Join Julie Riga for Part 3 of her Founder's Story. After conquering college against all odds, Julie steps into the real world and lands two jobs that would shape her leadership identity forever. From coordinating training video productions to sitting at the kitchen table of hip hop legend KRS-One and being told to figure it out, Julie shares the early career moments that built her resourcefulness, her resilience, and her entrepreneurial instincts. And then she goes even deeper, pulling back the curtain on a family legacy rooted in war, survival, and the kind of strength that gets carried through generations.

In This Episode:

✨ How her first job as a production coordinator taught her to negotiate, schedule, and lead
✨ The story of working as a personal assistant to legendary rap artist KRS-One from 1997 to 1998
✨ The broken fax machine moment and the four words that defined her early career: "Figure it out, Julie"
✨ How resourcefulness and showing up became her most powerful professional tools
✨ Why this role was her first real introduction to entrepreneurship and small business
✨ The immigrant family legacy behind the leader: a father from Italy and a mother born in Siberia
✨ How Julie's mother was carried through a forest as a baby while her family fled Nazi Germany
✨ What generational resilience teaches us about perspective, purpose, and staying on course

Key Takeaways:

📌 Resourcefulness is one of the most powerful skills any leader can develop
📌 Early career jobs teach you more than any classroom ever could
📌 Being told to figure it out is not a burden. It is an invitation to grow
📌 Your family story is part of your leadership story whether you realize it or not
📌 Perspective is everything. Put your hard seasons next to someone else's and recalibrate
📌 Trauma and learning are not opposites. They are often the same journey
📌 No matter what life brings, the mission is always the same: stay on course

Memorable Quotes:

"Figure it out, Julie. You are gonna figure it out." - Julie Riga

"There is so much to be said about that job." - Julie Riga

"The fabric that made who I am today was one that was deep trenched in learning, in trauma, and learning and trauma." - Julie Riga

"My mother and father's life was harder. They went through war. I just went through people yelling at me and talking bad about me. You put it in perspective." - Julie Riga

"Somehow we get back up again and we stay on course." - Julie Riga

"Life is not a straightforward thing. It never will be and it never has been." - Julie Riga

Perfect for entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone who has ever been thrown into the deep end and told to figure it out. This episode is a reminder that resilience is not born. It is built, one hard lesson at a time.

Connect with Julie:

🌐 julieriga.com/lead
🎧 Stay On Course Podcast
📱 LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
🔗 https://stacklist.app/julieriga

Services:
💼 One on One Coaching: Purpose discovery and leadership development
🎨 Brand Building: Design support to build your authentic brand
👥 Leadership Programs: Team development and organizational growth
📚 Training Programs: Skill development for your next level

🎧 Subscribe for more raw, real conversations about leadership, purpose, and transformation!
💡 Share this episode with someone who needs to be reminded that every hard season has a purpose.

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