Making It Count
Social media pro Rachel Winn is making mail-in voting go viral.
@ivotedtodaystickers turning out content & the vote and making mailing it in look good!
It was the work of two female authors and fellow moms that inspired Rachel Winn to add civic duty to diaper duty and impart on an entrepreneurial quest of her own. Glennon Doyle’s memoire Untamed helped her see that the way to help kids become confident, happy and passionate people is to model those attributes yourself. And Geiger Smith’s book Thank You For Voting shed much-needed light on the history of voting and an issue plaguing our democracy, apathy.
Stuck in the Covid confines of life at home with a raucous toddler and infant, Rachel was able to quiet the noise just enough to hear herself, and a socially-civic sticker brand was born.
She partnered with former colleague and designer Vania Lin to launch I Voted Today Stickers, a collection of five socially-conscious, Insta-ready stickers made for mail-in voters to wear and share with pride during the pandemic-plagued election. An obvious upgrade to the stickers of years past, you can find them on Etsy and feel good knowing that $2 of each set sold is going to vote.org to help drive election engagement.
Back Story
I first met Rachel six years ago while interviewing her for a media job at Spanx. We chatted about the less-glamorous-than-it-seems work of schlepping samples to celeb stylists and editors and her desire to move back down South for the chance to work for and with women and be close to her family. I recognized in her a kind heart and sharp mind, and she was integral in helping the brand and its founder build an online community.
We’ve stayed in touch with phone calls and texts seeking advice on everything from house hunting to hashtags, and it was during our most recent chat about her newest venture that Rachel gave me the friendly push I needed to launch my own.
Check out my Q&A with a friend, who will always have my vote, for her refreshingly real take on motherhood, social media and being ok with doing ok.
Q&A
YOU ARE THE PROUD MOM OF TWO BEAUTIFUL BABIES. HOW OLD ARE YOUR KIDDOS, AND WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT MOTHERHOOD?
Thank you! Claire is 3 and Oliver is 10 months. What has surprised me the most about motherhood is how your life does a complete 180 after you have your first kid, and how when you look back, you wouldn't have it any other way. Also, you feel this immediate bond with other moms, especially when their kids are close in age to yours, a connection you may not have otherwise had.
YOU SEEM TO EMBRACE AND ENJOY THE DOMESTIC SIDE OF MOTHERHOOD. WHAT CHILDHOOD TRADITIONS ARE YOU CARRYING ON WITH YOUR FAMILY?
Oliver, Brian, Rachel & Claire at Serenbe
Traditions are my favorite... They instantly make me think of Christmas! Christmas was always a big deal growing up, and one tradition that stands out is drinking warm tea & and listening to Johnny Mathis while decorating the tree. We would also get a new ornament that symbolized something big that happened in our life that year. We've continued that with Claire, and it makes my heart grow in size to see how excited she gets.
As Claire is getting older, I've realized it's the little things like really listening to her, talking with her about her day and repeating intentions to her "You're kind, you're brave, you're strong" that have the biggest impact rather than taking her to a Halloween or Christmas experience that always ends in a meltdown!
YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CHALLENGE OF TRYING TO DO IT ALL. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED AN ALL-IN JOB AT SPANX, FULL-TIME MOM'ING AND A HYBRID AS A SELF-EMPLOYED CONSULTANT AND NOW ENTREPRENEUR, DO YOU THINK THERE IS AN IDEAL BALANCE, AND IF SO, WHAT IS IT FOR YOU?
Oh man, I'm still trying to figure that out! Glennon Doyle's book Untamed helped me work through a lot of my thoughts and emotions on this topic. She said that mothers are often judged based on how much of ourselves we give. The more selfless of a mom you are, the better of a mom you are. How awful is that? She said we're called to be models, not martyrs for our children, and that really hit home.
So if I'm doing something I love and showing Claire and Oliver what it means to work hard, be happy and be present, I think at the end of the day I'm doing an OK job.
TELL ME ABOUT I VOTED TODAY STICKERS - WHAT ARE THEY, AND WHY DID YOU CREATE THEM?
Stickers with style & substance: (L-R): Who Runs the World, Full of Pride, Exercise Your Rights, The Dissenter & Three Cheers
This has been such an exciting project! After reading Untamed and realizing I needed to put myself back out there, I read Thank You For Voting by Erin Geiger Smith. It talks a lot about the history of voting and how our voter turnout in 2016 was one of the lowest. I knew then I needed to do something to change that and almost instantly, an idea popped into my head... create an "I Voted" sticker for people mailing in their ballot, but give it an upgrade that feels inclusive. I co-founded it with another former Spanx-employee, Vania Lin, and we donate $2 from every order to Vote.org to further increase turnout. To date, we've sold over 1,000 sets of stickers, worked with companies like Crocs and H&M on their civic engagement projects and donated close to $2,000 to vote.org. The response has been incredible, and it's rewarding to feel we're helping with this historic election.
CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT ANY HIGHS AND LOWS AS A NEW ENTREPRENEUR?
There have been so many highs and luckily only a few lows. The highs arrive when someone you admire responds and says they love your product. To be in talks with people like @CupofJo, @KatejBaer and @Eholmes is a pinch-me moment. The lows definitely revolve around carefully walking the fine line of nonpartisanship. We've learned that *any* talk of a candidate, even if true and nonpartisan, makes someone mad and we don't do well with negative comments - it's hard to get past.
SOME OF THOSE NEGATIVE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY CONCERNED THAT YOUR POLITICS HAVE STRAYED TOO FAR FROM THEIR OWN. ANY ADVICE ON HOW TO HANDLE IT?
It. Is. So. Hard. While we keep @IVotedTodayStickers purely nonpartisan and focused on voting, I certainly have my own views and they're very different from family and some friends.
This election seems so important because it's not a matter of trivial nuances, it's a matter of human rights and life. To me, there's no other way of looking at it, so it's hard to get past and understand a different way of thinking.
We're getting better at communicating about it, which sometimes means not talking about it at all. I know we're not the only family going through this, and we will get through this, it just takes time and patience. If you're going through this, too, you're not alone! Should we start a support group? ;)
YOU ARE A SOCIAL MEDIA PRO HAVING HELPED MULTIPLE BUSINESSES AND THEIR FOUNDERS CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA, AND NOW YOU’RE DOING IT FOR YOUR OWN BUSINESS. AS AN ENTREPRENEUR. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR FOLKS WITH LIMITED TIME AND RESOURCES LOOKING TO BUILD AN ONLINE COMMUNITY?
Be yourself. Authenticity is KEY to having an engaged audience... And don't be worried about your number of followers. Too often people get hung up on follower count and wanting a larger audience and I know it's hard if you're committing time and energy and your followers aren't growing rapidly. If you're producing honest, thoughtful content, they will come through word of mouth and once they do, you'll have grown a following of like-minded individuals that will quickly become a beautiful community.
ONE OF THE BEST PARTS OF WORKING AT SPANX FOR ME, ASIDE FROM FREE TIGHTS, WAS THE FRIENDS I MADE. WAS THAT YOUR EXPERIENCE, TOO?
Two of the girls I worked closely with were pregnant around the same time, and we called ourselves the preggie pack! It was so fun to chat about it every day, and our friendship has grown to such a deeper level since becoming moms. It's no longer about work, our conversations are about relationships, business ventures, weird quirks our kids have and how to pick ourselves up when we feel like we're failing as parents. Spanx really did introduce me to some really incredible women, including my partner Vania.
FAVORITE SONG TO DANCE TO AND FAVORITE TO CRY TO?
I don't know any cool songs anymore! It's quite sad...it's all soundtracks to kid's movies and shows...so dancing would be The Trolls soundtrack and crying would be "Old Friends" by Ben Rector - but they're happy tears!
WHO IS A MOONLIT MAMA YOU LOOK ADMIRE AND WHY?
Glennon Doyle, besides my own mama, I love how she's mothering her IG community and always saying what we need to hear.
Rachel’s picks to help you cast your vote well informed and well dressed.
