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

Molly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

One of my favorite things about being a small business owner and a customer of other small businesses is building relationships and adding personal touches. While large companies are able to track your data and “personalize” their communication with you- nothing makes me feel more special than receiving a handwritten note or a little surprise in the mail. I’ve included positive stickers in our packages, sent handwritten holiday cards and other things that show gratitude to my clients for choosing to support my small business. I have a client who suffers from migraines and I had noticed she made a post on her social media talking about how she had been under a lot of stress and this was a tough time. I sent her a handwritten card just letting her know I was thinking of her and included a little tub of lavender coconut oil balm to hopefully help her relax. She was so surprised and thanked me for adding a little joy to her day. That’s just one example of how I build relationships with my customers that goes beyond just thanking them for their business.

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

I love making people smile and laugh. I think that is what drew me to such a customer centric business where I can build relationships and find ways to bring some joy or delight to someone’s day. It may seem like a small or even insignificant thing to help people get dressed, but I genuinely believe that an outfit can change your entire outlook. By helping women feel confident and comfortable in the clothes they wear, I’m helping them have a good day or show up being their best selves-whether that’s to the school carpool lane or a night out with their partner. I started my business in 2018 by trying to solve a problem I (and many other women!) was having with finding a swimsuit that fit great, gave the coverage I needed and looked stylish. Oh and I wanted to be able to do it online because stripping down in fluorescent lights at a store to try on a swimsuit was just not how I wanted to spend my time. As a mid-size woman (size 14) I could fit most big box brands, but they were just not the chic style I wanted or the fabric was just terrible and itchy. With Black Pearl, I focused on finding the softest, most supportive and durable fabric and then built swimsuits that would flatter a wide array of body types without over-designing or adding unnecessary details. What I created is a comfy, chic and timeless swimwear brand you can shop conveniently from the comfort of home. I’ve kept the brand as a direct to consumer one, but I did enjoy a year long partnership with Macy’s where I had the collection in a few strategic markets and was able to go on-site and host some fun shopping events. The brand was consistently growing, but then when COVID-19 hit I found that swimsuits were not in high demand. What could have put me out of business instead created a new opportunity for me to expand beyond swimwear and embrace the same focus of fit, function and fashion for women’s apparel. I started small by sourcing lounge wear and athletic wear from small woman owned manufacturers based in California and have grown from there to create a sister brand called Everyday Pearl that provides elevated essentials in seasonal apparel and accessories. While Black Pearl will have you earning best dressed at the beach, Everyday Pearl will have you dressed in ultimate comfort and chic style for all the everyday adventures- PTA meetings, work calls, weekends running errands or friend get togethers. At the core of both of my brands is my client. I regularly solicit feedback that gets incorporated into product development and our client service processes. I’ve created private FB groups to try and create spaces for my clients to interact with each other and build a community that goes beyond clothes and swimsuits and embraces our mission of making women feel good about themselves. When I’m not working I love to spend time with my family and friends, cook new recipes, sip cocktails or good wine, travel and read.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

When I first began dreaming of a life beyond my corporate career I read Tim Ferris 4 Hour Work Week and it just got me out of the traditional thought patterns around what a successful career or life was. While I definitely work more than 4 hours a week on my businesses, I do still use some of his ideas around creating efficiencies and building my life more around my passions and getting to do the things I enjoy and work is how I fund that. I am an avid reader so I’ve got a list below of other books that have been impactful and useful to me over the years as an entrepreneur. I also fell in love with podcasts and while I do listen to some business/entrepreneurial ones (How I Built This, The One Thing for example) my absolute favorite is My Favorite Murder. I love true crime and comedy and they have somehow blended this into the perfect show for me. I also love that they started this as a hobby and have grown it into a media powerhouse that now produces other podcasts and has established a global community of Murderinos. it is inspiring. I also spend a lot of time on social media for my business and so I’ve curated a feed for myself of aspirational businesses/entrepreneurs including Marie Forleo, Sara Blakely, Jen Atkin, and more. Lastly, I have joined professional groups locally and nationally that support women entrepreneurs and small business owners like Female Founder Collective, Launchpad2X and The Boutique Hub. This gives me access to peers I can learn from in addition to experts who provide invaluable information I can apply to my business. A few business/entrepreneur books I love:
Story Brand by Donald Miller
Blue Ocean Shift by by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Essentialism by Greg McKeown

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I do manufacture my swimwear and it was quite a journey to find the right partner, but when I did it was so awesome and I just still can’t believe I have been able to take an idea, put it on paper and then have that actually become a swimsuit that women wear around the world! I had never manufactured anything before I began my swimwear brand and my prior career was business development for language services so I didn’t even deal with physical products. Not knowing where to begin, I did a lot of internet searching and calling and had a lot of false starts, like the time I met with a small manufacturer that insisted they had a skilled professional swimwear pattern maker and sewer only to receive some of the most hideous and terribly made prototypes ever- the elastics were exposed and the fabric was scratchy glitter! I kept them as a reminder of how I’ve grown. When I did finally connect with a small manufacturer who specialized in swimwear based in Los Angeles I was thrilled. The owner spent almost an hour with me on the initial phone call just answering all my questions and a lot of them were super obvious I had no idea what I was doing- and they have been just as supportive our entire relationship. It’s so important that you are able to build a strong relationship with your manufacturer and get to know the process in every detail. I went from not knowing anything to now being able to identify the ideal elastic stretch and stitch per inch. It was also very important to me that I visit the space and meet the people who would be making the product to ensure it was a good working environment and that they would be fairly compensated. For this reason, I chose to manufacture in the US as it just wasn’t feasible for me to travel overseas that often. Making something is never without some complications, but when you have a strong relationship with your manufacturer you can overcome these issues so definitely take the time to invest in the relationship instead of treating it like a transaction. I’d also say I learned to start small (truly advice from my manufacturer) since making a product is a large up-front expense usually done when your company is pre-revenue. By starting with a 6 piece collection in 2 color ways with a low MOQ (minimum order quantity) I was able to find my target customer and secure sales with a relatively small investment. A lot of manufacturers require high MOQ’s which would have been very risky for me to invest in at the start of my business. These are just some of my recommendations for successfully manufacturing as a small business with no outside investors.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blackpearlswimwear.com www.everydaypearlshop.com
• Instagram: @blackpearlswim @everydaypearlshop
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/blackpearlswim https://facebook.com/everydaypearl
• Other: [email protected] [email protected]