Jaime Binder’s Interview – by Marney Reid

Hello SOTGCY community,

It’s a huge joy to introduce the SOTGC readers to Jaime Binder.  Jaime and I used to work together at Salient and it was always a pleasure to see her at the national sales meeting and get a chance to catch up.

Jaime was born and raised in San Diego, California where she spent her childhood as a beach bum and a water baby.  If there was a sport that involved being on the beach or in the water, she probably did it.  She started out at Wagner College in New York where she played Division I women’s water polo and swimming on a scholarship.  She ended up finishing her degree at The University of Hawaii at Manoa where she attained her Bachelors of Science in Chemistry.

Jaime’s passion has always been in the mental health industry and in March of 2012 she was presented with an opportunity to work for a small start-up company called Neuronetics.   She now has the privilege of working with psychiatrists to provide their patients with a new alternative to the vicious cycle called anti-depressant treatment.  Below is a brief explanation of her new company and her very passionate and personal belief in her product.

“With our society becoming so focused on “natural” methods in medicine this is a huge opportunity to make that happen and the best part of this treatment is that it actually works. Jaime’s Mother, who was a strong successful business woman herself, committed suicide in 2008 after long battles with depression. She was not offered NeuroStar TMS because it was not FDA approved until 2008. It isn’t just my job to do this, it’s my passion and it’s my way of giving back to my Mother because she didn’t have a chance to get well.

This treatment uses magnetic stimulation to get patients with depression to reach remission, meaning that they are completely well and symptom free of their depression which most of them have had for years or decades even. Anti-depressant medications are commonly known for getting patients feeling “better” or getting them to a point where some of their symptoms are lifted for a small portion of time.   However, studies show that these medications are oftentimes ineffective.”

What is the one trait you admire most in others?

I admire people who are able to find a balance between work life and personal life. Planning the time and more importantly actually taking the time to set and achieve goals in their personal life is the trait I most admire in others and continue to work on achieving myself.

What is the one trait you admire most in yourself?

I say what I do and then I do what I say. I write a lot down and constantly make “to do” lists and set time lines for those tasks. I used to have post it notes stuck all over my bathroom mirror and the dashboard in my car until I figured out the much more efficient method of my Iphone

Which internal quality do you believe sets women back in the workplace?

Not having a combination of these three qualities: passion, poise and fearlessness.

Which external quality do you believe sets women back in the workplace?

Fighting the perception that they were “hired for their looks.”

What is the hardest lesson for working women to learn?

The hardest lesson not for me personally is separating personal life from professional life. Here is a simple solution that any woman getting into any business should live by. Do not date in your workplace. If you don’t stray from this then there will never be a question of your integrity.

Which book is on your nightstand?

Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Yes! Attitude”

What woman do you feel is a role model in today’s working industry (could be any industry)?

Wendy Franzreb-Owens. She is my best friend and my mentor. She has guided me to make positive choices in my life and developed me into a business professional by setting an example. Without her leading the way and coaching me through hard times I wouldn’t be who I am today. She is inspiring to many women and I feel her inspiration will reach thousands of people one day.

The quality you admire most in a successful man?

A sense of humor.

The quality you admire most in a successful woman?

Balancing family and work life. I am unbelievably impressed with women that work all day and then go home to job number two, being a wife and/or mother.

A virtue you believe is underrated?

Patience.

What is your idea of happiness?

Reaching a point where you are content in your own skin, accepting of the choices you have made in your life and feeling that you have done your best in life and love.

What do you value most in friends?

Being genuine.

What, in your mind, would be the greatest of misfortunes?

To live and not love.

What do you believe is a working woman’s greatest fear?

Doing or saying something to give others a validation for stereotyping women. There are a lot of stereotypes out there for working women and it seems we always have to go above and beyond to not pin ourselves in them.

In your career, what has been your greatest regret?  Do you feel this is a male oriented regret or one shared by men and women alike?

I don’t have any regrets in my career.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Dude/awesome

Cite an example of a woman who you feel made a great achievement?  

Misty May-Treanor and Kari Walsh-Jennings. Three Olympic Gold Medals in beach volleyball and they are wives and mothers.

List five qualities that this woman had that you feel helped her achieve her success

Determination, perseverance, strength, stamina, and charisma

What do you think is the greatest difference between our mother’s generation and our own?

My Mother’s generation was expected to get married and settle down after graduating high school.

One piece of advice to young women in the workplace

Set attainable, realistic goals and also set the far-fetched “shot in the dark” kind of goals. Then achieve those attainable goals until you come to realize that you are only a couple small attainable goals away from what you thought was just a “far-fetched” goal.

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