← Coffee N° 5 with Lara Schmoisman
Loading summary
Transcript108 lines
- [00:00]
Andrea Moore
Foreign.
- [00:05]
Lara Schmoisman
This is Coffee number Five. I'm your host, Lara Schmoisman. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Coffee number five. It's your coffee ready? Because mine is I, you know, me. And I'm always thinking and I'm always processing, how can I be a better person? How can I be a better boss? Can, how can I be a better leader? And I lately been playing a lot with the idea of being a boss or being a leader, being a leader, being a boss and how these are together, but at the same time they can be completely different. So I thought I bring another friend to talk about this. So welcome. Andrea Moore. Thank you so much for being here today.
- [00:52]
Andrea Moore
See you. Thank you so much for having me, Lara.
- [00:54]
Lara Schmoisman
It was so cool that I can always been thinking about things and bring someone special to talk about them. And in this case, someone like you, Andrea, that you've been, oh, my God. You've been everywhere in this industry and you held so many leadership roles. So why you don't walk us a little bit through your career first so people get to know you? Sure. Where did you start? What was your first job?
- [01:20]
Andrea Moore
My first job. My first job in retail or my first job job?
- [01:24]
Lara Schmoisman
Your first job ever? Let's start from the beginning.
- [01:27]
Andrea Moore
Well, I think my first job ever was when I was in a teenager. I was a lifeguard and I was a hostess at a restaurant. And when I was in college, I was seasonal help at the limited. And that's where I really got the bug for retail. When I finished my master's degree, I was a store manager for fashion company for about a year. Then I went into banking, which was really about marketing. So I worked for a very big credit card marketing company and worked there for a couple of years. And then I moved to Boston. So I'm originally from outside Philadelphia. And then I moved to Boston for my first real corporate retail role, which was for the fashion brand Jill. And there I was there for quite a long time. So I, I, I launched the E commerce business there when we had no stores and no e commerce business. And when I left, we were selling to Talbots and we had 250 stores and a very big digital business. And then I, that was.
- [02:29]
Lara Schmoisman
Talk about the multichannel.
- [02:31]
Andrea Moore
Yeah, I love, I love omnichannel. That's like, that's like where my heart is. And then I left there and I went to New York and worked for another big apparel company. 600 stores, publicly traded company, launched E Commerce there. And that was like the flip of the problem. Like there they already had 600 stores. They didn't really believe in digital and we had to find ways to make omnichannel work in a way that was compelling for the customer and for the company. So that's really like the basis of my career in E commerce and retail and fashion. So yeah, those were kind of two big roles, two big important places that I worked where I learned so much.
- [03:10]
Lara Schmoisman
So to you, what's the difference between being a boss and a leader?
- [03:15]
Andrea Moore
Oh, I think they're so different and I think being a boss is much more transactional, much more task oriented. Even the word it feels very top down as opposed to collaborative. And I think it's having that ability to be and do some of those things can be important when it's time to get the job done or it's time to call the shots. But being a leader is much more compelling in the grand scheme of things in the long run and in day to day working experience with people. Because at the end of the day you're working with people and you can get nothing done without other people, period. End of story. And so leading people I think is much more compelling.
- [03:59]
Lara Schmoisman
Being seen something in the industry for a long time now that it, I, I start to question at if there is a confusion with leadership and mentorship. Many times.
- [04:11]
Andrea Moore
Yeah.
- [04:12]
Lara Schmoisman
Because I, I had even situations at my agency that people come and say I come to learn and no, if you're hired for a job, you're coming to do a job you come to do.
- [04:26]
Andrea Moore
Yeah.
- [04:26]
Lara Schmoisman
To, to bring something to a table. But at the same time, of course you can learn. You can always learn. The opportunities are there for you to learn. But first you need to concentrate in doing your job and do it well.
- [04:39]
Andrea Moore
Yes. Yeah, I think it's, I think it's both. I agree with you. I think first and foremost there is a job to be done. That's why you're there and that's the priority. And then mentorship is something different. And I think you need a leader. But I think a mentor is and should be and could be a separate person. And I have in some cases asked people in my network to be mentors for people on my team that are, you know, they're totally outside people, they work in a different company. This is just a sounding board for someone who is trying to evolve in their career and wants to talk to somebody who's like not, not tied to the current situation. So I do think the two things are different. I think it's really good to hear from people when they're coming in the door. What do they want to learn and expand and grow into while they're excell at their current role? Because if you're not hitting the objectives of your current role, it's very hard to evolve into other things.
- [05:35]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah, I think that's a really valid and important question. And it's something that I always ask my team to ask when we interviewing. Where do you want your career to go? I want someone in my team that can grow with us and that we can fulfill that growth.
- [05:52]
Andrea Moore
Right. Yeah. And I think hiring people is. It's a very precious resource. Like it's a lot of times in big companies you have to fight for the role, you have to get the money allocated. You desperately need the person like long before you're actually able to get the person hired. And so you're investing a lot in bringing someone in and you want to make sure that that's a good fit for everyone and also that the person is going to be successful and integrate well with the team and all of that and then kind of evolve beyond there. But for sure, I think especially in this day and age, you can't just hire someone for being good at one thing. Like you have to be able to see like where can they flex in the future.
- [06:32]
Lara Schmoisman
Did you have any situation? Because I did. And I think over time you get that gut feeling. Someone once told me when you hire someone, that person needs to be willing and able. Sometimes they're more, they're able but they're not willing. So that's not a go. But if they're able and that if they are willing but not able, then be also it's a problem.
- [06:57]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [06:57]
Lara Schmoisman
So. But sometimes as a leader you need to be a little flexible and get to know the person and also use your experience. And I always say I use my sixth sense. Like for example, we had a situation that someone was hiring for hired for a job and I knew immediately that she wouldn't be fit, good fit for that role.
- [07:19]
Andrea Moore
Yeah.
- [07:19]
Lara Schmoisman
But he had that gut feeling that she will excel in something else.
- [07:24]
Andrea Moore
Yeah.
- [07:24]
Lara Schmoisman
And it work.
- [07:26]
Andrea Moore
That's amazing.
- [07:27]
Lara Schmoisman
And how, I mean how can we. Because I know me as a company also we try to have logistics and systems in place, but at the same time sometimes we need to break the rules and create these new spaces right for growth. Because what is more important to create those, have those logistics or be able to, to have the right person.
- [07:52]
Andrea Moore
I think that's, I think that's very. It's kind of a courageous thing to almost go out on a limb and hire someone that maybe doesn't check all the boxes but is going to be a great person as they evolve into the company and the role. I think less and less of that is happening, especially in the current economy and the way jobs are sort of structured. There's not a lot of room for chance. Right. There's not a lot of risk taking on. This is a super bright person. They may not fit exactly in what I want. Let me take a chance on them. I just, I think there's a lot less of that happening in the market right now because the job market is very tight and the economy is sort of a challenge right now and. But I do think the best leaders are ones that can see the value in someone that's maybe just not right on the surface, but maybe a longer term potential and, you know, lean into that as opposed to shy away from it.
- [08:46]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah. So I believe that we hire people that do have skills to do stuff.
- [08:52]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [08:53]
Lara Schmoisman
We're not hire skills in a person.
- [08:56]
Andrea Moore
Right, right, yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, there are people that you have to work with every day and that get to come and do work on projects and come together. So there has to be a fit and a cultural fit. They have to want it. Like you said, they have to be willing and able. I think that's so. Right. Like a lot of people can do the job, but maybe they don't want to do the job or they really want the job, but maybe they don't have the skills. So I think it is a combination of things and fit. Right. Like some people are not going to be a fit in the corporate culture that you have, whatever that is. And so you have to really understand that up front and to be fair, make it clear to the candidate up front, like listen, you know, this is a startup, for example. This is a startup. You're not going to have a lot of resources. How do you feel about that?
- [09:41]
Lara Schmoisman
Exactly. But now let me transfer a conversation in one of our favorite topics, which is Omnichannel.
- [09:49]
Andrea Moore
Yes.
- [09:49]
Lara Schmoisman
Because in Omnichannel, which is one of my favorite topics ever and I know it's yours too. We have another challenge. We have so many moving parts and as a leader we need to know a lot. We need to know a lot about every department. But also we need to be kind of an interpreter from what. Because sometimes, and this is a challenge as a leader, how you work with two different departments that they talk a completely different language. But somehow in this new Omnichannel culture, they need to come Together?
- [10:23]
Andrea Moore
Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think, I mean, to me, Omnichannel is really where the magic happens. Like, if you have incredible, like compelling brand and compelling product. That's the hard. That's the hard part of all of this. Right. You've got to have a product and a story that makes sense and that's interesting to people. And then how do you bring it to life in each channel? And what is unique about each one of those channels that would cause someone to buy it? Like if they're on Amazon or if they're in a department store or if they're in a boutique or if they're on your dot com. Why. Why would they buy it then and there versus another place? Right. And then also, yeah, there's a lot of. There's a lot that goes on behind the curtain. Merchandising, marketing, technology, all working together to deliver this incredible experience to the consumer. Because you know it when things are working and you know it when they're not.
- [11:14]
Lara Schmoisman
Even as a consumer, we have something beautifully that is called beautiful, that is called data. And we can see what works and what doesn't.
- [11:22]
Andrea Moore
Exactly.
- [11:23]
Lara Schmoisman
But the question is, how do you work and how do you lead a team that have so different skills and mindsets in come together for one purpose? Because each one puts a little different part of the puzzle. But everything needs to fit together.
- [11:41]
Andrea Moore
Well, I think you have to be a great synthesizer. I think you have to, and I consider myself this, you have to be a conductor. If you're the conductor of the orchestra, you're not playing the drums and the violin and the cello. You are seeing the whole picture. You understand what it takes to play the violin, but you're not there doing it. Someone else is. So you have to understand what is their skill set, what is their language, what are they bringing to the table for whatever you're trying to do? And how do you make all these things work? Because the technical people are going to be very technical. The marketing people are likely to be very creative, although also analytical. And so how do you bring all of those things together around a common idea? And I think long answer to your question is you have to see the big picture. You have to be able to synthesize and use the language of the particular skill set of the person you're trying to bring along to make sure that they understand what their role is in success and also I think being really clear on what success looks like.
- [12:38]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah. Before being an agency owner, I was a project manager. And I would say that one of my Biggest challenges was always working with a different team when I was coming to a project. When you know your team, you also know the strength and the weaknesses of your team. So you know that you can give this to this person, but you cannot give it to this person because this person maybe is great on the skills, but it's not a great communicator.
- [13:05]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [13:06]
Lara Schmoisman
So you know how to tackle the team and how to divide and conquer.
- [13:11]
Andrea Moore
Right? Yeah. And I think that's the great thing about working together with people over a period of time is really being able to lean into someone's strengths.
- [13:20]
Lara Schmoisman
But what do you say about this culture that right now everything seems to. To be too fast is like, I only learn. I've been here for three months or six months and I feel like I learn everything. So let's move on.
- [13:34]
Andrea Moore
Oh yeah, you mean you think people in the job think they in the job? I think that's not surprising. And I think that's a function of a younger generation of people and how they see the world. I think there's some. I think one of the solutions is being able to show people the bigger picture than just their job. Right. Because their job, maybe they do feel like they've understood, but they may not understand the big picture. And I think oftentimes people are too siloed to really understand what role they play in a bigger scenario. And I think that may help.
- [14:08]
Lara Schmoisman
I think that also companies are failing in showing opportunities of growth.
- [14:14]
Andrea Moore
I think some are. I think it depends on the type of company. Some companies are super dynamic and fast moving and move people up the ranks and others do not. I mean, I just think it really depends. I think there are a lot of good, good examples out there and I think there are a lot of challenging examples out there.
- [14:30]
Lara Schmoisman
Absolutely. So when. Let's talk a little bit about leadership and budgets because that's, it's something that it's is challenging because you know, you need to put your budget on your team. But also you have platforms, you also have a lot of expenses to.
- [14:49]
Andrea Moore
Yes.
- [14:49]
Lara Schmoisman
Keep in mind, so what when you start a new project, how you go in and say, okay, this is. There is any percentage that there is any, any tip you can give us to say, okay, I have this for marketing. I always want to make sure that I have this extra contingency. There are any tricks that you as a leader bring to the table.
- [15:13]
Andrea Moore
I mean, I learned, I read somewhere a long time ago early in my career that every time you think something costs something, it's usually 20% more and so I try to always keep two things in my budget. One, I try to plan, I try to put the line items in at a higher expense than what I think they're going to really net out. So there's a tiny bit of cushion in that line item. And then I also try to carve out some percentage of the budget that's just for extras. So someone gets a great idea midway through the year and we don't have to go back to finance and ask for more money or some money needs to be swept because we're re budgets are being redone and we need to find ways to save money. You already have a chunk of money that's not going to hurt existing projects. That's off to the side. So I think it's those two tactics that have helped me kind of keep things going in those situations. But always big projects, like a big innovation project, a big technology project, they always take longer and cost more than you think they're going to.
- [16:13]
Lara Schmoisman
So yeah, always ask for more. Timing is always a challenge.
- [16:17]
Andrea Moore
And if you have a good cfo, they know to keep a little bit of extra on their side too for the same thing.
- [16:22]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah, absolutely. So we're talking about the cost of people, but also nowadays being a company, working with companies that are omnichannel, also you need to budget for platforms. And also platforms are changing and I feel like there is something that we are not anticipating is the cost of changing a platform. Many times we make decisions based in the ROI that a new platform will bring us. But transitioning one platform to another, we don't realize how long it might take and how costly it could be.
- [16:57]
Andrea Moore
Right. Well, when you say platform, should we define what you mean by platform software.
- [17:03]
Lara Schmoisman
That we use, email marketing software, whatever. Yeah, I mean, whatever comes to my mind or I don't know what comes to your mind, but I feel like there is so many options out there and that very easy to get pitch and business owners who get tempted. So how do you decide, first of all, what is a good fit for a company and then how you implement that without affecting your bottom line budget?
- [17:30]
Andrea Moore
Yeah, I mean, I think, I think it's a great question. I think when you're looking at things like software and technology, you really have to make sure there is a fit between the size of the company and the size of the technology that you're looking at because you don't want to over invest in something that you maybe don't have the team to really use. Like that sometimes happens with things like loyalty software. Or CRM software where it's more complex than what you really need and so you're overpaying and or you don't have the skill sets internally to really leverage the tech that you're buying. I think there's different solutions available at different size organizations and I think a good salesperson won't sell you something that's not a good fit for you. But that's a separate conversation. But it's also incumbent upon the buyer of the technology to make sure it's the right fit for where the organization is, let's say for the next 36 months max.
- [18:24]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah. And also first of all you need to commit also I know that when you are bringing something there going to be a time that you're going to have to learn that need technology and you need to give it really an opportunity.
- [18:37]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [18:38]
Lara Schmoisman
But also we need to know that then you're not going to change again. I mean I have cases with clients that they always get. I heard this platform and let's try to this platform. So at the end of the day nothing is working because we don't give them a chance and we are not able to learn how that platform or program or whatever software it is works for us and then to create strategy on it or the other thing.
- [19:03]
Andrea Moore
I agree. And the other thing I see is people want the tech, they implement the tech and then they never really go and optimize it. They just move.
- [19:11]
Lara Schmoisman
Oh my God, I seen that so many times. And then I hear all the time saying oh, that platform doesn't work well. Are you optimizing it? Are you using it? Are you learning it?
- [19:23]
Andrea Moore
Right. Did you add resources into the budget to take advantage of it? If not, then it's not really, it's not really the right thing.
- [19:31]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah.
- [19:32]
Andrea Moore
Really quick. Okay, I'm back. Sorry.
- [19:36]
Lara Schmoisman
Okay, that's okay. So yes.
- [19:40]
Andrea Moore
So tech, I think also what's happening in the market right now is people are trying to rationalize their tech stack to not have too many point solutions out there, not have too much confusion, consolidate with one vendor where they can to keep the costs down and they make it easier to manage. Because I do think there are a lot of solutions out there and you can't overdo it and then you're in a situation where you're not really taking advantage like you said.
- [20:07]
Lara Schmoisman
I think when you're talking about bigger companies that might be a case. But I think a smaller companies, they have an overload of technology that they don't need all the time.
- [20:19]
Andrea Moore
Yeah.
- [20:19]
Lara Schmoisman
And they spending A lot of money in different tech and they are not optimizing anything.
- [20:25]
Andrea Moore
Right, right.
- [20:26]
Lara Schmoisman
And at the same time, they having too many different people having different skills using the different platforms or the different segments of their business. And at the same time we feel we are losing that narrative or the brand awareness across platforms.
- [20:42]
Andrea Moore
Yes, I agree with you. And I think it's especially hard for a small company because they're just creating a bigger problem for themselves than what they're really trying to solve with the technology.
- [20:52]
Lara Schmoisman
That's true. That's true.
- [20:54]
Andrea Moore
Fewer things done better is almost always right.
- [20:58]
Lara Schmoisman
Absolutely. And I always say that's one of the first things I do when I take a client is to audit where they're spending money at.
- [21:05]
Andrea Moore
Yeah.
- [21:06]
Lara Schmoisman
And I found out that many times we can save tons of money in apps that they're buying and they don't need.
- [21:12]
Andrea Moore
Yeah. Because I'm not forget they have. Oh, I downloaded this app. I've been paying for it monthly. Like, I'm not even really using anymore. We can get rid of that now. Like, but they don't do that.
- [21:21]
Lara Schmoisman
Exactly. And then. So you have those apps there. Some of them, they're even outdated and they're better apps or things that they worked in tandem better.
- [21:30]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [21:30]
Lara Schmoisman
Or then there are many brands that even ads optimization. I was talking to someone in nuts and I say, well, you're not going to be selling this. This is a luxury product and you're targeting it to an audience that they don't buy luxury products.
- [21:46]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [21:47]
Lara Schmoisman
So let's. The first thing I think you need to do is to. And this is my take, I cut the fat and I'm ready to cook it with lean and then we can start scaling.
- [22:00]
Andrea Moore
Yes. I love that idea. Yeah. And I think it frees up people's. It frees up everything. It makes the site run more effectively. It frees up marketing money. It takes time. It maybe gives people some time back from managing things that are not really adding value. Yeah, I love that idea. I bet that adds a lot of value.
- [22:18]
Lara Schmoisman
So now I want to discuss with you a very unpopular or popular or challenging question that I'm putting out there for you. You know, we're Amazon partners. I love Amazon. But I seen a lot of pushback from prestre and luxury brands of being an Amazon. Yeah. To me, I, I know what I think. I want to know what you think.
- [22:44]
Andrea Moore
I think it. Well, are you talking about beauty in particular?
- [22:47]
Lara Schmoisman
I'm talking beauty, fashion, accessories. In many. They feel like they will bring their. The, the value of their brand down. And I think if it's done well, it doesn't need to. But what do you think?
- [23:01]
Andrea Moore
I think even five years ago I probably would have said like, oh, don't go on Amazon, it's going to ruin your brand. That's like not the case anymore. I don't think it's optional for most businesses. I think beauty has kind of really come around on it. Even luxury and prestige beauty. Many beauty, luxury beauty brands are now joining Amazon through prestige beauty because the reality is their product was being sold there anyway and they didn't have control of it.
- [23:30]
Lara Schmoisman
And it's not sold by you, it's.
- [23:33]
Andrea Moore
Sold by the brand and the price is not controlled. And so one of the defensive mechanisms that people have used to join Amazon is to get control of the brand and the price. So at a minimum, I think that's a benefit. Then I think there's a lot of business to be done. There's, there are, I mean every customer in America is basically on Amazon. So why wouldn't you want to be there in some capacity? What you need to do is figure out what is the right strategy for your business.
- [24:02]
Lara Schmoisman
You said the beautiful word of strategy. Yes, it's all about strategy and how you use Amazon in your, in, in your power. So you control the narrative.
- [24:15]
Andrea Moore
Exactly. How you know there are many ways you can be on Amazon. So is it 1P, is it 3P, is it FBA, is it not? Like how do you want to do marketing? How, what products do you want to sell? Like you can't just say like we're going to be on Amazon without a plan. Because it's complicated. It's a very complicated.
- [24:33]
Lara Schmoisman
Very complicated. Yeah, it's a very complicated. And it's very complicated how to set it up right and how to do it right at the beginning so it's not competing with your, even retail or your marketplace.
- [24:48]
Andrea Moore
Right. You have to do that right from the beginning.
- [24:50]
Lara Schmoisman
Exactly. So there are a lot of young brands there and as we discuss many times, there is a challenging market right now and with the economy that is there, there are a lot of, I hear a lot of brands that they only want to go retail and they are even missing opportunities in the omnichannel world.
- [25:14]
Andrea Moore
Right.
- [25:14]
Lara Schmoisman
So what do you think that there is a missing opportunity today in the digital world for brands?
- [25:20]
Andrea Moore
What's a, what's an opportunity they should be taking advantage of that they're not?
- [25:23]
Lara Schmoisman
Uh huh.
- [25:24]
Andrea Moore
I mean, I think you can't ignore TikTok. I know there's a Lot of swirl about is it going to be spun off, is it going to be existing in the us all that. I think that's all going to get sorted out and they will probably have an acquirer in the US based on what's in the news, you know, no, no crystal ball. But I think you can't ignore it. I think this, the pace that it has grown is really unbelievable, particularly for beauty. And I think you have to have a way to be there. And again, it has to be right for your brand. You have to. And you can't just like be on TikTok. You have to have a plan, you have to invest, you have to have the integration, you have to have a product strategy like you have.
- [26:05]
Lara Schmoisman
Let me tell you something. Like I say, Amazon is a lot of work. TikTok is a lot of work too. And TikTok shop as well. So you need to work well.
- [26:13]
Andrea Moore
Right, right. And the people that dabble in it will then all say it doesn't work for me. But it's not something you can just turn on and see how, you know, if you just turn it on without real marketing behind it or real effort, it's not going to work.
- [26:27]
Lara Schmoisman
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Andrea, thank you so much for having coffee with me today. This was really, really a treat.
- [26:34]
Andrea Moore
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. And it's so great to see you as always.
- [26:39]
Lara Schmoisman
Yeah. And to you guys, I will see you next week with more coffee. Number five. Find everything you need at larashmoisman.com or in the episode notes right below. Don't forget to subscribe. Was so good to have you here today. See you next time. Catch you on the flip side. Ciao, ciao.