We were lucky to catch up with Carli Solomon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carli, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you ever had an amazing boss? What did you learn from them? Maybe you can share a story that illustrates the kind of boss they were or maybe you can share your thoughts on what you think made them an awesome person to work for?

The best boss I’ve ever had was actually the worst, she was so unhealthy to work for.

This woman made me crazy. She would do things in such a manic and demanding way, but in turn, she taught me the best lessons in business I’ve ever learned.

She owned a private label womens clothing company and I was hired to do sales for small single boutiques to large nationwide companies.

I very quickly learned that I would be wearing many hats and not only did the sales, but the buying and the correspondence with overseas manufacturers.

When smaller boutiques would order a garment we ran out of stock on, she would have different items sent in its place. When the boutique owners would complain, she would accuse them of placing an order for the wrong garment.

Once she had me order 20,000 units of a single white blouse. About 3/4 of the way through it being manufactured, she wanted me to cancel the whole order and get every single penny back for it – including the deposit.

In the office she would come in one day and shout from the rooftops, that all the files needed to be organized in alphabetical order and then the very next day, would come in and lose her marbles and demand they be sorted by date.

One time, she said all the employees were required to wear sneakers the next day, when she walked into the office, she tried to dock pay for anyone wearing them and not business attire.

Everything was done on a whim. The work environment was a nightmare BUT, it taught me so many valuable lessons for running my own company.

Through her insanity, I learned how to be quick on my toes and organized, not only on paper, but how to catalogue everything in my head so that I understood the business and knew what the bottom lines were.

Having to constantly rearrange how we did business, in turn, gave me the skills to be mindful of how I operate my own company. From good customer service with not only the end consumer, but also other business owners – to good communication and relationship building with manufacturers. From working well on a team to treating my employees as they should be, because they are the heart of what makes my business work. No big company can run with only one person behind the wheel.

Even though at the time, I really didn’t like working for this wild woman, I now, so appreciate my time spent working with her because I harnessed such good skills and practices in such a short amount of time and I really feel that they helped to propel me forward a lot quicker, than if I would have to had to learn them on my own.

Carli, 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?

Tegan and Ollie was born when necessity met personality.

A lifelong cartoonist and artist, my husband, Sholom Ber Solomon loved to create all forms of fun and imaginative content. In 2017 Sholom became globally viral for his incredibly adorable and fun loving, unique photos with our little newborn daughter, Zoe. He amassed a tremendous following and was featured in every form of media publication from CNN to the printed pages of People Magazine and even starring in a Kelloggs cereal commercial. Sholom wanted to expand and continue in that vein by combining his natural cartooning skills with his colorful personality; embarking on creating a children’s clothing product that would allow for the end consumer to experience a world of fun, whimsical and imaginative designs.

Enter Lemor Abrams Kosov, an Emmy-Award winning television news reporter and journalist, top of her field and revered in her industry. After giving birth to her second son Johnny, Lemor was frustrated with the current baby apparel options with its basic feel and limited functionality. With the strong-willed mentality of “if you want something done you do it yourself,” Lemor had the innovative idea of using all her investigative journalistic and networking skills to source the softest most sensitive fabric and bring it to market. With her classic tenacious drive, Lemor was eager to set out and find a breathable fabric that was hypoallergenic, creamy and luxurious as well as soft on sensitive skin. Conscience not only of the material benefits, Lemor also strived to find a sustainable eco-friendly product that would be as good for “us” as it would be for “you”.

Independent of each other, both Sholom and Lemor had a vision to create a special and superior line of baby garments. It was inevitable that when their paths crossed and they discussed their visions to create a completely different type of baby clothing product, it would be a serendipitous and destined partnership. The combination of colorful and imaginatively whimsical designs blended with the need to source the softest- most sensitive and high quality material, was the moment Tegan and Ollie was born.

The initial partnership was complete with me, Carli, Sholom Ber’s wife. After graduating from FIDM, I spent years in the New York and Los Angeles fashion sphere, both in the wholesale and retail sectors. It was a no brainer that I would be integral at running the managerial side of this operation and be the central driving force to this one-of-a-kind enterprise. With my limitless knowledge of what’s in-vogue, its manufacturing processes as well as its social media components, my multidimensional skillset was key and fundamental in launching Tegan and Ollie…and ultimately naming the company after Sholom Ber’s and my two daughters, Zoe Tegan and Olivia aka Ollie.

It is each of our individual life paths that led to the very personal origin story of Tegan and Ollie. It is these combined dreams to create a unique and special world of baby clothes that motivates the company’s mission in every aspect of the apparel universe and in every day operations. Tegan and Ollie’s goal is to have parents and their children be enveloped and engaged in a totally unique experience when it comes to baby clothing. *Experience* a sense of lighthearted wonderment and an escape into a world of colorful and joyful imagination. *Experience* fabric with such creamy softness of touch that it soothes and matches the sensitivity of your delicate baby. Ultimately our objective is for our customers to *Experience* a community where we care not just for giving back to it and it’s environment but to share in a brighter and more enjoyable world where you can literally… “Feel The Joy.”

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Our reputation is solely built on quality of product and AMAZING customer service.

Firstly, we hand check every single adorable pair of pajamas that leaves our warehouse to insure that our customers are receiving something they will love. We also gift wrap each order in beautiful packaging, so that each time a customer receives their items, it feels like they are opening a present. We want our customers to feel joy when shopping with us. Our prints are whimsical and our bamboo fabric is so soft, that one can’t help but fall in love with it.

Secondly, we pride ourselves on excellent customer service. Not only are we available around the clock to answer any questions or concerns but we are candid in the way we do so. I find that having transparent communication with our customers builds a stronger connection.

Another way we connect with customers is via DM on Instagram. I’ve personally built relationships with customers that have led to them joining us to model in our photoshoots and becoming close friends.

It’s very important to us, to know that our customers are not only happy to purchase from us, but that they believe we are worth investing in as a company.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’ve learned through my husbands large account @sbsolly, that the size of the account doesn’t matter. It’s the engagement that does. How active are your followers? How likely are they to interact with your content? Also, Likes don’t mean a thing. You can have a product image thats cute, gain 10,000 likes, but not convert to a single sale.

The key to social media is building relationships with your followers. Finding something in common to chat to them about. Congratulating them when they have a child, wishing them a happy birthday, or commenting on their summer vacation photos.

Bonding in private conversations with followers, turns into them becoming excellent customers and that in turn, makes them the most amazing focus group you could ever ask for. Our instagram account has a small but mighty following, but I know most of them, not only by their Insta handle name but by their first names as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.teganandollie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teganandollie/