You know Erin and Sara Foster as the sister-act behind the VH1 hit show “Barely Famous”, the co-founders of the fashion brand Favorite Daughter, and as the creative minds who’ve helped brands such as Bumble and the Mirror. After growing up in the entertainment world, the sisters not only decided to take on that industry, but also to take on fashion and investing. We spoke to the Fosters about the value of taking career risks – and why they’ve decided to redefine what success means to them.
In this episode, Erin and Sara share:
The unexpected famous person they are related to
What they think of the “nepo baby” label
Why accolades can actually be depressing
How their relationship has changed now that they’re in business together
On Redefining Success
Erin: I think it's dangerous to have your motivation be the end point. I really think that the motivation has to be part of the journey. What everybody says that they want in the world is not an Emmy or a billion dollars. Everybody wants to be happy. So what is the thing that makes you happy? Do you feel good about the productivity that you have in your life? Do you feel good about your work-personal life balance? Do you really wanna get married? Do you wanna say that you are a CEO of a company? Like what is the thing that would make you feel fulfilled?
Because we know that those accolades don't fulfill you. Those accolades actually depress you. You get to that point, and then there's this letdown of like, “Okay, I have the Emmy or I have the billion dollars. Like now what? Why aren't I more happy than I was 10 minutes ago?”
Sara: They go, well now I want two billion.
Erin: Yeah. So it's a moving goalpost. I don't wanna move the goalpost. I have to sit here today at 40 years old knowing if I never win an Emmy, I still have to think I had a successful life and I still have to be able to be happy.
On Taking on Too Much
Sara: I think that we're so conditioned now as a society, I don't know if it's as women, but the hustle is so intense. I think whether it's social media or whatever it is, we think, I don't wanna generalize, but I know that a lot of women I know, it's never enough. And it's like, when is it enough? You don't have to… monetize everything. So like a couple years ago I might have been like, “Oh, well, maybe a this or that,” but it's like, “No, it's, it's enough.” We've got the podcast, we've got the clothing brand, we've got the venture fund. Let's make those unbelievable.
Because what happens is you start over-saturating your plate. You feel like you gotta get into this lane and you gotta get into that lane…. You don't have to get into every lane. So I would say it's enough.
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