43. Becoming a Fashion Icon with Catherine Addai

Hey you wild women!

My next guest resigned from her corporate career in 2017 to focus on her impressive clothing line Kaela Kay. Her brand quickly evolved with a distinct identity, recognition of culture and customer loyalty. And the designs and prints are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen!!

With a focus on her Ghanaian roots, she emphasizes the beauty in the prints and colors that come from and represent Africa through the Ankara (an-car-a) textiles. Of course not ignoring her North American upbringing, her designs are feminine, classic and classy. She wants all women to identify their personal style in their fabulous size. For this reason Kaela Kay stocks up to size US22 and will custom design for any fabulous size.

Kaela Kay clothing is produced in Toronto, Canada by local seamstresses. This allows her to work closely with the seamstresses to create well-made and well-fitting styles. These wonderful women are self-regulated, creative and hard-working and are able to cultivate the artistic and work-life balance lives that they desire.

As a mom to 3 beautiful beings, she strives to build a company that they too will grow to be proud of.

In this episode you will learn about:

• "If you build it they will come."
• Best advice; collaborate and barter as much as possible especially when first starting out. Free fashion shows, give out free samples...
• Two business mistakes: 1 - purchased too much fabric from beyond overstock and it just sat there - did not sell well. 2 - The partner she worked with didn't fit well and she knew it wasn't going to go well.
• Stand in your ground.
• Fashion creative block: she goes back to her business plan and where she can find the motivation to keep the business going -- looking at her why.
• Connections through photographers and models.
• Consistency and organization are needed to be a leader at home and in the office.
• Tips for someone looking to start on their own:
  • 1. Make sure you have a customer framework (ideal customer),
  • 2. Write down your why,
  • 3. Research other brands that you admire and read their stories.
  • 4. Log off at 5 pm -- set boundaries.
• A good business takes time to grow, years if not decades sometimes.
• It takes time to find a balance between work and business.

What it means to be a wild woman:"To be able to think the most out of the box ideas you can dream of and have the audacity to go after it, and then have the energy and smarts to keep it going."

Public Shoutouts:

• Book: Sewing 101

Resources:

• Website: www.kaelakay.com
• Instagram: @kaelakayonline
• Pinterest: Kaela Kay Online
• Instagram: @thecatherineaddai

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Renée Warren is an award-winning entrepreneur, a 7-figure business starter, and the founder of We Wild Women, a business dedicated to helping women launch their dream business. She previously founded an industry-recognized PR agency that worked with funded technology startups from South Africa to San Diego.

She's a mom to Irish Twins (not planned), a published author, and a drummer.

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