In this 2Inspire Business Profile interview we meet the amazing Emma Reilly, Designer and Founder of Brave & The Bold Apparel, who started her own business after being unemployed for 12 years. Her inspirational story shows us all that it is never too late to start anew, no matter how many challenges life throws our way.
Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?
My day begins about 8.30 when I spend half an
hour prioritising what I need to do for the day. I have a day planner on my
desk and this helps me keep track of what I need to do. At the moment I’m preparing my new
Spring/Summer collection so my day is divided between designing new graphics,
keeping up-to-date with our social media and dealing with orders that come in.
I have lots of meetings dotted about to so much of this work comes with me on
my laptop so I can keep on top of things.
My day usually goes right through into the
night, with a couple of hours break to see my parents and have dinner. I do
find I work much better at night, I think because there is less distraction
from emails and phone calls. I find it quite relaxing just to sit and design
into the night.
What made you start the business and how did you get started?
I had been unemployed for 12 years, In fact my
only experience of being employed was a very unhappy 5 weeks at a marketing
studio. I hadn’t been able to
communicate with other people until I was 25 and that was because I taught
myself. Most of my teenage and early twenties I suffered terrible from a phobia
of people because I just didn’t understand them. It was so bad that I hid under my bed if someone
knocked at our door.
With a lot of hard work I managed to get to
grips with conversation making. I was eventually diagnosed with Aspergers
Syndrome a couple of years ago. At the same time my sister’s partner was diagnosed
with terminal Cancer. It was the shock I needed to try and create some kind of
life for myself. I approached the Prince’s Trust who gave me financial support and a mentor to
start up as an illustrator. My business took off in a big way and I was
eventually able to start my own fashion line Brave & The Bold Apparel.
What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business
world to date?
I travelled to London and it was a VIP red
carpet experience. I was presented with an Award by Prince Charles & Kelly
Hoppen from Dragon’s Den. It was such a
surreal but truly incredibly experience and I got so much press exposure for my
business.
What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
Early on it was getting
enough Capital together to buy stock. Banks weren’t willing to help as a I had a 12 year gap on my CV.
Plus most of the local grants and Awards in my area were being withdrawn due to
the Economic Crisis. That was quite a tough experience and I had to be quite
creative with how I marketed my business and how I got new stock in.
What are your future plans for the business?
I’ve got two exciting
things lined up for the business. The first is that I’m now in talks with a variety of angel investors about
producing some products I’ve designed myself. That’s really exciting for me.
In the very beginning I
kind of went about creating my brand on my own. I thought I knew a lot about my
sector but really went in quite blind. It was through speaking at a business
event I met a retired business woman who had worked in fashion manufacturing
her whole life. She offered to become a mentor to me and it really helped both
myself and my business. I realised then that it’s so important having someone who has that experience
to ask questions of and get feedback. I would have saved a lot of time by
avoiding silly mistakes if I’d had someone like her in the beginning. Now I tell everyone who is
starting a business to try and find a mentor who has experience of their field.
Even just an email every month or so can make such a huge difference.
Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow
their dreams?
I don’t think there is a lot
of emphasis on young women in particular to follow their dreams. We are very
focussed as a society on making women the same, whether that be in looks or
career. I was put off for a long time about starting an urban fashion label
because if you look at most brands in this sector, they are run by men. But in
reality it hasn’t been a problem and I’ve actually had a lot of
praise from male customers, as well as female. I’m now a big advocate of telling young women to do what
you love. I think the more of us who follow our dreams, the more positive
changes we can make for future generations of women.
What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in
your industry?
I have to say just don’t even hesitate. You don’t even have to start
big. I know many females who have started businesses alongside their current
jobs whilst they get themselves going.
All I can say is that
make sure it’s something you love and
something you can live with 24/7. Because you might only work physically for even
a few hours a day, but it’s always on your mind and you’re always planning. I even dream about my business and often wake up to
make notes. I would hate that if it wasn’t something I wasn’t passionate about.
What or who inspires you in business and why?
I get asked this a lot
and I have to say that my parents and sister are my biggest inspiration. I put
them through some awful times growing up. I’ve ruined holidays and caused them so much worry. But
they always stuck by me and spent so many hours doing the things that I couldn’t do for myself. Now
every day that I work I do it for them. Not only to do something that makes
them proud, but I really hope that one day I can make their lives a little
easier and thank them for being such a great family.
What is your favourite
inspirational quote?
Here’s to the crazy ones — the misfits, the rebels,
the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things
differently — they’re not fond of rules.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only
thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They
push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we
see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change
the world, are the ones who do. - Steve Jobs.
Emma Reilly
Brave & The Bold Apparel
Twitter: @wearbrave
Facebook: www.facebook.com/braveandthebold
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