IAM351- Entrepreneur Creates Clothing Space for Women Over a Size 12

With over 20 years in apparel buying and merchandising for the majors, I started StyleForIt out of my own need. Women over a size 12 did not have a specific Resale & Consignment platform for their clothing. StyleForIt has created a space just for them.

• CEO Hack: Hiring people to manage social media and operations to get the support you need
• CEO Nugget: Hire smarter people than you
• CEO Defined: Managing processes and people, solving problems and being innovative

Website: https://styleforit.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/styleforit/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/styleforitinsf/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/styleforit
https://styleforit.com/content/15-press

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Amanda Watson of Style for it. Amanda, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Amanda Watson 0:39

Thank you for having me.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

No problem. Super excited to have you on. What I want to do is just read a little bit more about Amanda so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing.

With over 20 years in apparel buying and merchandising for the majors, She started StyleForIt out of her own need. Women over a size 12 did not have a specific Resale & Consignment platform for their clothing. StyleForIt has created a space just for them.

Amanda, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Amanda Watson 1:07

I am. Yes.

Gresham Harkless 1:08

Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

Amanda Watson 1:15

So like you said, my background is in the Apparel business and has been my entire career. I constantly buy clothes. At one point, I was able to sell some things. And then I looked at a wardrobe of suits that I could no longer wear because the lifestyle has changed in San Francisco and in the overall landscape.

But what am I going to do with these things, and can you sell them on other sites? And I'm not going to name names, but they're not specific to the world of girls oversized as well. So I thought, well, what an opportunity. So three years ago, I did some research and decided to custom build out a website. Styleforit.com was born.

Gresham Harkless 1:53

Nice, I definitely appreciate that and true entrepreneurial form, it's like you find that something isn't really, I guess focused on the target that you're focused on. And rather than saying, Oh, I wish they did XYZ decided to create it yourself. Correct?

Amanda Watson 2:10

Yes.

Gresham Harkless 2:12

Nice. So could you I guess, take us a little bit more through software, and what can we find there? How does it work tell us a little bit more about how it serves the clients you work with.

Amanda Watson 2:20

So we are a resale specific right now. And there are two ways for women to sell to the site. One, you can go ahead and post on your own, create an account, and take photographs of the pictures of items rather, than yourself. And we encourage people to take fun photos of themselves. And of course, a simple photo of the products and make a credit description, price it, and then we will take it from there and upload it for you. And you get an 80% commission which is a really high commission that was really important. The model and then you could also request him a bag and I can send that to you. And you can fill it up and we will post it for you with photographs.

Gresham Harkless 3:05

Nice. So even if you are let's just say tech savvy, you can basically go in sign up, and then you can get it mailed to you. And you guys mailed to it and do all the fulfillment and all those things.

Amanda Watson 3:15

Exactly. So we'll mail you the bag, you fill it up, it's the postage is prepaid, drop it back at the post office, and we will take care of it from there.

Gresham Harkless 3:24

Nice, nice, I definitely appreciate that again, because I always say especially when you're building something if you can make it as simple as possible for people to use it until to leverage it and manage, it makes it a lot easier for people to take on it and to run with it.

Amanda Watson 3:41

We want women to have the best experience possible when reselling their clothes so and to make it easy because I know people are busy so

Gresham Harkless 3:48

Absolutely, absolutely. And would you consider that to be your secret sauce? It could be for you or it could be for your organisation. But what do you feel makes you unique, and helps you stand out?

Amanda Watson 3:57

I think because we're a higher commission rate, I think in most resale spaces, you're getting to get probably 20 to 30% of what the price was. Or I should say, what is the current price is the resale price you're probably looking more like 10% of the original retail price. So we're looking at 70 to 80% commission depending on which way you choose their mailing or post on your own. So we want people to you know get more bang for their buck. I mean, if you're going to sell something, we want to be different. We want you to know to get as much as you can out of it. So and then also the customer service component.

Gresham Harkless 4:32

Yeah, well, that's actually what I was going to touch on because it sounds like everything is very customer-focused and customer-centric, so to speak, where you know, you are putting the customer first because a lot of times when you're reselling something you get such a low commission that even wonder if you even want to sell it you might just keep it but the fact that it's so high and it sounds like you guys have such a great customer experience. It seems like more people will be coming back.

Amanda Watson 4:59

Yeah, that's what we're hoping and so we're trying to create a community-based platform as well for women within the plus-size space. So it's really important for us to look at other maybe new designers that are making fashion girls oversized 12. So we're trying to see if we can work together maybe to get some of their overruns. At some point, we really want to create a sense of community for these women.

Gresham Harkless 5:21

Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like I'm inherent in us as humans, you always want to belong and be part of a community. So it's great that you're doing that. And you're empowering people as well to be able to resell their clothing and things that they want to resell. So I definitely appreciate that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Amanda Watson 5:50

One thing I learned for the first year and a half of doing this, I was doing literally everything by myself. And I was also still working full-time. So I start hiring the right people. So I hired a social media manager. She's amazing. So that was really that and she's in the space, the plus space that has changed everything, I mean, got more traction on the site. It just it's also a collaborative thing to work with somebody, I think that if you can afford it, hire the right person, either manage your social media or manage your operations, and start looking for people that can support you and that you'll have to pay them, but you're looking for people that are within this space that you're working on, and let them support you. Even if it's just on a part-time basis. It'll change everything.

Gresham Harkless 6:38

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Always getting the right people in the right spaces is definitely the key to being successful. Do you have anything that you notice that you did, or maybe you've heard people haven't done, but yet you have been able to do to make sure that you're getting the right people in those right spaces?

Amanda Watson 6:55

That just hiring Social Media Manager, she seemed to know all the right people, all the right bloggers, influencers, whoever needed to be contacted, even though I come from that world. I didn't know anything about influencers in blogging, I know of them. But it wasn't where my area of expertise came from. So she's not only helped the website but she's helped teach me how to do things better. And approach people from a social media standpoint, it's been a wonderful experience hiring her.

Gresham Harkless 7:24

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a phenomenal point. Because I think that a lot of times, I think is a reflection of leadership. Because I think you always want to surround yourself with experts and people that are really great at what it is they do. Because when you're able to do that, it also helps the brand, the clients as well too, but also helps you out as far as growing, I find.

Amanda Watson 7:45

Yes, I had heard this nugget years ago, and then in the 90s, from a CEO, and he said to hire people that are smarter than you. I always liked that one.

Gresham Harkless 7:56

Exactly. So is that your CEO nugget? What do you feel?

Amanda Watson 7:59

Yes, yes.

Gresham Harkless 8:03

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a huge thing, just because a lot of times some people can be threatened by hiring people that are smarter than you. But in order to do that, it helps build the entire company, the organization, and the brand as a whole. So I think that's a great CEO nugget. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Amanda, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Amanda Watson 8:29

Well, if I read, I wrote down a few words that I feel are really important, number one is being an innovator, you have to, you can't be complacent, and you have a great idea. And you went with that. And that's working, you have to keep working towards the next part of it. And think in the future, what, you know, what does this look like in a year? What does it look like in five years? Where can we still expand, you can reach your pinnacle, but that you're not there yet. There's more to do.

So I think innovators, one of them, I think being a manager and not too hands-on, but managing through the process, not necessarily the people, I think it's really important, and is having the ability to problem solve because they're going to have a problem. I mean, that's a negative problem, but things are going to crop up that you're going to have to switch it on quickly and fix it quickly.

Gresham Harkless 9:16

Absolutely, I think those are great characteristics of a great CEO, especially problem solving because sometimes you feel you're a part-time firefighter because it just is things that always pop up. But being able to put those on and also think of creative and innovative ways that solve problems or to think about 5-10 years ahead is definitely a great thing as well too. So I appreciate that definition. And now I wanted to pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and then of course how best they can get a hold of you.

Amanda Watson 9:52

Well, I think that just as a word of advice to have a clear plan, and if you're going to execute that plan make sure you have the finance to back it up because I've flowed in that particular arena when it comes to the money and just make sure that it's there so you don't do a lot of work and then you get to a point where it's like I can't go any further but I'd hate to see that was for somebody you know have the clear finance and a clear plan to back that up so you can run things smoothly and manage it easier. I think that will make your life a lot better. I actually would like to check out styleforit.com We're all over the place. We're on Facebook and Instagram and of course our website styleforit.com

Gresham Harkless 10:36

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, thank you so much again, Amanda. And I will have those links as well on the show notes so that anybody can follow up with you and see all the awesome things that you guys are creating and working on and I just truly appreciate you for building Style for it. And I appreciate your time today and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Amanda Watson 10:55

Thank you so much for having me.

Outro 10:57

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community.

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This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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