0:00

Hey founder fam today we're diving back into

0:02

the to to bring you our

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episode with Kendra Scott, the

0:06

self -made entrepreneur behind one of

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the most successful jewelry brands in

0:11

the world. I I saw one of

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her stores when I just came

0:15

back from LA come back from so

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Kendra takes us through her journey

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from launching her first business, first a

0:21

hat company that ultimately ended up

0:24

failing up building an empire that

0:26

has redefined affordable luxury. we We dive

0:28

into the highs and lows now navigating

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rejection to securing her first

0:32

retail store and using

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adversity to few innovation. and using

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let's dive in. to fuel

0:39

are the stories. All Learn

0:41

the proven methods and accelerate

0:43

your growth and future

0:45

through entrepreneurship. and Welcome

0:47

to your Podcast with

0:49

Nathan through entrepreneurship. Welcome to

0:52

the How did you get your job with Nathan

0:54

did you find yourself doing the

0:56

work you're doing today? job? You You

0:58

know, it's been a really really

1:00

started I I was a kid. My

1:02

aunt was a was a fashion

1:04

director at a department

1:06

store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And I grew

1:08

up I grew up in a little

1:10

town, Kenosha, which is about 35 minutes

1:13

away from Milwaukee. Milwaukee. and going to

1:15

her apartment and being in

1:17

her closet and seeing all

1:19

of her of her shows from

1:21

her being in Milan Milan Paris

1:23

and London and New York places been

1:25

so far away as a

1:27

little girl from Wisconsin. Wisconsin. really

1:29

just brought me into this world of

1:31

fashion of I felt like was magical. was magical.

1:34

you could be anybody you wanted to

1:36

be. to be. It really just transforms you,

1:38

right? you, right? could create whoever you

1:40

want to be. whoever you I think I

1:42

was just drawn to it from a very

1:44

early age to it from a that magical sense

1:46

of it. And here we are, here

1:48

we are, Starting first company was a hat

1:51

company. was a hat really wanting

1:53

to utilize that love,

1:55

that passion for design. for design.

1:57

for fashion and really making people smile. I

1:59

just remember how I felt when

2:01

I put on her clothes her her

2:03

closet. her closet and just the smile on

2:05

my face, how I would just feel more

2:07

confident. and all all of

2:09

those amazing things that can happen, right? right?

2:11

And I I knew I wanted to be

2:14

a part of that industry. so And so

2:16

really led me to finding that and

2:18

continuing to just reach for it and

2:20

strive for it from for very beginning. very

2:22

Yeah, and I'd love to talk about...

2:24

to hat shop, the hat shop, like it

2:26

It was your first business. What did

2:28

did you learn during that process?

2:30

Because it didn't work out,

2:32

right? did not work did not work

2:34

out that's think that's so

2:36

important because you talk to

2:38

any successful entrepreneur, they are gonna

2:40

have at least one failure story for

2:42

you and there's probably way more

2:45

that they can talk about as well.

2:47

as well. But one for me for me

2:49

was. Honestly, the greatest gift and I'm

2:51

sure you hear that a lot,

2:53

like these failures that that happen in In

2:55

so many ways for me my

2:57

my MBA, I right? That I didn't

2:59

get. I dropped out of college.

3:02

I started the age at age

3:04

19. start it was inspired to start it

3:06

because my stepfather was undergoing chemotherapy for

3:08

brain cancer. so And I met so many

3:10

women that were going through those same

3:12

struggles of hair loss just their journey

3:14

was so hard. And I thought, well, if

3:16

if there was some way I could

3:18

make. make. had wear for them that made them

3:20

beautiful and that also was comfortable. I

3:22

was was longing to cotton linings that

3:24

were soft and comfortable on their

3:27

heads. their heads really at first first

3:29

a need of wanting to

3:31

bring fashion to them and make

3:33

them smile and realize, why

3:35

aren't there more hat stores out

3:37

there? stores out people wearing hats people

3:39

1940, again? we need to start

3:41

hats. And so dropped out

3:43

of school with this, out to

3:46

change the world, know, ready to at

3:48

age world, idealist at age 19, first business first

3:50

business thinking again, hoping the

3:52

world was going to change

3:54

with me in this great

3:56

idea in after five years. after five

3:58

years of trying. to get the

4:00

world to to wear hats like it

4:02

was 1940 and realizing that just was

4:04

not happening. was not Um, I had

4:06

to close that business and not

4:09

only did I have to go through

4:11

the failure of closing this business business

4:13

and being so humiliated because now

4:15

I'm a college now I'm a college All

4:17

of my friends have graduated from

4:19

college and from getting their jobs in

4:21

these new places. jobs I'm now

4:23

a places. I'm now a failure I of business. I can

4:25

not Now what am I going

4:27

to do? to do? But I didn't

4:29

realize at that moment when

4:31

that store closed is that

4:33

those five years of running

4:35

this retail business, of learning

4:37

about margin, learning about overhead, understanding

4:40

you know how to really run a

4:42

retail business was the framework, the

4:44

foundation for my next thing

4:46

that was going to work, which

4:49

was my jewelry company. And

4:51

the answer to my future in that that little store.

4:53

I was I was making jewelry kind of on

4:55

the side because it was something I loved to

4:57

do and I'd put it in the case

4:59

at the register at the it would sell the day

5:01

I put it in the case. it in the I

5:04

had it in my head my head that the were the

5:06

It had to be to be hats And

5:08

I wasn't seeing what was actually working.

5:11

So think think as an entrepreneur, we get,

5:13

especially in those early stages, we have

5:15

an idea. like this is what it has

5:17

to be. be. But we But we sometimes

5:19

have to step ourselves away from

5:21

that and get that 360 approach,

5:23

because it may be something a

5:25

little different is actually working could be

5:27

could be your future opportunity. that So

5:29

after I shuttered those still get calls from

5:31

my, some of my best I would still

5:33

get calls from to hear of my

5:35

best customers. they were not And I would be

5:37

so excited to hear from them. They were And calling

5:39

they were not calling me of they wanted more

5:41

hats. that They were calling me because they wanted

5:43

a pair of earrings to match the buy her one.

5:46

that they bought. Or their sister loved the

5:48

necklace so much that she wanted to buy her

5:50

one. Could you make one you you know, going, so

5:52

I found you know, going, you know, you know, going, going,

5:54

you know, you know, This is Maybe

5:56

Maybe there's something to this to thing. thing.

5:59

And so. What really was the entry

6:01

into the next thing that I started

6:03

to do, but really again. It

6:05

had to be like on

6:08

my doorstep phones ringing for me to

6:10

actually see it. What were the challenges when

6:12

you started the jewelry company in the first few

6:14

years? Well, know, there's, I mean,

6:16

so many, right? I know this is

6:18

an only hour that we have, so we

6:20

could meet, you know, we need about

6:22

10 hours. But, you know,

6:24

it was right after the

6:26

recession. So, you know, I had

6:28

my first son was born

6:31

11 2001. which

6:33

is exactly, you know. just a few

6:35

months after 9 And

6:37

here I am, a new mom. Uh,

6:39

in a very scary time in our history,

6:41

right? mean, here we are, you know, right

6:43

after the recession. And to

6:45

think about starting a business after I've

6:47

already had a failure, a failed business under

6:49

my belt. was terrifying.

6:52

And I didn't want to tell

6:55

the world I was starting another

6:57

business. quite honestly, I didn't have

6:59

the financial ability to know, anything

7:01

big. So I started small. I

7:03

had $500. I bought you know,

7:05

of some stones, wire.

7:07

I made a tiny collection. And

7:10

I went store to store in

7:12

Austin, Texas with my little baby son

7:14

in a baby carrier and my

7:16

jewelry in a T I had gotten

7:18

for my wedding. And again, very quietly,

7:20

I wasn't out in time to change

7:22

the world and have everybody see Kendra Scott.

7:25

And I wasn't gonna open hat stores

7:27

like I wanted to all over the country.

7:29

I was gonna just try to be

7:31

a great mom to my new little baby.

7:33

be in fashion again, which I loved

7:36

and try to help you know, in

7:38

income for our family to be able

7:40

to have a life that would provide

7:42

us you know, extra money in the

7:44

household. Never writing a

7:46

big business plan to build a

7:48

over billion dollar brand in those

7:50

early days. And as I started

7:52

to see the success. Again,

7:55

it took me a little while

7:57

to actually want tell people. that I was

7:59

in business again. because I was afraid

8:01

of what they would think. and

8:03

I think knowing that You

8:06

know, here I was and I started

8:08

to kind of prove myself and it

8:10

wasn't myself that started telling people. It

8:12

was my customers, it was my best

8:14

friends, it was my family, all of

8:16

these people just came supporting me and

8:18

loving what I was doing and helped

8:20

me have the strength. to

8:22

say, okay, I'm really doing this.

8:24

I really have a business and I'm

8:26

going to not be afraid to

8:29

tell people about it anymore. Actually, actually,

8:31

I'm gonna start screaming it from

8:33

the rooftops. And I think, you know,

8:35

having confidence after a failure is

8:37

one of the biggest challenges for any

8:39

entrepreneur. It's that not just dust

8:41

yourself up and get up, you know,

8:43

yourself off and get up again

8:45

mentality. It really is.

8:47

that own of going, you know what,

8:49

I can do this. And I'm gonna

8:51

figure out what I just learned from what

8:53

that obstacle was that we, know, that

8:55

I over, I'm gonna overcome it. and

8:58

I'm not gonna give up, I'm gonna do it again

9:00

and I'm gonna do it better this time and

9:02

smarter this time, and not be afraid. And can you

9:04

tell us a... about kind of you talk

9:06

about that grit going through it. I

9:09

know that you experience a lot of

9:11

rejection. trying to raise

9:13

capital Can you us through that process. That

9:15

would be the understatement of the

9:17

year, Nathan. I would go into

9:19

so many boardrooms where it'll put

9:22

me. Okay? My

9:24

dad used to say, well, don't be

9:26

intimidated by the men in suits, but

9:28

I was intimidated by the men in suits.

9:30

And I would walk in, and in

9:32

Austin, when I was starting my company, was

9:34

very tech heavy industries, all about tech,

9:37

tech, tech. and they wanted

9:39

me to be a tech company. And

9:41

here I was, this you know,

9:43

girl who was in fashion and trying

9:45

to explain what I was doing. even

9:47

after having success of getting some major

9:49

department stores and really starting to grow

9:51

the business, it would still be like,

9:53

I felt like they were just laughing

9:55

at me in the face. And I'd

9:57

walk out and it was just every

9:59

time. It was was okay, you know you know

10:01

what, just keep trying. And I got

10:03

great advice from one of my mentors,

10:05

and he said, Kendra. said, You

10:07

know, you know, well, this was funny. funny. I had

10:10

somebody tell me, well, you need an angel.

10:12

well, you need an angel investor.

10:14

And I said, yeah. I I need an aid.

10:16

Where are these angels hang out? I need I

10:18

need an angel. don't just hang out. they

10:20

don't just hang out. Like you just,

10:22

you know, it was times, 2003, 2004, we

10:24

2003, 2004. We didn't have access to

10:26

people via social media and these

10:28

different we do today. And we do today. to go

10:30

into so I would try to go into

10:32

these meetings and just kept getting shut down. down,

10:34

shut down, shut down. me, And one

10:36

of my mentors told me, they will if you build it,

10:38

they will going to come, and and they're gonna

10:40

come aggressively. Focus on building

10:42

the absolute best business you can build. know

10:44

And I know that's hard. And I

10:47

was doing it through lines of credit.

10:49

credit card debt, putting every single

10:51

thing I owned up for

10:54

collateral. within a short a short period of

10:56

time, I had a one in three

10:58

year old and was going through a

11:00

divorce. a So So was a single mom

11:02

mom top of all of this with an in

11:04

a baby and and a toddler. And it it

11:06

was hard because I needed help and

11:08

support. but but having to

11:11

put everything I had at risk,

11:13

but again, just focusing on the

11:15

business. business. focusing on building the

11:17

best business I could. And

11:19

he was right because people

11:21

started to take notice to take

11:23

notice and I was calling I started

11:25

getting calls from investment bankers

11:28

and interested investors. know And

11:30

it was a really eye -opening experience for

11:32

me to be able to then go, oh,

11:34

wow, now they want me. But I had

11:36

to prove myself a little bit. me,

11:38

but I had to prove myself a

11:40

you know, in 2008. And you know in

11:42

2008 the change, recession

11:44

is is hit. How did that affect

11:46

did that affect the business? And was

11:48

that around the time you were trying

11:50

to raise capital, you know, everything you you had

11:53

going on, of lines of credit, everything you

11:55

owned through through the divorce? Was it

11:57

around that time? time? So I was was

11:59

divorced in 2000. 2005 and so

12:01

was already divorced

12:03

divorced. In 2008, I can't I can't

12:05

even explain to you, so we

12:07

were just a wholesale company, so I

12:09

was just selling to other retailers.

12:11

I was not direct to consumer. I was

12:13

After the consumer. that failure of running

12:15

a retail store, I said that

12:17

I am never gonna be in retail

12:20

again. I am never gonna do

12:22

that. in is scary stuff. No one

12:24

would have any part of it again. I

12:26

a retail. So this is safer. That

12:28

is scary stuff. No one an order, any boo. of

12:30

I pack it up, I mail

12:32

it to them. They deal with it.

12:34

I know, it's great. beautiful business. 2008

12:36

and all of my eggs were

12:38

in that one basket, Nathan. I

12:41

had the power. the power. that I didn't

12:43

have was in the power of the buyers

12:45

that were writing the orders for the

12:47

department stores who are now getting laid off

12:49

with the recession. getting Relationships that I had

12:51

built just. you know,

12:53

going away built just, you know, going stores

12:55

that I had worked with across

12:57

the country that I had and right. the

13:00

country shuddering left for bankruptcy companies

13:02

I had just shipped orders

13:04

to. that I had you

13:06

know, it was

13:08

devastating devastating time. I only had a

13:10

line of credit. I had no investors. And

13:13

to to try to even think about getting

13:15

an investor to invest in you at

13:17

this period. this period, mean, that was

13:19

not even, there was no conversation starters

13:21

there with. there with, hey, What

13:23

do you think you think I know

13:26

we're going through an economic collapse

13:28

financially, but collapse they're like, but, you not.

13:30

they're like, absolutely not. Then

13:32

my bank, big bank. calls and says,

13:34

you know, feel we feel that jewelry these are

13:36

these are high risk areas for us. And

13:38

we'd like you to pay off your

13:40

line of credit within the next six months.

13:42

the next six months. Wow. Yeah. And I

13:44

said, well, I can't, I can't, I can't

13:47

said, well... of credit and I

13:49

can't. I can't pay off the line of credit and

13:51

I've paid my interest. I've done all the things

13:53

I'm supposed to do. I've never been laid on a

13:55

And I'd call and I'd call and try

13:57

to talk and they'd be like, like, your

13:59

loan number? number. and I'd be like, be like, A7, blah, blah, blah,

14:01

but you know, all blah. they didn't care that I was

14:03

Kendra care that I was didn't care that I was

14:05

a person. know, they just were like, what's

14:07

your loan number? And you'd get shifted around.

14:09

number? And And I remember sitting on

14:11

my kitchen floor remember just crying and

14:13

thinking, this is it. thinking, I'm

14:16

going to lose my business like so many of

14:18

the businesses around me. the businesses I

14:20

thought, me. what am I gonna do? am I

14:22

And I started to go to some

14:24

go to some local Texas things. And I I

14:26

went to one local Texas

14:28

and the president was was and she wears

14:30

my And she wears my jewelry. well, She

14:32

knows my brand known in know, I'm very

14:34

well known in Austin. from her and And I

14:36

sat across from her and I remember saying, you please

14:39

You know, can you please consider taking on this

14:41

line of credit and I promise you. I have,

14:43

if I With everything I have, if I have to

14:45

sell everything I own, I will not only just

14:47

pay it back, but I'm going to crush it. And

14:49

here's my new business plan. how we're gonna get out

14:51

of this. out of this. We are not gonna just

14:53

focus on wholesale anymore because I need

14:55

to have a direct connection with my consumer.

14:57

with I need her to say, I want

14:59

Kendra Scott when she walks into every department

15:01

store. Where is the Kendra Scott? Where And

15:03

the only way I can do that

15:05

is if I have a direct connection, meaning

15:07

I need to get back into retail. meaning

15:09

I need to get back back

15:12

an an e-commerce website. and and I need

15:14

to start to communicate with her directly,

15:16

not through through anymore. Men And you're thinking,

15:18

you know, all these stores are these here

15:20

I'm going in. here I'm I'm opening

15:22

a store. I'm opening a store. I don't of

15:24

the crazy thing. thing, but it

15:26

actually, was was when the magic

15:28

happened and if it wasn't for

15:30

that recession. recession. If it it, which I

15:33

say was the greatest gift, wrapped in

15:35

a yellow bow that Kendra Scott could

15:37

have ever gotten as a company, as

15:39

we would not be sitting here talking

15:41

today. here because that shift, that that shake

15:43

the moment, forced me and my

15:45

team to have to think differently

15:47

on how we're gonna run the

15:49

business. we are going to is now

15:51

18 % of my overall business.

15:53

Direct to consumer through our

15:55

retail stores and online makes

15:57

up the rest. rest. So it was.

16:00

complete business shift, but the

16:02

one that gave us lightning

16:04

a a bottle growth. When was when was

16:06

it that you knew? the breakthrough moment

16:08

that you was the breakthrough were that

16:10

you knew that things were going to work?

16:12

You were going to be okay. you know

16:14

So went to that local You know, you went to that

16:16

local bank, you got the line of credit, you started to

16:19

shift the model. model when did you

16:21

know you long did it take? it take? That's

16:23

a great question. mean, people sometimes ask

16:25

me, I remember even just a few years

16:27

ago, I and saying, I don't know if

16:29

we're quite there yet, years always, saying, I don't know

16:31

place it, right? you know, I always see

16:33

the possibility I'm what we can do, but

16:35

I think, you know, right? her taking on

16:38

that line gave me, she had confidence in

16:40

me, right? And she believed in me. And

16:42

sometimes just having the belief of other people

16:44

around you gives you strength that you don't

16:46

even know you have. And not only did

16:48

I wanna keep my word to her that

16:50

I was going to do right by her

16:52

taking this loan. loan. But I I wanted to I

16:55

really wanted to win. I wanted to succeed

16:57

and I wanted to be able to

16:59

keep this beautiful little company that we had

17:01

created together we alive. created when we opened

17:03

our first retail store. first retail We

17:05

knew we had to be disruptive and we

17:07

had had our offices, we we moved offices to

17:09

above the store. So So us of us would

17:11

walk through the store in the morning

17:13

to go up to our offices that were

17:15

above the store. the And we all

17:17

wanted to engage with the customer. One,

17:19

find out what she what she what she didn't

17:22

like, what she wanted more of. more

17:24

of. we wanted to be an experience

17:26

where she could touch and feel the

17:28

jewelry without having to ask somebody to

17:30

take it out of a to take it out of

17:32

a We created color bar where she

17:34

could sit in the actual bar and

17:36

drink mimosas have have and watch her jewelry

17:38

be made in front of her while

17:40

she picked out the stone she wanted

17:42

in the settings. in the It was

17:44

unlike any jewelry shopping experience that

17:46

had ever existed. And what

17:48

I what I craved as a consumer. when

17:50

I I would go and shop for jewelry

17:52

prior to this. So we So we were

17:55

very disruptive we what we were doing. I

17:57

remember so many people saying, saying, this isn't

17:59

isn't gonna work! You're gonna have so many

18:01

people stealing things, Kendra. You know, what are

18:03

you, crazy. This is, you know, you're gonna

18:05

be just spending all your money on champagne

18:07

and cupcakes and you're gonna, this is never

18:09

gonna work. And I think when you

18:11

hear things like that, sometimes that gets me excited. because

18:14

I'm like, that's when when you're doing

18:16

something that's scary to somebody else could

18:18

be magic, right? And sure

18:20

with customers lining up around

18:22

the store. It

18:24

was like it was like big nightclub.

18:26

Like we in stanchions, we had to let

18:28

certain people out to get let certain

18:30

people in. I mean, it was an absolutely

18:32

insane. if you go to you

18:35

know, stores across the country of

18:37

ours today, you still see

18:39

this like unbelievable fever of excitement

18:41

outside of our stores. That's

18:43

when I knew. That's when

18:45

I knew. I would go down

18:47

there and I just hear this roar

18:49

of people and laughter and community And

18:51

I thought. this is

18:54

working. This was that moment of, okay,

18:56

Kendra, maybe you got think about going

18:58

back into retail because this is working. And

19:01

then when we opened in Dallas and we

19:03

saw the same success in Houston. That's

19:06

when everything changed in my first

19:08

investor after a decade. finally

19:11

came to me and said, Kendra, want,

19:13

it was a mentor of mine, an

19:15

advisor, who said, what you're doing is

19:17

absolutely amazing. You could start to see

19:19

the results in these stores, that they

19:21

enthusiasm in the community. And he's

19:23

like, I want to be a part of it. And so

19:25

when was the first time I ever had

19:27

a partner. I actually

19:29

had somebody and it was a very

19:31

small 5%, right? And I

19:34

had, at that point, still 100 % equity.

19:36

Nobody would invest in me, so I still

19:38

had the whole business. But 5%,

19:40

I finally felt like I had somebody

19:42

that I could talk with. and really

19:44

have, give me great insight and advice and

19:46

we could figure things out together. And

19:48

I also was to take a small bit

19:50

of money off the table. I never had

19:52

money in my bank account. that

19:55

was sustainable, like I felt like

19:57

I was always living paycheck to

19:59

paycheck. or invoice coming into

20:01

invoice, paying my employees

20:03

first. first, it It was the first time I had

20:05

something where I felt like I had a little bit of a nest

20:07

egg. I had a little me

20:09

nest egg. And that gave me peace.

20:12

It gave me a me a way to

20:14

just take a breath. you can see for you

20:16

can see for me is hard to do. I took a

20:18

breath and I I took a breath and

20:20

I was like, just focus now, we can just

20:22

focus now. We can focus on keep growing

20:24

this business. And I don't. have to lay

20:26

awake at night. night. sick in my my

20:28

stomach wondering if we're going to be able to

20:31

pay our rent. be able to pay you know,

20:33

and You know, And that was the first

20:35

time and then it just kept going from

20:37

there. just forward to today there. have

20:39

over a hundred locations today, you

20:41

have the a hundred built quite

20:43

the around the US. You've has

20:46

your role in

20:48

the business changed changed as

20:50

the business has scaled? know,

20:52

it's funny because I am so

20:54

customer driven. driven. From day

20:56

one, I mean, you would see me in

20:58

my in my my right above that first store.

21:00

And when I'd hear the store I'd I

21:02

would the down I I race being on the

21:04

sales floor. I love talking to our

21:07

customers. I love talking to what's been fun over the

21:09

years is, you know, fun obviously CEO. is, you

21:11

know, and growing as fast as

21:13

we were growing, as five million

21:15

growing, 5 million to 75 million, 75

21:17

you know, to 90 million million

21:19

to 115. We know, it was just like hiring,

21:21

how how we were managing all

21:23

of this, bringing on amazing leadership

21:25

within our organization, building our

21:27

team out. our team out. didn't get to

21:29

have as much of that time

21:32

in the stores stores that I loved to

21:34

have. I was still involved in

21:36

all the design, but I love to

21:38

touch anything the customer touches, but

21:40

I wanted to connect with her more.

21:42

with her more. it's been really great

21:44

over the last, I'd say five

21:46

years. years. Now that I've got this

21:48

phenomenal team around me, I've been

21:50

able to do some of those

21:52

things that allows me to really

21:54

reconnect with our customer with our really

21:56

see her and meet her and meet her

21:58

firsthand. And so first. and job here

22:00

is to make sure that, you

22:02

know, she's the boss. She's my boss.

22:05

and I got check in with her regularly I

22:07

gotta find out what she needs, what she

22:09

wants, what she's happy about, what she, know, whatever

22:11

it might be. And that's

22:13

my first priority every day

22:15

is is and delighting our

22:18

customer. and really working with our

22:20

teams on thinking creepily how we can

22:22

do that. When you have

22:24

a great deal of success, that's

22:26

not when it ends, that's when

22:28

it begins. The pressure really is

22:30

on then because you have to

22:33

keep exceeding those

22:35

expectations for your customer. And

22:37

then in addition to that, keeping your

22:39

culture alive. We talk a

22:41

lot about you know, go, why culture,

22:43

culture, especially in the early stages of

22:45

business, when you're starting a business, well,

22:47

is culture really that important? Your culture

22:49

is everything. It's the heart. of a great

22:52

company. so our culture for me

22:54

initially was that I was a mom.

22:56

So family was everything. And I

22:58

wanted to create an organization that felt

23:00

like family, that supported each other's

23:02

families, and that treated our customer like

23:04

family. So family was the heart. Giving

23:07

back to our community was at the

23:09

very start of this, this was my purpose,

23:11

was I wanted to create a fashion

23:13

brand that helped change the world for the

23:16

better. and hiring people that

23:18

have that like mindset. So

23:20

understand what your core values

23:22

are. then you start to hire people

23:24

that share those core values and that becomes

23:26

your culture. And for me,

23:29

I am the head of that, the light

23:31

of all of that to make sure

23:33

that we keep that at the forefront. because

23:35

that's what shines through when you walk into

23:37

one of our stores. That's what you

23:39

feel with any interaction with our customer service

23:41

teams. So those are the things that

23:43

I like to focus on and I think

23:45

now get to really spend the most

23:48

time in. Yeah. and And You've got

23:50

something exciting up and coming.

23:52

new book. Born. Born

23:56

to shine. Can you

23:58

tell us, can you tell us how that came

24:00

about. Oh my gosh, you gosh, know,

24:02

I had been wanting to do

24:04

a book. I love speaking, I

24:06

love speaking to entrepreneurs. started the I started

24:08

women's Entrepreneur and and Leadership Institute at

24:10

the University of Texas in 2019, really

24:12

really wanting to be able to

24:14

have the ability for all women

24:16

major able to learn the able to learn

24:19

the entrepreneurial mindset able to and be

24:21

able to understand how that works

24:23

and get a little bit of

24:25

what being an entrepreneur could be

24:27

like, even if you're in school

24:29

of education, you know, giving

24:31

those tools of an entrepreneurial mindset can

24:33

be so important. And everybody was like,

24:35

Kendra, was you need a book. You

24:37

need a book. need, you know, the writing notes when

24:39

I'm talking know, the writing some of these things down. and

24:41

he And when of these hit, it

24:44

was such a kick in the

24:46

gut. gut. For for all of us. I mean,

24:48

it was such a hard time. And

24:50

I And I was going through a

24:52

lot of personal struggle at the time as

24:54

well. as well. But to the

24:56

outside world, I was the

24:58

founder of a billion dollar brand,

25:00

everything was great. And I

25:02

felt like it was so important,

25:04

like it was than ever to share

25:06

more now more to share. to share, be

25:09

vulnerable, to be open

25:11

about the peaks, but more important

25:13

the valleys that I've experienced over

25:15

the last 20 years 20 this business.

25:17

this business and sharing those. we I

25:19

think it be be honorable. There's

25:21

real power in that. There's

25:23

really there's so much power in that.

25:26

I And I think this is a book,

25:28

not just for business owners or entrepreneurs,

25:30

but for people that are going through a

25:32

transition in their life, you know, that

25:34

there's something that... that is changing that's big.

25:36

Maybe it is going into a new

25:38

career or getting back into the into the career world.

25:40

world. It could be a graduate is going

25:42

is going through this next big life change

25:45

in their life. So I think think there's just

25:47

a lot of lessons in this book

25:49

about helping to kind of find your own

25:51

light. find your own addition to that,

25:53

helping other people see the light

25:55

within themselves. light within I'm really excited

25:57

about the book. I'm curious.

25:59

curious. What's the one big the one that people

26:01

that people can take from the

26:03

book? thing What's the one thing you

26:06

want people to take away? I

26:08

I think you know, look, at the end of

26:10

the day, we are all unique. unique and and

26:12

special and different. that And a good thing.

26:14

a good thing. We don't want,

26:16

we to be be like anybody else.

26:19

in And in this world of

26:21

social media, and we all feel like

26:23

we're afraid to show our flaws.

26:25

our flaws. We're afraid, we have to to things.

26:27

We need to look perfect and we

26:29

need to smile and we are afraid

26:31

to show our and we are I hope

26:33

this book helps people know that they're

26:35

flaws. know that their beautiful, beautiful marks on

26:37

who they are. who they And that's

26:40

what made you made you you, And

26:42

that's what makes you unique and

26:44

special and to not be afraid

26:46

to share that, but to say

26:48

I'm proud. I'm proud. of who I am, I'm

26:50

proud of where I come from because it

26:52

doesn't matter. what you've gone through,

26:54

where you've come from, how many people tell

26:56

you how that you can't do something that

26:58

won't ever happen. I hope this book shows

27:01

them that yes, you can. this And you are

27:03

unique and you are special and you are

27:05

put on this earth. and to do

27:07

something awesome, whatever that is, that brings

27:09

you joy. to do something awesome, whatever

27:11

that is that brings you joy. Wow.

27:13

Incredible. So Talk about

27:16

the gears. Talk the now with

27:18

recession. recession. What advice advice do

27:20

you give to and and small

27:22

businesses looking to weather the storm?

27:24

You know, I know, I about earlier about how,

27:26

you know, starting my business right

27:28

after a very a very uncertain time, really

27:30

for a globe, a crazy time to a lot

27:32

of people, a crazy time to start

27:34

a business and with a new

27:36

baby. think You wouldn't think that's always

27:38

a great idea. But the But the greatest

27:40

thing that happened is that it forced

27:43

me to kind of think about life a

27:45

little differently. life a little That time period, I

27:47

knew I wanted still to feel good

27:49

and beautiful, but I couldn't afford what was

27:51

out there as a new mom. out I

27:53

loved color. I And so I was trying

27:55

to so I void that I saw, a right?

27:58

that I saw, right, and create. jewelry

28:00

that was attainable for women.

28:02

When the the recession hit, that foundation

28:04

of luxury that was

28:06

attainable. an was an amazing thing,

28:08

right? And the connections that I

28:10

made with my customers all of all

28:12

of our philanthropic efforts gave me me

28:14

the support of our community. really really

28:17

fell in love with more more than

28:19

just the products, but but fell in love

28:21

with what the brand stood for and

28:23

what we showed up doing all the

28:25

time, right? And that's that's when it

28:27

also me me to look at the business

28:29

differently. So sometimes when these things shake

28:31

up, even the pandemic, I'll give you a

28:33

great example. I'll give you a You know, I

28:35

had to close know, I had to stores

28:37

on March on March I remember it it

28:39

day I I didn't sleep the night

28:42

before before, when we all we all had to

28:44

make that decision of what was

28:46

the best decision for our customers and

28:48

our employees. our employees. and how sick that

28:50

made me feel. And I remember I going, us we've

28:52

got to meet the customer where she is

28:54

now. where she is now. is she

28:56

now? She's at home. She's on her

28:58

phone. She's maybe also, also, you know,

29:01

very scared. So our philanthropy

29:03

department started getting boots on the

29:05

ground. We had our stylists

29:07

picking up the phones, calling good

29:09

customers, checking in on them. How

29:11

are are you Do Do you need anything? Elderly

29:14

customers. we had store

29:16

staff delivering them

29:18

food and soup at their doorstep. And

29:21

really again thinking, trans connection.

29:23

before transaction. The The connection we make

29:25

with our our was so important. so We

29:27

moved up plans for curbside. That was

29:29

something we were going to do in

29:31

the fourth quarter for Christmas. fourth We

29:33

had to move those plans up to

29:36

April up to April We were able to

29:38

take our team and say, stop working

29:40

on some of these things. I say,

29:42

this was our 2020 plan, our 2020 plan.

29:44

Okay. This is what happened to our 2020

29:46

plan. think as And so I think

29:48

as an entrepreneur, we've got to

29:50

be open to There are good, we we do

29:52

We do great job planning things.

29:54

We put forecasts out there. We're

29:56

ready, right? then things then in in this

29:58

world. They're going. and I love to

30:00

use the expression shake snow globe because that's what

30:02

happens. You have to be able to

30:05

go and go, it's okay, that it's not

30:07

going go exactly like this. What

30:09

is our ultimate goal here? We don't wanna

30:11

lose our business. We wanna make sure our

30:13

customers are getting what they need. So how

30:15

are we gonna pivot and be agile right

30:17

now? Unless start throwing things up

30:19

against the wall. Have that entrepreneurial spirit

30:21

of roll your sleeves up. That startup

30:23

mentality is what we needed as a

30:25

company, even though we're here we are,

30:27

you know, almost 20 years in at

30:30

this point. was

30:32

that startup mentality of. You've

30:34

got to try things out and

30:36

see what sticks. And that gave

30:38

us this new agility. We had

30:40

been kind of really like overthinking

30:42

so many things that you sometimes

30:45

miss opportunity because you're trying to

30:47

be very thoughtful, very careful. but

30:49

during COVID, we were like, we gotta move

30:51

fast. We got paint the train while

30:53

it's moving, folks. And we don't have a

30:55

chance to just sit here and overanalyze

30:57

things. And so we really had to put

30:59

the gas on on some of these

31:01

other things that we weren't doing. We started

31:03

doing virtual styling. all of

31:05

our in -store events, like

31:07

our Kendra Gives Back events

31:09

that support local charities, we

31:11

had to do virtual Kendra

31:13

Gives Back events. Those events

31:16

started bringing in more than new

31:18

and were leap back to those organizations

31:20

because now we had audience that maybe couldn't

31:22

have made it into the store. now

31:25

able to do that shopping event online. So

31:27

that's something that is now stuck. with

31:29

us as we continue to do in

31:31

-store events, we mirror that and do

31:33

the same events online. And so all

31:35

of those things were kind of forced

31:37

onto us. because of COVID, but

31:40

we're great gifts to now that

31:42

we're running actually a better business

31:44

than we were prior to this

31:46

event. So, you know, my advice

31:48

is be agile. I know a

31:50

plan is great and we all

31:52

love a plan. but we got

31:54

know that sometimes that plan isn't be exactly what

31:56

we think it is. Prepare sometimes

31:58

for the worst. but be ready to

32:01

absolutely take advantage of those opportunities when you

32:03

can to take something that seems scary and

32:05

actually make it something that is way better

32:07

than you had originally dreamed. And when you

32:09

talk about be agile and changing things or

32:11

changing things up and shaking it up, that's

32:13

very entrepreneurial. How do you how do you

32:15

make sure that your team or that you're

32:17

not doing too many things, right? Because it's

32:19

You can kind of fantasize, right? Like you

32:21

can kind of go, what if we do

32:23

this and this happens and then we do

32:25

this and this happens and how do you,

32:27

like, how do you work that out to

32:29

maintain that balance? Because that's a trap that

32:32

I've found you can fall in. So the

32:34

first thing is you can hire all youths,

32:36

right? If I hired all tendras, this place

32:38

would be chaos. Total chaos. It would be

32:40

crazy. pretty shiny thing over here. Oh, we

32:42

should think about that. And I'm throwing things

32:44

out there, right? But I have this amazing

32:46

team of people around me that bring different

32:48

strengths to the table. any entrepreneur that just

32:50

keeps hiring themselves. You're going to first of

32:52

all have a lot of yes people and

32:54

you're not going to get very far because

32:56

you need that diversity within your team. You

32:58

need to have some folks that go, okay,

33:00

I see this, but what if we thought

33:02

about this or we're thinking about the timeline

33:04

of when we're going to launch this? Perhaps

33:07

it might fit better here. Or if we

33:09

took that element of this, we could still,

33:11

I love this idea, but maybe this needs

33:13

to be in here, you have to have

33:15

this collaborative group that brings different things to

33:17

the table, and you have to be able

33:19

to not always be right. The greatest thing

33:21

you can do as a strong leader is

33:23

say, yeah, actually, that's a better idea. You

33:25

don't have to be the one that's always

33:27

got the great idea. I love it when

33:29

my team is coming up or says. You

33:31

know, Kendra, that's good, but what about this?

33:33

And I'm like, whoa, yes, that's even better.

33:35

And I I think sometimes

33:37

when you're this founder,

33:40

you're this leader, you

33:42

want to be like

33:44

be like I've got all

33:46

the ideas and I've

33:48

got all the answers.

33:50

I've got all the the greatest

33:52

thing a great leader

33:54

can do is say,

33:56

I don't have all

33:58

the answers and I

34:00

know my weaknesses all the

34:02

than I know my

34:04

strengths. And I'm going

34:06

to bring a team

34:08

around me that is

34:10

absolutely amazing on the

34:13

things that is good

34:15

at. amazing on the how you

34:17

can start to take

34:19

then's you don't want

34:21

to have to empty, don't want

34:23

you to have an to

34:25

have a full plate

34:27

of ideas. of ideas. But But they're

34:29

always there, right? right? start to have a

34:31

great team that starts to pick the best

34:33

ones, that the best ones. the best And then

34:35

cherry you may change. ones. And then had

34:37

launches change. do in 2020, we

34:39

waited. going to do in It wasn't the time

34:42

to do it. wasn't the time prepared to do them,

34:44

but we all looked around the table and

34:46

said this isn't the time. table This isn't the

34:48

time, we've got to focus on other things

34:50

right now and let's wait on that other let's

34:52

put that aside for a minute. that. And

34:54

that was the right decision to make. Even though

34:56

we were all super pumped and excited about it,

34:58

we knew it was the right thing to do. about

35:00

And when you look back at your the right thing to do.

35:02

you hope your legacy will be?

35:05

career, what do You know, I,

35:07

legacy will I think for me, think for

35:09

me, it's what I said a little bit

35:11

earlier bit earlier is, you You know. a fashion

35:13

I'm a fashion designer who is

35:15

told. couldn't do it. I that I couldn't

35:17

do it don't have any formal don't

35:20

have any formal training. I'm

35:22

a college dropout. my first business failed.

35:24

I come from a tiny town

35:26

in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this little, you

35:28

know, farming community. My

35:30

grandparents were farmers and coal miners. and

35:33

coal know, I did have my aunt,

35:35

thank goodness, who was thank goodness, who was

35:37

in fashion. I think for me I want

35:39

people to know that it doesn't matter where you

35:41

come from and it doesn't matter what you're told

35:43

you should do. or how your

35:45

path should look. should do or how your path

35:48

you are passionate about

35:50

something about something and you... are just

35:52

absolutely no in heart of hearts. This is

35:54

what I was meant to do. meant

35:56

to you also have a purpose that

35:58

is greater than just just If you are

36:00

you are running your business

36:02

today because you want to

36:04

be rich, you you have

36:07

already failed. Because money money does

36:09

not make you happy. You've

36:11

got to have a greater

36:13

purpose. I hope that my

36:15

legacy is that you can

36:17

do what you love. love, you

36:19

great success, but you can

36:21

also change people's lives for

36:24

the better in the process. for

36:26

the better in the process. Amazing. Well, look, it

36:28

from us, Kendra. Thank you

36:30

so much. That was an

36:32

incredible interview. interview and if people want

36:34

to check out the book,

36:36

out the book, Amazon bookstores, Kendra .com. Thank

36:38

you so much. that's it that's it for

36:41

today's episode. So I one quick favor from

36:43

from We in so much effort to

36:45

find the most most as hard to reach

36:47

founder, super successful fans, the greatest fans

36:49

of our generation. of All I ask All

36:51

I can you share this with a

36:53

friend? Just one friend. It really, really

36:55

helps us grow this show this show. it's

36:57

going to help your friend, your friend, right? So

36:59

share this this with just one person. It

37:01

would mean the world to us can

37:03

can grow show show and build this community.

37:06

All right, All right, that's it from me.

37:08

I'll speak to you soon. you soon.