We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Lawhorn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Starting Kuhrizmuh began before the official formation in 2015. It started while I was working in a popular retail store years before. As a visual merchandiser and retail manager, I spent my workdays selling merchandise on behalf of these companies. The trending sales were on the rise and I began to think, how could I do this for myself? Initially I would brainstorm a jewelry brand I called I’m Hook’d which included statement earrings that I made alterations to, giving it a specialty aesthetic unique to my brand. Consistency was a struggle and eventually I moved on from the idea seeking to move up in the company I was with at that time. I had been “writing for the trash” ideas of my clothing line that I saw as a future endeavor. Fast forward to 2015, where I ran across that idea in my plethora of notebooks that I hold on to solely to keep up with my poetry and other creative writings. Professionally I was exhausted with being overlooked, overworked, and feeling like promotion would be capped no matter how much I produced in sales from my visual merchandising experience. I decided it was time to take a risk and launch a boutique like the many that had began to grow quickly thanks to the rise of popularity for social media platforms. Satisfied with the brand name, mission, and tagline I moved forward with the pursuit of forming Kuhrizmuh LLC. I launched to the public with Kuhrizmuh in 2016 with about 10 products. Today Kuhrizmuh is seven years old and I am thrilled I decided to pursue my vision.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I am Ashley Lawhorn, wife, mother, entrepreneur, author and owner of Kuhrizmuh Fashion Company. Native to Detroit MI I grew up with a natural hustle that only grew with my determination to succeed in life. At a very young age I was determined to reach the purpose I believed God planned for my life. I knew fashion was the pursuit but I had no idea the journey I would embark on to bring His vision to life. If I can be transparent I’m not sure I’ve reached the full capacity of His plan but I do know I’m walking in the right direction. My entrepreneurial journey truly began in high school but I wasn’t aware of what entrepreneurship really meant. My goal in selling snacks and juices at school was simple, I wanted to have money to spend how I’d like without the possibility of my mom saying no. My goal to sell $600 vacuums for commission in high school was for one goal, to get the prom dress I envisioned brought to life. My father quickly shut that down however, there was no way he would allow his teenage daughter to go into strangers home alone. The grit and hustle is natural to me. As natural as it comes to me, I still had a lot to learn when I launched my fashion brand Kuhrizmuh LLC. I learned quickly and I’m continuing to learn as I work to improve, scale and expand my business. Every high and low is well worth the fight to maintain. This is the one role of my adult life that challenges my tenacity while nurturing my purpose.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The book that helped me most on my entrepreneurial journey is Boss Women Pray: 31 Prayers to Increase Your Success & Spirit by Kachelle Kelly. This prayer guide pushed me to acknowledge my need for seeking God for my business endeavors and my life. In 2015 I was introduced to this book via social media. I had been investing in my business with the purchase of vendor guides, start up guides etc, so I decided to try this guide as well. My pursuit of fashion as my career is rooted in my faith walk with God so I knew I had to include Him in my business even if it wasn’t the thing that would catapult me to purpose. Prayer would be the not so secret ingredient I needed to build confidence in myself and my business. I used this guide faithfully and still til this day it is a staple in my library for connecting with God and stability in my business through prayer. Kelly did a great job at putting into words the barriers an entrepreneur faces in pursuit of success and it was one of the best investments I made for my business.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
After rebranding in 2020, I wanted to try a marketing method that is an oldie but goodie, a commercial. My husband and I were sitting having a conversation and I blurted out Mean Girls! He was confused like what? Yet I continued on, what if I do a “Mean Girls” Kuhrizmuh edition for Black Friday?! I’ll call it Fetch Friday! I rambled on as the ideas flooded my brain. Shortly after, I reached out to a local director and media entrepreneur, Regina Miller, owner of Miller Talent Media. We had met through an entrepreneur class we took together. I shared my vision and she was happy to assist. A few weeks later we had booked a school like location, had an amazing production team, talented models and actors and we shot Kuhrizmuh’s very first commercial. It was so overwhelmingly exciting. I am still very proud of the outcome. It is unique, funny, and nostalgic for the people like me who love that movie with a fashion twist. Fetch Friday is my favorite marketing effort to date. It provided room for my creativity, acting and styling abilities to intertwine with a purpose. It’s so Fetch lol.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kuhrizmuhfashions.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/kuhrizmuhfashions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kuhrizmuhfashions
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-lawhorn-5993b2121
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kuhrizmuhllc
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCVQSGtKi8CL-m8oifjQEX6g
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/qApcwxWbTtb
Image Credits
Vic Vegara with Vergara Photography Derrick Williams