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

Julia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I thrive as a business owner. Yes, it’s tough. It’s a lot of pressure and responsibilities. But in my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons. As a business owner, I get to choose what impact I want to make on the world. I get to spread values that I believe can make this earth a better place, and I get to inspire others to do the same.

I have always wanted to become an entrepreneur. Right after I graduated from my master’s program, I started my own company: a clothing brand and fashion showroom based in Los Angeles. Starting my own business gave me the opportunity to empower women in business while simultaneously promoting ethical fashion. I strive to support other female entrepreneurs by representing their brands in my showroom, and I aim to advocate for an ethical approach to fashion by using only the highest quality sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing processes. The fabrics I have thoughtfully chosen are 100% environmentally friendly and every worker involved receives livable wages. It is fundamental for me that we do our part as a company to respect both the people and planet in every way we can.

By being a business owner, I also get to inspire and guide people around me. This goes hand in hand with my mission to empower women in business. I truly find purpose in being a resource for others. I am a big believer that anyone has what it takes to get exactly what they want in life. Nothing is too crazy. No goal is too big. If you can put your mind to it, and have the will to keep yourself disciplined, you will reach your goal. I find that by being a business owner I get to lead in a way that spreads this mindset to others. I get to support and encourage my employees to believe in themselves and to go after their own personal goals by making myself available to listen and help in any way I can. And by turning my own dreams into reality, I hopefully get to inspire others to go after their own. Everyone has the ability to make an impact on this world.

Julia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Julia Strouk. I was born and raised in Paris, France, and moved to Los Angeles 6 years ago to pursue my studies and career. I graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, with a Bachelor’s in Marketing Communications and a Master’s in Global Business with a concentration in Leadership and Managing Organizational Change. Upon graduation a little over a year ago, I started my own company: Julia Strouk Design, a French-inspired clothing brand and showroom based in Downtown Los Angeles.

We are located in the Cooper Design Space, a historic building within the fashion districts. We operate as both an online retailer and a showroom, where we are fortunate to give our buyers the opportunity to come and view our collections in person. With the mission of bringing Parisian elegance to Los Angeles’ fashion world, I originally started this venture by representing two Parisian brands in my showroom: Ose Paris and Garce Paris. A couple months later, I launched my own label, Julia Strouk. Focused on elegance, simplicity and minimalism, my designs are made to provide French-inspired, elevated and timeless looks. All three brands are currently available to shop on our website www.juliastrouk.com.

As mentioned in my answer to the previous question, my main goals are to empower women in business and advocate for an ethical approach to fashion. I support other female entrepreneurs by representing their brands in my showroom, and I focus on ethical fashion by only using the highest quality sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing processes. My clothing line is designed and produced with a conscious mind and heart in Los Angeles. It is crucial to me that we keep the environment and the well-being of the workers involved in mind throughout the entire process. All fabrics and means of production are eco-friendly and support a workplace where laborers receive a livable wage.

My very first collection consisted of minimal and elegant maxi dresses to be worn for any occasion. These buttery soft and flattering designs were double lined to hide all imperfections with the highest quality of tencel, a high-end and sustainable fabric. I am thrilled to announce that I will soon be launching my first unisex collection, which consists of chic loungewear sets made of 100% premium cotton fleece. With a focus on minimalism, luxury, and comfort, this collection will invite individuals to embrace both relaxation and elegance with a touch of Mediterranean style. The dress collection is currently available to shop on my website www.juliastrouk.com and you can expect the loungewear collection to be available in early September.

I am also excited to announce that we will be showing at New York Fashion Week this September 2023. For details please email contact@juliastrouk.com or DM us on instagram @stroukdesign.

Building this business on my own has been an incredible journey and I am excited for what’s to come. I have always loved fashion and my entrepreneurial spirit pushed me to start this company right after I finished my studies. As I didn’t have any prior experience in running a business or working in the fashion industry, the past year has definitely been the most challenging, yet the most rewarding year of my life. Every step was an incredible learning experience.

This is perhaps the most important thing I have learned about entrepreneurship: to just start. There is no right time. You will never feel 100% ready, as there is always room for improvement and something new to learn. So if you’re thinking of taking the leap – just do it. And be prepared to embark on the most growth-oriented journey of your life.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I find this topic particularly fascinating. As I graduated from my master’s program in Business with a concentration in Leadership, I deeply studied motivational theories and team management. I have now been able to apply this knowledge to my own company.

Here’s my take on how to better manage your team and maintain high morale:

How to Empower Your Team:

I find that the more empowered your employees feel, the more innovative, creative, and motivated they get. That is because feelings of empowerment generate intrinsic motivation; a type of motivation that arises when you develop an internal desire to accomplish a goal. There are various ways to empower your team and generate this internal motivation. For this interview, I will focus on the importance of (1) generating personal and professional growth and (2) creating collaborative work environments.

(1) Generating Personal and Professional Growth:

American psychologist Frederick Herzberg developed a motivational theory called “Hygiene Motivation.” Herzberg believed that we become intrinsically motivated when we receive a sense of recognition, achievement, responsibility, growth, and advancement.

Based on this theory and my personal experiences running my own company, I believe that you can empower your team and generate this internal motivation by helping your employees grow on both a personal and professional level.

Generating growth on a personal level can be done by supporting your employees’ goals outside of work and offering advice on how to achieve them. Being present to guide and support your employees in every way you can is fundamental for their own growth, as well as for the growth of your business. By forming relationships on a personal level, you are not only developing a deeper sense of trust and loyalty, but you are also understanding the person better in order to provide them with the tools they need to succeed. If you have a large company, it is obviously going to be more challenging to get to know all your employees on a personal level. Instead, you can implement team-based structures, where team leaders and members can work together on developing those relationships. But when you own a start-up or a small company, I believe that making deeper connections with your employees to stimulate their personal growth is a powerful way to make them feel empowered and generate intrinsic motivation.

In addition, generating professional growth is also key. As business owners, you can do so by offering your employees opportunities for career advancements, giving them freedom to make decisions, and assigning them meaningful and interesting tasks. These will allow your employees to develop a sense of achievement and responsibility, which will generate intrinsic motivation.

You will find that combining both personal and professional growth together will create a more profound sense of self-fulfillment and empowerment for your employees. This will stimulate their internal desire to perform better in order to grow even further. It’s like an exponential growth cycle.

(2) Creating a Collaborative Work Environment:

Creating a collaborative work environment can also help empower your team and generate intrinsic motivation.

A collaborative work environment is characterized by teamwork and flat organizational structures. These kinds of workplaces allow their employees to work together towards a common goal and learn from each other. Everyone feels like they have the freedom to share their ideas and the ability to contribute to the end goal. This increase in engagement and participation empowers your employees by making them feel valued and important, which in turn generates their internal motivation.

Major companies like Google have adopted management styles based on cooperation to generate creativity and innovation. The science behind why cooperative workplaces lead to more creativity and innovation is rooted in our brain’s response to our physical environment. For instance, clinical psychologist Robert Maurer states that emotions like fear block parts of our brain, including the cortex, that are responsible for our creative and rational thoughts. So when faced with fear and distrust at work, it becomes harder for us to perform. Your employees are therefore more likely to come up with innovative ideas and perform better when working in collaborative work environments, where trust and positivity are driving forces.

Conclusion:

Overall, my advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is to empower your employees to generate intrinsic motivation. Your employees can develop this internal desire to perform better when they are able to grow on both a personal and professional level, as well as when they are working in a collaborative environment that promotes freedom and learning.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

“One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way,” by Robert Maurer, PhD.

This book has helped me a lot throughout my entrepreneurial journey. I have always had big goals. And I would often find myself overwhelmed by them. That is because I would put all my attention on getting to the finish line as fast as I could, rather than focusing on the smaller yet essential steps that would help me get there. And that is exactly what this book is about.

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy originally used in business to maximize operations by making small, continuous improvements. This book looks at how we can apply this philosophy to everyday life, “using small steps to accomplish large goals.”

The author, Robert Maurer, states that Kaizen is “a natural, graceful technique for achieving goals and maintaining excellence.” Maurer argues that this method builds new neural connections in the brain that allow us to think more creatively and rationally. Maurer explains that anything outside of our comfort zone triggers our amygdala, which is the part of our brain that controls our fight-or-flight response. For instance, starting a business or moving to a new country is automatically going to trigger some degree of fear. When this happens, the amygdala activates and prevents other brain functions from operating at full capacity. We can even find ourselves freezing and not knowing what step to take. But by applying Kaizen’s philosophy and focusing on one step at a time, we remove the fear associated with the big goal, and allow other parts of the brain, such as the cortex, to stimulate our creative and rational thoughts. We therefore start approaching the situation differently, and are able to complete all the smaller steps that are needed to reach that big goal.

So no matter what you’re trying to do – moving to a new city, starting a business, or changing jobs – this book will give you the tools you need to succeed by applying this simple yet highly effective Japanese philosophy. I read this book 4 years ago, and I still refer to it once in a while. I highly recommend it.

I will leave you with the following quote: “A journey of thousands miles must begin with the first step.” – Lao Tzu

Thank you so much for reading my interview.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juliastrouk.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stroukdesign/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliastrouk
• Other: Instagram & Tiktok: @stroukdesign Email: contact@juliastrouk.com DTLA Showroom Address: Cooper Design Space 860 S Los Angeles St, Suite 320, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Image Credits
Chase Minor Chris Quinn