Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Irene Kaia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Irene, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Starting my own small business, a women’s clothing boutique, was the biggest fear of my life. I had always known since I was 12 that I wanted to be my own boss, and create something of my own. It wasn’t until another 12 years later that I had finally gathered the courage to pursue my passion despite all my fears and the obstacles that were obstructing my path.

I have clothing sketches from when I was 12, binders full of many clothing store names with the themes, color schemes and blueprints all planned out, and even a scholarship to a fashion design college in Los Angeles. All discarded and disregarded. Every single attempt I have made to pursue my dream, especially accepting my college scholarship, has gone horribly wrong and turned me away from starting my own business. This is when I realized how much passion and determination I have always had, to push through these unfortunate times. It wasn’t until late last year (September 2022) that I have decided to finally bite the bullet to figure out if it would work out or not – instead of constantly having those late night life re-evaluations wondering how my life would have been like today if I had just consistently followed my passion.

I let go all of those fears. Investing tens of thousands of dollars into my business just for it to flop., Stepping out my comfort zone, losing close friends when I would eventually find out they were using me for what I have, putting in hours of my valuable and already-scarce time for something that might not even give me a return. I left all those fears behind me, quit my 9-5 job (still a Nursing student and keeping social media as my main source of income) and bought my website domain while I was stuck at Harry Reid International Airport for a 5-hour layover. www.prettygirlculture.co was now mine.

Irene, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi! If you guys have never heard of me or what I do, my name is Irene. I have always loved creating my own, especially if a bag is involved. I have always preferred to be hands on, where I have 100% control over the outcome and the creativity process. Specifically to my business, I have always hated how low-quality many clothing brands were. They were fashionable, trendy and cute, but did not last long. Sometimes they would check all the boxes but yet make you feel not your best when wearing it. So after 12 years of going back and forth and getting frustrated at the clothing market, I decided to create my own brand where quality is my #1 priority along with creating clothing that would fit the customers’ bodies just right and make them feel like the boss babe they are. Pretty Girl Culture is for all the prettygirls around the world 👩🏻‍🦰👩🏾👩🏼👩🏻👩🏿

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Managing your finances is one of the most important things you need to master. I have been working since I was 12 years old, illegally at that age as a server at a small restaurant in Orangeburg, South Carolina. I did not get paid hourly. Only tips, which would only come up to $30 if I was lucky, after a full shift. I dealt with adults taking advantage of my age and stealing my $2 tips off my table in front of my eyes, to being screamed at by customers in front of the whole restaurant every week. Men throwing their money at me (literally). All kinds of degrading acts, especially to a 12 year old. Of course I didn’t stay at this job for more than a year, but I have always pushed myself to work extremely hard and have never felt the need to spend my money on useless things that provided no value or return to me. Because of how well-managed my finances were, I never had to make payment plans on anything or take out loans which I am greatly appreciative for. From all the cash I have stacked, spending my whole summers working up to three jobs since I was 12 while all my friends played outside and went on lavish vacations to Hawaii, I had enough to set aside to fund and hand-build my happiness and lifelong passion.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Knowledge is power and wealth. I have always loved self growth (way before it was “trendy” lol) and learning from those who have “made it”. I was never a fan of learning from school teachers, since they never seem to provide me much value and are teaching me from a place of…complacent. I recently have been following Alex Hormozi closely, after reading his book “$100M Offers” and attaining lots of value from it. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is also a gem. It is amazing how much knowledge other successful business owners can gift you, and how much it can improve your business and mindset just by paying attention to what they have to teach you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prettygirlculture.co
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/irenekaia/
• Facebook: facebook.com/prettygirlcultureco
• Other: TikTok: prettygirlculture