💬 Someone that loves to learn and grow. I think there is a certain quality I have about always wanting to be a student and always wanting to learn. I think it's helpful because in business you're never going to know everything. And you have to be humble enough to understand that and to know that you can learn along the way and learn as you go and then that's it.
❓ What helps you stay consistent? What's the number one reason to know who you are or know what you're doing? What's the number one reason?
💬 Real change. That was something that I really wanted to change. I've been doing so just by having a brand that already is kind of against the system. But we have some wholesale clients that we work with. We're with Anthropologie. We're with Shop Bop. We're with a company called Nulion. In each of those cases they had to update their internal company-wide purchase ordering systems to be able to accommodate our size range, which is a really big deal, especially the small. So I'm trying to do my best to enact real change and make the fashion industry better for people like me and people who are bigger than me. Yeah, just trying to make it better for everybody.
📚 Books & Reading🤖 AI & Tech💰 Work & Money💕 Relationships & DatingPersonal Experience
❓ What do you think about when you hear the phrase mind over matter?
💬 I think there's some substance to it for sure. I think so many of us are in our own heads and we overthink ourselves to death that it keeps us kind of paralyzed and unable to move and progress. But I also think, too, we also have to give ourselves the space to process things and to understand that we're not always going to be 100% and be OK and it's kind of finding that balance in being too hard on yourself but also understanding that there are times where you can't.
❓ Congratulations again. They say you are the composite of the five closest people to you. What do you think was the most important aspects of building your team or building the culture around you?
💬 So, I'm still a team of one.
🤖 AI & Tech🏈 NFL & Sports💬 Social CommentaryOpinion / Hot Take
❓ Outside of Allah, you are the reason. Deal with it. What do you think about that?
💬 I think it's accurate. I mean, I think God or whoever is the higher power that you believe in, like can instill all these things in you. But unless you believe them yourself and you put them into action, like nothing's gonna happen.
❓ How do you feel about the process of a dream, an idea, and making it into reality? Like what parts of that do you think you excel at? Or I guess more so, what are your thoughts on that process, like from dream to now it's here?
💬 I would say I think it's like you can have the dream all day long, but unless you're able to really put a plan into action, it's not gonna come to fruition. And sometimes you have to be scrappy about it, sometimes you may not have all the resources, but I think one thing that I've learned is asking for help. Like if it's something that I don't necessarily know how to do, like tapping people who do have that skill set or that connect or that knowledge or whatever the case may be to help me bring it to fruition because we may not be able to bring the dream to fruition all by ourselves, and it's okay to ask for help if you don't know how to do that.
🤔 Absurd & Hypothetical💕 Relationships & DatingOpinion / Hot Take
❓ Okay. Yeah, let's see if it drops on me. You go right here?
💬 Yes. Thank you so much.
Opinion / Hot Take
📜 Full Transcript
[0.4s]SPEAKER_01:And see if people can guess what the differences are. And maybe there's not so many differences.
[5.7s]SPEAKER_00:Okay, differences in people getting their business off the ground and what?
[9.2s]SPEAKER_01:And people who are a little bit more casual about life. So actually let me just ask that question. What do you think separates you from people that are not doing as well?
[30.8s]SPEAKER_00:That you have to have to even be delusional enough to start a business because there are so many reasons to not, right? Like, you know, it costs money, it takes time. Like, you know, it kind of rules your life. Like my brand is my life and I love it. But I think for some people that can be a little bit scary and intimidating. And also if you don't have that unrelenting belief in yourself, you're not going to have the get up and go or the joie de vie to be like, I can start this, I can do this, I can figure it out. And I think that has been why I've been able to accomplish all the things I've been able to do.
[66.6s]SPEAKER_01:Why are you capable?
[67.6s]SPEAKER_00:Someone that loves to learn and grow. I think there is a certain quality I have about always wanting to be a student and always wanting to learn. I think it's helpful because in business you're never going to know everything. And you have to be humble enough to understand that and to know that you can learn along the way and learn as you go and then that's it.
[103.8s]SPEAKER_01:A very beautiful way to put that. That's actually obscenely beautiful. Stay right here, stay right here. Do you ever feel like you have a responsibility to be great?
[125.5s]SPEAKER_00:I wouldn't say a responsibility, but I think I never anything like that. It's just purely like I just want to be.
[158.1s]SPEAKER_01:What helps you stay consistent? What's the number one reason to know who you are or know what you're doing? What's the number one reason?
[228.5s]SPEAKER_00:Real change. That was something that I really wanted to change. I've been doing so just by having a brand that already is kind of against the system. But we have some wholesale clients that we work with. We're with Anthropologie. We're with Shop Bop. We're with a company called Nulion. In each of those cases they had to update their internal company-wide purchase ordering systems to be able to accommodate our size range, which is a really big deal, especially the small. So I'm trying to do my best to enact real change and make the fashion industry better for people like me and people who are bigger than me. Yeah, just trying to make it better for everybody.
[295.7s]SPEAKER_01:What do you think about when you hear the phrase mind over matter?
[298.8s]SPEAKER_00:I think there's some substance to it for sure. I think so many of us are in our own heads and we overthink ourselves to death that it keeps us kind of paralyzed and unable to move and progress. But I also think, too, we also have to give ourselves the space to process things and to understand that we're not always going to be 100% and be OK and it's kind of finding that balance in being too hard on yourself but also understanding that there are times where you can't.
[332.0s]SPEAKER_01:That makes a lot of sense. I've heard success broken down as it's preparation meets opportunity meets determination. If you're missing one of them, then chances are you just got lucky. What do you think is your greatest skill when it comes to putting those three things together? Repeat, those things are opportunity, preparation, and determination. How do you make sure those three things all come together?
[363.3s]SPEAKER_00:So I think without the determination and the preparation, you're not going to have the opportunity, right? I think you have to be constantly working towards something so that you're even in the spaces for those opportunities to present themselves. And that's what I've really found in my own work, is that by showing up and by staying true to my mission, staying motivated, for the words again, it was preparation, opportunity,
[398.1s]SPEAKER_01:determination.
[401.0s]SPEAKER_00:And also showing up but also being prepared as best one can, right? Because again, you're never going to know everything, you're never going to know how to do everything. But at least putting yourself out there in those spaces for those opportunities to meet you where you're at, I think is super important.
[417.2s]SPEAKER_01:Fantastic. Have you ever heard the phrase, make your next move your best move? How do you get up from a bad situation?
[431.6s]SPEAKER_00:Creating everything like a learning experience, right? Just learn from, not everything is going to go exactly how you want it to. We can try and plan and do all the things to try to make things happen how we want them to, and they still may not. So just use every opportunity in the learning experience so that you can make every, you know, your next move your best move, I guess is what you said.
[452.2s]SPEAKER_01:I dig it. I dig it. There's a famous quote by a famous poet, which is, we are not afraid that we are inadequate but that we are great beyond measure. What's something that you've done that when you look back at it, you're like, man, I had to get over myself to get this?
[476.9s]SPEAKER_00:I was even starting the brand, right? I was fresh out of school. Most people graduate from design school, they go, they get a job in corporate, they learn a little bit and maybe start their own thing. Maybe they don't. Maybe they just stay in the corporate, you know, corporate sphere and try to climb the ladder and do all those things. For me, I was like, it was a thing of trusting my gut and I'm like, if I don't do this now, I probably won't ever. And I think all of the things that have happened since then are testaments to me just kind of pushing through that fear and, you know, saying I may not know exactly what I'm doing but I'm willing to figure it out. Like, you know, since we launched, we've been featured by Forbes, Serena Williams has worn our pieces, Tabitha Brown, Tamron Hall, both of which just happened like two weeks ago in the same week.
[526.4s]SPEAKER_01:Congratulations.
[527.1s]SPEAKER_00:Thank you. So, you know, I think just having the courage but also the tenacity, right? Like, five years in, it has been a very up and down journey to say the least. And I think you have to be, if there's something you're really passionate about and you're trying to get it off the ground, you have to have that tenacity to really like see it through and to keep going. Because, again, most small businesses fail within the first five years. So, for us to have made it past that now is super exciting and, you know, I think a testament to me having the call to even like start to think.
[561.4s]SPEAKER_01:Congratulations again. They say you are the composite of the five closest people to you. What do you think was the most important aspects of building your team or building the culture around you?
[575.7s]SPEAKER_00:So, I'm still a team of one.
[578.6s]SPEAKER_01:Wow.
[579.2s]SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I don't have a team yet. That's the goal for end of this year and next year. But what I will say is my mom, for example, is the COO and she's been in her role since I was like three years old. So, that's all I've ever known is seeing like a woman in a position of power and in a sweet world. And I really do think it gave me just the visibility of seeing a woman in that kind of position of power and making me feel like I had the, like I could do that too, if I wanted to, which was really great. So, I think that that she's one of the five people that I would say that's been around me that's made a real difference.
[623.7s]SPEAKER_01:Okay. I have a short, short sentiment that I like to tell people. Wow, it's like, it's got us. Yeah, it's very short. I have a short sentiment I like to say to people and I wonder what you think about it. Outside of Allah, you are the reason. Deal with it. What do you think about that?
[655.2s]SPEAKER_00:I think it's accurate. I mean, I think God or whoever is the higher power that you believe in, like can instill all these things in you. But unless you believe them yourself and you put them into action, like nothing's gonna happen.
[670.6s]SPEAKER_01:I dig it. How do you feel about the process of a dream, an idea, and making it into reality? Like what parts of that do you think you excel at? Or I guess more so, what are your thoughts on that process, like from dream to now it's here?
[696.9s]SPEAKER_00:I would say I think it's like you can have the dream all day long, but unless you're able to really put a plan into action, it's not gonna come to fruition. And sometimes you have to be scrappy about it, sometimes you may not have all the resources, but I think one thing that I've learned is asking for help. Like if it's something that I don't necessarily know how to do, like tapping people who do have that skill set or that connect or that knowledge or whatever the case may be to help me bring it to fruition because we may not be able to bring the dream to fruition all by ourselves, and it's okay to ask for help if you don't know how to do that.
[741.8s]SPEAKER_01:I've heard from several people and several different ways that you are nothing more than what you put into yourself. Your diet is you. What are some things about your diet, whether it's what you eat or what you watch, who you talk to, like is there something that when it comes to what you intake into your life that you're very specific about? Or is there a standard about like, hey, this is how I ingest life?
[769.4s]SPEAKER_00:I vary the people that have negativity because I do find that that affects my world view and my outlook. And so I think I try to surround myself with as much positivity as possible, as much people that kind of fill me up because it's impossible to, we can only do so much by ourselves, right? And I think being able to lean on people who can also fill your cup is also really important, and that can come from family, that can come from friends, that can come from chosen family, you know, whatever that looks like for you. But sometimes it's hard to do it all by yourself. Oh my word, it's really raining.
[810.3s]SPEAKER_01:I'm going to get you as close as I can to the door.
[811.4s]SPEAKER_00:Okay, thank you.
[812.7s]SPEAKER_01:I'm going to take a little unit. Oh, wow. I don't see why you said it because that's real rain.
[817.7s]SPEAKER_00:I have to run.
[818.9s]SPEAKER_01:Okay, I'm going to get you as close to the door as I can. Thank you.
[823.1s]SPEAKER_00:I appreciate it.
[823.6s]SPEAKER_01:No problem. No problem.
[826.0s]SPEAKER_00:I hope those answers are okay.
[828.1s]SPEAKER_01:I got two and a half questions left for you.
[830.8s]SPEAKER_00:I do have to run just because I'm late for my reservation. I hope that's okay.
[834.2s]SPEAKER_01:Oh, no problem. I'm going to get you close. Let me get you close and I'll do the stuff.
[838.7s]SPEAKER_00:This is perfect.
[839.2s]SPEAKER_01:Is there an internal way to walk in?
[840.4s]SPEAKER_00:It's okay. I can just...
[841.9s]SPEAKER_01:Okay. Yeah, let's see if it drops on me. You go right here?
[844.2s]SPEAKER_00:Yes. Thank you so much.
[845.3s]SPEAKER_01:Oh, give me your social media if you want to shout out.
[847.5s]SPEAKER_00:It's at TaylorPageLong and at NumadSkipware on Instagram.
[851.8s]SPEAKER_01:Awesome.
[852.4s]SPEAKER_00:Thank you. I appreciate it.
[853.8s]SPEAKER_01:No, thank you. You be easy.
[855.1s]SPEAKER_00:Of course.
[857.9s]SPEAKER_01:She is great. Yeah. I just like big girls.