💌 April 17: CMO of Merit Beauty, job opportunities, Yosemite travel guide

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17

WHAT TO EXPECT

• stories: Google stock hits all time high, the longevity vacation, United
expects stronger earnings
• listen to this: Good Energy
• job seekers: senior social media manager, marketing manager, manager of photoshoot production
• extra stories
• quote on: success
• bon voyage: Yosemite
• get to know: Aila Morin

WEALTH: GOOGLE STOCK HITS ALL TIME HIGH
Google's parent company, Alphabet, recently hit a new all-time high share price as it benefits from the surge in AI tech. After a nearly 40% share price drop in 2022, Alphabet's business has rebounded strongly. While Google shares have provided impressive 19% annualized returns over the past decade, this lags the 20%+ returns of other big tech giants (Amazon & Apple). Alphabet's AI offerings have received a mixed market reaction.

TRAVEL: THE LONGEVITY VACATION — POOLSIDE LOUNGE + IV DRIP
A new trend in traveling is looking for specialized, high-end health treatments. People are partaking in activities which are aimed at optimizing personal wellness, such as $1200 ozone therapy and $1800 early cancer detection tests. Some of these vacays actually even focus on teaching lifestyle changes such as breaking down the secrets to “blue zone living” through a retreat, that people spend thousands on.

BUSINESS: UNITED EXPECTS STRONGER QUARTERLY EARNINGS
United Airlines has been impacted by Boeing's production issues, forcing it to scale back its fleet delivery estimates by 25% this year. This will result in United receiving an average of 100 narrow-body aircrafts a year from 2025-2027. Due to these changes, United is overstaffed and has reduced capacity, but their corporate travel alongside domestic flights has increased! With this, they expect an adjusted profit of $3.75-$4.25 per share for the current quarter, exceeding analyst estimates.

If fusion lyrics on dancing afro beats get you moving, this will be your jam. You have the contagious good energy vibes and the words almost work like manifestation!

Senior social media manager (PATRICK TA BEAUTY, West Hollywood): You will be responsible for the growth and health of all owned social media channels and the development of new emerging channels. You will also ensure brand social goals are executed in totality and lead strategy to ladder back.

Manager, photoshoot production (BANANA REPUBLIC, San Francisco): You will be creatively flexible and adaptable to the individual aesthetic and technically diverse needs of our brand, as you produce content in a high-touch creative production environment ensuring speed to market while bringing our products to life; while guiding others to do the same – aligning with our growth strategy.

Marketing manager (AQUENT, Boston): You will lead seasonal planning for marketing emails, SMS, acquisition campaigns, and retention programs across various platforms and marketing channels. Your responsibilities include planning, campaign development, execution, reporting, and ongoing optimization.

💅🏻 pearly chrome like nails sans damage, coming right up

👜 “text me when you land” isn’t just a message you send someone now

💍 Mothers day is creeping up and if you want to gift mom an investment jewelry piece, Mejuri has got you covered

ON SUCCESS: Success isn’t about the end result; it’s about what you learn on the way. -VERA WANG

The way each person perceives success varies heavily based on their experiences, but the truest success is comprised of the lessons you learn on your journey. Every experience you have will teach you something, some easy and others hard…but the knowledge you gain will measure your success.

YOSEMITE

EAT: For an upscale dining with panoramic views of Yosemite Valley, you’ve got to sit in the Ahwanhee dining hall. Warning: you may get Harry Potter grand dining hall vibes! For an interesting experience, try Ducey’s on the Lake. It offers food that pleases all appetites, including sophisticated palates and special events.

STAY: Wildhaven is a new glamping spot that offers cabins and tents. For the month of April, you can actually secure discounted pricing too! Although you may hear some construction due to renovations, the Ahwanhee hotel will make you feel like royalty. They’ve got stunning architecture, interior, and a grand dining room.

DO: You can’t go to Yosemite National Park and not consider rock climbing. This is one of the activities it’s most known for and they’ve got many options for you to choose from! For a couple hours in nature, surrounded by sequoias, you can hike the Mariposa Grove. Those who’ve done this say that it feels surreal and is a must-do activity when visiting.

Aila Morin is the CMO of MERIT Beauty — a wildly successful, clean beauty brand that has surpassed $100 million in net sales! Prior to MERIT, Aila was the Director of Brand Marketing at Mejuri. We had the opportunity to sit down with Aila and get to know her a little better.

What does an average workday look like in the life of Aila Morin? Do you believe in a work-life balance?
No such thing. I try and structure my day, but usually it’s very unstructured. I start working around 6 am PST, and I try to get about 3 hours of work done before im officially online for the work day. In those 3 hours, I’ll do long term planning, budget work, and anything that takes more focus (so it can be uninterrupted). By 9 am, I’m in back to back meetings until about 4 pm. I try to end around 4 or 5 and then I sign off and make time for exercise.

You’ve mentioned before that you believe in being really passionate about your career but also being present in your personal life. When did you come to realize that — in your early 20’s?
I became a director when I was 23 years old and I learned a lot about being able to sustain working. I’m the type of person that loves to work and what that can mean is that there is a bleed into your personal time. What I’ve learned over the years, after having many roles in startups, is that you can’t sustain it. As I structure my day, I think about how it affects everybody else. If I’m slacking, then I’m setting the example that that’s the expectation. You also learn that if you’re going to do a business for 4-6 years, you have to learn the working balance. Scheduling my time is important which means my exercise classes are scheduled like meetings. I manage my screen time which is hard if you’re in marketing but I only allow 30 minutes per day on social media. I always tell the team that you should be working super hard in the hours that you’re working and then be able to turn your brain off after.

You’ve worked for failed startups prior to Merit. Were there any takeaways from those past failures?
My biggest takeaway from working for failed startups was to pay closest attention to product market fit. I worked for brands that had a great product but the market didn’t sustain it. I also worked for brands that had great market but terrible product. I think the expectation for what the business can be vs the market itself is really important.

How did you get in touch with Katherine for the Merit opportunity?
When I originally spoke to her via phone, I couldn’t leave Canada because it was peak covid time. The entire Merit plan was come up with in my parents kitchen. I had packed up my place because I was planning a move prior to the lockdown so they were kind enough to lend me some space while I conceptualized some work things. With Merit, everything from the marketing to the entire storytelling aspect was different than the average, even product testing was done via DHL across the border. Katherine would send me samples and i'd get them a week later, across a country border.

Ways to connect with Aila and MERIT:

Aila’s Linkedin 
MERIT Instagram
MERIT website