
Episode Summary:
In the latest episode of the InPowered Women’s Podcast, host Sharon Lee interviews Tiffany Foster. In this episode, Tiffany talks about her love for design and going to school to pursue this. While in school, her journey was not easy, and she questioned her decision, but she found a community that she leaned on and that helped her navigate that season. While on her educational journey, she received scholarships and met many incredible women in the tech space who were very instrumental to her.
Through this inspiration and support from her mentors, Tiffany was motivated to start Women 4 Mentors, an organization that creates a space for women to be supported and encouraged. This organization is geared towards offering scholarships to women and creating a supportive community for women.
Insights from this episode:
- What Aurelia Lux is and Tiffany’s connection to jewellery
- Tiffany’s transformative journey of receiving scholarships and entering a world filled with incredible women
- The value of putting yourself out there and the opportunities that arise as a result
- The role of community in fostering connections and uplifting one another
- The importance of networking in a career
- Tiffany’s journey in founding Women 4 Mentors and the goals she aims to achieve through the organization
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing expert dedicated to empowering female leaders. With a diverse background in sales and marketing across industries like advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy, Sharon’s journey showcases her versatility and determination. As the principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, she assists businesses in enhancing their marketing strategies. Sharon’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish her own consulting firm, reflecting her commitment to excellence. Alongside her professional pursuits, Sharon co-founded the InPowered Women’s networking group, fostering mentorship and support for women in business. Through the InPowered Women Podcast, Sharon will share stories of resilient female leaders with listeners encouraging them to pursue their aspirations fearlessly.
Tiffany Foster
Tiffany Foster is the owner of Aurelia Lux Fine Jewelry, which is a jewelry store that delves into the captivating world of fine jewelry, exploring the stories, trends, and trusted sources behind the most exquisite pieces. She is a dynamic leader who serves as the president of Women 4 Mentors, a dedicated organization focused on empowering women through mentorship. With a blend of leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and self-starting qualities, Tiffany excels in fostering collaboration in today’s ever-changing world. Based in the scenic mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, Tiffany draws inspiration from her surroundings and leverages her expertise in web accessibility to drive positive change.
Tiffany is passionate about investing in the community. She intends to contribute to cultivating a thriving local community and encourage others in the technology field. She is a member of the AAUW-STEM Committee and the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Episode Transcript:
Sharon Lee
Welcome to the InPowered Women’s podcast, where we tell the stories of unstoppable female leaders who excel, uplift, and secure a clearer path for female leaders in the future. And I’m your host, Sheron Lee.
Sharon Lee
Welcome to the InPowered Women podcast. I am Sharon Lee with Pinnacle Strategic Advisors. And before we get to our guest, I’d like to take a moment to thank today’s sponsor, Jeff Cunningham, partner with Bradley. He is all about helping empower small businesses, women and men. Although, if you notice, women are listed first, just saying. But please check with him at Bradley.com for all of your legal needs. Jeff is an amazing connector of people, which is the perfect segue to my guest. Everyone, please welcome Tiffany Foster, owner of Aurelia Lux Collection. Hi, Tiffany.
Tiffany Foster
Hi. Thank you for having me here.
Sharon Lee
Oh, my goodness. We’re so excited about having you on. We started talking about this back in the spring, right?
Tiffany Foster
Yes. Oh, my gosh. It’s been a whirlwind since.
Sharon Lee
It has been a whirlwind. We have got a lot to talk about. But first, tell us what your business is all about.
Tiffany Foster
Aurelia Lux is an estate jewelry business. We have an online shop, and we also have new jewelry as well and other estate pieces. It’s a really great way to just connect with people all over the country and be able to bring special pieces into their lives.
Sharon Lee
Okay. Is jewelry something that you have done all throughout your adult life? What is your connection with jewelry?
Tiffany Foster
It’s not something I’ve done my whole life, but ironically, growing up, my dad was a jeweler, and so that’s how I was named Tiffany, which is- After the jewelry store. It feels a little full circle. My partner is also a jeweler, so.
Sharon Lee
You’re just surrounded. You had no other choice.
Tiffany Foster
Yeah, exactly.
Sharon Lee
Let’s talk a little bit about your background. Tell us Where did you come from, what you got going on?
Tiffany Foster
Before jewelry, I went back to school, actually. I did it a little later in life as a single mother. I went back for a degree in digital media. That was a big changing point for me in my life. I had a difficult situation and some domestic things going on, and I faced with having to start over and start fresh again. That’s where I ended up in community college.
Sharon Lee
Okay. And graphic design, what led you there?
Tiffany Foster
When I went to the school to meet with an advisor, I was mentioning the things that I was looking for. As a single mom, I was not trying to go back to school for eight years. That just wasn’t feasible. I’m trying to figure out what can I do to launch myself into a career field in the shortest amount possible while also touching on technology, because that’s something I had been really lacking. I always loved design, and I always had an interest in graphic design, but I I just didn’t have a lot of experience with technology and working on computers. I had been in the construction industry for a long time. We just didn’t really have WiFi. It was out of a warehouse. I was just in my own little bubble for a while, and I felt very lost in today’s world in what a lot of people are migrating towards. We can’t really escape technology at this point. When I met with this advisor, they told me about this program they had for multimedia, which really touched on everything from coding to graphic design web design, a touch of marketing in there, too. I had a little bit of copywriting background, and it felt like the perfect fit for what I needed. That’s what I went for.
Sharon Lee
You talked to your advisor, you figured out what area that you wanted to study, Let’s fast forward to the first day in class. What was that like?
Tiffany Foster
That was so brutal. I still have flashbacks to it and the feelings I had in it. It’s just so surreal. I showed up and I felt like a fish out of water. I walk into this class, it was packed, it was full. It’s community college, so there are some people of varying ages there, but the majority of this very full class looked fresh out of high school. That was so intimidating for me because I didn’t feel like I fit in. We go through this class, there’s a lot of introduction, the instructor went over a lot of things. Then towards the end of it, she started just throwing out all these terms and things that makes me feel even silly today to say, but things like zipping a file that I had no idea what she was talking about. I felt like she was speaking a foreign language. I sank in my seat. It’s like everything disappeared around me. All I could hear was all the little fingers piping on the keyboard. I just was like, Oh, my gosh, they all know what they’re doing. I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t do this. What did I get myself into? I just sat for the rest of the class just sitting in that feeling stewing. It was awful.
Sharon Lee
But it’s so funny because you think about hearing all the clicking of the keyboards, and I’m sure there are people that knew what was going on, but a lot of those people were probably like, Oh, I got to figure out what this is. They’re typing notes as well. It’s all about confidence. You were just in this state and you just didn’t have the confidence.
Tiffany Foster
Yes, and that’s exactly right. I ended up asking that instructor. I asked her if I could meet with her, and that’s exactly what she said, too. She just basically told me none of them know what they’re doing either. To sum up what she said, it was fake it till you make it, just out, you’ll be fine. You’ll do it. She ended up becoming my advisor, which was amazing. I don’t know how long we spent talking together. It might have been 15 minutes, 20 minutes, but it was enough for me to get out of my head. I’m sitting there with this woman that I respect who’s an instructor at this school, who knows how to do all these things. I’m trying to learn how to do, and she’s just telling me, You’ll be fine. You can do it. That’s all I needed.
Sharon Lee
It’s so true. I mean, you just need somebody to talk you off the ledge, which sounds like she did well. Then I’m guessing once you said you got out of your own head, you just settled in. Did you find your place?
Tiffany Foster
I went back then the next day, and it’s really just one foot in front of the other. You just keep going back and going back. Like I said, she became my advisor, which was really helpful because she definitely was not the type of instructor that held your hand or anything like that. But it was enough reassurance to know I can go and ask questions. I can go and do this. It felt like support. I was eventually able to find my way. I felt really fortunate because during my time at that school, I feel like I was able to come across a lot of really great women like that.
Sharon Lee
In classes or you mean other instructors?
Tiffany Foster
Both. I met one of my best friends. She also was going for the same degree and also a single mom. She’s actually, we’ll get there, but on the board to Women for Mentors. She understood the same challenges that I was going through. When you’re a single mom, everybody has their own stories, but when you’re in a situation where there is no failure, it’s only succeeding because you don’t have a safety net to fall back on. There’s a lot of pressure that goes with that, and there’s a lot of sacrifice, too. It’s unfortunate, but it’s time with your kids. It’s being able to put in the extra care for yourself. When you have to put food on the table and you’re trying to succeed at school, it’s a lot to juggle at once. In my situation, I was dealing with a lot of personal things as well. I mean, the stress level was so high. Having a friend right there with me, going for the same degree was incredible.
Sharon Lee
Well, I would say girl power, but there is some strength in numbers there. I think that we do thrive in community. Finding your lane, going, Okay, I can do this, and then finding your people, those are two of those things that all of a sudden you go, Okay, anxiety levels coming down. We’re good. But you were talking about getting the bills paid and all these other things because there is no safety net that you have to figure all of this out. What did you do financially as far as your scholarships and all of that?
Tiffany Foster
It’s a culmination of things. I did receive several scholarships which were so amazingly helpful. They also came from different organizations that also were there to support women, which was amazing because that opened me up to this whole other world getting to be around all these other incredible women. One of I will say, was the GEM Foundation. That was an incredible scholarship to receive because I got to join their organization, meeting all these other women who had all these careers. I, honestly, I’ve honestly never really thought of women doing. I know that sounds silly. Women have so many opportunities today, but sometimes when we’re not exposed to it, we don’t always realize that we could do it. Meeting women that were high working at Microsoft and engineers and just cool ladies. It was incredible. I’m very thankful because those scholarships that I received, they take a lot of that pressure off so that you can focus on school in being able to succeed.
Sharon Lee
You said that you met women and you met people from Microsoft. Wait, how is that? Where is that in your process?
Tiffany Foster
Like I said, through the scholarships that I received, I was able to join some different women’s organizations. They would bring in women from all over, but also I was able to join a board. One of the ladies, the lady at Microsoft in particular, she was so cool. She took me out to coffee so we could talk about the board commitments and everything. It was actually focused on technology, which was really great up my alley as I was in school for that.
Sharon Lee
You went from being so stressed and nervous about technology to being on a technology board and saying that this is in your Yeah, it’s amazing when you put yourself out there what you really can do and realizing that even if you never saw yourself doing this stuff, you can pick it up.
Tiffany Foster
Honestly, every time I got to sit down with one of these ladies, I gleaned so much off of them. I drew a little bit more confidence. Every conversation, every sit down, every time I got to see what they were achieving and doing, it’s something so inspiring, and it really did give me a confidence and also a pay it forward mentality where I wanted to be able to be a part of that one day. I wanted to be able to create that for someone else.
Sharon Lee
I love all of the different conversations that I’ve had, whether it’s on the podcast or in other aspects of my life, but it is always amazing how women meet women. They are lifting each other, and these types of connections just organically happen. It’s fascinating, truly. You’ve got What’s that in your story. It’s really amazing.
Tiffany Foster
They really do. Someone else that I can think of is Pamela Silvers. She was an instructor at AB Tech. Honestly, she had a grant and a program that she had put together, which was exactly for this. It was WIT, Women in Technology. She brought women in from all over the place to come and speak with us and talk with us. One of the things I learned so much about that was just being able to picture yourself in a field. I learned so much from that, and I think it also gave me that to keep wanting to just learn from other women, too. She inspired me so much. Honestly, I would recommend to anybody listening to go find her on LinkedIn. She’s not an instructor at AB Tech anymore, but she’s an incredible lady and a great resource and one of the best people out there.
Sharon Lee
After you graduated, you’ve got all these aspirations for what is to come. What did you do? Were you able to find a job immediately? Were you able to start diving into your field?
Tiffany Foster
Oh, boy. When I graduated, I, unfortunately, was the lucky ones who graduated in the very middle of the pandemic. That was a little brutal. It was challenging. I had been working part-time, but I had been working for the city of bill, and unfortunately, the funding got cut, and so that meant my little position got cut. It was unfortunate. But as time went on, and I just kept plugging away, looking for a position. That same girlfriend that I mentioned, and this is why I’m so big in networking and just getting out and talking to people. She happened to have a position at a local company. It was a technology-based vacation rental website company. She had told me that they were hiring. I ended up applying there. I had her referral, and that helped. I was able to find a position in a local Ashtal company, which was a great start, a great first start into this new world in utilizing my degree in digital media.
Sharon Lee
Nice. Did you stay there very I was there for a couple of years, and then I ended up meeting someone else who was a headhunter, and they had a position at another company, which was just the next step up because I had reached the end of the line at the other one of of growth where I could go.
Tiffany Foster
I did move on to another agency, which was a great learning experience. It actually brought me, ironically, to a networking convention where I did meet Jeff. The sponsor, right? The program, which was so cool, and that’s how I got connected with you. It’s just so funny how sometimes the world seems so big. It gets smaller and smaller. I know.
Sharon Lee
It was so funny because Jeff texted me and told me that there was somebody that he felt like I should know. He’s just fantastic. I’m like, Sure. It was a fairly blind conversation. I mean, obviously, he knew I had the podcast, thought that might be a fit. He was so right about connecting us because we got on the phone and it’s just like, Have I known her forever? I’ve talked to her this one time. He did well.
Tiffany Foster
He really did. It’s funny because it was, like I said, it was just this brief interaction. He’s like, Hey, you should meet Sharon. You need to talk. Just email me. I’ll send you her information. It’s incredible because even that connection with you, it’s just another part of this whole journey in a woman encouraging another woman to chase something and to go after something and saying, Yeah, I think that’s a great idea. You should do it. When we talked that day, I was telling you about trying to get women together so that they can build each other up and creating this group, I wasn’t even intending to talk to you at all about this concept I had, this pay it forward concept I had from back in school, this nonprofit, and I just started blabbing it out. It’s just concepts and ideas. You got so excited, and then I got excited.
Sharon Lee
I know. I remember thinking that this was farther along than it was. I remember inviting you to my InPowered Women networking group in Atlanta. There’s other women that I’m sure would love to hear about this and all this stuff, and you’re going, Well, hold on. It’s not exactly a thing yet.
Tiffany Foster
It’s just a concept on a piece of paper. It was so cool because honestly, and it’s the spark I needed because as I was talking to you and you got excited, and this is a great idea, you should really do this. I’d love to be a part of this. I was like, Oh, my gosh, you’re right. I should. I don’t know how long it was after that conversation because we were on for a while. I think it was a couple hours, I don’t know, in Gab and has. It wasn’t too long after that. I contacted an attorney Let’s get this registered. Let’s go.
Sharon Lee
Here you were, hadn’t incorporated, hadn’t really made that first step. It was still totally conceptual. Then the very next time we talked, and Again, I don’t remember how long that was, but I was like, How is it going? You had already, you had just gotten incorporated, and you really… It was happening. We’re talking about the concept of it, but let’s slow down just a second. Tell us the name of it and really big picture, 30,000 Foot, what is it all about?
Tiffany Foster
Women 4 Mentors is, like I said, it came from that child, that concept from school of wanting to pay it forward. The things that I experienced, and I feel so grateful for, because even in so much adversity, I was able to just glean so much from all these wonderful, incredible women that were in these roles of networking, advising, mentorship in my life. On top of it, like I said, the scholarships that I received, the burden that that reduces on the everyday stress. Because honestly, I get a little distracted, and I had a very hard time doing homework when I was sitting at home in the quiet, I would have to go to Starbucks. Even those scholarships also helped so I could get a little cup of coffee and go sit in a Starbucks because being around the chaos, it made my brain able to focus so I could get those ease and get those good grades, get those projects done. The concept of Women 4 Mentors is to create an environment, to create an organization that organically makes that for other women. We’re still new, we’re still a little baby, but we have all these plans to grow beyond in the future. We’re starting off, though, with scholarships, and so we’re planning on awarding our first scholarship in the fall of 2025. But really, the goal is to, hopefully, if we can create that same encouragement and that same type of environment to encourage even just one other woman, that would be unbelievably amazing. We hope to keep going forward and reaching as many people as we can.
Sharon Lee
That’s a really good question right there. Let’s talk about the geographic area that you envision right now.
Tiffany Foster
Right now, we’re really focused in Western North Carolina and in Georgia. We’re trying to keep it to the regional schools in that area. We’re really starting with the local community colleges as well. Like I said, because a lot of this came from my journey of returning back to community college and recognizing the hardships that people go when doing that and all the obstacles that can happen. It’s really to just recreate some of the things I feel so fortunate that I was able to encounter.
Sharon Lee
Does your current jewelry business play into this at all?
Tiffany Foster
That is one of the future goals of Aurelia Lux is to have it be able to help support and have profits going towards women from mentors. I really would love to grow, too, and just have other local businesses a part of this and really build this into a community interaction because it’s not one person that really makes the impact. It’s really when we all come together, when we all support each other. Many hands make light work.
Sharon Lee
You got a number of different audiences, maybe. You have your women that might be looking to make a pivot in their life like you did, go back to school, and maybe they’re nontraditional. That’s one audience. Then I guess you might have the educational community, so you’re coordinating scholarships. Then you’ve got business community where you can create that marketplace, find ways for donations or fundraising. I always have to touch on mentorship. That’s a real important thing in my world. You also might have, and maybe I’m just guessing here, but a group of women that might serve to mentor some of the women coming through the program. Is that right?
Tiffany Foster
Yeah, that is our Like I said, we’re starting off slow because it’s a passion project. This is a thing that none of us on the board are doing full-time. We’re trying to build the community of it, but we love to create this atmosphere where women are able to connect with other women that are acting as mentors. What’s interesting is we’re never too old to learn from each other. I look at this as a core concept. I think about growing up, I was very fortunate. I had grandma others who I was so close with, and I would turn to all the time for advice. I would listen to their stories, and I feel like that helped me so much in who I became as an adult. A similar thing is as I went back to school and I kept meeting, and it was women from all different walks of life, all different ages. It didn’t matter. There’s something that everybody has to offer each other and that you can learn from. My hope is that we can create a similar situation where women can get advice, where they can have that mentorship type of experience, where they can learn, where they can grow, where they cannot be judged, and can have somebody help them figure it out, bounce ideas off of, right? We all need a sounding board.
Sharon Lee
Well, you really do. In one of our conversations, you were talking about being introverted, and I’m going, What? You? What are you talking about? I mean, the obstacles along your that you have overcome is really astounding. At this point, you do have to reach out to people. You do have to connect with those people. You’re really coming out of your shell in a lot of ways. How do you do that?
Tiffany Foster
I like to joke that I’m an introvert trapped in an extrovert’s body. Nobody ever believes it. I would be possible to take it until you make it, right?
Sharon Lee
Yes.
Tiffany Foster
It’s one of those things I look at it more like we all have our experiences and things that thrust us into who we become. Mine just happened to put me in that situation where I just realized that in order to get by in this world, I have to learn how to put myself in situations that I maybe don’t want to necessarily naturally go into, but I’ve always taken all the opportunities, networking, going to events. I recognize because I do have these introverted tendencies that are not always easy for everybody. I definitely, even if I go to a store that’s really busy, I have those moments where I just hit the wall and it’s time to go.
Sharon Lee
Bye, Felicia. Peace out. Yes. On the opposite end of that spectrum that it’s like, People? Oh, wait. Can talk to someone? Are you kidding me? It’s like, You and I need to hang more.
Tiffany Foster
I know. Oh, my gosh. I love it.
Sharon Lee
Where do things actually stand right now as far as if people were looking to get involved? Because I do feel like this is going to organically grow just because it is a good idea. It just is. Where does it truly stand now if somebody was your website up and going, or can you find out more information?
Tiffany Foster
We are live any day now, taking donations. We are also on LinkedIn, trying to grow. Really an important aspect of this is growing that community as well, because it’s obviously starting on a small scale, but to really grow that online community where women, women that are interested in being mentors and so on, are coming together. Because beyond just connecting people with people in their own realm and industry, I think one of the most amazing things, too, is when you can meet somebody that’s in a completely different feel than you, and you can learn how they got there and be able to find how they’re making it through life, too. It’s such an equalizer. Then we all realize we’re all just faking it till we make it. We’re all doing our best one for the other.
Sharon Lee
But also, success begets success. When you get the taste of it and you see how to make those things work, and you see if you put yourself out there and you go that extra mile that this pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t, but you still have to keep on going, and you just have to live that in order to really see it through.
Tiffany Foster
100%. When we can come together and when we can encourage each other, we really can rise together. I say this all the time. I think there’s something special that women can offer each other. My partner is amazing, and he encourages me and does all this wonderful stuff, but it’s different than having you tell me, I can see you do that, because it triggers something in my brain to think, Oh, my gosh, you can envision me doing this. That means you understand the challenges that I’m going to face to get there. It brings it into reality and gives a confidence that I feel like you can’t just manufacture anywhere. It’s something that community, that tribe, those women around you really bring. I think it’s special, and I’m very excited about being able to create this space for other women.
Sharon Lee
I can’t wait to hear about the first scholarship recipient that really brings all of this full circle that says, Okay, wait a second. We have actually served that woman. She is seeing her future. That’s going to be so exciting.
Tiffany Foster
It’s so exciting. I can’t wait either. Maybe they’re listening right now and we’re excited to meet you.
Sharon Lee
Exactly. Sign up. Go ahead and get that application in. You’ve got a lot of balls in the air right now with trying to get all of those eyes dotted, teeth crossed, and all stuff. How do you unplug? How do you take a break and just have your free time and do something for fun? What do you do?
Tiffany Foster
I used to be a lot of fun. I used to do all sorts of cool things. I like hiking and whatnot, but I really enjoy. I have a garden that I love to grow things in. Still, I really do try to prioritize time with other women, just to connect to gab, to talk, get all the things out that I feel makes us all very healthy people. I do the normal Netflix, binge watching latest episode and so on, and art. I’m always doing something. I bounce around from hobbies a lot. So art.
Sharon Lee
What kinds of art? Do you enjoy art or do you actually create art?
Tiffany Foster
I create it. I absolutely love it. It is something that since I was always young, I connected with. I think that’s maybe a little bit that introvert part, too. That’s why I liked writing as well, because it’s like you can find your way to express yourself, your inner voice. I bounce around from the mediums. Sometimes I paint, watercolors, I did resin for a little while. It’s whatever pops up on my TikTok feed. I’m like, That looks like fun. I should learn it. I’ve been trying to do some carpentry around the house lately, and I’ve realized that cutting wood is not necessarily my jam.
Sharon Lee
Good for you for trying.
Tiffany Foster
Tiktok makes it sound good, so you got to at least try. Yeah, I see all these amazing women creating things. I can cut wood. I can do that. Then I got it set with the handsaw, so I’m not making it.
Sharon Lee
Okay. On that note, so if anybody wanted to try to reach out to you and ask questions about all of your many facets, how would they find you?
Tiffany Foster
LinkedIn is a great way to connect, which we can leave the link for that. And then also, women4mentors.com. Also, we’ll take a link over to how to get in touch and everything. Who typically is LinkedIn. Okay. Yeah.
Sharon Lee
Well, Tiffany, I cannot tell you how much I have loved this conversation. Again, we have talked about this as something way off in the future, that while at some point when you start getting this off the ground, that we could actually publicly talk about it. The fact that we only started those conversations in the spring, and all of these things have come so far, it just blows my mind. So kudos to you for all of what you’re doing.
Tiffany Foster
Thank you. You know what, Sharon, just thanks for being such a support and catalyst to get us here. This is so exciting, and I love doing this with you, and I just am thankful that we got to share this with your audience, so I appreciate it.
Sharon Lee
Anytime. Like you said before, we will have all the links down below. So you guys reach out to her, take a look at the website, and let’s look those women up out there. So thanks for today.
Tiffany Foster
Thank you.
Sharon Lee
Thank you for listening to InPowered Women. If you like what you heard, please give us a five-star review and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast, and share with those you think can benefit from this information. Please email all questions, suggestions, and compliments to sharon@pinnaclestrategicadvisors.net. The InPowered Women podcast is produced by the podcast laundry production company and executive produced by Sharon Lee.
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