- 7 minutes ago
You’ve probably seen their ads on social media or heard the buzz in your friend group and wondered, “how did they do that?” Learn from these successful apparel founders how they started, how they’ve navigated growth hurdles, built community and scaled their apparel businesses.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Coming to the stage to moderate our panel on how to scale your apparel business,
00:06and I cannot tell it enough, it does not matter what business,
00:10you need to hear from this person.
00:13Tracy of Hairbrella!
00:16She is here in human form.
00:19Let's give it up for Tracy.
00:23Hey, everybody.
00:25How are y'all doing?
00:27I am so excited to be here.
00:29As she said, my name is Tracy Pickett.
00:31I'm the founder of Hairbrella.
00:33I invented a rain hat that solves the problem of women running around with bags on their heads, right?
00:37And we are all about creating innovative and elevated solutions to cover your hair.
00:43So I hope you check out Hairbrella, but it's not about me today.
00:46We have some amazing, amazing panelists coming out.
00:49So I'm going to ask them to come to the stage.
00:51We have Milan, Lanny, and Khalilah coming out.
00:57Y'all give them a hand.
00:58And we're going to drop some gems today.
01:01I'm so excited.
01:02So how many entrepreneurs do we have in the house?
01:05Raise your hand.
01:06All right.
01:07How many of you are thinking about entrepreneurship?
01:10All right.
01:11Good.
01:11We've got a good crowd in here.
01:13So I just want to hear, I mean, these guys have done amazing with their businesses,
01:17but we're going to talk about what it really takes to scale your business.
01:21Now, how many have apparel businesses?
01:23Raise your hand.
01:25Okay.
01:25Service businesses?
01:26Raise your hand.
01:27All right.
01:28So we're going to get into a lot of things that everybody can apply to their own businesses.
01:31But first, thank you guys for joining us.
01:34Thank you for having me.
01:35Tell us how you got started and what is your conviction for your brand?
01:40What made you get started?
01:43For me, I'm a former athlete.
01:45I grew up playing basketball.
01:47I tore my knee up 33 days after signing my first NBA contract, which was a non-guaranteed contract.
01:53So it wasn't like I had a safety net to fall back on.
01:58And as I was trying to think about what I wanted to do next with my life, I thought about how much I grew up wearing sports apparel.
02:04And so I wanted to create a brand that had some meaning and message to it along with the sports apparel.
02:09So the first brand I launched was called Active Faith.
02:12It was a faith-based sports apparel brand.
02:13And then in 2020, I launched Actively Black, which is the premium black-owned athleisure wear brand that uplifts and reinvests back into the black community.
02:23That's amazing.
02:24Give them a hand for that.
02:26All right.
02:27Milan?
02:28Hi, everybody.
02:29I am Milan Harris.
02:30I am the CEO and founder of Milano DeRouge, the Woman Air Club, the Mama Air Club, a real estate investor, a philanthropist, and a good person.
02:39Period.
02:40All the things.
02:41I started Milano DeRouge out the trunk of my car.
02:45I didn't know what it was I wanted to do, but I knew the woman that I wanted to be.
02:49And I wanted to be a woman that was fly about her money and about her business.
02:53So I literally started with two sweatshirts.
02:55I wore one, and I sold the other one.
02:57And the money I made from that one that I sold, I flipped it, and I bought five sweatshirts.
03:02And then I continuously invested in myself and in my business, and I grew Milano DeRouge to a multimillion-dollar company.
03:09Give it up.
03:12Multi-millions.
03:13Yes.
03:14All right.
03:14Hi, everyone.
03:15My name is Kalila Wright.
03:16I am the owner and founder of Mess in a Bottle.
03:19So Mess in a Bottle, we're a T-shirt company.
03:21We put messages on T-shirts, and they come packaged in a reusable bottle.
03:25And so for me, my story is a little bit different.
03:27I started because of activism, in a sense.
03:30So Freddie Gray, an African-American male, he died while in police custody in 2015.
03:36And that really sparked riots in my Baltimore City community.
03:40And I was an architect at the time, making more than six figures.
03:43And I really felt like I had to do something that was more purpose-driven.
03:47So that is how Mess in a Bottle was developed.
03:49And it's really a space in which it became, like, more of where I'm giving a voice to the voiceless.
03:56Like, people need a message.
03:58And so when you wear Mess in a Bottle, it helps to empower you and make you feel amazing.
04:02And it also allows people to, you know, be able to stand in solidarity with one another.
04:08That's awesome.
04:09Amazing.
04:10So I want to know, and you talked about being a former athlete, right?
04:15You talked about starting with just a couple of T-shirts, right?
04:17But what were the resources that you feel like you had to have to get from,
04:22all right, I've got this small business, I'm selling out of my trunk,
04:24to the point where you're actually making, like, your first million?
04:27Like, what was it that made it possible?
04:30What was the catalyst for your first million in sales for your business?
04:34Well, I'll say this.
04:35I don't have any background in design and apparel.
04:40I never had a job other than playing basketball.
04:42So for me, I had to humble myself.
04:44I tell everybody I went to YouTube University.
04:47So I taught myself how to code my own website.
04:49When I first was getting started, I was trying to find somebody to design a website,
04:54and they were charging $10,000, $20,000, which I didn't have.
04:58So it forced me to have to be resourceful and invest in myself and learn.
05:02I would say that the biggest thing for me in scaling my business from the start to where it is now
05:08is building an audience, right, building a community.
05:12I think a lot of people, they'll build a product,
05:15and then they'll try to go find somebody to sell it to.
05:18I kind of reverse engineered that,
05:20and I found audiences and built a product that spoke to them.
05:25So one of the most important things to scale in order to get to a million dollars
05:29is that you have to have repeat customers, you have to have people who are going to
05:32be brand ambassadors for your company, for your product.
05:37So when they feel like they're wearing something that represents them,
05:40they don't feel like they're a welcome billboard for you.
05:43They feel like they're wearing something that represents them,
05:44so it's much easier for them to share it.
05:47And that's how you get some of the virality of people sharing it.
05:50And the word of mouth is still the best form of marketing.
05:53But I will say the tools that are available now on Instagram, on TikTok, on YouTube
05:58to be able to advertise and target your specific audience,
06:04that's really what has helped me to scale going from zero to the multiple millions
06:09that we've been able to be blessed with.
06:11That's gold. That's gold.
06:12We're going to get into some of the repeat purchase
06:14because I think that's one of the things that is very tactical
06:17that I didn't know when I started that that is critical to your business.
06:20But what about you, Milan?
06:21Milan, what was the catalyst for your first million in sales?
06:24What was the most important thing?
06:25So when I started, I didn't have a lot of money.
06:28I didn't have much resources, and I didn't have any mentorship.
06:32But I had the will to win.
06:34And literally, I went to YouTube University like my boy over here,
06:38and I was just trying to learn as much as I can,
06:41and I was watching so many success stories
06:43because I wanted to see people that started from the bottom,
06:47and I knew that if they could win, I could win too.
06:49Me getting to my first million,
06:51it was literally me investing every dollar back into my company.
06:56So I remember when I was making money, but I wasn't seeing it.
07:00I went to go visit my dad in prison,
07:03and he was like, he hear everybody bragging about Milano DeRouge,
07:07and I'm like, yeah, it's doing good, but I'm not really seeing the money.
07:10And he was like, explain to me your process.
07:12I said, every time I buy shirts, they sell out.
07:15He said, how long does it take for you to get new inventory when they sell out?
07:18I said, it takes about three weeks.
07:19He said, so that's what's happening.
07:21And the time that it sold out in those three weeks,
07:24all you're doing is spending money, and you don't got no money coming in.
07:27So it was like I was running around in a circle.
07:29It was like a rat race.
07:30He said, your goal is to never sell out.
07:33And literally, I made that my mission.
07:35So once I bought some inventory, I would double it,
07:37and then I would triple it, and then I would quadruple it.
07:40The products that people like, that's what I invested more into.
07:43The products that the people didn't like, I literally would figure out a way to promote it
07:47or put it on sale, but I wouldn't buy back into that inventory.
07:50So that was my strategy.
07:51My strategy was to never sell out.
07:53And I just started to watch the business scale and grow.
07:57Can I answer that as well?
07:58I was going to say, I see so many people in the audience,
08:01and if you are really interested in apparel,
08:04and I came to Essence probably five years ago in between the pandemic,
08:09and literally, I was on in a seat or standing in an audience and saying,
08:14Dad, I want that to be me.
08:16And what I would do is I would, we have a bottle,
08:20and I would see who's on stage, see what places I could be,
08:25position myself at doors, ask people to take pictures with my brand,
08:28and that's what I would then post on social media.
08:31So if anybody has been following my story for seven years,
08:33they would know, like, I grinded to actually be on the stage
08:38because I made sure that I wanted, and I set goals,
08:42and I said, I want to go from there to here.
08:44And I literally made that my footsteps.
08:46And I made sure that every room I was in, I would wear my jackets.
08:50I didn't have the money to buy inventory.
08:52I wore my jackets.
08:53I wore stuff.
08:54I had friends who threw one of my bottles on stage to Queen Latifah
08:58and to Lena Waithe on an Essence stage.
09:02And Lena Waithe wore it to the, like, NAACP Awards,
09:05and she was voted Best Dressed by People's Magazine.
09:08And my stuff was all over the Internet.
09:12So that is how I made millions of dollars in my business.
09:15I grinded.
09:16I drove a truck my third year doing Essence Fest
09:19from Baltimore, Maryland to New Orleans,
09:23having a vending machine and putting it, and now we're here.
09:26And now I was able to have somebody drive for me this year and fly.
09:29So this is a process.
09:31It's not a speed race at all.
09:34I just want to say something because you bring up a good point.
09:38We all started from the very beginning, right?
09:42And I think a lot of times entrepreneurs get into the habit
09:45of comparing themselves to other people,
09:47especially, you know, with social media, right?
09:50Social media is all highlight reel.
09:51You don't see what goes on behind the scenes.
09:54I know for me, I'll speak for myself,
09:57but I'm sure y'all can attest to this.
09:59I went years without even paying myself, being able to pay myself.
10:03It was that sacrifice of reinvesting everything back into the business
10:06so that it could grow.
10:08And that's one of the things that I think people miss
10:11is appreciating those humble moments, not even just for us,
10:16but a company as big as Nike.
10:17Phil Knight started Nike.
10:19He was selling shoes out of his trunk at track meets.
10:21A lot of people don't know that's how Nike started.
10:24So something as big as that still starts from humble beginnings.
10:28And those who have that dream and that drive
10:30and are willing to go through that sacrifice,
10:32oftentimes that's how you make it to the next level.
10:35Absolutely.
10:36And I love what you said, too, about the hustle
10:38then created the opportunity, right?
10:41A lot of times people see like,
10:42oh, wow, you're being warned by celebrities,
10:44but it was grinding, taking chances leading up to that opportunity.
10:48That's amazing.
10:49So what would you guys say is like the amount of time
10:52it takes for a business to become profitable?
10:54Because I think sometimes the expectation is,
10:57oh, man, you know, well, we did $10,000 this month,
10:59but I still don't have any money,
11:00or they haven't learned cash flow.
11:02So what are the pitfalls kind of during that journey,
11:04and how long does it take to be profitable,
11:06and kind of what were the things that you had to figure out
11:09about your business to make it profitable?
11:12I was just going to say real quick, a business is a baby.
11:15One of my mentors, Alfred Edmonds,
11:17he had to explain that to me, because my second and third year in business,
11:20I kept on being like, dad, same feeling.
11:22I'm not making the money.
11:23I'm selling a lot of people know about us,
11:25but it didn't feel like I was making the money, you know?
11:27And so he told me, a business is a baby.
11:30He's like, why would you want a toddler
11:31to be able to pay you already?
11:34And I was like, dad, I didn't really think about that that way.
11:37It's because it takes years.
11:38It takes time.
11:39It takes like, you know, and you have to understand your margins.
11:42You have to understand your numbers.
11:43We sell t-shirts, so t-shirts are lower hanging fruit.
11:47Like, that item price might be $26, $30.
11:50You have to sell millions for it to really not only break even,
11:54but then to be able to pay you a salary, pay for your staff.
11:58Like, there's so much that I think that we negate
12:00when it comes to business and understanding business
12:04and that word of cash flow of really understanding your numbers.
12:08It is integral for you to really know how much products are costing
12:12and what it is to just make the product and also sell the product
12:16and even market and promote the product.
12:19What about you?
12:20So when I started Milano DuRouge, it really wasn't about the money.
12:24It literally was I started Milano DuRouge to make a difference in my life.
12:28So I just wanted to, listening to Beyonce's song, I was here,
12:32she said she wanted to leave her footprints in the sand at the time,
12:35to leave something to remember so they won't forget.
12:38And I was like, okay, how can I leave something for people to remember?
12:41So I started Milano DuRouge.
12:43It more so was a passion project for me.
12:45So when I started, I had no idea about financial literacy.
12:49I literally was just doing what I love.
12:51And as I was enjoying the process, the money started to come in.
12:54I was promoting the behind the scenes
12:56because Milano DuRouge means making dreams reality.
12:59So I was sharing my journey.
13:00I was sharing the ups and the downs
13:02because I wanted to inspire people to dream,
13:05not just about the money because I felt like
13:07if you truly care about what you're doing and you truly love it,
13:11you can turn that passion into a paycheck.
13:12And that's what I did.
13:14Like he said, I took that sacrifice where in March 2016,
13:17I decided that I'm no longer going to pay myself until I grow my team.
13:21I wrote my check and I put it in the Bible
13:23and I didn't cash it until March 2017.
13:26Because I knew that I did not want to sit in a store in Philadelphia
13:29and just do hand-in-hand merchandise.
13:31I didn't want a mom-and-pop shop.
13:34I wanted Milano DuRouge to be a brand that inspires people
13:37that whatever they want in their life,
13:39they can accomplish it if they truly believe it.
13:42So I feel like me growing my brand, it was more from passion.
13:49And once I really started to see money, I'm like, wait.
13:51Oh, damn, we hit a million dollars.
13:53I had no idea that we hit a million dollars.
13:56We were probably at like $1.3 million when I finally found out
13:59because I wasn't really looking at my numbers like I should have been.
14:03But once I realized that, I'm like, oh, damn, this is a real business.
14:06I got to start taking this seriously.
14:07So now I'm starting to read financial literacy books.
14:11Now I'm starting to talk to my accountant and sit side by side with her
14:14so I can understand like, all right, what I'm supposed to do with this.
14:17I definitely think one of the most important things to do is make sure you pay your taxes.
14:23Make sure you have a good attorney.
14:25Make sure you have a great accountant.
14:27And make sure you understand what your accountant is doing too
14:30because sometimes when people know that you don't know your stuff,
14:33they can take advantage of you.
14:35I'm so grateful that I had a good team that was willing to sit and teach me as I was going.
14:41So I definitely think that will be my pointers.
14:45And what about you in terms of becoming profitable?
14:47What were the pitfalls?
14:48What did you have to figure out about your business that got it over that hump?
14:53Because a lot of people don't know it takes time sometimes for a business to be profitable.
14:56It can be years, especially if you have VC capital and you're leveraging that to grow your business.
15:02But then at some point, you've got to figure out those KPIs that you're talking about.
15:05You've got to know what your margins are.
15:06You've got to know even how long it takes to get inventory, all those types of things.
15:09But what was the biggest thing that you figured out that got it over that hump?
15:14I think for me, one, understanding my unit economics, right?
15:17So understanding how much did it cost for me to produce this product?
15:22What kind of margins, what kind of price do I need to sell this at so that I can make a profit?
15:26But one of the things that people forget to calculate is the cost to acquire your customers, right?
15:31So whether you're advertising on social media, whether you have a street team, whatever you're doing,
15:37you have to factor those costs into the entire equation.
15:41If not, you get lost into it and you don't really see the profit.
15:45So like she said, paying attention to the numbers, that's one of the things that oftentimes we get excited about promoting the product.
15:52We get excited about launching a website and all that kind of stuff.
15:55But the foundation is the numbers.
15:58And in order for your business to grow, you have to be able to turn a profit.
16:02Love it.
16:03All right.
16:04So I want you all to tell me the biggest mistake you have made on this journey in your business and growing your company.
16:13And then what did you do?
16:14What did you learn from that?
16:15And how were you able to turn it around?
16:19All right.
16:21Long story short, I've made so many mistakes in this company and I'm still making mistakes.
16:27I feel like if you're going to fail, fail fast.
16:29One of the biggest mistakes I made was in January 2018.
16:35So I started with sweatshirts and T-shirts and I wanted to go into button up shirts.
16:41And literally when I started, we were just buying product wholesale and screen printing our logo on top of the product.
16:47When I wanted to go into like more button up shirts, we went to the wholesaler and the garment that I wanted, it just didn't fit and it wasn't quality and it wasn't the fashion look that I wanted.
16:58So I ended up spending three times as much on a shirt by going to H&M.
17:03I remember it went viral on Instagram because someone saw that the inside of the tag said H&M.
17:09And mind you, this hurt my heart so bad because this is something that I didn't want exposed.
17:15And I felt like I'm paying three times as much because I wanted you guys to have a quality product.
17:19I wanted it to fit good.
17:21But it, so that right there was one of the hardest things, but it actually taught me a valuable lesson.
17:29So I remember on Instagram, it went viral.
17:31So many people started looking at the inside of their shirt and it was like Milano de Rouge, Milano Rouge is a scammer, X, Y, and Z.
17:37And I remember I was going to the mall.
17:40I typically was going to the stores by myself.
17:43So I'm by myself and I'm about to walk into the mall.
17:45And right before I got off the car, I'm looking at my Instagram and it was so much hate.
17:50And I'm like, wait, if I go into this mall and I see someone, it may take me back to a level that I leveled up from.
17:57Prior to Milano de Rouge, I was literally getting in fights.
18:00I wasn't the most positive person.
18:01Like I'm literally from the hood.
18:03So I was like sitting in this car and I was having a debate with myself.
18:07Like, do I want to go back or do I just want to move forward?
18:11And that was a, that was a tough thing for me.
18:14So I remember sitting in the car crying and I prayed to God.
18:17I said, God, whatever this meant to teach me or prepare me for, I opened up my heart to learn a lesson.
18:23And then I started posting on my Instagram, all of the work that I ever done.
18:28And I remember someone commented on my page.
18:30She said, I came for the hate, but I found a woman of substance and I'm going to support you.
18:35I backed out of that parking spot and I drove straight to my office.
18:38By the time I got to my office, my orders tripled because they saw that I had a genuine heart and my intentions was good.
18:45And that taught me sometimes what the devil meant for bad, God meant for good.
18:48Because the valuable lesson in that was I had to get my stuff together because I didn't realize people looked at me as big as they saw me.
18:57Because I looked at me as that girl from the hood that just started my clothing brand with screen printed shirts.
19:02So now all of our items are cut and sew.
19:05Now we got a really great quality product.
19:07But that right there, that story, it built my character.
19:10It let me know that I cannot let the opinions of others stop what God has prepared me for.
19:16Love that.
19:17Absolutely.
19:18What about you?
19:18So I was going to say failure is progress.
19:22That's one of the messages that I live by.
19:25But I actually learned something great from you recently.
19:28You said, hire, slow, fire, fast.
19:33Hire is, hiring is guessing, firing is knowing.
19:36Yes.
19:37And so for me, it was important because I think that that's the hardest part.
19:44I'm a people's person.
19:45I love people.
19:46I don't want to be the bad guy.
19:48And so I hold on to people for too long.
19:51And that can damage you and your business.
19:55And I am very, like, I'm a, I don't know, I'm not big on science, but I'm a Pisces.
19:59And so I'm like emotionally driven.
20:01So I go into spaces thinking with my heart and not with my mind and my brain as much as I should.
20:08And as a business owner, I really learned that I had to stop being so sensitive and also knowing that it's okay if it's time for someone to transition.
20:18Like, it's not a personal attack on you, your business, who you are, your character, anything.
20:23So once I started doing that and just being smarter and realizing, like, hey, this is not working, this doesn't make sense for us.
20:30And sometimes it could be the greatest person who, even on paper or it looks really good, but, like, they're just not the right fit.
20:38And it happens.
20:39That's all right.
20:40And so I think the faster you can recognize things like that and cut that tie, because it's like what they say, like, if you don't cut off the snake of the head first, like, it will, it becomes a cancer in your whole business.
20:52And it will really damage you.
20:55So I've learned that over the years.
20:57Like, you got to, you know, know what you're doing and be okay with letting go if it's not working.
21:02That's a good one.
21:04That's a good one.
21:05I think I would definitely agree with the fire, fast, higher, slower.
21:10What about you?
21:12Man.
21:14If I can, if I can whittle it down to just one mistake, I've made so many.
21:19But I would say with Actively Black, we're about 29 months old, right?
21:25So we're still in our infancy.
21:27But I'm not a patient person, right?
21:31And sometimes I let my ambition move me faster than what I need to be moving.
21:37And so I have this dream of building a black version of Nike, right?
21:41And so Nike's got the gear, but they've also got the shoes.
21:45And so I rushed our first shoe because I was like, we got to have the shoes.
21:49We got to be the black Nike.
21:51We weren't even two years old.
21:53And I'm over here trying to add the shoes to the product mix.
21:57And the first shipment of shoes that we got, the quality was not up to standard of what people know Actively Black to be,
22:04of what they know our apparel to be.
22:06And I was really disappointed in myself because I allowed that ambition to push me to rush something, right?
22:13And, you know, you talk about, you know, trusting the process.
22:17And I'm still learning that.
22:20I'm still learning that, how to pull myself back and just trust the process.
22:24Absolutely.
22:25And I think one thing that the wisdom for me was, hey, sell one product really, really well.
22:31In fact, my mentor told me to sell one product until I got to a million dollars, right?
22:36And then add other products.
22:37So I think that's a bit of wisdom because a lot of times, like shiny object syndrome, we want to do more and more and more.
22:42But that's not always possible.
22:43So last question.
22:45Last question.
22:46This is about mindset.
22:48I often think that sometimes we think about business as hustle, hustle, hustle.
22:51But it's really about who do I have to become to run a multimillion dollar business?
22:57Who do I have to become to get investors, right?
23:00Who do I have to become to inspire a community of thousands and thousands of people?
23:05So what practices did you have every day or what did you have to change about your mindset to expand to become the person that runs a multimillion dollar business and has scaled an apparel business?
23:17So personally for me, recently, I have adapted and accepted it's okay to fail and it's okay to walk away.
23:27The reason that for me that has become a thing because I've been a workhorse, I've been a person that I grind.
23:34I'm currently pregnant and I'm still grinding.
23:37I was here at 5.30 a.m. setting up my booth, still making sure things were folded and, you know, because I'm so meticulous and I want to make sure everything is right.
23:46But I had to learn and I think that one of my mindset shifts is like, it's okay if this isn't here tomorrow.
23:53Because for me, though, I love my business, I've recognized that I made my business.
23:59My business didn't make me.
24:01So I could come up with a new idea tomorrow, create something else, you know, put passion into something else if I wanted to cook, whatever that would be.
24:09And I'm okay with that because I think that sometimes we get so caught up chasing, chasing, chasing.
24:15We don't even realize how much it's ruining us.
24:18And I'm like, and I woke up one day like, damn, I love this business, but I love me more.
24:23My piece is important.
24:25My social media, yes, you got a TikTok, shimmy, all types of stuff.
24:29But I'm like, on the days when I got to put down my phone and for me, it's okay if like zero sales came in for the day because of that.
24:36Because I had to start prioritizing me and that became really big on the days where I'm like, I can't anymore because I just felt like I was exerting so much energy.
24:47And it made me think smarter.
24:49It wasn't like I'm okay with no sales or failing and all those other things.
24:53But it's like, what is the things that you're really doing to like be smarter about it so you're not hustling and chasing so much?
25:00And it started to ruin me and ruin the passion that I had and the love that I had for the business.
25:06So for me, that's what I started to pour into is me.
25:09And I'm putting me first.
25:10Like, I'm a woman.
25:11Like, I believe in womanare and being a mom.
25:14But I still put me first because I know if I put me first, then my son, my child, everybody will be good.
25:21The business will be great if I take the moments that I need.
25:24I love that.
25:25Take care of yourself.
25:26That's amazing.
25:26Go ahead.
25:27But I had to look at obstacles.
25:30Like, obstacles are meant to be overcame.
25:32I didn't want to be defeated by obstacles.
25:34And I had to change my mindset.
25:36Every lesson I go through, I look at it like a blessing.
25:39Like, what is this meant to teach me or prepare me for?
25:42Because I didn't want my day to control me.
25:45I wanted to control my day.
25:46Sometimes people look at things when a lot of bad things happen.
25:49They start to say, I can't win for losing.
25:51Like, something always happening.
25:53But when good things happen, they never say that.
25:55So, if your mindset is that way, you're going to attract more negative things.
25:59So, me, I typically, I always try to focus on a positive.
26:02I always see where can I have taken accountability.
26:06Because my mindset is literally what got me this far.
26:10I set big shoes and big goals for Milano DeRouge.
26:13In order for me to grow this company to where it is today, I had to become a totally different person.
26:20The old me would have never made it.
26:22I created a vision board for my life.
26:24And I urge you all to do that when you leave.
26:27And I don't want you to create just any vision board.
26:29Think about the woman or man you want to become.
26:32Think about the house you want to live in, the car you want to drive, the cities and places you want to travel to.
26:38More importantly, the impact you want to make on the lives of others.
26:41And the legacy you want to leave.
26:43When you leave someone's presence, what do you want them to say about you?
26:47And I want you to look at that vision board every day.
26:50So, you align your steps accordingly.
26:53I want you to go to bed with a purpose.
26:56I want you to write a to-do list before you go to sleep.
26:59So, you can go to bed with a goal and you can wake up with a purpose.
27:02And you just execute.
27:04Execute on that vision of the person that you want to become.
27:07Love it.
27:07Wow.
27:09First, to piggyback on what you said.
27:11Yes, please.
27:12Give it up.
27:16First and foremost, writing your goals and your dreams down.
27:19Every single thing that I've been blessed to do, I wrote down first.
27:22And it's amazing when you get to look back at what you wrote down and see those things that you accomplished.
27:30But I would say part of the mindset that I've had to change as we're scaling, to your point, you're doing multiple millions in revenue, is I had to learn how to delegate.
27:42You know, I launched this.
27:44Shout out to my mom.
27:44Mama, put your hand up, please.
27:46Give it up for mom.
27:47Yes.
27:47You know, I launched a brand out of my mother's house.
27:53And she allowed me to turn her house into a warehouse.
27:57I had inventory all over her crib.
28:00But growing up, watching her hustle and grind, and she was such a big inspiration for me.
28:08I took that same type of work ethic, right?
28:10And so I'm always thinking I have to do it all myself.
28:13But as you start to scale and you get bigger and you're doing these types of numbers and you're trying to hire a team, I have to learn how to trust other people to execute on the vision that I give them, right?
28:23I've got to be able to communicate this vision and trust them to execute on what I'm giving them.
28:28Because we do have to protect our mental health.
28:30We do have to protect ourselves.
28:32And when you think you have to carry this whole weight on your shoulders, there's times where you can become just mentally and emotionally fatigued.
28:42And in order for me to continue to pour out into the people that I'm trying to serve, I've got to have a full cup as well.
28:48You know, you can't pour from an empty cup.
28:50So that's what I'm still learning how to delegate and trust as I'm building my team so that we can scale to the next level.
28:57That's awesome.
28:58Well, give it up for our panelists.
28:59I mean, I am so excited.
29:03First of all, I'm so excited for all of you guys that are building businesses.
29:07What I love is that we are in a space full of black business owners who are doing from whatever phase you're at.
29:15If you're at your first hundred thousand, if you're at your millions, wherever you are, we know now it is possible.
29:22We know that there is no ceiling on what we are building.
29:25And I am so grateful to you guys for coming here and sharing today.
29:29Give it up again for our panelists.
29:32And we want to wish all of you the best wishes in building your dreams.
29:36Thank you so much for joining today.
29:40One more time, one more time.
29:41Let's give it up for the millionaires on this stage.
29:44Let me say it again.
29:45Let's give it up for the millionaires who started from the bottom.
29:49Now they're here on the stage.
29:51Again, we are so, so elated to have had the opportunity to listen to the hearts of these amazing entrepreneurs this afternoon.
29:59Good afternoon.
29:59Good afternoon.
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