Truth is, you can’t run from an idea that visits you every day and as we settle into another new year there's no better time to quit putting off that daydream and make it a reality, even if only part-time. When launching a business, taking it from an idea to reality isn't easy, however, I’m a strong believer that hard work and determination pay off for those that hustle. For fashion designer Megan Smith of Megan Renee, launching her namesake womenswear label was always the plan but it didn't happen overnight.
In 2016, after years of being unfulfilled in designing for retailers such as Macy's and Nordstrom, Megan realized it was time to push herself to dive deeper than ever before. “Moving to LA, I knew that working for larger companies I could get a lot of experience, network, and meet a lot of people.” Megan continues, “Fashion as a designer is a lot of work and long hours so I knew that if I didn’t at least attempt to do it on my own I would never know unless I tried.” Receiving amazing praise from clients, she knew she could do it for herself.
Dedicating nights and weekends to create her first collection, Megan Renee debuted at LA Fashion Week with a slew of new customers. “So many people were asking how and where they could buy, and since it was my first collection, I had no idea what to do,” Megan recalls. Shortly after her success at LA Fashion Week and the launch of her online store, sales started pouring in immediately. While slowly building her brand, Megan knew it would take savvy strategy and resources to get her label to the next level. “I applied for grants and every opportunity for young and emerging designers that would help me get funding. I applied about 5 or 6 times to Project Runway and kept getting rejected."
After connecting with a former casting producer, she suggested trying out for a new show, Making the Cut. Appearing on Amazon Prime’s reality fashion design competition show and receiving applause from celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, the brand’s popularity grew overnight. After an upsetting loss for Megan and those who grew to love her over the season, she knew it was only up from there.
Since departing from her Amazon show, Megan decided to take a break and pursue her clothing line full-time. As of today her designs have been featured in major publications and worn by celebrities such as Issa Rae, Becky G, and Dominique Fishback and her absolute favorite of them all, Kelly Rowland.
It wasn't easy getting onto the likes of the most iconic celebrities of our generation but Megan is the epitome of doing what it takes to design one's own life. “Making money is part of owning a brand but that's at the bottom for me. What really makes me happy is when I see people in my clothes and they love it while looking good. I’m grateful to be able to do that and have that reach.”
Courtesy of Megan Smith
What’s your advice for women who want to take that leap of faith but are hesitant to pursue their dream of starting a fashion business?
Megan Smith: The biggest thing is to just start. It doesn't [matter] where or how you start, the amount of money you have, or even the number of resources you have. Even if you’re designing one thing per week, or one piece every few months, just start. The problem is so many of us think about the bigger picture and when thinking of it as a whole it's overwhelming. Breaking it down into steps, one thing after another is how you build momentum. You have to realize it's a process; it doesn’t happen overnight but you have to start somewhere. Don’t wait to start. Just start with bits and pieces, you don’t have to do everything at once.
"So many of us think about the bigger picture and when thinking of it as a whole it's overwhelming. Breaking it down into steps, one thing after another is how you build momentum. You have to realize it's a process; it doesn’t happen overnight but you have to start somewhere. Don’t wait to start."
Courtesy of Megan Smith
What are your thoughts when it comes to doubting one's own ability of if they can succeed in what it is they set out to do?
Once you start and build that momentum, you’ll slowly gain the resources you need, they’ll come to you. That’s what it means to walk in your purpose. Once you start, blessings will come.
It takes money to start a quality clothing brand. What have been the strategies you’ve found helpful when funding your business?
As a young designer, I didn’t make much money so there was a lot of sacrificing. Starting out, I built relationships with fabric stores that had close-out fabrics which are fabrics on sale from companies going out of business or canceled orders. So I would get fabrics super cheap and the return from my sales gave me the boost I needed. I’d use all that money and put it right back into the line. All of my disposable income went into my clothing line.
Starting out, I kept my day job and today I still design for other people. I don’t encourage anyone to just quit their day job on a whim. If you can do both until you’re at a place with a steady income to support your lifestyle and the brand, then I would suggest that. Instagram makes things look glamorous like, “I quit my job!” That's not reality.
Courtesy of Megan Smith
Designers have to be resourceful when executing the vision. What are a few things you had to take on personally that were a challenge?
I already knew how to make patterns but I sucked it up when I started making my own lines. I taught myself how to sew my first samples, I would do it all. If you don’t know how to do that there [are] so many people here that will help you. My first seamstress and pattern maker, I found on Craigslist. I taught myself how to do a lot rather than outsourcing which saved a lot of money as well.
For more of Megan, follow her on Instagram.
Featured image courtesy of Megan Smith; illustration by Kyra Jay
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak