MasterStroke with Monica Enand & Sejal Pietrzak

Personal Infrastructure - life hacks

• Susie Wright -So Susie • Season 1 • Episode 15

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Infrastructure in business is very much like our ability to plan for expansion and the  ability to properly scale. What about our personal infrastructure?

Monica and Sejal share their practical life hacks and invaluable tips to balance demanding schedules both at home and work. We kick things off by discussing the critical role of a supportive family and network in building a strong infrastructure for efficiency. From engaging a personal shopper and stylist to savvy travel tips like keeping a carry-on bag partially packed with essentials to maintaining duplicate sets of toiletries and chargers. Discover the secrets or ‘life hacks’ to staying organized and always ready for the expanding demands of life and business. 

That's not all! Joining the conversation is fashion guru Susie Wright of  @sosusie. We will dive into the world of content creation as we explore how to build trust and authenticity with audiences/customers. Susie shares her journey from Nordstrom buyer  to becoming a fashion blogging sensation. Discover the power of foundational wardrobe pieces for busy professionals and how looking polished can significantly boost your confidence and workplace presence.





Georgianna Moreland - Executive Producer | Managing Editor;
Matt Stoker - Editor


Georgianna Moreland:

This is Masterstroke with Monica Enid and Sejal Petrazak.

Monica Enand:

Well, sejal, I know that when you and I talked about doing this podcast, we talked about wanting to share some of the learnings that we've had along the way you've had along the way and we've talked about the fact that, you know, we had to learn things kind of the hard way and would love to have somebody pass along their secrets and their tips and tricks and things they've learned. And one of the things that always hits me is people say to me oh, how do you do it all? Or how does that person, this other person, do it all? How do you do it all? Or how does that person, this other person, do it all, given how much they have going on in their lives and I always come back to, I don't think people understand how much infrastructure building there is to have a really busy, really full life, like if you're going to take on large amounts of responsibility as an executive or take on a big project, even for a shorter period of time, you have to lay infrastructure, isn't?

Sejal Pietrzak:

that right, yeah. And so what do you mean by infrastructure? When you say infrastructure, you know people may not understand. What does that mean?

Monica Enand:

Yeah To me it means all the building blocks that make me be able to operate effectively and efficiently on a day-to-day basis. It starts with my family. I mean, I think it starts with two cornerstones. It starts with, you know, making sure my family is signed up on board, understands how they can get what they need from me, but knowing that I have to juggle quite a bit, and making sure that they've kind of opted into that and that we're all kind of on board with that. But then also myself, my own health and well-being so that I can operate at my total best. And there's a lot of parts of that. There's, you know, exercise, nutrition, but then there's a lot of productivity things that let you be more effective. Do you have thoughts about kind of how you think about infrastructure?

Sejal Pietrzak:

Yeah, no, that's exactly right. Kind of life hacks, right To be able to quote, unquote, do it all, and I think there, you know, I don't know, I think everyone has some, and I don't know that I've ever thought of it as this is the infrastructure that we have and that we build. It's just stuff that we do in order to be able to balance life and work and all of our responsibilities across everything, and everyone does have them. But what's interesting is, as you started talking to me about, hey, we should share this stuff, I started thinking do I have any? Like, I never actually wrote them down, and then, when we started talking about it, I have so many and that sort of has become part of your life, but you know, I don't know that I've ever shared them, and so I think it's really valuable to do that, because, sure, you know, I mean, if, over 30 years, we've figured out a couple of things to be able to help ourselves be more productive, let's share them?

Monica Enand:

Yeah, absolutely, and I know you've talked a lot about, you know, travel and having to hop on a plane. Tell us kind of how you do that, like you've had to. I will share that. Last week I was supposed to talk to Sejal and she called me, and what she called me at the appointed time that we were supposed to talk, and when she got on the phone she was in a different city that I thought she was going to be in and I had talked to her the day before and you were not in that city.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Well, I wasn't even planning on being in the next city the day before and you were not in that city and I wasn't even planning on being in the next city. I mean literally found out, you know, at five o'clock in the evening. Hey, can you be in this, you know, across the country. And tomorrow morning at 8 am, and you know, I got on a flight at 9 pm that night and you know, and that was that, and I was there. But how did? And oh, by the way, I had my son's baseball game in between and we had dinner planned. So I think it's really interesting, because you know how do you do that for me? And I never even thought about this until you and I were talking about it last week. But and it's just been this way for many years, my carry-on bag first. I never check a bag ever. Even if we go for two weeks, I don't ever check a bag. But so it's always a carry-on rolling bag and it's always two-thirds packed. If I had to go somewhere, I could probably get on, you know, leave my house in under 15 minutes if I had to.

Sejal Pietrzak:

I've got two sets of makeup, two sets of toiletries. I always have because at night. I wear slippers in the hotel room. I always have my slippers in there. I already have a set of pajamas. I have an eye mask in there. I've got I'm thinking through all the things that I have in there. I already have workout clothes in there. Everything's already in there. Yeah, no.

Monica Enand:

I have the same, and I mean actually at this moment I don't because I haven't been traveling as much, but for the 15 years I was running Zubrute, I absolutely always had the same, and I also had, you know, all of the electronics chargers. I had two sets of everything other than my computer and my physical phone yes, so the two things that I'd have to put in, but I had two laptop chargers, two you know all of the different chargers, my AirPods, my everything always packed in my to-go bag.

Sejal Pietrzak:

People are always telling me how much they don't like packing and unpacking, and I don't like that either. You know, actually there was a friend of mine. She had the coolest thing too, and I am not this way, but this is one thing that I strive to be she already had her closet set up in outfits, and that'll be interesting to talk about. Is that possible to get to? But so, literally one time she was at work and she had to go straight from work to the airport and her husband met her with her bag at the airport and I thought I don't even know how I would explain, right, even though I need very little. But how do you explain what to pack? And she said, well, I already have. He just picks up the first two hangers and they're already set up the whole outfit for work.

Sejal Pietrzak:

That's amazing, and I needed two hangers, and that's it. And he picked up the first two, put them in the bag and everything else was already packed. Well, and now that you bring that up.

Monica Enand:

I will share one of my very, very favorite life hacks, which I might be slightly embarrassed, but I'm not a very like, I don't know. I'm not a very artistic, creative person, but I have always worked. Since I started in the started my company. I started working with a personal shopper and she helped me figure out what were the right outfits for the right occasions. I would share with her occasions, I would share with her trips. She actually would come to my house and go through my closet and organize and throw out things and put together, and then she would take pictures of outfits so that I had them in my phone, so that I knew what I could be wearing with what, with what accessories. And, of course, this is a much harder challenge for women than it is for men, because men's clothing is very simple, but we had to.

Sejal Pietrzak:

I bet you, some men wouldn't say that?

Monica Enand:

Oh, I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do Absolutely, but it was the right outfits and have it all organized so that I could move quickly through you know, some back-to-back, high-pressured places to be and appearances. I, you know, really got to know my personal chakra really well and she started a business and I've I've gladly supported her business. It's worth every penny me. I'd like to welcome Susie Wright, who is the creator and publisher of SoSusie, which is a blog. You can find her on Instagram and maybe we'll get your handles. But to tell you a little bit about Susie before we get started, susie spent over a decade as a buyer for Nordstrom. She then spent another decade as a personal stylist and has started, actually in 2018, writing about these experiences. She was having with all kinds of people in her dressing room and getting them dressed and looking confident for success, and that blossomed into a major business and she has amassed half a million followers.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Amazing.

Monica Enand:

One of the top creators and top influencers, so we are so pleased to welcome. Thank you so much for being here, susie Wright. Thank you so much for having me.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Welcome, susie, we're excited.

Monica Enand:

Thank you, susie. A lot of people have, I think, artistic creative juices flowing and they probably want to be. I mean, you know, I can't tell you maybe, the number of young people that want to be influencers. Tell me a little bit about what are, what is important for being an influencer, what's important to you? I mean you must get exciting things in the mail from brands that you know want you to sell their stuff. How do you, how do you think about that?

Susie Wright:

Right. Well, um, I think these days we're calling it more the creator industry, less influencer. That has just a different connotation to it. So it's the creator industry, and I think, um, you first have to find an audience and you have to find a niche. I think that there's room for so many different people, but I think the biggest thing is you have to earn your um. You have to earn the trust of who's following you. You earn the trust by recommending things, that people that that you know are really good, that if someone goes and orders it, that they um, you know, maybe nine times out of 10 are going to really like that item.

Susie Wright:

And so I think it's um, when brands send you things or they pay you to do a brand collaboration, you have to be really, really careful in making sure it's true to your brand and that your followers are going to love it. Who I'm speaking to and only care about is the customer. I don't care about brand and what they want to pay me. I am always thinking customer first in everything I do. I think the biggest thing as a creator is you have to. It's not about me, it's not about the creator, it's about you and who I'm serving, and so that's what my mindset is, and so if I get a free something from a brand, it has to be something that I know you will love.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Well, and that's so important because you know many people will think oh, this is something that Susie is pitching. And I want to know that it's not just because you're getting a big commission on it. I want to know that it's not something because you've built a relationship with that particular brand and they're asking you to do it. And I think that's really important to be able to build that trust with your customer. And that's really true in every business, isn't it, monica?

Monica Enand:

I was just thinking that is kind of taking this idea, maybe this idea of creator. It does have to do with your personality, you said, and you have to infuse your personality. But actually I find that in business and I think Sejal is exactly right Whether you're selling B2B enterprise software for the legal industry or automotive dealers, honestly you have to take yourself out of it and you have to really think about who is your audience and how do you serve that audience in the best way possible and who are you trying to serve?

Susie Wright:

trying to serve. Yeah, I think that was the word I was looking for serving your audience. And even it comes down to writing, and you know I didn't start out. I mean, who knew I was going to be the model, the video editor, the writer, the sourcer of style and putting outfits together person?

Sejal Pietrzak:

I did. Yeah, being an entrepreneur, you end up wearing all the hats, right? Monica talked about that quite a bit when she was talking about starting her company, right?

Susie Wright:

And I never envisioned that that is that person who I was. But writing is also this piece that I've learned along the way. And I have Monica and I have a dear friend, terry, who is Monica also knows, and she's taught me a lot about writing. And why writing is important is because I try to take out all the eyes. You know, I started out writing. I love this top because you know the sleeves pretty and whatever, and um, she's taught me and now I never say I mean I throw them in here and there, but it's more like you'll love this top. It has these feminine details and so when you're on social media you have to write like that. It's like we're in this together and somehow you have to convey that and so it's about the audience that you're serving.

Monica Enand:

Well, I think the key that, as watching you grow and I happen to have been around while Susie was growing her business and as watching you grow your business you brought your own authentic voice. It is you, susie, and your authentic voice. But you also complimented yourself and surrounded yourself with people who had expertise and you learned from them, like Terry on the writing, and I know you did on the photography side and I know you did on on, you know, the website site. I mean all of those things you brought in expertise so you weren't thinking that you could know it all or do it all. You've been learning from others, but it was all authentically you.

Susie Wright:

Yeah.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Well, and that's so important, as any CEO knows, bringing people in that compliment you, um, you know, and and we all try to do that and make sure that the people that you know come into the business, and for anybody who's building a team, for anything you know, it's really important to bring in people who are complimentary, not the same as you, but who bring different perspectives and diverse opinions and different experiences and expertise. So, yeah, I mean, I think that's amazing.

Monica Enand:

That's why Sejal and I we're so complimentary. I'm very entrepreneurial, she's very she's kind of come up through a professional corporate as a professional CEO, professional board member.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Yeah, that's right, we always bring. We come at things in a very different way, but I think it makes it better.

Susie Wright:

Everyone loves talking about fashion, do they? I'm not sure, oh, I think so. Oh gosh, yes, you can get in a room and pick up an item of clothing. I feel like everyone has questions.

Monica Enand:

It's always puzzling to me and hard. I just think it's a much harder topic than we give it credit for.

Sejal Pietrzak:

It is tricky and you know it's so hard to be able to think about. You know what is the right thing to wear and when, so I'm sure we'll get to that in our podcast today. Can I actually start by asking you what is it that made you start SoSusie, and what was the need that you found? Monica, you just mentioned it was stuff that you heard in the dressing room, but can you go back and tell us a little bit about the starting and the evolution of it all?

Susie Wright:

I really kind of started the blog to share with my current customers and the friends that I was helping how to put their things together. So it really started as kind of a place to share little street style inspo and outfits and then kind of talking about the pieces to put them together. And I think the need is that we all struggle putting the outfits together and many of us are busy and we don't want to spend time, you know, having, we want it just to be a lot easier and so that, and then I think also really me teaching people the pieces that are important to create outfits, and so that's really where it started.

Monica Enand:

That's wonderful, susie. One of the things Sejal and I have talked about a lot is what we want to do on this podcast is really demystify all of the things that are hard for busy executives and for people who are, you know, aspiring to be executives, and how do they get shortcuts. So I think that's a really important thing you're doing. Can you talk to us about how you work with busy people busy executives or professionals and what services you provide?

Susie Wright:

Yes, well, I used to, well before the pandemic. Obviously, I used to help women in the dressing room, but really when COVID came about, we all focused to online, and so these days I don't help women one-on-one anymore. I just have found that the little website and a team of five. There's just not enough time in the day, but I write so much on the website almost on a daily basis and it's really breaking down. I mean, some of the posts are on you know, fashion, what's trending for spring but so much of what I write is really the foundational pieces that you need to build a wardrobe. And so back to you know busy women. I think having less is more. I don't think one needs a ton of clothes, but you have to have those right pieces that can.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Just'm thinking in my head about all of the pieces that I have and I probably have too many clothes and many that I don't wear but what are those few key pieces I should have in my closet?

Susie Wright:

Yeah, well, I think every great outfit starts with the right bottom. So, whether you're wearing a pair of jeans or you have nice black pants, I think that you know that's the starting point. And so you know, if someone has maybe two pairs of if you're a busy professional probably a couple, two pairs of black pants, maybe a long length and a shorter length. Third pieces are key, and I have a lot of people that write in well, I live in Florida, it's hot and humid, and I have a lot of people that write in well, I live in Florida, it's hot and humid and I live in Dallas and it's 100 degrees. Well, I can now say I've been to pretty much many countries that are hot, many states that are hot, and there is air conditioning everywhere I go.

Susie Wright:

So I'm going to go on record to say everyone needs a third piece, and the third piece can be a cardigan, it could be a blazer, it could be a lightweight jacket, it can be a denim jacket. So I think, just those third pieces, we can kind of never have too many and obviously, if you live in Florida, you might choose a linen piece or something a lot lighter weight. But I think. So, third pieces black pants, denim, if you can wear denim. I mean, monica, I know you wore denim, you know, depending on your industry, but you know, maybe you're wearing darker denim. I think right now longer lengths are trending. And then I think you need a few layering pieces to just kind of easily. You don't need a lot and, by the way, t-shirts don't really make outfits, so I really don't talk about t-shirts that often. We need them, but you only need a couple, but a couple of layering pieces in white and cream and black maybe, and then your accessories.

Susie Wright:

That would simplify my life a lot if that's all I needed to really have. Maybe throw in a couple dresses, you know, because I also think dresses are feminine and they're work appropriate. But yeah, I think I covered it.

Monica Enand:

Are we just spending time on vanity? Is it frivolous for us on a podcast for working and busy people to be talking about fashion? But why do you think it's important? What do you hear from the people you work with?

Susie Wright:

I mean, I will tell you, that's a piece that I've struggled with because I've been in the fashion industry my whole life and you know I've often asked myself is it shallow, is it important? But I learned a really long time ago, based on the messages and the feedback I get from women we all want to look good, you know, and I think that and again, it's not by just having a ton of clothes, but if you feel good and put together, pulled together, I think it just adds this confidence and I think it also makes us, when we're in a workspace with all ages older women, younger women I just think if we're current and put together, there's just this confidence that comes, and I think confidence for all of us is key to showing up. Then you can just take that off the table and focus on what it is, that your message and what you want to share with people.

Sejal Pietrzak:

I think you are so right. I agree with that completely. I think when you and it's not necessarily like you said, monica, it's not a vanity thing, but you just feel good and that leads to that level of confidence because you feel good about yourself too right, absolutely, sejal, I'm sure you've been in front of large audiences.

Monica Enand:

How do you prepare for going on stage in front of a large audience, or maybe a large all hands, where you know all eyes are on you? You know how do you get ready for something like that?

Sejal Pietrzak:

You know, I think I could do a better job of it.

Monica Enand:

In the early days of Women in the Workplace, women were trying to imitate the suits that men were wearing right, and do you feel like that's evolved somewhat and that now there is more femininity, you know, in the workplace and sort of professional dress has more feminine?

Susie Wright:

flair, definitely. I even think back to when I was helping you and we would, you know, do these beautiful dress and like cardigan combos that looked professional but yet feminine and I just that was one of my favorite combos I can think of. I must've seen a photo of you the other day and that kind of blush pink sweater and dress. That was just like one of my favorite outfits. Or even you know other dresses that looked polished, but then you had, like these amazing shoes that were heels but not everyone can wear heels, I get it, but you know. So those are just those little touches that I just think are so amazing. On women, you know, speaking in front of these large groups of men and women, I just love seeing a well-dressed, powerful woman Makes me really happy. I love seeing a well-dressed, powerful woman Makes me really happy.

Sejal Pietrzak:

I think that really makes a lot of sense. I remember seeing a picture of Monica on stage and you were wearing this beautiful, bright pink suit and you know I learned a lot from that. Because I generally wear black, I generally will wear grays.

Monica Enand:

Today I'm wearing something a little bit colorful, because Georgiana told us. But generally.

Sejal Pietrzak:

Generally, I'm not as colorful, but I really think it makes you stand out and you talked about being in front of an audience, monica. I think that you really stand out when you wear something bright and bold and different in terms of colors, and I think it's okay to I'm learning I think it's okay to also look, you know, bright and bold.

Susie Wright:

I think so. But, by the way, black, that is probably my personal go-to. If I'm in my closet and I don't know what to wear, I always go for black. You know, if I'm in a hurry black blouse, black pants but then that's the time when you need that just extra accessory. It doesn't need to even be bright. It could be a gray handbag, it could be a beige handbag or you know whatever color. Burgundy right now is the color of the year, so you know you could add a burgundy handbag. So I think it's okay to do the blacks and the grays. They read so sophisticated always, but that's the time where you can pull out your jewelry or you know, some of those accessories that take it to the next level All right.

Monica Enand:

Well, are there any okay? So you talked about burgundy being the color of the year. I think you heard it here, people.

Sejal Pietrzak:

A mentor of mine said you should always dress for not necessarily the job you have, but the job you want.

Sejal Pietrzak:

And that was also when we were always all in the office and and I always thought, hmm, okay, and even as I moved in different roles, in different areas, different companies, I always might have, I think I was always maybe a little bit more dressed up than what other people might have been, and whether anybody noticed or not I don't know, but it certainly was something that I did put a mind to. I wouldn't wear, even if it was the most fashion trend. I would never wear the ripped jeans type of thing, right, or if certain things were certain very fashionable, if it wasn't what I thought to be okay, I'm going to dress for not the job I have, but the job I want next. But I do believe that the CEO does set the tone for what the rest of the company kind of looks. People look up to you. When you're the CEO or in any managerial position. You know people that are working with you and working for you do look up to you.

Monica Enand:

Well, thank you so much for being here, susie, we can't tell you this is invaluable and hopefully. I know you've touched so many lives, including mine, but I hope that we can help you touch even more lives, because I think it's a really important and impactful service that you're providing through SoSusie. And so do we just go to SoSusiecom and subscribe there?

Sejal Pietrzak:

Yep, sosuzycom and subscribe there. Yeah, sosuzycom. Thank you so much for being on our show, monica. It was great to talk to you again, as always, and thank you to our executive producer, georgiana Moreland. Until next time.

Georgianna Moreland:

Thank you for listening today. We would love for you to follow and subscribe. Monica and Sejo would love to hear from you. You can text us directly from the link in the show notes of this episode. You hear from you. You can text us directly from the link in the show notes of this episode. You can also find us on the LinkedIn page at Masterstroke Podcast with Monica Enid and Sejo Petrzak. Until next time.