Takin' Care of Lady Business®

For nearly three decades, Victoria Hagan has been designing homes for some of the most discerning clients in the world.She launched her business straight out of design school, turned a staff bathroom at a Southampton show house into a New York Magazine cover, and built a firm that became synonymous with timeless, personal, and deeply considered living. But what most people miss when they hear "interior designer" is everything that has nothing to do with decorating.Takin' Care of Lady Business Episode 158In this episode, Jennifer sits down with Victoria Hagan, founder of Victoria Hagan Interiors, to talk about what it really takes to build a creative business, why she refuses to follow trends, and why trusting her instincts became the foundation of both her creative work and her business decisions.Victoria started her firm in her twenties after a brief internship and a defining moment in a show house that nobody wanted. What followed was a career built on listening, problem-solving, and an unwillingness to play it safe. Along the way she lost a business partner, navigated high-profile clients who were used to getting their way, and learned that knowing when to hold your cards is just as important as the work itself.Together, they discuss why interior design is far more about business than creativity, how to set fees and never negotiate against yourself, the difference between decorating a space and designing a life, and why the worst advice Victoria ever received turned out to be the most useful.What you'll learn:Why interior design is a business first and a creative career secondHow to set your fees, hold your ground, and never negotiate against yourselfHow to read a room and know when to push and when to hold backWhy trusting your gut is a skill most people are trained to ignoreWhy reading a client's first move tells her everything she needs to knowHighlights:(00:00) Meet Victoria Hagan(01:06) What most people get wrong about interior design(02:04) Starting a business straight out of design school(07:43) Losing a partner and keeping the business alive(12:38) Why she never negotiates her fees(20:07) How she reads clients to find what they really want(36:51) Knowing when to stay small on purpose(40:38) The worst advice she ever receivedAbout Our Guest:Victoria Hagan is the founder of Victoria Hagan Interiors, a design firm she built from the ground up starting in her twenties. For nearly three decades, she has worked with some of the most discerning clients in the country, creating homes, family compounds, and environments that feel deeply personal, timeless, and alive. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest and other leading publications, and her firm is known for a design philosophy rooted in how people actually want to live rather than what trends dictate.Beyond her interiors practice, Victoria has expanded into product design through licensing partnerships, bringing her aesthetic to a broader audience. Her work sits at the intersection of creativity, business, and the belief that great design is less about decoration and more about helping people connect with the life they want to be living.Victoria Hagan’s Website: https://victoriahagan.com/ Victoria Hagan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriahaganinteriors/ About Jennifer Justice and The Justice Dept.JJ’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-justice-354a0b99The Justice Dept: https://www.thejusticedept.com/JJ’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferjusticel/ Newsletter: https://tkolb-newsletter-a50814.beehiiv.com/The Justice Dept. is a female-focused advisory, consulting, and law firm advocating for female founders, talent, execs, and brands. We represent bo$$ ladies to make them 💰💰.If you love what you hear, please subscribe and share with a friend.This is a Lady Business LLC Production.

There’s a moment every woman hits, that quiet breaking point between what the world expects of us and what we know we deserve. For Lisa Myers, that moment came somewhere between court filings, breast pumps, and 3 A.M. feedings. The world had innovated for everyone else except working moms.Lisa didn’t have an engineering degree, a trust fund, or an army of advisors. What she had was an idea and the audacity to believe she could build it herself. That spark became Ceres Chill, a company changing how women move through motherhood, work, and life.But this isn’t just Lisa’s story. It’s every woman’s story. The one where we’re told to stay quiet, be humble, play nice, and wait our turn. And like Lisa, it’s about what happens when we stop waiting and start building.Key Takeaways:- Success is creating something that helps women live and lead on their own terms.- You don’t need permission to start.- Talking about what you’ve built isn’t showing off — it’s showing what’s possible.- Community is the real engine of success.- Disruption starts with one woman saying, “This isn’t good enough.”Learn More About Lisa:Website: cereschill.comLinkedIn: Lisa MyersInstagram: @cereschillAbout Our Guest:Lisa Myers is the Founder of Ceres Chill, a company dedicated to ensuring the success of breastfeeding parents and the health of the world’s most vulnerable infants. In just the last few years, Lisa became a mother of two, was promoted to equity partner at an international law firm and created a company - all while enduring universal breastfeeding challenges. She struggled and failed to meet her breastfeeding goals. Through her struggles, she was inspired to invent a patented breast milk chilling thermos to help women all over the world keep their breastmilk safe and achieve their breastfeeding goals. She will never stop advocating for working women and breastfeeding families.About Our Company, The Justice Dept.A female-focused advisory, consulting, and law firm advocating for female founders, talent, execs, and brands. We represent bo$$ ladies to make them 💰💰.Website: https://www.thejusticedept.com/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jenniferjustice6653If you love what you are getting out of our show, please subscribe.This is a Lady Business LLC Production.

Before anyone was swiping right, Fran Maier was already rewriting the rules. As the co-founder of Match.com, she didn’t just help people find love online. She helped women feel safe doing it. And when her company was sold for a fraction of what it’s worth today, she didn’t quit. She started again.Fran’s story isn’t just about startups. It’s about stamina. It’s about the quiet power of women who see what’s missing and decide to build it themselves. From creating trust in the earliest days of the internet to leading a company that helps thousands of moms become entrepreneurs, Fran embodies what it means to take risks, get back up, and redefine what success looks like on your own terms.Key Takeaways:- Why focusing on women consumers was the secret to Match.com’s early success- Asking for help (and sometimes demanding it) can change everything- Every ending can be the start of your next act- Never shrink your ambition to fit the room- Take the risk and stop waiting for permissionLearn More About Fran:LinkedIn: Fran MaierWebsite: babyquip.compromo code LADYBUSINESS $20 off any order of $100 or more.https://www.babyquip.com/p/ladybusinessAbout Our Guest:Fran Maier is a pioneering serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience launching and scaling disruptive B2C and B2B internet businesses. Best known as Co-Founder and first General Manager of Match.com, Founder of privacy compliance leader TRUSTe (now TrustArc), and now Founder and CEO of BabyQuip—the world’s leading baby gear rental platform—Fran has built a career transforming industries and breaking boundaries as a Latina business leader. Since founding BabyQuip in 2016, Fran has redefined family travel and gig economy innovation. Through proprietary technology and a thriving community of independent contractors called Quality Providers, BabyQuip gives traveling families easy access to high-quality baby gear in over 2,000 markets. Under Fran’s leadership, the company has raised more than $12 million in seed funding and become a recognized leader in both the travel and parenting tech spaces. Earlier in her career, Fran helped launch and scale Match.com, where she built the company’s initial partnerships, introduced the first membership model, and focused on attracting women—a key differentiator that helped establish Match.com as the market leader. At TRUSTe, she led the transformation of the organization from a nonprofit to a for-profit, venture-backed company, raising over $10 million and positioning it as a pioneer in online privacy compliance. She also played a key role in launching BlueLight.com, a Kmart and SoftBank joint venture aimed at expanding internet access and e-commerce reach. A sought-after voice on entrepreneurship, tech innovation, and women in leadership, Fran has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes, Travel + Leisure, CNBC, and more. She appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and was profiled in the documentary She Started It, showcasing female founders.About Our Company, The Justice Dept.A female-focused advisory, consulting, and law firm advocating for female founders, talent, execs, and brands. We represent bo$$ ladies to make them 💰💰.Website: https://www.thejusticedept.com/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jenniferjustice6653If you love what you are getting out of our show, please subscribe.This is a Lady Business LLC Production.

For too long, women have been told to “just deal with it” when it comes to menopause. Symptoms dismissed, pain minimized, hormones ignored. Joanna Strober wasn’t willing to accept that, and she’s making sure the rest of us don’t have to either.As the co-founder and CEO of Midi Health, Joanna is rewriting the rules for women’s healthcare. Menopause isn’t a niche issue. It’s a universal experience for women. And yet the system wasn’t built for us. Joanna’s story is about building power in an overlooked market, creating access where there was none, and showing that women’s health is not only necessary, it’s non-negotiable.Key Takeaways:The best time to optimize women’s health is nowHow Joanna turned her personal health struggles into a national companyThe myths about perimenopause and menopause that are holding women backWomen need choices, not gatekeepers, when it comes to their healthMenopause is inevitable, but suffering through it doesn’t have to beLearn More About Joanna:Website: joinmidi.comLinkedIn: Joanna StroberInstagram: @joannastroberAbout Our Guest:Joanna Strober is a visionary healthcare leader and CEO/co-founder of Midi Health, the fastest-growing national telehealth clinic transforming how women navigate menopause and midlife. Since launching in 2021, Joanna has propelled Midi to serve tens of thousands of patients with insurance-covered, personalized care in all 50 states—filling a massive gap in women’s healthcare. Before Midi, she founded and scaled Kurbo Health, a digital platform tackling childhood obesity, which was acquired by WW in 2018.Recognized as a CNBC 2025 Changemakers and TIME100 Most Influential People in Health 2025, Joanna is a fierce advocate for women’s health equity. Her leadership has earned national honors—including a White House award for her groundbreaking campaign protecting women’s healthcare access—and sparked viral conversations that challenge the status quo, like forcing Noom to retract an ageist ad. Backed by visionary investors such as Sheryl Sandberg, Connie Britton, and Amy Schumer, Joanna is at the forefront of redefining care for women at midlife, driving real, systemic change in a historically neglected space.About Our Company, The Justice Dept.A female-focused advisory, consulting, and law firm advocating for female founders, talent, execs, and brands. We represent bo$$ ladies to make them 💰💰.Website: https://www.thejusticedept.com/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jenniferjustice6653If you love what you are getting out of our show, please subscribe.This is a Lady Business LLC Production.

Hannah Habes didn’t set out to spark a matcha movement. She set out to heal herself. What started as a personal health journey became the foundation for Matchaful, a brand that’s grown from Hannah biking around New York with a backpack full of matcha to seven thriving cafes and a wholesale business across the U.S.Too often, women are told to play it safe. Don’t quit the job. Don’t take the risk. Don’t go it alone. Hannah did the opposite. Along the way, she ignored the “rules,” trusted her instincts, and built her business with grit, creativity, and persistence.Key Takeaways:The real story behind bootstrapping and scaling Matchaful in New York CityWhy sustainable growth matters more than rapid expansionThe importance of owning your customer experienceWhy staying connected to your product’s source builds authenticity and trustBelieving in your product sometimes matters more than convincing skepticsLearn More About Hannah:Website: matchaful.comInstagram: @chiefmatchaofficerInstagram: @matchafulLinkedIn: Hannah HabesAbout Our Guest:Hannah Habes is the founder of Matchaful, a female-led botanical nutrition brand offering direct-trade, single-origin matcha, and plant-based snacks. After experiencing burnout in the food industry, she built Matchaful around transparency, ritual, and intentional sourcing, knocking on café doors with samples and whisking drinks herself, while holding off on launch until she found the perfect farm partner. From a solar-shaded tea farm in Shizuoka to NYC cafés known for refined sugar-free lattes and functional snacks, Hannah is reshaping wellness culture with sustainably sourced ingredients and calming, restorative experiences rooted in Japanese tradition.About Our Company, The Justice Dept.A female-focused advisory, consulting, and law firm advocating for female founders, talent, execs, and brands. We represent bo$$ ladies to make them 💰💰.Website: https://www.thejusticedept.com/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jenniferjustice6653If you love what you are getting out of our show, please subscribe.This is a Lady Business LLC Production.