We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jordan Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jordan below.

Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

As a 6’4″ woman, clothing that fits, has been impossible to find. There are a lot of women out there, like me, and in the future, my daughters, who are being underserved and forced to wear clothing that doesn’t fit properly. At The Elevated Closet, I aim to make longer inseams, longer sleeves, body lengths and maxis that touch the ground for ladies who have been gifted with height.

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

I am a former professional basketball player turned Division 1 basketball coach. As soon as I had my first daughter, I knew that the basketball coaching lifestyle was going to be a road I didn’t want to finish. I quit and stayed at home with my daughters for a few years while thinking about my next steps in life. I had a Master’s Degree in Special Education and a pretty good coaching resume, but didn’t want to continue either of those. My husband, my biggest supporter, told me to think hard about what I truly wanted to do. I secretly always wanted to have my own clothing brand for tall women but didn’t know where to start. I was researching and meeting with manufacturers when an email landed in my inbox. The previous owners of The Elevated Closet were selling and I knew this was fate! I bought the business from them in the fall of 2019, right before COVID. I was able to buy their current inventory and sell that while I was learning the business and getting my feet wet. I am about to celebrate my 3rd year and this business has changed a lot since I started and I am so proud of what I have learned and accomplished since then. I have created items that don’t exist in the current market and have had amazing feedback from women over 6 feet tall all around the world.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

I bought this business from the previous owners in the fall of 2019 and to be honest, it was the best solution for me at the time. I was able to have a full brand with a website, current customers and a road map to get started. I was able to work through things that didn’t quite work for me and pivot and change them to fit me as a business owner. I had to change manufacturers a few times and sometimes I was left with products that were not what I ordered and had to deal with it and learn from the mistakes. There were a lot of “learning opportunities” over the last couple of years. I believe I am turning a corner this year with my business as it has been growing exponentially each year.

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

I initially got an SBA loan to buy the business from the previous owners and was fortunate enough to pay that loan off within 18 months, especially through the COVID crisis, I was blessed to be able to do that. I have mainly funded the business myself since then, except for a shopify line of credit to help with getting new inventory in recently.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ElevatedCloset.com
• Instagram: @ElevatedCloset
• Facebook: @ElevatedCloset
• Linkedin: @ElevatedCloset
• Other: TikTok @ElevatedCloset Pinterst @ElevatedCloset

Image Credits
Nick Austin from Celtic Viking Studios & We Are Not Broken