We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Norton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.
Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The story behind Zenith Nadir is one that is continuously developing. What started out as a creative outlet to bring my sister and I together has grown into an empowering brand that aligns not only with community building but also aligns with mental health awareness. It’s ironic to see where we’ve come from with Zenith Nadir. From the very beginning of developing the concept of Zenith Nadir to watching it grow into what it is today, it’s been amazing to see it develop into something with a much larger meaning than ever imagined.
I first had the idea to create this brand after graduating with my MBA in 2020. The world was a scary place filled with uncertainties and chaos and I needed a way to cope. Despite all of the madness, I decided to take a leap of faith and start a business to keep myself occupied. I landed on creating a clothing line which was inspired by my sister who had just started college majoring in fashion merchandising. Considering our age gap of 8 years, it had been hard for us to stay close as we were living in two completely different stages of life. I wanted something that we could both do that would bring us together. So, together we somewhat created a concept but still needed a name. After doing a lot of research, we landed on Zenith Nadir, a name chosen by my sister. There was a lot of meaning to the name within itself with the definition of ‘zenith’ being “the highest of highs” and ‘nadir’ meaning “the lowest of lows” but we didn’t fully know what it meant to us yet.
The logo, originally created as a simple digital representation of a photo of two women, has developed a deeper meaning as well. It’s become a representation of us. Of the beauty of our spirits, protecting one another with the message “We stand together because our strength knows no bounds. Through our darkest days of struggle, we’ve persevered.” written in between. That image is a perfect depiction of who we are and our ability to live above it all.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
From as far back as I can remember, I’ve always been a creative. Whether it was in the form of dance, visual art or creative writing, it seems the best way for me to express who I am and what has impacted me has always been through art. As I grew up, I realized that this form of expression not only spoke to me but it greatly resonated with others as well. Having struggled with social anxiety, speaking through art was just what made sense to me. In college I drifted away from that though and shifted focused on school as a business student. Although I hated it in that moment, I thank God everyday for my dad pushing me to pursue business in school. I was able to learn all of the nitty gritty details that were involved in the behind the scenes of developing a business as well as the organizational and leadership aspects required to become successful in entrepreneurship. After graduating with my undergrad, I dabbled in art again, this time as a painter. It oddly became my love language. A person knew that I loved them if I gifted them a painting and I knew they loved me if they gifted me paint supplies lol. But life as an artist is hardly ever sustainable. So I further pursued business and eventually obtained my MBA in late 2020 when the world was nothing short of chaotic. That chaos along with my long time love for art and new found love for business pushed me to start a clothing brand. Inspired by my sister, who was pursuing her degree in fashion merchandising, I chose clothing as my new art form. Im truly thankful for that decision because as we worked on developing the foundational elements such as the name and brand messaging, I was able to realize the true power of fashion. It’s how everyone speaks. How we dress is an expression of our state of being in that moment, it’s an extension of who we are. It was like a full circle moment. Me creating art as a form of expression to me creating clothing as a way for others to be able to best express themselves. I love every moment of what I do and wouldn’t change it for the world.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
As mostly everyone knows, being an entrepreneur is no easy feat. It takes a lot of resilience and dedication to fight through the tough moments you’ll surely face. And that’s not to be a pessimist but rather a realist. Realistically, we have to understand that no business comes with clear cut expectations that happen exactly as the business owner expected. There’s always a pivot and if I was to describe the two most important attributes an entrepreneur must have, it would be the ability to pivot and patience to see it through. One of the most drastic moments that I’ve faced where I was forced to pivot would be in 2022, about 6 months after launching my brand. As a single mom, I was experience burnout from participating in events and pop ups in an effort to further grow my business. Although I had events planned for every weekend and enough inventory to last, after a solid 4 months of vending, mentally I couldn’t keep up so I walked away. A few months later, I was starting my new job as a Digital Marketer for an e-commerce management firm. It was a strong pivot from what I was doing but that job helped propel me in ways it would’ve taken years for me to do on my own. I was aware of digital marketing and the various methods used to promote businesses online but this job taught me all of the integrations, tricks and tools used to best optimize marketing efforts. Because of that decision to briefly walk away from my brand and pivot back into the workforce, I now know exactly how to focus my efforts on online sales opposed to overworking myself at events. It wasn’t a pivot I would’ve ever expected but it’s taught me that everything truly does happen for a reason.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
Fostering brand loyalty can be simple. When you go into your business with nothing but good intentions and you’re creating a product or service for the greater good, people can feel that. Authenticity is something people are beginning to crave more and more as the blur between reality and life online increases. One of the best ways, in my opinion, to foster brand loyalty is by telling your story and showing more of who you are as an individual. This allows customers to not only enjoy what you have to offer but it allows them to be able to relate to you as well. They begin to see you as more than just a brand, they see you as a person with impact and that’s not only inspiring but empowering. The best ways to keep in touch would simply be to continuously provide impactful engagement whether that’s just reply to comments and question posed on social media and website reviews or sending out email campaigns celebrating important dates (ie birthdays and anniversaries) for customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thezenithnadir.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thezenithnadir/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-norton-zenithnadir/