Ari & Tash Ritz - Making Bold Moves
Ari & Tash Ritz
“I’m a great leader because I listen, I inspire action and I’m not afraid to talk about my failures.”
Arianne and Natasha Ritz are the Co-Founder ARNA Online - an online retail business selling women’s work and laptop bags, with a purpose-driven mission to help women make bold decisions; and a business successfully launched from their living room while working full time in.
Ari is working full-time in the marketing solutions team at Linked In helping Universities and Education providers drive enrolments; and co-leading the Women@Linked In - a committee creating opportunities for women to own their career being their authentic selves.
Tash, now travelling the world full-time in her role with ARNA, has worked in marketing and communications for the past decade. From launching a cosmetics business with her dad to an in-house brand and marketing role at LUSH Cosmetics, to working for a tech startup called Parcelpoint and now pursuing her passion with ARNA to realise her vision ‘to change the stories see and tell about themselves”.
What does being a leader mean to you and what makes you a great leader?
Ari: A great leader is someone who brings people together. They are authentic and approachable and they create an environment where people can be themselves and therefore will thrive. A great leader is kind but will help point out where you can grow.
Tash: A great leader is a great listener, a person who creates a place where there is psychological safety, an open and approachable person and someone who understands that hierarchy is a human creation and that all people are truly equal.
What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learnt on your journey?
Ari: There are many lessons I’ve learnt over the past couple of years as I’ve challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone and be a leader without having to get the official badge or title:
Always be authentically you, people will trust you and want to work with you
Find your strengths and lean into them
The way to push through fear and self-doubt is action
You have to self-promote to get noticed in a large organisation, there are so many ways to do this, like getting others to advocate for you, writing an Exec summary on the work you have been doing or writing weekly or monthly recaps to your manager.
Tash: My biggest lesson has been the discovery that our own self-worth is not connected to the role we have, the size of the team we manage, the title or what we're paid. Our self-worth is based purely on our own thoughts and self-talk, so working on that and interrupting or changing our internal monologue is the best starting point for finding real power.
I’ve also learned that when I get in an anxious loop, the best way to break free of those circular thoughts is to interrupt them with a physical change… either get up and go for a walk, grab a coffee, talk to a friend, read something for leisure AND then come back to what you need to with a fresh start and a clear head.
We can ONLY control ourselves and literally nothing else. This is a big one, it’s been a challenging lesson but I’ve come to realise that real freedom comes from our ability to release the thoughts or desires to control a situation and outcome or someone else's response. I can only control my own responses, my own thoughts and feelings and reactions to any situation. This is very empowering.
My purpose is to appreciate and acknowledge people. I deeply care about helping women and closing the gender gap. My vision is to re-shape the stories women see and tell about themselves. - Arianne
The most fulfilling piece of work I have ever done was a workshop called “Rise Up”. Our aim was to provide tangible tactics women could take into the workforce to help them advance in their career. The program was a huge success going global with over 300 participants and NPS scores of 85-100 which are considered world-class. My proudest moments were seeing it come alive across the globe and seeing all the positive feedback and lessons people learnt. Later that year, I was nominated for MVP of APAC in 2019 which was a huge honour to be recognised on the LinkedIn global stage.
My purpose is to create a sense of belonging, a place where people feel heard. - Tash
Working at LUSH alongside our Creative Director Brooke Austin, we created a campaign called ‘GO Naked.’ The concept was about questioning the status quo of beauty as well as the idea of overpackaging in cosmetics. We set out on a mission to tell a powerful story and what happened was far beyond what we ever imagined. We shot the campaign with 4 staff from - our own stories, raw, real and authentic, unphotoshopped and unedited.
The campaign went viral reaching over 10 million people, featured across major global publications like Buzzfeed, we had an uptick in sales for the month of 45% growth AND most importantly we sparked a much needed conversation about women, women’s bodies, photoshopping unrealistic images we see in the media or in the beauty industry. It was a powerful campaign that I’ll never forget!
Who do you turn to for guidance, advice or support ?
Tash: I turn to Arianne for guidance, advice and support and also to be a mirror for me, to call me out on my shit. It’s so amazing working with my sister, we’re so lucky to also be best friends and have the ability to be so upfront with each other but also know we both have our best interests at heart.
Ari: My sister, my partner, parents, manager and coach. This year I have tried to listen more to myself as well. Getting advice from too many sources is counterproductive. In the past I used to source way too many opinions, now that I am more secure in who I am I tend to speak to no more than 3 people about the same challenge.
Ari: This year working with a Coach I learnt to push through my own fears and thoughts by simply taking action. Launching a business has always been something I wanted to try and now Tash and I are doing this together!
How can people support the work you’re now doing to inspire women in making bold moves?
Our Bold Moves campaign is all about stepping outside your comfort zone to be able to truly step into yourself. We believe that being accountable for yourself, your actions and your life is the only way we can truly achieve gender equality.
Catch Ari & Tash chatting with TEAM Women Australia Founder Kylee Stone on the podcast The Unchartered Leader here.
Join the movement and pledge your #boldmoves at ARNAonline and follow ARNA on Instagram and Facebook.