I DARE YOU!

Words: Lisa Clark

Ever want to do something, but didn’t quite feel brave enough? Whether it’s going for a new job or planning to take on the Prime Minister about climate change, whatever your dare, Natasha Logan, creator of website www.daringfemale.com , has the butt-kickin’ motivation you’ll need…

Describe yourself in 5 words...

"Strong, funny, impatient, creative, gutsy"

Tell us about Natasha, what do you do and how did you start?

"I do too many things! Most importantly, I am a mum to an almost two year old daughter, Mia (but couldn't do it without my husband!) By day, I have a too-serious job at a venture capital firm - I invest in small companies. It's not my life passion, but it pays the bills - and those keep coming when you live in New York City!. By night and every other free moment I get, I am a writer and founder of what I hope one day will become a kick-ass Daring Female brand. It started with a book and a website, where I encourage women to dare themselves to get more out of their life, to be gutsy, brave, honest, passionate, and creative!"

Daring Female - what's all that about then?

"All of us have a Daring Female brewing inside of us - and what I'm trying to do is to help women get her out and front and centre! To be a Daring Female is to live your life to the fullest extent possible, to not just follow routines and life flows, but to take life by the horns and make it what you want it to be. To have the guts and patience and creativity and passion to do it."

Where did the idea come from and why did you set up the website?

"The idea came from my own life - as I think these things usually do. I've taken on a lot of dares - some succeeded, some failed - but I live every moment of my life as if it's the last. I immigrated from Russia to the US when I was 14, learned to speak English from scratch, lost my accent, got jobs I should not have gotten, quit jobs everyone thought I'd be nuts to give up, started a company, and so on. It's not easy being a Daring Female - when you reach for the stars, you're bound to encounter failure and disappointment - but it's exciting, thrilling, fulfilling and I wouldn't have it any other way."

What jobs did you have before you went out on your own?

All in business. Out of college I went to work for a big consulting firm. When that got tedious - and after working 20 hours a day - I left to work with small companies. Now I work at a venture firm where we invest in small companies. I love entrepreneurs and their passion, and I love to help them grow their businesses. I hope to soon be running Daring Female Media - magazine, books, TV, who knows! - and not have a day job."

What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

I think I'd have to say that it was to keep working on the Daring Female book and website after I gave birth to my daughter, while keeping my day job as well. Having my daughter has been the most incredible and the most difficult thing I've ever done - I was close to giving up on my Daring Female dream because I didn't have any more energy. But I am so passionate about it, I dared to keep it going!"

You've started your own business, that's crazy-brave - What steps did you take to make it happen? What are your ingredients for success?

A few years ago my husband and I started a publishing company (StudentsHelpingStudents.com) We were passionate about it, but had no clue about what publishing companies are all about. But we did our research, worked our butts off, and in an a year, published 11 books, found a national distributor, and then started doing our own marketing. Wedid this for 3 years, while still working at our regular jobs. It was tough but exciting. When our daughter was born, we sold our book series to Penguin, they now publish them and it's very cool to see the books in the bookstore! We made tons of mistakes, but we learned from them quickly - this I think it the key to building any business!"

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?

Of course! Right now, my biggest fear is that women won't love what they read in the Daring Female book, that they won't get as much out of it as I hope they would. I think every writer has a fear like this, but it's tough. What helps me deal with it the most are emails from women who have read the book, telling me how it has affected them. It's amazing to get those!"

There's a book, tell us about the book! What prompted you to write your new book, THE DARING FEMALE’S GUIDE TO ECSTATIC LIVING: 30 Dares to a More Gutsy and Fulfilling Life?

The book came out of the whole idea to create a way for women to find their inner Daring Female and to live in a more gutsy, passionate, and DARING way! I love to read and I think it's great to have a website, but we all need something to keep on our nightstand to remind us to live fully - I hope this book can do that!

THE DARING FEMALE’S GUIDE TO ECSTATIC LIVING offers some small dares, challenges that take only minutes a day.  Can you describe some of these?

Dare to learn something new every day. Dare to improve one thing in your life that's been bugging you for a long time. Dare to do something that scares the heck out of you. These dares can take minutes, but their affect can be so powerful - you feel like you are taking control of your life instead of it just washing over you. You feel gutsy and brave, and this translates into being gutsy and brave when you have to take on bigger challenges in your life.

What's your advice for becoming a kick-ass, take charge chick?

Imagine yourself 20 years from now, looking back on your life. What are you thinking? Are you in a state of "woulda/coulda/shoulda"? Are you thinking that you should have tried more things, experienced more things, were gutsier about your choices, asked yourself the BIG questions about what you want and went for it? Use this as your motivation to find your inner Daring Female and never ever get to the "woulda/coulda/shoulda" state!