Episode 21: Career Coaching Spotlight with Stephanie Zimmermann, Local Entrepreneur

Hey, everyone!  Welcome back to another episode of Leaving The Nest.  I’m your host, Kathleen Pellegrino from ROCS Grad Staffing. Our mission is to help you find a job out of college and thrive in the real world.  

Today, we are so lucky to have with us Stephanie Zimmermann who is a local business leader here in the Northern Virginia area.  She went to George Mason and is still really involved with the university today. She’s a council member for the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the School of Business and an Advisory Board Member for the Women In Business Initiative.  She started her own company and is heavily involved with the local chamber.  On top of all that, she’s also a mother of two!

I could go on—Stephanie really has done it all!

I’m so thankful that she has taken the time to sit down with all of us to share her story and advice for new entrepreneurs.  Enjoy my conversation with Stephanie!

And don’t forget to leave us a review wherever you are listening and to share this episode with others you know who are just starting out in their careers.  Enjoy!

In This Episode:

[1:20] – We’re introduced to our guest, Stephanie Zimmermann.

[2:50] – Why did Stephanie choose to go to George Mason?

[5:13] – Stephanie reveals the best piece of advice she received from a financial advisor.

[7:00] – Stephanie reminisces about college games and the pep band.

[9:12] – We hear how the normal space on the college campus is changing post-pandemic.

[10:27] – Yelling at the refs is one of the best things about going to the sports games, in Stephanie’s opinion.

[11:12] – This is what Stephanie is excited about when going back to the George Mason campus today.

[14:18] – The Word Wall is a waterfall of knowledge.  Here’s what that means.

[15:47] – The most important thing to think about as alumni, according to Stephanie.

[16:27] – Stephanie shares her experience after graduating and leaving the nest.

[18:30] – A huge part of Stephanie’s job working at Geico was keeping track of the analytics for how different ad campaigns were performing.

[20:00] – The paradigm shift from Geico to working with her dad in the financial industry.

[22:06] – Stephanie talks about the move to a financial consulting company after the sale of her father’s financial practice.

[24:37] – Lend A Box was at first meant to be a side hustle.

[25:21] – What is Lend A Box?

[27:09] – Moving to a warehouse made her company feel more real.

[29:00] – Lend A Box is an idea that should be more widely adopted.  Stephanie talks about the challenges of forging a new path.

[30:45] – Stephanie shares a story about how she and her sister Jan brainstormed this entrepreneurial adventure.

[32:00] – We hear why Stephanie believes her sister is the perfect business partner.

[33:39] – This is the biggest piece of advice Stephanie would give to those wanting to start their own business.

[35:00] – These are the challenges when family members hold high positions in a family-owned company.

[37:20] – Stephanie explains that she has more experience working with family members than not, so her advice to new entrepreneurs is rooted in this understanding.

[39:27] – We’re reminded that we don’t have to go it alone when starting a business.

[41:03] – Stephanie elaborates on the groups she’s involved with at George Mason.

[43:53] – We learn about the book club. 

[46:10] – Stephanie enjoys being on the volunteer side of academia because it’s a lot more of the “warm and fuzzy stuff.”

[48:22] – Stephanie is grateful George Mason reached out to her after she graduated, and this reintroduced her to the culture and community that brought her back to volunteer at the university.

[50:40] – Kathleen and Stephanie conclude the conversation.

Connect with Stephanie:

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