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

Kennedy, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

I think it’s important to take vactions, no matter how hard it might feel to step away from my business. I love to travel and am fortunate that I get to travel for work quite often, but taking a personal vacation, clocking off (even if it’s only for a few hours a day), and spending time with family and friends is a completely different kind of trip. When my business partner, Mary Ralph, and I first started Daily Drills, we agreed that work-life-balance is something that we never wanted to lose sight of. Of course there will be late nights, working weekends, and taxing trips, but running yourself into the ground is only going to be bad for business! I like to think of personal vacation time as an investment into Daily Drills because I always return feeling so refreshed, inspired, and ready to get back to work.

Of course, that has not always been the case. In our first year of business, we were fulfilling orders from our apartments, operating as a team of two, never feeling like we could step away from work, nor did we really want to! Though I wouldn’t trade those first 10 months without an employee for anything, when everything was still so new and exhilarating, building a team that you can depend on in your absence is integral to not only the success of your company, but in your personal life, too. Knowing that if I take some time off to be with my friends and family, business will still be okay, is the best gift my team can give me. So, take the time to make the right hires, and then take the time to build those new hires up! Don’t skimp on training, make it known that you trust them, and instill them with a confidence that allows them to thrive while you’re away, rather than panic.

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

My name is Kennedy Crichlow and I am the Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of Daily Drills. Though my roots are in small town Lake Tapps, Washington, I now consider myself a Los Angeles local, where I’ve lived, studied, and worked for almost a decade. Constantly inspired by the intersection of fashion, culture, art and food, I interned at start-ups throughout college, igniting my innate passion and aptitude to entrepreneurial pursuits. After years marketing in-house and freelance for multiple brands, I finally decided to take the leap and start my own business. In 2020, I had noticed a niche in the ever-growing leisure industry and reached out to my best friend (and the most stylish person I know), Mary Ralph Bradley, knowing that she would be the perfect partner for what I had planned. We quickly got to work and launched Daily Drills, a fashion-forward apparel line hosting transitional pieces, in just a few short months. From cozy loungewear to stylish workout gear and vacation-ready resort wear, our pieces make getting dressed fun.

Soon after selling out our first collection, Ralph and I quit our social media and marketing jobs to give our constantly growing social media audience what they want. And with a dedicated following who create group texts and set alarms for upcoming drops, it’s clear that our vision of finding the fun in getting dressed on the daily has struck a chord with shoppers everywhere.

What started as cardboard boxes of inventory stacked on Ralph’s apartment balcony has grown into the easy-to-love, exciting-to-style, 7-figure apparel destination that is Daily Drills. Not to mention the most supportive community of go-getters dedicated to looking for the good in life – just like Ralph and me!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I first met Mary Ralph a full year after we became friends. Sounds crazy, but we were initially connected when we were both asked to contribute to a style Instagram account. When we were both in college in Los Angeles, we finally met in person and became fast friends! Of course we shared a love of fashion, but we are also both entrepreneurial spirits and were constantly bouncing ideas off of each other and looking for ways to work together. During the pandemic, we were both actively searching for the good in life and when I decided to finally start my own clothing line, I knew without thinking that Mary Ralph was the right person to do it with! I sent her a quick text with my idea, she said yes, and things moved very quickly after that. People always say not to do business with friends, but for us, it made things easier, as we were always on the same page, had the same goals, and the same style. We had a business name in a week, an LLC in a month, a first collection later that year.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Keeping in touch with our customers is probably the number one thing that sets Daily Drills apart. We’ve created an open line of communication for our audience through social media – a team member personally responds to every direct message, we’re constantly taking votes on potential product production, and we often repost our followers wearing Daily Drills! Our customers keep coming back because they feel like they were a part of making the collection come to life! Whether that be through DMing an idea, responding to a poll, or just watching the process, we want our audience to feel included, seen, heard, and welcome in our community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopdailydrills.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailydrills/ & https://www.instagram.com/kennedycrichlow/

Image Credits
Lyle Nelson