We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amber Wyche a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amber thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

My favorite quote of all time is “Give everything but up.” – Amber Wyche

Firstly, I believe it’s important to recognize that success looks different for everyone. For some success is being able to simply provide for their family, for others, it’s being able to travel wherever and as often as they want. For me, success is a combination of 2 things, doing exactly what you said you’d do and having a positive impact on others. Success is measured in value, not volume. And I know it might sound cliche, but that kind of success comes from discipline, consistency, and perseverance! Nipsey said it best, the only difference between me and other people is that I didn’t give up. It’s important to stay committed to your God given assignment.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

An east-coast hustle, with a west-coast drive. That’s how one of my friends once described me and I think it’s so fitting. I was born and raised in Philadelphia and moved to Los Angeles at 17 years old, two weeks after my high school graduation. At that time I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, I was letting my ambition lead the way. A few years later, I founded Pray 4 Fashion, a motivational streetwear brand. I’ve always been into fashion, but when I was younger having a business wasn’t as common as it is today, especially for black women. So I tried expressing my passion through other avenues, such as styling. And while I loved it, I didn’t feel like my voice was being heard. As I was trying to find my path, someone very close to me passed away. This person would always say that he could see me having my own clothing boutique/brand, and that was the seed that would soon become Pray 4 Fashion. I went to FIDM (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) for Business, with a concentration on Merchandise Marketing and a year after graduating my brand was born.

PRAY 4 FASHION is a street-wear brand built on faith for the trendsetters, influencers, hustlers, and creators. We make it our mission to inspire our generation to believe in their purpose, art, and dreams by providing a style of clothing that reminds us to always choose faith over fear.

VISION: To build a community of believers and empower our generation to choose faith over fear so that we can shift the culture forward.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A person and/or brand’s longevity is based on their ability to pivot. Business, just like life, is a combination of highs and lows, and getting back to a “high” is determined by how you operate during the lows. During COVID, I was challenged to make a personal and business pivot, both of which led me into markets I never thought I’d be in. The personal pivot was getting into real estate. Being a real estate showed me that I didn’t have to be married to just one idea or industry. You know what they say, most millionaires have at least 7 streams of income. It was important for me personally to expand me network (and net worth) beyond the fashion industry. Secondly, my childhood best friend and I started a podcast (Just Another Motivational Podcast) where we showcased other creatives and gave them a platform to share their stories. There came a time where I could no longer connect with my community through pop-ups and workshops and that physical engagement was something that was important to me. The lesson that taught me was there’s multiple layers to having a brand. If you have a product based business there is always an intangible service aspect that can be added that will directly or indirectly benefit your bottom line. And vice versa, if you have a service based business you’re leaving money on the table if you’re not selling a product that relates to the service you provide.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my social media presence before being an “influencer” was a thing, lol. And I did so through being authentic. I would make “day in the life” videos, be transparent about my journey, share tips and answer questions. Again, this was before this concept was popular so people were drawn to it. They were able to connect a real person to the brand. I was my own brand ambassador. My advice to those starting now is to BE YOURSELF. Authenticity can be felt, even through the screen. And your audiences will be drawn to your true identity, not the person you pretend to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: pray4fashion.com
• Instagram: @pray4fashionofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pray4fashionofficial/
• Twitter: @pray444fashion
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUXFiAA_rlD_qElsU37KxzA
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-another-motivational-podcast/id1486089716

Image Credits
Briah Hall Dame Dash Wallo Estelle