Mariela Dabbah, CEO, Red Shoe Movement Founder & International Speaker

Mariela Dabbah is the CEO and Founder of the Red Shoe Movement: Women Supporting Women for Career Success. I met Mariela in New York City on the day she was meeting with her funding/business plan advisor (yes, a woman) at Grind Workspaces.

Mariela quirky philosophy in life is that “the worst thing that can happen is not to be prepared when your dreams come true” – and being prepared as her latest venture unfolds is clearly a priority for her. On top of being a CEO/Founder, she is a corporate consultant and international speaker regarding issues of success and empowerment for Latinos in the U.S. (And her love for presenting/speaking overseas fuels her cultural curiosity!)

Mariela’s also an award-winning, best-seller author. Her Latest book,  Find Your Inner Red Shoe: Step into Your Own Style of Success, is the backbone of the Red Shoe Movement. She’s also no stranger to the media, regularly appearing on CNN, Univision, Telemundo, ABC, NBC, NPR, and other media outlets. As we chatted and laughed (yes, we both love a good laugh!), Mariela shared a couple of her success philosophies:

• Always take risks, even when you’re not 100% sure of what you’re doing
• It’s the hand you’ve been dealt. Deal with it!

What is your greatest fear?
Snakes!

Who are your heroes?
People who do crazy things just to prove they can be done, like Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic project, and Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian guy who jumped from 128,000 feet. And obviously, women who break barriers and open doors for all of us, such as Janet Yellen [Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System].

What is your current challenge?
Taking the Red Shoe Movement to the next level.

Your greatest achievement?
Having made a life for myself in New York City, after arriving in this country [from Argentina]  with two suitcases twenty-five years ago.

What is your motto?
Nothing can be that complicated.

Why are you an entrepreneur?
I love the ability to make my own decisions. I’m very creative and practical at the same time, and I like to get ideas up-and-running quickly. I can’t deal with having to go through different levels of approval. I also love the independence, and the flexible lifestyle.

What problem are you solving?
Helping to move the needle in female representation at the highest levels of decision-making. And particularly, trying to get more women with diverse backgrounds to flourish by finding their motivations and aspirations so they can better align them with their career goals.

What problem would you like solved?
All forms of discrimination.

Biggest regret?
None yet!

Which talent would you like to have?
I’d love to be a great designer — to have the ability to draw!

Best pat on the back you’ve ever received?
The most recognized and most-respected Hispanic personality (a journalist) made a video thanking me for inspiring and supporting her.

Advice you wish you’d had (or had followed)?
I wish my parents had helped me figure out that it was important to take financial courses regardless of what I wanted to study. Understanding the P&L [profit-and-loss] aspects of a business is critical for everyone and particularly for women to grow in their careers.

Your pitch in 140 characters?
“The Red Shoe Movement is the only women empowerment platform born from a movement and sustained by a movement.”

The Twitter follower you can’t live without?
@LorraineCLadish [Twitter feed of Lorraine C. Ladish, a Spanish-American author and novelist]

Your nails on a chalkboard moment?
When I discover that someone I trusted betrays me.

The J.O.B. you’d actually like?
TV Host!

Biggest misconception about being an entrepreneur?
That it’s easier to find work-life balance. The truth is that it’s as hard as being an employee — if not harder — because it’s your business, and if it fails, it’s on you.  So the pressure is high.

Inc. or Rolling Stone? Which magazine cover?
Neither. I get inspired by Time and Crain’s New York [a well-known business publication],  although I’ve written to editors of both about not covering enough stories about people with diverse backgrounds!

What are you reading?
I always read several things at the same time because I read in Spanish and in English, fiction and non-fiction. I just finished The Goldfinch [Pulitzer-prize winning novel]  by Donna Tartt, and I’m reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  Also, El Asesinato de Pitagoras, by Marcos Chicot.

What book is your must-read?
I love almost anything by Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, and Paul Auster, and I do think everyone should read The Count of Montecristo.

What book did you read which would have been put to better use as a doorstop?
Soooo many… I used to feel I had to finish every book I started. For years now, however, whenever I find myself re-reading the same paragraph ten times, I drop it. There’s so little time for uninteresting books, and so many books waiting to be read!

If I wanted to do what you’re doing…what’s your advice?
Give me a call, I need a few clones — I’m sure we can work something out! Kidding aside, you should try to align your skills, knowledge, experience and passion so you can make a living doing something you love and be successful at it. It’s taking me some tweaking to get here, but all I’ve done has led me to this place.

What conference would you like to keynote?
TED!

Short cut, long route, or a road less traveled? What’s your roadmap? 
A combination of all three:

• • • Short cut: There are times that call for short cuts, and you must be ready to take them. At times I’ve had to develop patience and realize I was in a marathon and not in a race.
    • Long route: It takes discipline and perseverance to take that long route, but when it’s the correct one, it will bring you enormous satisfaction.
    • Road less traveled: Through my life, I’ve often taken the road less traveled, and it can be creative and challenging to be the first one to do something in a unique way.

So think carefully about the road for each stage of your project and life.

Podium you’d like to stand on?
Any one that’s next to Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton.

One place in time you’d like to visit?
Paris in the 1920s.