Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Natalie Diaz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Natalie , appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name of my company originated in a non-traditional way in comparison to the average business owner/ company. In April of 2018, I suffered the tragedy loss of my 1 year old daughter (Layla). This event triggered the beginning of my depression which ultimately led to failed suicide attempt on what would’ve been her 3rd birthday (January 31st) of 2020.
In the midst of my attempt to commit suicide, my body went into what I describe as a “state of shock” due to me blacking out followed by a vision from God. I could hear the words “You will live, and you will live with a purpose”. Immediately, followed the idea of an apparel company and a strong desire to find a pen and paper. In the moment, if you would’ve questioned why I wanted a pen and paper, I wouldn’t have been able to answer your question because I myself didn’t even know the purpose of why I wanted a pen and paper.
I walked into the kitchen and scrambled through all the drawers in search of a pen and paper. Once I acquired these things,
I walked into my living room, sat in my chair , and began writing names on a piece of paper, names for a potential clothing brand. I wrote down several names until I “blacked out” again and wrote down my daughters name “LAYLA” to visually see how I can utilize her name into the company name. I noticed the first 3 letters were “L A Y” so it lead me to write down the word “SLAY” which is a terminology word used in the fashion industry to compliment someones appearance or performance. I combined both words into one, and there I had it,(SLAYLA).
Prior to the passing of my daughter Layla, my hobby was fashion & anything fashion related such as fashion photography & virtual wardrobe styling. I truly believe God took what I enjoyed most and turned it into my destiny to not only distract my depression but to also transform my depression into something beautiful since fashion is something I naturally enjoyed.
Once I started my business, I was completely obsessed with my business. I consistently worked 15-18 hours a day producing new designs & perfecting my business in general. I even saved up for a camera + lens to manage all my product photography and had a photoshoot 2x a week for social media content. I was so focused on the quality of my brand that It didn’t allow me the time to fall back into a depression. This business journey has only proved that you can transform your pain into the fire that will ignite your ambition and determination to perfect your craft in your business to be successful.
Slayla has gained so many opportunities such as working with talented stylist “Ratino Sharrod” for Netflix series “Selling Tampa” stylist cast members in our designs. Our designs have been featured in major publications such as, STYLE CRUZE MAGAZINE + Shuba Magazine. Slayla has also gained major opportunities working with celebrities such as WWE Sasha Banks, Comedian (Vena Excel AKA Pretty Vee) from Wild’N Out, Dallas Maverick DJ, (Poizon Ivy) & many many more. We have built our clientele from the ground up with our biggest clientele bases being located in CA, FL, and GA.
The progress I’ve witnessed Slayla has made so far, knowing the dark place we stemmed from only proves even the ugliest parts in our lives end up creating some of the most beautiful events in our lives. SLAYLA symbolizes hope, SLAYLA is proof that you can lose everything and still be able to get back up and be successful.
Natalie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Prior to the passing of my daughter Layla, my hobby was fashion & anything fashion related such as fashion photography or virtual wardrobe styling. I truly believe God took what I enjoyed most and turned it into my destiny to not only sidetrack my depression but to also transform my depression into something beautiful since fashion is something I naturally enjoyed & ultimately is what kept me content.
Once I started my business I was completely obsessed with my business. I consistently worked on new designs & putting together collections with different color palettes for every season. I saved up for a camera + lens to manage all my product photography and had a photoshoot 2x a week for social media content. I was so busy that I never had the time to fall back into a depression but instead learned to take my pain and use it as the fire igniting my ambition and determination to perfect my craft in my business.
Slayla has gained so many opportunities such as working with talented stylist “Ratino Sharrod” for Netflix series “Selling Tampa” stylist cast members in our designs. Our designs have been featured on major publications such as STYLE CRUZE MAGAZINE + Shuba Magazine. We’ve even worked with celebrities such as WWE Sasha Banks, Comedian (Vena Excel AKA Pretty Vee) from Wild’N Out, Dallas Maverick DJ Poizon Ivy & many many more. We have built our clientele from the ground up with our biggest clientele bases located in CA, FL, and GA.
To see the progress Slayla has made so far, & what it has become from such a dark place shows some of the ugliest parts in our lives end up being some of the most beautiful events in our lives.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
My best advice for managing a team would be to treat your team members/ employees as your business partners. We have all either worked in a corporate job or were in a high stress leveled work environment where we were under appreciated, under valued, or overworked (etc.) which is proven to result in a poor work performance. I firmly believe if you treat your “partners” with respect and appreciation, your partners will naturally offer the best version of themselves that will allow them to handle your business at the same level of quality you do.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
My corporate 9-5 salary was my cash flow for my business. I did not take out any loans or acquire any investors so my business funding strictly relied on my personal salary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://slayla.co/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/slayla?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slaylaco?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-diaz-6856b8232
Image Credits
@BrenShotYa_ https://brenshotya.as.me/schedule.php?fbclid=PAAaauR_5jmyg7dhAvgdARPSutgQ8fQ0tLtOXEQbFaRziWfXzFp4UDnRv-7bE @96Peaces https://msha.ke/96peaces?fbclid=PAAaYnCZnuI-qTkyK_6fOj8-d17zmY5Yn46NkKxzvYshP1lKgwm-J0Vw8LyX8 @dele_vision_photography @marcos_covos