Badass Women in Business

Welcome to The Badass Women in Business Podcast, the definitive space for unfiltered, tactical insights into female entrepreneurship, enterprise scaling, and business monetization.

Hosted by seasoned business owners, growth partners, and exit strategists Cristy O’Connor and Aggie Chydzinski, this podcast moves past passive advisory to bring you directly inside the high-stakes execution of building and successfully exiting companies on your own terms.

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Badass Women in Business

Building a Brand While Balancing It All: Allison Herman’s Journey from Full-Time VP to Entrepreneur

February 04, 2025 • Aggie & Cristy • Season 4 • Episode 10

0:00 | 42:35

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Starting a business doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing leap—it can be a strategic and intentional process. In this episode, we sit down with Allison Herman, the powerhouse behind Dragonwing, an activewear brand dedicated to empowering young girls through sport and style.

Allison shares her journey of acquiring and scaling a brand while continuing to work full-time as a VP in the children’s apparel industry. She gives us an inside look at the due diligence process of acquiring a business, the challenges of rebranding and repositioning a product line, and how she manages her time, team, and resources to balance it all.

We also dive into the importance of clear leadership, managing a remote team of contractors, and setting expectations—whether in a corporate setting or as an entrepreneur. Plus, Allison gets real about navigating criticism, handling the competitive dancewear market, and leveraging partnerships and marketing strategies to grow her brand.

If you’ve ever wondered how to successfully juggle a business and a full-time career—or if acquiring an existing business might be the right move for you—this episode is packed with insights, hard-earned lessons, and practical strategies.

Show Notes:

Topics Covered in This Episode:

Acquiring a Business vs. Starting from Scratch – Why Allison chose to buy an existing brand instead of launching her own.
Rebranding & Scaling – How she overhauled Dragonwing’s product line, branding, and marketing strategy.
Balancing Full-Time Work & Entrepreneurship – The systems and mindset shifts that make it possible.
Managing a Remote Team & Contractors – How she ensures alignment, accountability, and productivity.
Handling Criticism & Competition – Lessons learned from the highly competitive dancewear and girls’ activewear space.
Financial Strategies – How she and her husband self-funded the business while reinvesting every dollar into growth.
Marketing & Lead Generation – The step-by-step approach she took to gradually scale marketing investments and avoid costly mistakes.
The Role of Women in Business – Why female leadership matters and how Allison is empowering the next generation of girls.

Connect with Allison Herman & Dragonwing:

Website: Dragonwing
Instagram: @dragonwing
TikTok: @shopdragonwing
Facebook: Dragonwing Activewear
Pinterest: Dragonwing

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