34: Andie Cohen-Healy: A Fine Feathered Business

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In this episode of The Manage Your Message Podcast, host Jim Karrh speaks with a longtime friend who made a radical career change to start a very interesting business. Her entrepreneurial story carries tips and inspiration, especially for anyone making a big change that necessitates a new message.

Andie Cohen-Healy spent many years in Chicago and New York City. She then moved to California in order to be with her soon-to-be husband Hugh. When the two of them were moving into their new house, they were surprised to find the previous owners left a gift: two chicks. Andie grew up in New Jersey—not exactly chicken country—but by the fourth day Andie “had fallen in chicken love.”

At the same time, Andie was in a job she didn’t love at all. She wasn’t using the creative talents she had developed earlier with the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago and managing satellite operations for MTV in New York. Then along came serendipity.

As a later-in-life bride, Andie did not want the typical items for her wedding day (she considered those “bridal blah”). By that time Andie and her groom had five spoiled pet chickens; she first thought about carrying a bouquet of their feathers down the aisle. But she decided to create a bridal headpiece using those colorful plumes. Her creation gained so many compliments Andie became convinced there was a market for one-of-a-kind hair ornaments for brides and party-goers. She launched a business called The Feathered Head.

The Feathered Head has been named a “Top 10 Favorite” by the LA Fashion District and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times Style section; one of Andie’s hats even made The Today Show during a Royal Wedding.

Among the topics Jim discusses with Andie:

What Andie learned in the advertising and MTV worlds that she could apply to a completely new venture
How different social-media platforms fit (or don’t) a business like The Feathered Head
Andie’s successful formula for securing testimonials and stories from customers

Links
Learn more about The Feathered Head: https://www.thefeatheredhead.com/

Connect with Andie Cohen-Healy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andie-cohen-healy-3647192/

Learn more about Jim Karrh: https://jimkarrh.com/

Follow Jim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimkarrh?lang=en

Connect with Jim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimkarrh