Jillian Climie & Sophie Warwick, Founders of The Thoughtful Co.
We love creating a platform to help showcase inspiring entrepreneurs. The ladies behind The Thoughtful Co definitely fit the mold. They both left secure, corporate jobs and branched out on their own with a desire to advise women in compensation and contract negotiations, from junior roles to senior executives. A much needed role as men are significantly more likely to engage in salary negotiations than women. A recent study by Harvard indicated that If men ask for and receive slightly higher starting salaries than women, and continue to negotiate for themselves over the course their careers, the gender gap can add up to millions of dollars over time.
Read on to find out why they started The Thoughtful Co, how they came up with the name, what they are most proud of in their careers and more.
Can you share with us how The Thoughtful Co came to be?
We actually started off as a blog. Both of us had always felt super passionate about gender equity in the workplace, each coming from slightly different angles based on our respective work experience, and we really wanted to hold each other accountable to writing about it. Once we started that, we realized we could have a much greater impact by using our skill-sets to directly support individuals and employers. So it was very informal growth (not entirely structured or planned out), but we’re so glad we did it and that we’re here now!
We are now a consultancy that supports women in negotiating their compensation, and advises employers on policies to improve gender equity in the workplace. Our mission is to enable recognition, opportunity and influence for women in the workplace through individual and employer coaching.
How did the name The Thoughtful Co come to be?
The Thoughtful Co name stemmed from us feeling that there was a need to do work thoughtfully and thoroughly, from the outset. In the corporate world especially, there are often so many competing priorities, and major decisions impacting millions of dollars and hundreds of people can be made very quickly.
We wanted to ensure thought was always put in up front into anything we create, so things could be done well the first time - saving time and energy, and making sure decisions are fully informed.
That informs how we want to work with our clients - from those we support in compensation negotiation, to those we support in consulting mandates, we ensure any recommendation we give is thorough and thoughtful. Especially for gender equity work, it’s crucial to think things through before implementing.
Being an entrepreneur can be so rewarding but also challenging. What is the biggest challenge since launching The Thoughtful Co? On the flip side, it can also be so rewarding. What has been the best outcome?
Entrepreneurship can be so unpredictable, and tends to have high highs and low lows. Moving from a steady job can be a big shift - especially learning to adapt to a less secure and known schedule can be difficult for us risk averse folks.
However, going through this experience together has been so critical to our success. We work very well together on seeking the alternative opportunity and have become really adaptive.
Now, when faced with a setback, we’re quick to say “we’re adapting” and look for opportunities to pivot or modify our strategy.
We truly enjoy every day and are ready to take on the ups and downs. Our best outcome is the impact we've had on the lives of women we've helped. We've supported women who have never stood up for themselves before negotiating for hundreds of thousands more in compensation, and we genuinely feel their success as our own.
I love seeing all the positive reviews on your website and how many women you have helped. Does any specific company or person you have helped, stand out to you?
The first individual women client we helped definitely stands out for us. She was someone in a male-dominated industry, being the only woman at her level within her firm. She felt nervous about asking for more money, but knew she had to do it. Working with her to 1) give her the rationale that her asking for more money was 100% appropriate, 2) helping determine the number she wanted to go in with, and 3) prepping and preparing her to feel fully confident and empowered to go forward with the ask was so, so rewarding. And to see her genuine excitement and joy when the response to her ask was “yes” is a moment we won’t forget.
She helped us realize the impact we can have in doing this work. Since then, we see clients every day experience those same moments of nervousness and joy - and it makes every day great!
What are you most proud of in your careers?
Jill: I’m a naturally risk-averse person, but for some reason, I’ve continued to take risks throughout my career and I’m really proud of that. I’ve left steady corporate jobs, with solid compensation and a path to promotion, to take risks when I knew I needed something different.
These risks have been scary, and there were ups and downs in each, but they have always led me to bigger and better things.
The scariest was leaving my job at Lululemon and Co-Founding The Thoughtful Co, but it was the best career decision I’ve made. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I now know that I was built for this and this is what all my other roles have prepared me for. I’ve realized that taking those risks and following where your passion and interest leads you is what makes you happy - and usually the success follows after that!
Sophie: Not accepting less than I deserve and looking for new opportunities when I have an exciting lead or idea I want to explore. I initially feared I was suffering from the “grass is greener” philosophy but have soon learned I was chasing a career idea that didn’t exist yet - something I needed to build. Starting out in engineering I loved the technical challenge and fast-paced environment, but I often found myself searching for something that gave back to my community in a more direct way. Co-Founding the non-profit Women in Consulting Engineering, WCE Vancouver, in 2018 gave me a chance to support women in the engineering community and foster retention in the industry. When I passed on the torch to the next Co-Chair, I knew I wanted to center my career around work improving gender equity - I just needed to find, or create, that opportunity.
How important is social media to the success of your business?
First, social media allows us to build direct connections with the women we’re trying to serve. We’re able to share articles and research directly with our clients to support them regularly through posting thought-provoking content on topics to support improving gender equity in the workplace. It also allows us to learn more about what women are seeking from employers through engagement in our posts, stories, and surveys which allows us to more effectively advise employers as we’re directly connected to the individuals they’re trying to support.
Second, it’s allowed us to grow our business more quickly by growing a community that has turned into client connections, and connections between each other. This is a new and unique service offering, so for many women that we work with, they weren’t previously aware they were able to get coaching in negotiations and contract review.
Part of our work is wanting women to talk more about their compensation with each other, and social media has helped facilitate that too.
Do you have any advice for the next generation of business women?
It sounds really cheesy, but we would say to Dream Big. Keep seeking the environment that you thrive in, and don’t feel the pressure to settle for less than what you need or want. So often we hear women say they love their role, but the team is not supportive or welcoming. Or the learning opportunities and growth are amazing, but the pay is too low to meet their life demands. Sometimes we need to settle short term to meet life’s surprises and we don’t always have the privilege to take risks. But when we do have that opportunity, always take it and seek the opportunity that meets your full wish-list. If it’s not out there, there’s always the chance to build it yourself.
What do you think women can do more of to support each other in business?
Engaging with local women’s networks and communities is such a great way to share experiences and support other women in growing their businesses. It can be challenging - especially right now when burn out is so high - but it doesn’t need to mean attending networking events every week. It means making time to attend events when you can, but also participating virtually in online events or networking platforms.
It can also mean posting about a new women owned business you learned about and sharing with your network.
All of these are examples of engaging in community, but I think so often we put pressure on ourselves to be “perfect” which can become the unattainable “all or nothing.” Bandwidth will vary in our careers and our lives, but small participation in women’s communities can have a big impact.
Also, cheer on your friends’ wins. Sometimes we can feel jealousy or competitiveness slip in, but there is so much space to go around!
Learn more about The Thoughtful Co Here:
Website: www.thethoughtfulco.net
Instagram: @thethoughtful.co
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