Meet Suzan Zahedi

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Suzan Zahedi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Suzan below.

Suzan, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Resilience, to me, is both a posture as well as a skill that is honed over time. I am a problem-solver by nature, so I am comfortable and inspired by looking at complex situations and discerning what is working as well as searching for the root cause of what is not working. Many people are afraid to “look for problems” because they interpret problems as a reflection of their performance. Because I think it is fun to grow, my business was able to adapt to the many economic and social changes over the past 3 decades and it has given me a spirit of willingness and fearlessness in welcoming change. In addition, I have encountered significant life challenges and have a deep faith and prayer life which helps me know, no matter what– all will work out. This attitude allows me to approach difficulties with a sense of control and optimism.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

This is a new chapter for me as I have closed my handmade jewelry Boutique Studio SUZAN after 28 years! It was bittersweet to say the least. Through prayer and reflection, I made the decision to shift my career to one where I can belong in a company setting. As much as I inherently think as an entrepreneur, after 28 years of chasing cashflow, I spread my courageous wings to do something new. Now, having said that, the process of finding the next right thing is quite daunting!

My company Studio SUZANLLC is still active and has shifted to consulting on personal or business vision and messaging, product development and packaging, retail or home space styling, work-flow process and intentional planning and leadership, training and mentoring, and various art and writing projects.

When I closed my shop, I took a 3-month sabbatical to clear my mind and reflect on decisions I had made over the years and to decide on what I can now offer the business world. After a delightful sabbatical and a few months of wrestling in my heart I am back in the job market.

The combination of being a writer and an artist along with having a process-oriented mind and having so many insights into human nature–one thing became very clear. I love helping businesses develop their brand/product or service and their message and then make that message live and breathe throughout every part of the business. Picture Mary Poppins of Messaging!

At Studio SUZAN, I shared my personal testimony, original writings and artwork as a foundational part of my marketing and packaging strategy and that was a key factor in developing very long relationships with my customers. Building on that, my new mission is to, wherever I can, combat the use of jargon in business and bring communications and language back to being personal and resonate. Humans were created to respond to words and images that reflect the natural and emotional world not the digital world and so you will find me helping companies pinpoint the places that their activities and communications don’t line up with their vision. It’s very inspiring because it promotes intentional leadership and a deeper connection of the business to the people around it. I’ve also begun to write curriculum on a variety of subjects relating to life skills, adulting, faith, and parenting. On a new road and inspired!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The most important three concepts that have most impacted my journey are:

Having the quality of curiosity and wonder. World events and financial ebbs abs and flow can drain and discourage even the strongest of people. When you have a deep faith and you can focus on the incredible beauty of the natural world around you and celebrate the amazing things people can do and the ability for our hearts to grow, you can remain in a place of optimism and creativity. You are never too old to look in awe at the sunset or the wonder of the ocean and have it deeply inspire you to keep creating.

Share with people during the process of your life when it’s messy, and don’t wait until it’s all pretty and neat. People are so in need of feeling OK about life and when you share your ideas when they are fresh and still unknown, people will come along with you and cheer you on. It will inspire them to be courageous. If you wait until a project is all finished to share it, it loses some of it’s humanity.

“Blessed are the flexible.” Nothing goes as planned, so success is not defined by having a perfect plan that goes off without a hitch. Success is becoming good at noticing when a plan isn’t working and being a leader and modifying the plan to a new one. Not much worse than a captain that stays below ship and doesn’t look out in the horizon for the impending clouds. Be alert, observant, and open to the challenge of change.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber

This book is a must read as it highlights the common fantasy of owning your own business and all the freedom and money you think you are going to have. Most times if you, for example, love to bake and decide to open a bakery, you may be hard-pressed to find time to bake and you will likely be inundated with so many jobs to do that are actually outside your skill set. Not to say you shouldn’t do it, but be realistic and know what you are getting into. It is very challenging to put your baking skill and intuitive know-how into a “production mentality” where you have to document everything you do in order to train someone else to do it!

The second wisdom nugget is that when you first start a business and you have limited or no staff, you still have to detail out an organizational chart which helps to identify all the aspects of responsibility required to run the business. Until such time as you can hire for these positions, the areas of responsibility still have to get accomplished. As you hire people, it will be evident as to what responsibilities need dividing up. It will also help you be more intentional about hiring if you put necessary skill sets along-side each responsibility.

Be very selective as to who you hire. Many times, small businesses don’t have full time work for certain tasks and many times the person who is responsible for hiring will not pay enough attention to the dual skill sets required to fill out the job.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @studiosuzan
• Facebook: @studiosuzan.com
• Linkedin: suzan zahedi
• Youtube: studiosuzan
• Yelp: studiosuzan.com

Image Credits

Suzan Zahedi