We recently connected with Liz Owens and have shared our conversation below.

Liz, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a customer success story with us?

I attended my first event as the owner of Worthy AF earlier this year. It was a lovely weekend brunch hosted by a friend who is a licensed therapist. This annual event is known as the “Emotional Baggage Brunch,” and this year’s theme was all about reparenting your inner child.

When we decided to partner, it was an immediate alignment. I designed a special goodie bag for each guest and quickly got to work on creating what is affectionately known as a Worthiness Workout (no sweating required). One of the goodies each guest received was a candle with a custom label that read “I am Worthy AF because______” and a pen.

After two deep work therapy sessions, I was given the stage to present myself, the brand, and the activity. The guests were primed for this moment. I stood at the front of the room and spoke about imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and led them to find the answer to why they were worthy. I encouraged them to think of something that they carried as trauma, something that brings them shame or judgment, and choose to write it on their candle as a reminder of their unique story and a reason they are absolutely worthy in every way.

Once they were done, I asked if anyone would like to share their reason. A beautiful woman raised her hand and stood up. I handed her the mic and she explained. She was originally going to write something simple, encouraging, perhaps even trite. But after I encouraged the group to write something deeper, she decided to write, “I am Worthy AF because I am biracial.” She’s carried the burden of not feeling enough on either side of her heritage and she didn’t want to feel that way anymore.

After we broke away from the formalities and let everyone dance and relax, she came up to my table to order several pieces from my collection, and I helped her design a special shirt just for her: “Biracial and worthy af.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Worthy AF, is a Los Angeles-based casual apparel and goods brand that combines sleek design and cheeky phrasing to bring positive attention to anyone who considers themselves to live outside the norms of society. While you may not think immediately that an apparel brand is mission-based, the story behind why it was created tells a different tale.

As a young girl growing up in Los Angeles, I was lucky to be born in a liberal city with open-minded parents. They only ever wanted me to be who I wanted and do what I loved. While I dreamed of that fairytale life – meeting the perfect man, having the traditional engagement and wedding, 2 kids and a golden retriever – I soon realized that fairytales are far from reality. I didn’t feel perfect; I rarely even felt normal. I definitely didn’t identify as conventional.

How unconventional? Well, I am a married 37-year-old woman who didn’t take my husband’s name and doesn’t want children. Many people question my and my husband’s decision, but we are true to ourselves every time we answer, “it’s just not for us.” Our idea of a wedding was to rent a house and surprise our friends and family under the guise of an engagement party – no bridesmaids, no lengthy speeches, no drama, no fuss. We had gourmet tacos, a weed bar, signature cocktails, and our tattoo artist inking people for 12 hours of our-kind-of-fun.

So, when I decided to design t-shirts for me and my girlfriends to go on my fake Bachelorette party after already being married, it should come as no surprise that I came up with phrases like, “P*ssies over Preschoolers.” Each of my friends is nontraditional in her own way, too – an unmarried mother, a 40-something single woman who still wants kids, a thriving, single business owner with no interest in marriage, a desiring LGBT wife who is going through IVF – we all belong even if we don’t quite fit.

Worthy AF is about living unapologetically, sharing our unique stories, and not bowing to society’s ideas of normal. Helping us to remember and celebrate the things that make us different.

According to Northwestern University’s study of enclothed cognition (aka the systematic influence that clothes have on their wearer), our wardrobe profoundly affects how we think and feel about ourselves, building confidence and changing mindsets simply by wearing certain clothing. So, why not show off with words of pride and empowerment? Worthy AF gives unconventional women a way to celebrate their uniqueness in a chic way that makes us all feel beautiful, supported, and most of all, worthy.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

An ongoing lesson that I continue to unlearn everyday is that perfectionism is not a life goal; it is a defense mechanism. Type-A, perfectionist, anal retentive, high maintenance, there are a ton of ways to identify this kind of mentality. It’s often times used to describe high-achievers; if you have high standards and work diligently to reach them, you’d think that would be the dream.

But there’s another angle to this state of mind – it actually stems from a deep fear of failure, a lack of self-worth, and oftentimes harsh anxiety. I’ve suffered with all of those for most of my life. The basis of imposter syndrome stems from the same root.

I grew up in privilege. My zip code was 90210, an area that holds a lot of stigma and judgment. Depending on who you speak with, people would assume that I’m either a spoiled rich girl with a selfish personality or that I come from an elite family that maybe they could use to their advantage. Neither of those were actually true.

My mother is a highly educated and brilliant special educator, but there’s no money in that. My father came from a well-off family in Beverly Hills, but became estranged from them once his parents passed. He managed to keep his reputation, but since he worked for himself and didn’t have a team to support him, his old school ways were overshadowed by technology he could never figure out. They’re now old enough to have been retired for 10 years, but can’t afford their basic needs. You can’t always judge a book by its zip code.

I was lucky to have been sent to inner city public schools, made friends with a mix of people from all walks of life, and moved to New York City after high school. I never spoke about being from Beverly Hills; Los Angeles was always my answer of choice. I never wanted to be labeled based on my privilege. I wanted to feel like I earned my place in every room I entered.

Layer in a healthy dose of low self-esteem from being born a chubby child, years of disordered eating (an ongoing battle), and the sadly usual sexual assault in my college years, and you’ve got a yourself a mega blend of this-girl-needs-a-therapist!

Each day that I work toward success with Worthy AF is another reminder for me that we all suffer from imposter syndrome in one way or another. I get to push through mine by helping others push through theirs. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The truth is, I didn’t have any funds! I actually started my business intentionally as a print-on-demand business so that I could avoid needing a large amount to pay for merchandising and logistics. I used a bit of savings to create my shopify store and site, pay for premium Canva to allow me free reign to design, and order some initial samples.

I’ve been working diligently to get organic growth and build relationships which has allowed me great opportunities to be involved in live events, become a podcast guest, and advance my site and email marketing.

Finding the right kind of business credit card was definitely key. I did my research and found a card with 0% interest for the first year, allowing me to spend on the essentials in year one and write-off my expenses. As a newly married woman, I am blessed to have a husband who has unwavering faith in me. we decided to postpone our honeymoon and allow me to use our savings to support my business (if needed), but I’m doing my best not to dip into that.

I also have a full-time day job, so I focus on that as my main gig, even getting myself a promotion and raise, while keeping my living costs at bay. All of these are allowing me to slowly grow my business without needing to borrow money outright.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.worthyafapparel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worthyaf_apparel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worthyafapparel
• Other: tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@worthyafapparelpersonal instagram: www.instagram.com/lizin_life
  personal linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lizdanaowens

Image Credits

Carolyn Renee of CR the Brand, Luisa Molano, Ashley Lipson, Emily Loveless-Kim, Dr. Noor Ali, Natasha Walstra, and Taylor Dejka