Being an avid adventurer, I’m a bit of an authority on travel, so I know that road trips are just better with friends. Am I right? Someone to sing along to the radio and make sure you're making the right turns when you come to those forks in the road. I knew it was time to get some travel companions for the rest of this ride.
I'm used to wearing all the hats in my personal styling biz. Research and Development, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Pet Sitter (to be fair, Bentley, Marley and Alex all like to think of themselves more as my business partners)...all those titles were (still are!) hung on my office door. But my years as an executive had taught me that a great team meant more time to focus on my passions. I was eager to find some folks who were down to get corky with me!
Weeks of research and interviews stretched to places all over the US. I needed a team of people to join Melinda and who found the ride as exciting as they found reaching the end destination. Now, I’m only roughly 2% techy...basically, I’m a whiz on my iPhone. That’s great for creating playlists but not so much websites. I needed someone who could create an e-commerce experience that was as elevated as our brand. Leann hopped into the passenger seat from Santa Ynez, California as our talented web developer. Theresa, from out in Arizona, came on as our creative copywriter. No more stressing over grammar or having to use spell check for me! As a wardrobe stylist, I often worked with talented photographers, so I connected my old friend and colleague, Dhrumil, who now worked in New York (with an accessories company! Kismit!) and brought him on to beautifully photograph our line. Bethany was the last piece to the puzzle, coming on to guide our initial social media efforts. I like to think of her as the GPS on this road trip, keeping our communication with our customers up to date.
One by one, each seat for this trip was filled. We were small, but we were ready to get this party bus on the road! And after 4 years as a soloprenuer, I was prepared to share the driving duties! At the time, looking at the roadmap, it felt like each of us had a long stretch to cover to get our brand launched, but now, on this side of the adventure, it feels like it took no time at all. Because isn’t that how all great road trips feel? The distance is long, but the journey is short...especially when it is shared with incredible people.
Want to learn more about I got to this point? Start here!