The Woman Behind PlanIt: A Female Entrepreneur's Journey

As a female entrepreneur, I believe in working with individuals that you can trust, but how can you get to trust someone virtually? How can you get to know them? By being fully transparent in who you are and what you stand for.

Let me formally introduce myself.

My name is Alexandra Kahn, I'm 33 years old and until COVID, I essentially traveled around the world, living out of a suitcase, pitching and scoring any writing, media, marketing, or social media gig I could. I've worked remote and for myself since college so the only change COVID brought was an inability to travel and a necessity to stay still.

This lack of movement inspired me to ultimately start this company because I finally had the time :)

So my background and how I came to be this way and love the things that I do and provide for others:

Storytelling through words and imagery has been a pivotal part of both my childhood and adulthood, through hobby, then passion, and now career. There is a magic in being able to communicate an effective message, especially one that will positively influence the community and the planet for generations to come. For the past few years of my life I have dedicated myself specifically to environmental storytelling, after a decade of honing my skills as an adventure storyteller.

In the world of writing, I have authored dozens of articles for magazines across the globe in a variety of subjects, written hundreds of blog entries, co-edited books, speeches, and even authored Hawaii state legislation. As a visual artist, I have been a creative for as long as I can remember, studying in both school, summer, and after school programs. I feel happiest when I am creating and capturing moments to preserve in time. I have been a professional photographer and videographer for over a decade, working with dozens of national and international brands, individual clients, and models to create personal photo and video projects, commercials, promo videos, trailers, political materials, and even feature-length documentaries. I have served as every possible role, from writer to cameramen to director to editor to colorist and have even been the talent.

When it comes to creativity through a digital platform, I have designed and created product catalogs, logos and other branding material, websites, flyers and mailers, proposals and pitch decks, and campaign materials, as well as managed and created content for multiple social media accounts.

In terms of teamwork and managerial skills, I served as a marketing and social media manager for a company based out of Idaho, and operated fully remote, for four years. I co-ran a two person media production company for seven years, in which time we produced three films and dozens of short films and commercials. For the past 4 years I have been based on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and have specifically been working in environmental policy lobbying for progressive environmental bills, authoring and co-authoring resolutions and bills, working alongside state and county government officials, running the marketing and media on state political campaigns, and working directly for the Speaker of the House creating media on the inner workings of local government.

Prior to moving to Hawaii, I started a nonprofit (Kahanafoundation.org) that provides environmental education through media, social media and events. Through this nonprofit I have worked with a variety of other nonprofits across the state, and created all of the media that was used in the year we finally passed our single use plastic service wear phase-out bill, the most comprehensive bill in the country at the time. Throughout this process, and my constant documentation, I have decided to create a feature length film that not only shows the process of individuals coming together year after a year to fight for something they believe in and finally succeeding, but it really proves the point that any one is capable of making a difference but when we come together we can change the world. This film (Wayfinders) will be distributed for free and the plan is to ultimately get some form of the film into our public and private education system for kids to feel empowered and want to engage.

So that's my story. This work is not just work, it's who I am. It's what I care about. It's the way I live my life and look at the world around me. My goal is to always operate with integrity, to work my hardest, and to always put the planet and the people above all else.