In this episode of the Business Blast Podcast, host Tyler Wagner interviews Doris Gross, founder of FemPress Media, a publishing company that creates books and magazines for women. Doris shares her personal journey of moving from Germany to the United States without a concrete business plan, becoming a first‑time mother, and launching her media venture within nine months. She emphasizes the importance of taking action without over‑planning, asking for help, and embracing vulnerability. Her core business advice is to start imperfectly—any small step (an email, a call, a bit of research) is better than endless preparation. Doris also stresses listening to one’s gut, finding a “sweet spot” balance among health, family, and career for happiness, and the value of learning from biographies of successful women. She recommends the self‑help book Good in a Room by Stephanie Palmer for overcoming shyness and selling ideas, and cites a favorite quote, “What’s meant for you will not pass you,” as a motivational mantra. The episode ends with her social‑media handles (Instagram/Facebook @MrsGlobalicious).
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Alright everyone, welcome back to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner and today I have with us Doris Gross. She's the founder of Fempresse Media, a media publishing company focusing on books and magazines for women. So welcome Doris, I'm grateful to have you here.
Thanks for having me. Hi Tyler.
And to get it started, the first question I have for you is what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Um, so I think my best story of my life is actually, um, the, the part where I moved to the US, which is just like about 2 years ago. Um, I think the, the most valuable part of it is that I really had no actual plan. I just had a vision and I just did it, kind of. Um, it sounds easier than it obviously was because, uh, um, I came from a very, very difficult, um, kind of life before I had everything, but I had nothing to be said. I had like everything material-wise, but I didn't really have a social life. And I wasn't that really, yeah, I wasn't really in a good place. So I think that the value part of it is that, as I said, I didn't really have an actual plan. I just figured out how to do it while I was doing it. And which means that when I moved to the US 2 years ago, I built a business I, yeah, without having a business plan, I moved abroad from Germany to the US and I became a first-time mom and everything in 9 months, which is a ton of situations like gathering in one place. So I think the main message or the value of the most valuable part you can get out of this is just like, you know, just do it. Don't even think about the consequence of what could happen. And yeah, I think that's, that's maybe the most inspiring and most valuable part you could pick out of my life.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I think the most valuable piece is that what I learned in the last couple of years is that it's allowed to ask for help. I just know, like, in my beginnings when I started, I didn't, as I said before, I didn't really have an actual plan. And I thought like asking for help is kind of a sign for failure or, you know, for weakness. And so what I always find in my industry and always when I work with those women and with all those successful entrepreneurs, it's very important to allow yourself, you know, to be vulnerable, you know, to show that you need help. And it's not like you have to do everything on your own, you have to be perfect. So in my field, what I see a lot of times is that people are afraid of asking for help. People are afraid of asking, you know, how did you do this, how did you do that?
And that's basically what, you know, why I chose this topic, to talk about those successful entrepreneurs out of that perspective, to really go behind the scenes and really actually see and experience how they did it when they, you know, became successful.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice?
I think the best piece is like, it doesn't have to be perfect. You know, just start somewhere. Even if it's just like, you know, writing a short email, like having a phone call or like researching, but don't, don't stuck in this, in this area of just, just researching. At some point you have to get into action. You have to, take all the information out of the ebooks and, you know, print books and all those email courses and just start somewhere. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be complete. You just need to do the best at the first step.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Listen to yourself and listen to your gut. That's very, very important for me because I, in my journey over the last past years that always when I listened to my gut, I was always right. It wasn't always the easiest way, but it always worked out perfectly. And yeah, I was always right. This was the perfect path for me.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
I think like to find a sweet spot, you know, in every situation, which means like the perfect combination out of like a healthy life, a happy family, and like, you know, being successful in business. And it's always kind of a balance, like it almost never happens that everything is like on one level. But I think the key to happiness is really to be satisfied with what you have, to be grateful for the things you reached already. And, you know, to just like always, always be able, you know, or always willing to find a sweet spot and have the perfect balance your life.
And what's the best book you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Um, the best book— there are actually more than one books, but I can— I remember very well the first book I ever got into my hands in the self-help section, and that was Good in a Room from Stephanie Palmer. And it's about how to sell yourself, to sell yourself and your ideas and win over any audience. That was very important for me right at the beginning because I was a very shy person. I didn't really want to talk about my ideas and my big visions, and I always thought like, you know, what will the people think about me? Will they think I'm crazy? Or, you know, to not really think that I would do it. And this book really helped me to get, you know, to get my first start and to do the first steps, you know, towards, you know, self-realization. And what I actually also read, I love biographies. Biographies from really successful women. And, you know, just like I said before, I really love to see behind the scenes and, you know, what happened really, because like every successful entrepreneur like failed at least a couple of times, but no one really talks about it. And those biographies, they always help me to really get the detailed look behind the scenes.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is, I don't actually know from who it is or who said it, but my favorite quote is, "What's meant for you will not pass you." And it's my favorite quote because it's very motivating for me, you know, especially in times when it's getting really difficult, when I think I'm stuck in some situation that it will pass. It will not be, you know, the deal breaker. It will not like be responsible for, you know, being a big failure or feeling like a big failure. So yeah, what's meant for you will not pass you. I think it's, it's a, it's a big message for myself to keep doing what I'm doing.
Well, thank you so much for coming on, Doris. And the last question that I have for you is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Um, you can find me, um, perfectly on social media, on Instagram and Facebook. Um, I'm, uh, you can find me there under Mrs. Globalicious, um, especially on Instagram and like Facebook. Yeah, Doris Gross or Mrs. Globalicious.
Perfect. Thank you again for coming on, Doris. We appreciate it.
Thank you for having me. It was fun.
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