We were lucky to catch up with Jenny Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jenny, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Deep down, I always knew I wanted to own my own business. . . one day. And, when I finally took the leap, I knew I wanted to do things a bit differently.
I wanted to lift up other women, versus throwing them under the bus, thinking there is only room for one of us at the table. There are so many of us struggling with work/life balance. And, with limited capital, entrepreneurs often wear so many hats. I genuinely think if we collaborate, work together, and share wins and challenges, we can create an uplifting community that not only shares in each other’s “triumphs” but also helps disperse the workload—sharing tips, knowledge, processes, experiences gained along the way.
Kalos is a multi-line showroom, championing women-owned brands. We bring curated styles to boutiques and resorts, supporting fellow women-owned businesses.
While meditating one morning, I discovered a prayer that defined the Greek word Kalos as beautiful; true love that gives with a smile, a flourish, and a delicacy; given in a lovely and pleasing way; moral goodness with a winsome, elegant twist. Right then, I knew that is what I wanted for my business. Kalos perfectly sums up my mission to lift up and support fellow women entrepreneurs.
Jenny, 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 majored in Fashion Merchandising at Louisiana State University. After interning in NYC the summer of 2001, I knew I wanted to return there immediately after graduation. I began my career in the fashion industry in Sales and eventually led teams in Sourcing, Buying, Merchandising and Licensing for several apparel companies including Spanx, Ben Sherman, and Carter’s.
My inquisitive and entrepreneurial spirit allowed me to successfully navigate across multiples segments within the industry. I was always eager to take on innovative projects and appreciated the freedom to try outside of the box processes. I genuinely loved leading teams and felt immense pride when team members achieved their own personal and career goals. I learned so much through each of these opportunities and am incredibly grateful.
About two years ago, my role was eliminated due to broader economic pressures affecting the industry. I took the time to focus on my family and to re-center. I have and will always be passionate about the fashion industry. I love spotting emerging trends, building strategies and seeing the holistic creative process take shape and come to fruition. I continued to stay connected to former colleagues and mentors and abreast of the latest industry news.
I felt the constant desire to take the leap into entrepreneurship, but like many, I was afraid to go out on my own. I soon realized there were several entrepreneurs in my circle of friends. We had similar passions and complimentary skillsets. We begin meeting monthly at a neighborhood wine bar. We bounced ideas off one another, celebrated each other’s successes and worked together to troubleshoot each other’s challenges. I saw a theme emerging. A few of the women were designers. They owned their own businesses and were focused on creating products, building engaging social media platforms, and selling the products to the end consumer. They had no time left to build a wholesale business. I saw the opportunity to both fuel my own passion and to support these fellow women entrepreneurs. I returned to my Sales roots and Kalos was born. I could not be more excited about the opportunity to work alongside these incredibly talented women. We are no longer “on our own,” trying to wear all the hats ourselves. We have an uplifting community, respect each other’s differences, and are working together to extend the reach of these beautiful brands.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
*covered in last section (representing 3 friends who own their own businesses)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shopkalos.com
- Instagram: @shopkalosatl
