We recently connected with Kylah Currie and have shared our conversation below.

Kylah, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

Starting my business has been one of my biggest accomplishments. Before I got busy it was so easy to focus and plan and market without being distracted. Owning a business comes with many trials and tribulations. There is a lot of trial and error that I have experienced. From inventory and pricing to marketing and reaching out to customers. One thing I wish I would’ve learned faster was planning in advance will take big launches a long way. There are seasons within a year. You have to look what’s around you and what’s trending at the time. Product availability and the demand has a lot to do with the customer’s decision in purchasing product. Another thing that I wish I would’ve learned earlier was having year round products as well as signature products that make your brand. I didn’t know how essential my custom chains were until a lot of people knew my business and knew that’s what I specialized in. If i had to start over today, I would market my products better and stay consistent. Starting early and taking time to plan is vital in Entrepreneurship.

Kylah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a 21 year old Senior at Alabama A&M University studying Business Management. In 2020 I started off as a Criminal Justice major but something about Entrepreneurship was so interesting to me. I did research and quickly knew that owning a business was something I definitely was capable of. I soon established my LLC, K.Symone Couture, and began with a few items like necklaces , purses , headwear, and small jewelry in my inventory. I quickly sold out. From the support of my peers, I was very encouraged to keep going. My goal has always been to sell affordable high quality items that can be worn in multiple uses. K.Symone Couture is different from other brands because of the care we provide as a company. Each customer has access to help 24/7, some even reach me personally and always get a response. Customer satisfaction is another big goal of mine. When I kept selling my small products, I was encouraged to add clothes , shoes, and more jewelry to my website and on hand. I even created brand apparel. I am most proud of participating in numerous pop up shops, selling out of items and replacing them quickly as well as still making sales when I became overwhelmed and too busy with school and cheer. I love my business and will continue to pursue it even through my busy career. Making a comeback is so important to me and making customer happy with my pieces is such a big deal.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Recently, I have had to take a step back from my business. Trying to get a degree and cheering as well as being captain of a team for a season is very demanding. Though my business is one stream of income, I had to pause and not be as consistent with marketing and pursuing new inventory as I previously stated. It was so hard because I wanted all my time and energy to go into my business especially while it’s growing.I sat down and planned out things I could do better as a business owner to shift some of my focus back to my sales and profit as well as new looks for the business. Taking a mental break is important because I came back with new and refreshing ideas.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I worked a job over my holiday break in 2020. I saved every check I had and my father was also one of my investors. I calculated all of my inventory samples that I needed and the price of them if I ended up deciding they were good enough to put on the market. Shortly after starting my LLC, I got a business credit card which helped a lot because I got a chance to build business credit as well as buy inventory at one time.

Contact Info:

• Website: ksymonecouture.com
• Instagram: @ksymonecouture
• Facebook: K. Symone Couture
• Linkedin: Kylah Currie

Image Credits
Kylah Currie