These days, I often feel like I am the only person I know who doesn’t meditate. (Even my younger daughter belongs to a meditation club at school.) So I have been thinking about giving it a try; which is why I decided to profile Suze. I know Suze from way back when we were young assistants at Vogue. She then went on to work at Elle, Marie Claire and Glamour and became a regular TV presence on all the morning shows with her Glamour makeovers. In 2014, she opened Unplug Mediation in LA. The idea behind her studio is that anyone and everyone can meditate and that meditating should be easily accessible (they now have online classes). Suze is not your quiet, zen type, she is full of energy and has a bright personality. I am sure her approachable demeanor is a key to her success.
Please introduce yourself and describe what you do: I am on a mission to make meditation easy to learn and accessible to everyone. And I am the manifestor and author of the soon to be best seller Unplug: A simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers.
Three words that describe your company: Inspirational, life changing, innovative.
Three words that describe you: Happy, enthusiastic, driven.
What made you go from media and magazines into meditation? Stress
What came easiest for you when you started Unplug? The easiest part was buying and editing merchandise for the boutique; my strategy is to buy everything that I want. Guess who the #1 customer is? Moi.
Hardest part of starting out that no one warned you about? Sales and spreadsheets, I am not interested in either.
One of your attributes that helps you succeed: I love what I do, and I am on a mission to share it. I created Unplug so that I could go myself (I am the one who needs it most). But my biggest skill that I carried over was that I had produced TV segments; I wanted the classes here to be similar in the way that within 5 minutes you would be able to practice and get it.
Role model: Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler, founders of SoulCycle.
Best career advice you received: Learn as you go and don’t worry that you know nothing–you will.
Your advice to a new entrepreneur or someone starting out in your field: If you think it, you can make it happen! Trust your intuition.
What has been your biggest success? Finding amazing teachers and convincing them to work with me when this concept was unproven.
What has been your biggest dud? What did you learn from it? No sales strategy in the beginning–I am still working on that. It is my least favorite part.
What motivates you? The idea that everyone in the world can meditate.
How hard would you say you work? How do you keep focused? I wish I could say that I turn it off but I never do–I am always working except for when I am meditating. Meditation actually teaches me how to be present and when I am present I am focused.
When is it an advantage to be a woman in your business? When is it not? Being a woman means nothing–we are all souls with brains.
What’s next for Unplug? We just launched Unplug classes online and the book comes out in March.
What’s missing in your line of work or what is one thing you don’t like in your field that you would change? How would you fix it? That is a tough one. I am constantly changing everything to elevate. And I can’t think of anything I don’t like , weird but true.
What about the future most excites you? The idea that Unplug will go from 1 studio to 100.
Life goals: Be present 24/7.
Daily goals: Get organized.
Favorite inspirational read: Food and The City by Ina Yalof.
Favorite sites/people you follow: My favorite thing is to follow my teachers and staff on Instagram–they post the craziest things. Plus DayTripper 365Photos and Lulu Powers.
Daily rituals: Meditate every morning, give hugs to my three sons (even though two of them are over it), goof around with one of my teachers, drink coffee, regret that I drank coffee, Goop face oil, send 300 emails, pass out.
How do you unplug: I honestly go to the classes at Unplug. I can be in a room with 55 people and feel like I am alone–it is heaven!
Hidden talent/hobby: Waterskiing and taking courses on Udemy.com.
Do you collect anything? Crystals. It’s a new obsession. I took a course and fell in love with the look, feel and power of them. My three favorites are pyrite for success, manifestation and financial abundance, amethyst to calm and rose quartz to amplify love.
Biggest splurge you don’t regret: My 15,000 Magnetic Book Wall that I had built for Unplug. It is so cool and looks like a piece of art.
Coffee/Tea: Coffee
Morning/Night: Morning
Truth/Dare: Dare
Heels/Flats: Heels
Pastel/Primary: Primary
Manet/Mondrian: Manet
Cats/Dogs: Dogs
For Suze’s Flair Five, click here.