The Wellness Rookie
Cassidy Wendell is a 20-something Montana native who's hooked on building community. She's the Founder of #GIRLGETAFTERIT - a wellness community that brings womxn together through sweatworking events and gear that gives back. Cass knows just how important your mental, physical and emotional health is to your overall well-being, how community plays a huge role in professional and personal success, and how the feeling of being supported can ultimately change your life.
What are your current businesses/brands and how did they evolve?
#GIRLGETAFTERIT - a wellness community bringing womxn together through sweatworking events and gear that gives back. This brand has evolved over the last several years, but really started to take shape after I started hosting "sweatworking" events in Bozeman, Montana because I was craving community. Turns out, other women were searching for the same thing!
The Wellness Rookie - my personal brand that I started shortly after I lost my dad to a stroke. I started blogging as a way to release my stress and emotions and it soon developed into a creative outlet and a chance to work with some pretty incredible brands along the way.
Socialize - this is a consulting business I operate with my business partner Kimmie Geer. We both have been in digital marketing for 7 years and after working with a vast array of clients on our own, we decided to join forces and help even more brands and business owners find digital marketing strategies that actually work. We do in-depth consulting audits as well as host online workshops.
What does Community mean to you and why is it important?
Community to me is more than just a trendy word that's thrown around. It's about feeling supported, it's about being confident enough to tackle goals, it affects your health and how you view yourself. When you find your people, it changes your life.
Why is someone's "story" powerful when building a brand?
It's important when building a brand, but even more important when building an impact brand. When you're building something of meaning, there's no doubt your story will come into play. This encompasses all of your experiences, trials and tribulations that have made you the person you are today. And from your story comes your purpose (or your why), which should without a doubt translate into your brand. I've always been a big believer that people don't buy what you're selling, they buy your story. They buy you and what you stand for as a brand.
Building a business and brand is a lot of trial and error. What are a few things you did that reaped the most success in moving your businesses forward and what surprised you the most? This can be a success or an idea that did not pan out.
Such a good question, one that I've been thinking about a lot lately! The one thing that has helped propel my business forward the most has been asking for help! We now have a team of about 5 contract employees who help make this ship sail. Now, I was a solopreneur for a very long time and always had a "do it yourself" mentality. As soon as I started asking for help, our brand grew immensely. Another thing that I've found adds to this is staying focused and learning to say "no" to anything that's not essential to your goals.
What advice would you give a new entrepreneur or your younger self?
"You really can't do it all yourself. Ask for help."
One of your brands is, The Wellness Rookie. The name alone gives a sense of vulnerability when trying new things that everyone can relate to. Another brand, Girl Get After It shows strength, determination and grit. What has been the response from a growth standpoint on each one and is one more relatable with customers or have they complimented one another because women are all these things?
I would definitely say they compliment each other. It's interesting because The Wellness Rookie is all me - I'm the face of the brand, I'm in all the photos, it's my stories and my voice. Whereas #GGAI is all about other womxn, and I intentionally did that. I didn't want another brand that had my face tied to it because I wanted it to be about something much bigger than myself. Of course, it's my story that started it, but where it's going and who it serves is always expanding. And I hope it's #GGAI that people resonate with the most because it's the collective community that can change lives, not The Wellness Rookie.
What's most important to you these days?
I feel like that question could be answered in a million different ways. But, right now, it's my family. We've come across a few health scares this year, and after dealing with the loss of my father, nothing is comparable to the possibility of losing those you love. My family comes first, always.
What's exciting you these days and/or what new activities are you "rookie-ing" right now?
Slowing down - which I feel like I've never done that in my entire life. I've always been someone who pushes harder when the going gets crazy, but I've noticed my body and mind craving a bit more stillness in my life. And I'm definitely a rookie at that.
