Thursday, September 13, 2018

Book Review: WorkParty

Author: Jaclyn Johnson
Publication Date: August 21, 2018 
Publisher: Gallery Books

First, we leaned in. Now we stand up.

Jaclyn Johnson—the founder and CEO behind Create & Cultivate, the fastest growing online platform and conference for millennial women in business— offers a rallying cry for a new generation of women who are redefining the meaning of work on their own terms: WorkParty. Women who want it all and more, and guess what? They can have it.

Jaclyn suffered a massive blow in her early twenties. She was on an upward career climb and confidently moved across the country for a job—and then, was abruptly let go. Attempting to turn that closed door into an open window, she launched a company with a trusted business partner. Soon after, she discovered said business partner had made detrimental decisions to the company without her knowledge. Before she knew it, she was in the throes of a brutal business partner break up. She was only twenty-four.

Determined to bounce back, Jaclyn overhauled the mess that was her life and by the time she was in her early thirties, she had sold a company and launched the much-buzzed about Create & Cultivate platform—and advised and invested in multiple million-dollar projects at the same time. So, how did she do it?

In WorkParty, Jaclyn shows how she turned distrust into determination, frustration into fuel, and heartache into hard work—and how you can, too. 

With stories from leading female entrepreneurs including Christene Barberich (co-founder of Refinery29), Alli Webb, (creator of Drybar), Morgan Debaun (founder of Blavity), Jen Gotch of Ban.do, Rebecca Minkoff, and Kendra Scott, you will learn the tips and tricks from the best in the business while cultivating the passion and happiness you need to succeed. By embracing failure and reconciling your femininity with being a boss, you’ll join the movement that is WorkParty—and have fun along the way.

Jaclyn Johnson’s WorkPartywas such a thrill to read. For any women that want to learn how to balance their career with their social life, or how to deal with failure in the workplace, or even how to negotiate better pay – this will be a perfect read for you. This book is filled with tons of interesting illustrations that coordinate with Johnson’s commentary on women in the workplace. There are also tons of “pause” sections throughout the book, where Johnson takes a moment to pose thought-provoking discussion questions or share interesting, relevant facts and encouraging thoughts. Her writing is so simplistic, yet really causes you to pause and think about your position and career. A five out of five stars from me!

Hard work = the American Dream.

Look, truthfully, I love working hard. I had always identified as the girl who is crushing it career-wise, never the girl for whom it came easy – that’s for damn sure. In fact, I remember a male colleague once telling me, “You’re pretty, but not so pretty that other women will hate you.” I made a confused face, and he followed up with, “No, no, that’s a compliment and will get you far! You’re not a threat!” Ugh, great! But now what? I – the striver, the try-hard, the career-woman – was in a city where I knew no one, had left behind connections, friends, and a promising career path to come kill it on the West Coast and then got laid off? Self. Identity. Screwed.

The support from these women gave way to my biggest lightbulb idea and a business that would shape the next big chapter of my life. The idea that collaboration with women is stronger than competition with them is the nugget of gold that launched Create & Cultivate.

Work hard, stay in the game, and trust that you’re laying the foundation for your own future luck.

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Gallery Books in exchange for my honest review***

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