IAM847- Co-owners Run Clothing Line For Culturally Conscious Women

Glamourina is the go-to activewear apparel brand for culturally conscious women, birthed in the culturally diverse melting pot of Washington DC. Co-owners Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins are working mothers who share a passion for designing fashionable clothing that inspires and uplifts women. “Our mission is to encourage all women to live healthy active lifestyles by providing cultural and unique activewear for all body types.”

With apparel for the culturally conscious woman requiring representation, Kia and Nekol are determined to restore the chocolate city soul in women around the globe by offering a quality product that demands the attention of the ancestors.

Glamourina apparel is changing the industry by bringing a contemporary feel into the marketplace, while effectively addressing the needs of activewear lovers across the globe with a vintage twist. The Washington DC-based brand is more than just an ordinary clothing line, it's an inspiring lifestyle choice.

• CEO Hack: Journalling
• CEO Nugget: (1) It's business and never personal when running a business (2) Be willing to listen to your customer or business partner
• CEO Defined: (1) The business is all on you and being proud of creating something (2) Having a passion and driving it to build a successful business

Website: http://www.glamourina.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopglamourina/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopglamourina

Full Interview:

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Transcription

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00:02 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEO's without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness 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.

00:29 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have two very special guests on the show today. I have Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins of Glamorina. Kia and Nekol, it's awesome to have you on the show.

00:41 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Thank you for having us.

00:43 – Gresham Harkless

No problem. Super excited to have you both on. And before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Kia and Nicole so you can hear about all the awesome things that they're doing. And Glamorina is the go-to activewear apparel brand for culturally conscious women. Earth is the culturally diverse melting pot of the Washington DC area. Co-owners Kia Nekol are working mothers who share a passion for designing fashionable clothing that inspires and uplifts women.

Their mission is to encourage all women to live healthy, active lifestyles by providing cultural and unique activewear for all body types with apparel for the culturally conscious woman requiring representation. Key and Nicole are determined to restore the chocolate city sold and women around the globe by offering a quality product that demands the attention of the ancestors. Glamorina's apparel is changing the industry by bringing a contemporary feel into the marketplace while effectively addressing the needs of activewear lovers across the globe. With a vintage twist, the Washington DC-based brand is more than just an ordinary clothing line. It's an inspiring lifestyle choice. Kia and Nekol, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:50 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yeah.

01:51 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I know I read your bio on all the awesome things that you're doing. Could you take us through what I call your CEO story to let us know a little bit more about how you came up and started with this phenomenal idea?

02:06 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yeah, absolutely. I guess I'll start. I always start with this question. So Nicole and I came together back in 2015. Before that, Glamorina was a blog that I had where I was highlighting local artists and designers in the DMV area. And then I took some time off and when I decided to come back to Glamorina, I saw that Nicole was an artist and she had her own painted shoe line. So I approached her about possibly doing some type of collaboration and after that was in 2015, so after a couple of years, we really came up with this decision to create an athletic line, culturally inspired athletic line. And we launched our first collection in 2017.

02:51 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Absolutely love that. It's so funny how, and I'm a big blog guy, so it's always, I'm, you know, always pro blogging. It's always great to hear how something just kind of starts out and then you find somebody that's, you know, just as, you know, creative and has their own zone of genius, and you kind of come together and you create something phenomenal.

03:09 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yep, that's exactly kind of how things happen for us.

03:13 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. And so I wanted to hear a little bit more about the line. Could you take the brand? I should say, could you please walk us through what we can find and what it stands for?

03:24 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Sure. So glamorina, like, as you read, is the go-to activewear brand for culturally conscious women. So what Kia and I do is try to create attractive, culturally inspired prints and designs that really cater to women of color. In our different body types, we offer a wide range of sizes, extra small to three, XL, just making sure that we try to cover the full range of body types that are out there. And we're an inclusive brand.

We always consider our audience, and we actually try to offer as many activewear pieces as possible. So we would like to be the one-stop shop where you can find everything from your headbands and beanies down to your athletic socks, leggings, and pretty much everything that you need for, you know, to be equipped for your workout. So we're really trying to incorporate a lot of different items in our collections that we release each year.

04:20 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I love that. And, you know, I often say the phrase kind of making a way out of no way. And I love, you know, when I was reading your bio, and as you just said, too so many times, you know, I think is a beautiful time that we live in now, because if there isn't something that exists in true entrepreneurial form, you decide to create, and as you mentioned, you know, not having that inclusivity and that representation, you decided to create this clothing brand that's helping to kind of fulfill all those gaps.

04:46 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yeah. Like Nicole said, we just felt like we were not represented in that activewear market. We really didn't see people, women that look like us. And if we did, that woman was this kind of, you know, monolithic type. She was super fit, she looked a certain way, her hair was a certain way, and we really just wanted to showcase the diversity of black women and women of color, that we come in different shapes and sizes and colors, hues, our hairs are different. So we really aim to represent that when we are promoting glamorina.

05:19 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that's so huge. And again, I'm sure there's a lot of people, you know, that are seeing your line and seeing the brand and everything that you're doing and saying, I'm glad something finally is created for me because so many times, as you said, you see the commercials, you see the Instagram ads, the Facebook, whatever it might be, you feel like you're not represented, and it doesn't just fit for who you are and even what you stand for, right?

05:40 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Absolutely.

05:42 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. This could be for you or your brand or a combination of both, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

05:52 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yeah, I think there's multiple factors that make us unique and set us apart from, you know, other brands that may be similar or in our industry. One is that you know, we are a brand that cares a lot about our customers. We consider them our tribe. We're on our fourth collection right now, which is called the tribe collection, because we feel like we're a family. So we communicate. We're very transparent with our audience, and we love to provide, you know, quality customer service wherever, you know, it fits wherever it's needed, because that's important.

A lot of major brands don't always keep that in the front of their minds at the forefront of their business. And that's something that we've been doing since day one. Something that we plan to continue the more we grow, we plan to, you know, keep that family, you know, relationship with our audience, because that's important for people to know, the people that are supporting you to know that you're here and they feel like they can relate to you. I think that's why we actually started the brand, because we wanted to show women that look like us, that you are represented, you are included. So we want to keep that family, tribe community aspect to our business. And that's one thing that definitely sets us apart, along with our inclusivity, our size range, and our designs that are unique to us.

07:06 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have. What's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

07:18 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Mine is not necessarily a book, I think, for me, is journaling. So I started to do that a couple of months ago and was really out of the request of my therapist because I go to therapy. And so she really suggested that I start journaling. And I have found that you know, Nicole and I talk about this all the time, just how busy it is being mothers. We're both mothers of young daughters. We work full-time and then run Glamorina as a full-time job.

So our lives get super busy and our minds get clouded and bombarded with just so many tasks. So there was a moment when I was having trouble sleeping, and so I started journaling before I went to bed just to kind of get it all out. And I feel like. I feel like that's a CEO hack. I feel like that has helped me in my business and in my personal life just so that I can get some rest and get it all down to kind of prepare for the next day.

08:13 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client, or if you hop into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

08:28 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

I would say something simple. That's a big cliche, but it's so real. I think one phrase would be, it's business and never personal. You know what I mean? Like, when you're in a business, when you're working with people, whether it's a customer or any aspect of communicating with people in your business, you have to keep it business and not personal. And I say that. I mean, don't take offense to things. If a customer emails us and says, hey, I don't, my package didn't get here, or my, you know, something like, you know, something argumentative, I would say it's not, we can't take that personally.

She's not saying, Kia, Nekol, I don't like you. I don't like which, you know what I mean? It's just, it's a business thing. So I think keeping your business always in your head, it's business and not personal is a key component when running a business because you have to keep your feelings, and emotions out of it and know that you're running a business. And that's really what it is and takes the emotion out of it most of the time. That's how you said that. I was going to say something very similar. And I probably because we just got an email last night, sometimes we get emails. It's not even a customer, it's just someone who has an opinion about our business.

And sometimes I wonder, like, what are these people like, what do they want? You know what I mean? But so I definitely 100% agree with that, that you can't take it personally. And early on, I used to take everything personally because I'm a little sensitive. But we've had to learn how to just separate our feelings. I think for me, a nugget, what I would tell my younger self is really be willing to listen clearly, like really listen. Especially with working with a business partner, whether it's a family, it's a friend, whether it's multiple partners.

You really have to take time to have active listening, I think to practice active listening where you're not just the person talking and you're already formulating your head what you're going to respond to. We're really taking a moment to hear, what your business partner or even your customer is saying and take a moment to take that in and then decide how you want to respond. I think sometimes we just, like I said, we're just so ready to respond back, but we're not clearly hearing what the person is saying. So I think that's important as well. Yeah, that's definitely a nugget in business and in life, just with anything.

10:54 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, it's funny, I think both of those are nuggets in business and in life, because I think so many times, like you said, everybody has an opinion, and of course, you want to make sure that you listen to those things. And as you said so well, too, about what your brand stands for. It's so important to kind of keep your nose to the street and nose to the customer, so to speak, so you know exactly what they're looking for, what's coming up for them, what maybe not, what hasn't maybe even been created and be able to create that.

But I think it's so important to kind of understand that a lot of times people will project things in life and in business, and it's not all the time. Most of the time, I feel like it's not even about you, it's not about your business. Sometimes it's the way that they envision, they view the world, maybe things that they believe that they couldn't do, that they are hoping that you are able to do. But I think so many times being able to kind of take it in but not have it affect you. And that's why I love those hacks, because it allows you to really get rid of some of this stuff, take in what you can use, and continue to move on, but at the same time, not let those things that don't serve you or your business kind of affect you too much.

11:59 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yeah, absolutely.

12:02 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So 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, CEO's on the show. And since I know both of you are co-owners, what does being a CEO mean to you?

12:15 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

For me, that is. That means no one is going to love your business the way that you do. So ultimately, while you might be delegating responsibilities, it's still all on you. The business is still, it's your dream, it's your vision, it's everything that you have put your heart, sweat, and tears into. So for me, just being a CEO is being proud of creating something that from nothing is glamorina is like our baby. Even though I had Glamorina as a blog before, it was not on the level that it is now in terms of a clothing line.

That's only with the help of my business partner and us working together. So I just think CEO means so many different things, but definitely it just means that you are the boss and everything is really on you. Yeah. And I think for me, being a CEO is like having a passion, being very passionate about something, and turning it into something that can build your generational wealth and financial freedom. And I think that's just in the simplest terms because, for me, I've always had a passion for business.

Ever since I took my first entrepreneurial class in high school, I've always known I wanted to have a business. I've tried multiple things. Having glamorina as a business is a passion. It's something that I, we started from the bottom and I want to see it through, you know what I mean? So having that passion and driving that passion to really build a successful business and financial freedom for both of us, you know, through this passion that we have.

13:52 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that's so huge. And I think I love kind of you talking about, you know, it's like a baby or even like planting a seed, so to speak, and seeing that seed grow in water and being passionate about it. But I think that, as you said, so well, I think so many times we forget that the impact we make, obviously, is, you know, within us as teams and the people that, you know, we sometimes serve, but sometimes we can, we can't see the impact that we can make and creates that domino effect.

So, like you mentioned, that generational wealth where your kids are able to really be able to enjoy the fruits, I guess, of what it is that you created and planted those seeds and grew from that passion because you put your blood, sweat, and tears into it. And I think so many times we forget all the things that are involved in creating a business. But I think when you start to see it grow, you start to see it expanding, you start to see that generational wealth and that generational impact.

That's when it really kind of hits home for sure. Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I truly appreciate that definition. I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know and of course how best they can get a hold of you. Find out about all the awesome things that you all are working on.

15:03 – Kia Phillips and Nekol Gaskins

Yeah, absolutely. So our collection, the tribe collection, is our fourth collection in 2020 and is launching today, October 16. So we are super excited about the launch and super excited to share all of these new pieces with everybody. So when this podcast comes out, the collection is going to be in full swing. So definitely make sure that you check us out at our website, www.glamarena.com, and our fans followers. If you're listening, you can follow us on social media, on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. And our handle is shop glamorina.

15:44 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And we will definitely have the links and information in the show notes as well too, so that everybody can get a hold of everything from Glamorina and all the awesome things that you all are working on. And I truly appreciate your time. Appreciate you reminding us of, you know, how what we're doing and what we're creating and following our passion can turn into some really phenomenal things, not just for ourselves, but our generations beyond us. And I think there's more conversation that needs to be done about that. But I appreciate you for taking this step and creating something that didn't exist before. So thank you so much and I hope you both have a great rest of the day.

16:16 – Outro

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. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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