerry Maguire Moment.” With Kristin at the helm as CEO, and Alicia quickly moving up in the company from Digital Diva, to Account Manager to Account Director and now President and Partner, the two driven women worked countless hours to create what has now become a well-recognized, award-wining agency; WildRock PR and Marketing. Growing their Rockstar team and producing year-over-year results, WildRock partners with clients nationwide in a variety of industries. Did we mention WildRock just celebrated their 6-year anniversary?

To be clear, Kristin is not just any boss, she is a certified lady boss! Not only is she a notable female PR professional in Northern Colorado, she also slays at being a full-time working mother and loving wife. Whether she is up before the sun returning emails or catching an afternoon soccer game, Kristin knows how to prioritize her time to run a rockin’ business and spend quality time with her family of four. How does she do it? Too much coffee, too little sleep, a heart full of passion for her career and overwhelming support from her family, friends and coworkers.

Alicia, who became President and Partner of WildRock in 2017, also manages to be a dedicated mother, wife and full-time employee. Alicia’s new role within the company has helped WildRock in countless ways. She is able to add a different perspective to the business and is an intelligent, forward-thinking sounding board for Kristin to bounce her ideas off, especially when Kristin had some far-fetched ideas that needed to be brought down to planet earth. What’s her secret? There is no perfect formula, but for Alicia, she makes a conscious reminder of her priorities with her primary relationships and weaves those in with her work obligations and personal commitments to create somewhat of a schedule. Moral of Alicia’s story; if it isn’t in her calendar, it won’t happen. Send those e-vites like wildfire! Alicia stated that she feels, “blessed to be at a company where I don’t have to sacrifice my career for motherhood, we just make it work by supporting each other day to day.”

Over the last twenty years, the number of businesses owned by women in the United States has more than doubled along with their revenue. Continuing to encourage and promote women around the world to shatter the glass ceiling and pursue their dreams will not only help our economy, it will strengthen individual communities and inspire future generations to step outside of the male-dominated workforce. Kristin often reminds us that it is because of all of the incredible mentors and role-models that she encountered that got her to where she is today, both women and men. She firmly believes that being a woman is a major factor that contributes to the deep relationships we have with clients because we work together as “people,” not just an “agency.”

For all of those women (or men) who are on the verge of pursuing their own dreams and aspirations, here are some tips and tricks from the lady bosses themselves to inspire you to take that leap:

• Prioritize. Prioritize. Take the extra five minutes to look at everything going on and create a schedule that works for you. The secret to balancing your work, home and personal life is to stay organized and plan ahead.
• Mark that calendar. Oftentimes, there is so much going on that you have in your head, but your day gets away from you and you realize that date night turned into a late night work sesh. Block out your calendar to ensure you spend time with your loved ones and have that much needed “me” time.
• Lean on your support group. Your friends, families and coworkers want you to be successful and happy. Do not shy away from help and remember that you are still human, no matter how many cups of coffee you have.

Six years later, these career women will clink a glass of wine (Alicia) and beer (Kristin) as they celebrate WildRock, their incredible team and their families. Don’t be fooled, once the empty glasses hit the coaster, it is back to work and on to the next big thing!