Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Wasserman
Hi Charlotte, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been a very passionate person about giving back to my community.
It all started when I was in 6th grade, facing the classic middle school challenges: friendships, understanding myself, beginning to take school seriously.
As I was facing these challenges, I really wanted a platform to share what I was feeling and normalize what I thought many other teens were feeling. This eventually became a blog called It’s A Girl’s Life.
From learning how to build confidence, how to stop feeling the need to be perfect, how to find a core group of friends who support you, and how to bounce back from setbacks, It’s A Girl’s Life was where I could share the tools and skills with other teens in real time.
Once I was moving into high school, I recognized that I wanted to be able to make a larger impact. At the end of the day, I didn’t know if it was just my mom and family reading the blog, or actual teens….
To further impact more girls, I decided to go in partnership with a California-based organization, and together we created three events teaching teen girls about grit and resilience. Each was in person in my hometown, Cleveland OH. One of my favorite parts were picking out the speakers each year, at our first event, the keynote speaker was Romona Robinson, who was a news anchor and author from Cleveland. The following year, we had the assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lindsey Gottlieb.
After the third event, I decided to strike out on my own, follow my purpose, and pursue a more focused vision, that included broadening our platform.
As a result, I created a 501(c)(3) called “It’s A Girl’s Life,” where we motivate young women to feel confident taking control of their world and inspire them to be creators of their own story. For that years event, I partnered with John Carrol University to produce an event with 1400 teen girls across the United States through partnering with schools across the country.
Since our events were only once a year, and I wanted to provide empowerment all year long, I decided to start hosting a podcast where I could interview a variety of women with different levels of expertise in career advice, wellness, and entrepreneurship in order to empower young women to recognize they are the creators of their own stories. Side note: I always thought there was so many crucial lessons from those who start businesses from nothing, that directly apply to regular life as well. I was also an avid Shark Tank fan, and was hearing all these stories that inspired me, so I opened up the conversations to girls to also learn alongside me.
Some of my favorite guests have been Kara Goldin: founder of Hint, Adriana Carrig: founder of Little Words Project and Erika Nardini: the first CEO of Barstool Sports.
Now, three years later, I’m excited to say, I am partnering with the Women in Business club at my university, SMU, to bring Michela Alloca to campus in the fall to educate collegiante women to build confidence in their careers and financial futures.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I have grown up, I was always told nothing meaningful comes without obstacles along the way. Those struggling moments are almost like life testing you to make sure you still care about your goals and dreams.
Another lesson that stems from experiencing challenges is that pivoting is the only way to be able to continue to work on any project you are passionate about and I believe it’s the one thing that has allowed me to continue working on It’s A Girl’s Life for more than six years.
During Covid, we wanted to still produce an impactful event so we had to transition from an in person event to a fully virtual event amassing 1.4K girls. Through this experience, we learned how to shorten up each of the speakers presentation, incorporate an interactive workbook for the girls to use during the morning, and multiple opportunities for a Q+A session throughout the presentations to allow girls to share their reflections and connect across screens.
Another pivoting moment was thinking through how I wanted to continue growing It’s A Girl’s Life in college, when I knew I wanted to be as involved on my campus as possible.
The truth is that It’s A Girl’s Life has always grow with me, so college was no different. I decided to transition the core audience from teen girls to collegiate women and started researching speakers who I thought could teach girls a lot about the next five – ten years in their life.
That is when I came across Michaela Alloca and once I read her book and followed her on instagram, I was hooked on how she communicated financial topics in such a clear and engaging manner. I knew she would be perfect to come to campus!
As you know, we’re big fans of It’s A Girl’s Life. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m a junior at Southern Methodist University studying economics with a minor in business. I have always been passionate about empowering girls to become the best versions of themselves through my non-profit, It’s a Girl’s Life. It’s A Girl’s Life originated as a middle school blog, which has since transformed into a 501(c)(3). In high school, I organized several events for teen girls, primarily focused on teaching grit and resilience; however, now that I am in college, I have transitioned to producing events to educate girls on how to build their dream careers with a personal finance and wellness spin.
Over the past five years, I have been dedicated to growing and being the host of the It’s A Girl’s Life podcast. Through the show, I am on a mission to empower girls in their twenties and those soon to be in their twenties, helping them build their dream careers and financial futures while prioritizing their wellbeing, one inspirational interview at a time.
I am so excited to announce that I am continuing the event series in the upcoming school year by bringing Michaela Alloca, a personal finance and career expert, author, and podcast host to inspire collegiate women to build career confidence and financial wellness. Through this event, girls will recognize they can create the futures they dream of and get a chance to win a copy of Michaela’s book.
Learn more about her podcast and connection with her on linkedin here:
Linkedn: charlottewasserman
Website: https://www.itsagirlslife.org/
Podcast: https://www.itsagirlslife.org/podcast
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My biggest tip is that in order to make a positive impact over many years, you have to be willing to let it grow with you and change just as you change. Don’t force yourself to have too many deadlines, or else it can be harder to keep up as life happens. Full transparency, there are times where I don’t work on the nonprofit or podcast for weeks when other areas of my life are hectic, especially being in college, and I’ve learned to become ok with that.
Also – if you’re someone like me who wants to learn everything before they start, get over that idea as soon as possible. You will be so much more pleasantly surprised to reflect on how much you can learn in a short time if you just jump in and begin.
Lastly – be a continuous learner. There is a lot that you can learn on instagram, by listening to podcasts, and reading books. Fun fact, the first book that I read in middle school that unlocked the confidence that I should start It’s A Girl’s Life was Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso.
When I was younger, I just filled my brain with positive thoughts and ideas by reading. Some of my favorites include Atomic Habits, Chasing The Brightside, and Lifepass. That quickly became podcast shows like How I Built This, The Skinny Confidential, Rebecca Leigh Podcast, and The Dream Bigger Podcast.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Itsagirlslife.org
- Instagram: Itsagirlslife
