Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 16 - Hayley Santell
72 Plays1 year ago
Hayley Santell is the founder and CEO of MADI Apparel, an ethical fashion brand headquartered in Kansas City, MO. Hayley founded the company when she learned that women’s underwear is the most under donated clothing item and tops the most urgent needs list at most domestic violence and sexual assault clinics. For every product MADI Apparel sells, they donate a pair of underwear to women in need and organizations who serve them. We talked about getting started on something that is hard, persevering through unexpected challenges, and trying to live a passion without burning out.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'What's Next' Podcast
The Birth of Maddie Apparel
00:00:10
Speaker
Hello and welcome to What's Next. I'm Joel and this is my show. Today on the podcast is my conversation with Hailey Santel. Hailey is the founder and CEO of Maddie Apparel, an ethical fashion brand headquartered in Kansas City. She founded the company when she learned that women's underwear is the most under donated clothing item and tops the most urgent needs list at most domestic violence and sexual assault clinics.
Ethical Fashion and Community Building
00:00:36
Speaker
She created Maddy Apparel with a one-for-one model so that every product Maddy Apparel sells, they donate a pair of underwear to women and organizations who serve them. For almost 10 years now, Maddy Apparel has been a trailblazer in ethical fashion in order to meet Haley's standards for her clothing and her company.
00:00:55
Speaker
I met Haley last year while working on a video project for Maddie Apparel, and I was really impressed with how deeply committed she is. She was and is to creating something that is really, really hard to do.
00:01:10
Speaker
It was really great to get to know her experience, the community that she's created in Kansas City with the so teams and the leather cutters and her store staff. I think that Haley is doing something really interesting and worthwhile with Maddie apparel and she's living her life in an inspiring way.
Podcast Setting and Experience
00:01:30
Speaker
And that is why I wanted to talk with her on the podcast. So please enjoy my conversation with Haley Santel.
00:01:43
Speaker
Hey, Haley, how you doing? Good. How are you? Really good. You look like you're in a, like you're ready to make some music there. Yep. I'm in Danny's studio taking over. He's kind enough to let you share that space. Yep. He, he set it all up for me. Is that the attic at your house or where is it? Yep. Third floor. Yeah, it's a nice.
00:02:06
Speaker
Nice situation for Danny. But it's hot up here. Oh, no. Is it? Yeah. Is it hot there? Yesterday was a lot hotter. Today was like mid 70s. Yeah. Tonight it feels good. But up here, you know, it just smokes you in the attic.
00:02:25
Speaker
Yeah, I know our house does not cool down. It takes air conditioning forever to do anything and I feel so guilty turning it on all the time. Same, same. It's like in the winter, it takes forever to get warm and then in the summer. Yeah. Old houses, I'm sure it's the same for you. They're not very efficient. Cool. Well, thanks for being on the podcast. Yeah, absolutely. This is fun and it's good to see you. Have you done many podcasts before or is this?
00:02:54
Speaker
Over the years, a handful or so. Okay, so you're more seasoned than I am. Yeah, right. You have your own podcast. Yeah, very much still in the learning curve with my towel set up here behind me. Looks great. I'm glad I asked when I said, am I going to be on the video? And you were probably like, for my sake. Yeah, there's definitely less to think about when I don't have to think about also how my
The Rebranding to Slow Motion Goods
00:03:23
Speaker
face looks.
00:03:23
Speaker
True. There's been a few developments going on with Maddy Apparel. You've been busy. Yes. What is life currently like for you? What are all the developments? What's exciting these days?
00:03:39
Speaker
So yeah, about a month ago, um, and it was a long time coming, but we changed the name of our storefront in Kansas city to slow motion goods. And the reason why we did that was because we wanted to incorporate used items that we would reclaim and basically keep it in motion. And you know, I feel like as an entrepreneur, really just a creative,
00:04:09
Speaker
I want to always be growing and pushing myself and learning. I felt like only presenting new made goods, even if they're ethically made, just didn't feel like enough to me to push the model of sustainability.
00:04:30
Speaker
And so for me, it felt like this would be really cool to include used items that then we'd renovate. And as a way to encourage customers to think differently about when you shop ethically and you shop sustainably, what does that mean? And so we couldn't do that under the brand of Maddie Apparel. Maddie Apparel
00:04:52
Speaker
It is and likely always will be ethically made sewn goods. So finished new goods that are made ethically. So we couldn't really do the used reclaiming thing underneath that brand. So my thought was let's just change our storefront concept to slow motion goods and ethical concept by Maddy Apparel. So that's our newest storefront. We're in the Kansas City Airport now for Maddy Apparel, which is really cool.
00:05:22
Speaker
And that's been kind of fun and different to see different types of customers. Are you on the other side of security? We are. So do you have to go through security and kind of do that whole thing when you go to see the store? We actually really even can't go. Oh really? Yeah, unless someone from our team travels.
00:05:43
Speaker
Oh, wow. No way. Who runs it? Who works it? Yeah, it's interesting. We don't run it ourselves where our products are purchased wholesale by the airport buyers. Oh, interesting. Which, for a small business, I think is actually ideal. Yeah. Does it have your name and stuff like a storefront in the airport?
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, it's a kind of a store within a store. So we're part of this larger open air kind of concept called made in Kansas City. Okay. So everything in there is made locally. And we have kind of like a whole wall with our logo and everything over there is just ours. So it's very easy to navigate. So you know exactly what's ours. Yeah. But you know, I think
00:06:27
Speaker
we get more traction because it's not just us there. I love doing different things and pushing the brand
Background and Relocation to Kansas City
00:06:34
Speaker
and just seeing what works and what doesn't.
00:06:37
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So what initially drew you into fashion? Had you always been involved in or interested in fashion and wanting to pursue that? Yeah, that's a great question. So originally, I started the company based on the need for underwear donations. So when I started Maddie apparel, it was after I learned about how underwear is the most needed and under donated item of clothing.
00:07:02
Speaker
But my background is in fine arts. I have degrees in journalism and fine arts. Like painting? Yeah, painting and drawing. Where did you go to school? Mizzou. So the idea was you wanted to be an artist.
00:07:19
Speaker
Yeah, through college, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I felt like art was always my passion and I had a creative brain. And then I ended up getting a degree in journalism to kind of balance that out to figure out I need to make money somehow. I don't know if I could be a full-time working artist. Sure. And then when I graduated, I started applying for jobs in the marketing scene, communications, you know, graphic design.
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah, corporate jobs like that. And then it just didn't really feel quite right. And then I stumbled upon this, the statistic about underwear. And my roommate, who was a fashion major in college, she and I came up with this concept that, you know,
00:08:06
Speaker
why don't we start this fashion company, like a creative company that would, in essence, donate a pair of underwear for every item sold. So I've used my skills and my background to develop the company, but my background wasn't in fashion. Those are kind of, to design for Maddie Apparel, those were all learned skills. So were you still in college when you started it or were you just out?
00:08:33
Speaker
I was just out, just about a year or so. I moved to this little beach town called New Smyrna Beach in Florida, and that's where I started the company. New Smyrna Beach. Have you been there? I haven't, but it sounds kind of a suspect place. Yeah, it's kind of a crazy town. It's the shark bite
00:08:57
Speaker
capital of the east coast. Oh really? Wow. So yeah, they have spinner sharks and they spin up in the air. Out of the water. Out of the water. Wow.
00:09:07
Speaker
So surfers, it's a big surf town and surfers are bit all the time kind of on accident. Because these sharks are flying out of the water. Flying out of the water. It's a good breeding area because it's near the inner coastal. Okay. So anyways, but yeah, it was a cool town. It was interesting to start a business there.
00:09:27
Speaker
And in essence, that's why I moved it back to Kansas City because it was hard to kind of gain traction in a little beach town like that. You moved down to Florida to find work or you wanted to kind of live a beach lifestyle or what was the reason that you went down there?
00:09:44
Speaker
Pretty much, yeah. I graduated school and then started applying for corporate jobs and having interviews and even was given the opportunity to join one firm in LA. Okay. And I turned it down and I moved to New Smyrna Beach to kind of like
00:10:03
Speaker
Start over and just give myself a break. Mm-hmm, and I became a bartender there. Okay, and That's when my roommate in Florida and I started this idea we kicked off out of my guestroom closet and started selling online and I
00:10:25
Speaker
I wanted to always make sure we would produce everything in the US. So we started with a team in South Carolina doing our first round of products. And then, you know, I wasn't getting a lot of traction locally, but I'm from Kansas City.
00:10:41
Speaker
And there were just bigger manufacturing operations here and I wanted to open a storefront and there became the opportunity to open one where we still are now nine years later. I just basically moved and moved everything straight from my guest room closet into that storefront and then found local manufacturing and then
00:11:02
Speaker
We received a lot more traction and support in Kansas City. It's kind of a big entrepreneurial city. Plus, it's cheap to live, pretty cheap to have a storefront and have operations here, so it's kind of an ideal spot to house a business. At the point where you were starting the storefront, what products were
Product Range and Early Challenges
00:11:21
Speaker
you selling?
00:11:21
Speaker
It's kind of crazy to think back because it feels so bare bones now. It's almost embarrassing to think about because you have to start somewhere and I think back on it. And actually it makes me on days when I'm just feeling like, what the heck is happening? I look back and I think, okay, well, we've made some traction because we launched, we really could only afford
00:11:47
Speaker
the minimums in the production facility to launch six black styles of women's underwear. So you only had underwear in the store? Only underwear. Okay. And we still have those same styles in our collection today, which is pretty cool. But yeah, we had underwear on rolling racks in this
00:12:05
Speaker
1400 square foot space. It was so ridiculous and it's hilarious now because we have over 20 or so products and menswear and bags and all this stuff. It's fun to look back on that.
00:12:27
Speaker
So when you were when you were launching the business, the idea was I want to start a fashion business or was the idea like I want to just I want to do something that's going to help this issue of of there not being enough underwear for for women who need it. Yeah, it actually was started from the the need.
00:12:44
Speaker
Okay. And what was the progression from trying to meet that need to dreaming about it being something else? Yeah. So when, when I launched the underwear styles, I knew in my head that I wanted to create this basics company, this company that made just staple basics.
00:13:04
Speaker
that for every item sold, then we would donate a pair of underwear. But I could really only afford in the beginning to produce underwear. It just kind of made sense that you would make underwear because it's like a one for one model. Exactly. And so it started that way, but in my head I was thinking, okay, once we can kind of gain some traction, I want to introduce more products.
00:13:27
Speaker
And so I had this motivation and, you know, we did start to get some traction. And I think for a minute we were pigeonholed as just a women's company because we only had women's underwear. But that's kind of, that was the progress or the process. We started, I started designing one to two new products every year. And then it kind of spiraled a little bit faster.
00:13:53
Speaker
As you're going, I imagine you are learning how manufacturing works, how manufacturing clothing in particular works, and there's got to be endless hurdles to overcome. It's like you chose probably one of the hardest businesses to get into. And not only that, you triple down on making it difficult by making it sustainable and ethical and all of that.
00:14:23
Speaker
Totally, just piling it all on. Yeah. What were some of those lessons that you had to learn early on?
00:14:29
Speaker
I remember standing in the backyard of my house a few blocks away from the beach when I just had started it and I was on the phone with my mom and I was crying because I had this idea and I had just become an LLC and I knew that we were gonna donate underwear for every item sold and I knew that I was set on wanting to produce it ethically in the US and use sustainable fabrics. But the problem was back then that was 2012, 2013
00:14:59
Speaker
That just wasn't really a thing like no one really was using sustainable fabrics and no there were very few companies producing in the US and so the main hurdle in the beginning especially was Where do you find those people?
00:15:17
Speaker
like they've got to be somewhere, but I was using Google as a huge tool, literally just Googling manufacturing. And I started to find out that even what I was searching was wrong because I had no idea. I was searching like underwear manufacturing and the manufacturer, what I found out is like Mattie apparel. We would be a manufacturer, but what I wasn't searching was cut and sew.
00:15:46
Speaker
manufacturing, which is an actual cut and sew team. And so I learned these things along the way.
00:15:53
Speaker
that were big industry terms, how could I source? I started making connections, but it's hard, and I'm actually writing a series of books on this topic, like how to start your own ethical fashion brand, because I get so many questions of people wondering, how'd you source the fabric? How'd you find your sew team? How'd you do this? Price your fabrics or price your products? And it's a whole rabbit hole that,
00:16:22
Speaker
They don't teach you that in school. If you want to start your own fashion company, it's a very steep years and a lot of money later to get to learn all those things. Well, maybe there's more of one now, but when you were getting started, there probably wasn't that much of a market or an incentive for any kind of suppliers to be like, what are you talking about? Sustainable. You mean cheap, right?
00:16:50
Speaker
Exactly. So true. Like the market for the consumers was not there. It's just now catching up, you know, and then also, yeah, the market for so team suppliers, that kind of thing. So we were kind of limited on what we could source and it was very expensive if you could source it. So yeah, so many different challenges.
00:17:14
Speaker
What did your parents do? Were they entrepreneurial? Totally. Yeah, I feel lucky because I come from a pretty entrepreneurial family.
00:17:25
Speaker
my great grandpa started a pest control company in 1950 and then my grandpa took it over, my dad took it over from him and my brother owns it now. So I've seen a lot of business ownership and just really the hustle and grind mentality. If you put hard work in, you can have flexibility, it won't be that corporate world, you set your own schedule, that kind of thing.
00:17:53
Speaker
you know, my family, my mom, you know, really hustled along the way. And she, she showed me, you know, how women can really rise up. And that was really hard when she was in the workforce. And so they both taught me a lot, plus just showing me you could, you can do anything, you know, you can,
00:18:15
Speaker
we believe in you, but I do believe or I do feel like when I was starting the bones of the business, when I told them I'm going to start this company, it felt really awkward.
Facing Business Challenges and Imposter Syndrome
00:18:27
Speaker
I think just coming out of my mouth and telling people and feeling like, by the way, I'm going to start a business. People don't think about that, but
00:18:39
Speaker
Family and friends are kind of like what what's happening and takes a while for you to be like no I'm serious and to kind of show that you're doing that yeah it's like you starting a podcast you know it's like by the way everyone yeah I know for me I know specifically I didn't I didn't even want to tell anybody till I had five episodes posted and
00:19:00
Speaker
And I felt like it was something I could actually do, because I really didn't think I could even get to five episodes. And I've had so many things in my life where, for me, it's kind of imposter syndrome, and maybe it's that question constantly of, do I have the follow through to, I have this idea I'm kind of inspired about, but when it gets hard, and when it doesn't feel fun anymore, and when
00:19:30
Speaker
It's disappointing and it's all those things like, am I going to continue to do it? And if not, I don't really want to put what little integrity I have on the line.
00:19:41
Speaker
Um, for something that I'm not going to care about in two months. So true. And it's vulnerable because it's like you kind of want to have an out. Yeah. And like, it's vulnerable to commit to something and be thinking maybe I don't want to do this. And so I completely relate. How did you find your way through those?
00:20:01
Speaker
challenges because you have and you had to believe enough in the mission of what you were doing to not bail on it. Yeah, definitely. It feels like maybe just taking it one day at a time and luckily having a really good support system, but I feel like those things
00:20:23
Speaker
They're a challenge and you could give up like at any time and kind of like you're saying wanting to get to episode five. I never really had that feeling. I felt like kind of from the beginning, I had this feeling that I would want to do it for a long time. And only until semi-recently, we're like close to the 10 mark spot, have I felt, you know, have I pumped the brakes and say,
00:20:49
Speaker
Do I want it to look differently? Do I need a break? Do I want some evolution here? But I feel like whenever it seems to me that whenever I take a step back and really think, is this what I'm supposed to continue to do, then some door opens.
00:21:07
Speaker
And so I pay attention to whether it's signs or something like a flow, or to me it feels like if all doors were closing and if like my soul or my spirit was saying, this doesn't feel right, then those are two big signs saying, all right, well, let's kind of move forward and try something different now. But if it feels like maybe I'm
00:21:33
Speaker
getting some pushback in my spirit, but then I sit and I stew on it for a minute and then doors open and opportunities happen and things start coming. Then it almost gives me a second wind and it gets me through to the next period.
00:21:50
Speaker
Do you have a fear of failure around it? I wouldn't say a fear of failure, but a little bit of a, um, like I was just talking to you about with always wanting and out in a way, like I feel fully like I'm, I'm fully present and I give it my all. I definitely do that, but.
00:22:12
Speaker
It's almost like sometimes I wonder if in the back of my mind I have some kind of deep rooted fear that if I dive all in that I'm either going to lose control of whatever that is, my schedule, my time, my whatever resources. And so it's almost like my fear would lie in
00:22:36
Speaker
a big growth because I'd lose control of maybe the integrity of the brand, maybe of my life.
Maintaining Integrity and Values
00:22:45
Speaker
So to me, I'm not worried about failure. I'm more worried about growth.
00:22:49
Speaker
I sort of feel like I'm hearing something that I'm jealous of, which is that you don't seem to have inner insecurities that somehow this is not going to work out. And then therefore your value as a, as a person also, you know, deflates. Do you have a sense of groundedness that doesn't come from Maddie apparel doesn't come from your work that comes from something else?
00:23:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. I feel pretty confident in myself and I guess my abilities for the most part and really just, I feel like I know who I am. You're not necessarily feeling like you have to prove that through Maddie apparel?
00:23:32
Speaker
Agree. Yes. I kind of just say, and this is a big reason why I did what I did with Mattie apparel was, yeah, I wanted to start by donating underwear, but the other elements came from, I want to be proud of every area of the business. Like that's for me. I felt like I wanted to make sure I felt good about the manufacturing. I felt good about the fabrics and
00:23:56
Speaker
to me, I wanted to feel proud of all areas. And that comes from just those were my values. And I think everyone with starting a business, it's just so not easy that you have to be, you know, down for it kind of like will match maybe your personality.
00:24:14
Speaker
For me, it felt like those were areas that I truly cared about and that's also what helps me keep going because when those are your true values, it's not like, yeah, it's not like I'm trying to copy something or it's not like I'm doing something that somebody else wants.
00:24:33
Speaker
At the end of the day, these were all things that I wanted from the beginning anyway. I feel I'm confident in myself, but I'm not always confident in what's to lie ahead. Have you always felt that way? You don't need to prove your value or your worth through the things that you're doing so you can just more freely do them? I think so. Maybe it goes back to my parents and how I was raised to just do things
00:25:02
Speaker
confidently or to feel like, Hey, you're, you're always going to have the support. You can't screw up like, um, you maybe will, but you know,
00:25:12
Speaker
But like the mistakes don't define you. Exactly. Yeah. I'm really interested in those like personal relationship dynamics that people have with themselves because so much of that I think determines the types of decisions we make and then how we go about executing on those decisions. Did you see your parents sort of, what was it that you saw in them that allowed you to be that way yourself or feel that way about yourself? Yeah. That's a good question. I've never been asked that.
00:25:42
Speaker
And I always think that's interesting too, to study people dynamics and I'm so curious about that. So I think my parents won together. They work really well as a team and never have held the other one back. So I think I see from them in a relationship, the ability to feel, I guess,
00:26:09
Speaker
confident about decisions where the other one is going to kind of trust you. As individuals, I think that they each have something that reflects the ability to kind of like freely move in their work or their life. They can exist separately, but together. And I think my brother,
00:26:30
Speaker
he owns business now and I watch him lead teams really well. And I think that, I don't know, they taught us some kind of humbleness where, at least for me, I feel like I always have something to learn from other people. So what I lie on for myself
00:26:47
Speaker
Or lean on is empathy is a big one understanding where other people come from but also I always want to feel like as if I know nothing you can always learn something from other people and that's I think what where I find myself strongest something inside of me for some reason feels
00:27:08
Speaker
Like, when I'm waiting on what's the right move, I sort of look inward and reflect on it. And then something gives me a push either way. And it's hard to convince me otherwise when I feel that way. So I think I have a harder time listening to someone say you should go this way when I'm saying, in my head, I think I'm supposed to go this way.
00:27:34
Speaker
you can trust your inner voice, your instincts. You said that you want to feel as if you know nothing. I assume that meant like around other people. So you're kind of always like listening and paying attention to the people around you and making sure you're not stamping people out. But how do you do that and also feel like the way that you think something should go is the way you're going to go? I imagine sometimes those things are in tension with each other.
00:28:02
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I think everyone has the opportunity to, like, listen to that internal compass. Mm-hmm. But I think that it's a practice, and it's definitely not always easy. But to answer your question on the note of it being a practice,
00:28:21
Speaker
listening to other people I also think is a state of just being humble, which is a practice. And they do go together, but I feel like if I feel something like maybe I'm told, hey, you should open a storefront tomorrow, something in my mind is telling me that
00:28:41
Speaker
If I listen to other people, I may have someone, one of 10 people say something that's a very interesting element that I had not considered. It could be along the same route of what I was thinking, but it also could be something that I hadn't thought of that might change the path that I was going. So sometimes I'm pushed really far from whatever I feel inside,
00:29:08
Speaker
But listening to other people, I think opens the perspective of either what more you could do. Plus, I just think, why else would we be on this earth if we're not like meant to grow? Yeah. And you can't grow if you just only stick in your own head. Yeah. So I think I learned the most when I'm in conversation with people for sure.
00:29:31
Speaker
Yeah. And you know, it's such a funny thing because you're right. You're 100% right. And I know you are right. Like my logical brain gets it totally. But my personal experience of things is like, wait, if you don't agree with what I'm saying, then you think I'm wrong. You know, if you're trying to add to what I'm saying, you're saying I'm not bringing enough.
00:29:53
Speaker
And that's just how I'm wired, unfortunately. There's a real paranoia that I'm not enough. So a lot of experiences are about trying to either counter that narrative or I'm just looking for confirmation bias where that narrative is accurate. So whenever I see in people who just don't have that, it's like the most
00:30:18
Speaker
amazing thing to me because then you make decisions out of a sense of like, no, I actually just want the best thing for this situation, not just for myself to feel good about it. Is there something when you feel like you feel most confident and most like not questioning yourself? Are there certain areas that you feel like feel free, like you're in your most, your truest self? Yes, there are.
00:30:47
Speaker
I, as a filmmaker, when I'm on location and I'm just really in the moment with the film, film subject and everything I'm doing is just focused on like, what's the story we're telling and how do we tell this best? And it's, it's a very immersive experience because you're in a location for the first time and you're reacting to things that are happening. It happens with my kids for sure. Like there's no judgment, you know?
00:31:13
Speaker
Well, I think, you know, in my opinion, those areas are the ones that you obviously lean into the most and you're going to get the most traction and others will benefit from that. But from what I feel, then the areas that you already know, if you, those are your areas of growth, obviously.
00:31:33
Speaker
And those areas of growth are for you, no one else. I think your areas of flow are for other people, like for your kids, for your subjects that you're filming. And I can notice that from a perspective of being filmed by you in the moment. But as the areas that make you feel uncomfortable, that you have to get outside of your comfort zone, those are for you to grow and no one else. And I think that that's kind of the coolest part because
00:32:03
Speaker
The one thing you need is the realization of those areas of, I guess, if you want to call it a weakness. But in my opinion, there are really no weak parts of any person. It's just kind of, my therapist would say, that's part of, that's just part of you and whatever that is. Like we all have those different things. But I think that's the coolest area that you can like dive into more.
00:32:27
Speaker
Yeah. Well, and I think that it's, you know, it's a very curious thing because again, it comes down to this fundamental belief of like, Oh, there's a part of me that could, that could be worked on.
00:32:40
Speaker
That's okay, I'm not a broken, failed person. I have work I can do. That's such a healthy viewpoint, but very often for me, it's like, and not just me, I think there's lots of people like that, but there's this sense of there can be nothing wrong. Then it just gets in the way of so much, the ability to really live and be present in the moment. For me, exactly what you're saying is what this podcast is. I'm really trying not to
00:33:09
Speaker
have a result in mind, like how can I be true to the process? It's like, you know, sending emails and just showing up to do the thing I said I was going to do and let go of the fear and the anxiety of all the things, all the ways in which this might reveal all my greatest fears and weaknesses, you know? Totally. And just stick with the process. And then in a year, look back and see what's happened.
Perseverance and Milestones Achieved
00:33:38
Speaker
That's kind of like what you've done with with Maddie apparel, right? You just you do the next thing that you have to do with what's in front of you when you're talking about kind of also whatever I keep thinking about you saying getting to that fifth podcast or you know, just showing up for the things that you said you were gonna do and
00:33:56
Speaker
I think to big moments, and I have in my head certain time periods that it's happened, but let's just say, for the sake of this, say year five and year eight or something like that, maybe I've thought about giving up and things are hard and financial cashflow, all of that's always a challenge and sacrifices that I make.
00:34:23
Speaker
then I think, okay, if I would have given up, let's just say in year nine, then the airport would not be able to carry us or they wouldn't be. Let's just say I gave up in year, whatever, too. There wouldn't have been an opening in the storefront that we're in. So those are the pivotal times that when you do look back, you think,
00:34:45
Speaker
if I had just given up like six months before that, this other big, cool thing and opportunity literally would have like poof just disappeared in the air and happened for someone else or whatever. I mean, it's just, and those are cool things to think about and, um, yeah, it's encouraging. Yeah, it's encouraging. I think for me, it's not so much continuing the journey. For me, it's more like,
00:35:10
Speaker
does it need to look this way? Or can I let it go if it didn't? So that's an important, I think, lesson for anyone. If you didn't get the result you wanted, you mean? I would say, I mean, I set goals and personal goals and business goals and things like that. But it can get hard to be hard on yourself. So I could show up every day and do what I said I was going to do. But I think you're only human if it feels like,
00:35:39
Speaker
You aren't proud of every single moment or if it feels like I could be this Comparing, you know, this company is making a lot more money here or has so much more exposure here And yeah, you know, so that's a daily practice like comparison is the thief of joy Yeah, I think that those are practices and the part of it is though the showing up in the process and doing it but I think that
00:36:08
Speaker
everyone is going to stumble. There's no one, even if I feel competent in my abilities and what I'm doing in the path I'm on, it still doesn't mean that I don't think, why am I not at this point yet? Or, you know, so I think everyone faces those battles for sure.
00:36:25
Speaker
Yeah. Did you ever see the documentary on Netflix called Stutz that Jonah Hill made about his therapist? Oh, I have. Yes. There's this concept called the string of pearls and how your only job is to make the next pearl.
00:36:43
Speaker
I remember that. So he draws that string of pearls on the page and then he puts a little black dot and he calls it like a turd. And every pearl has a turd in it because it's not quite what you thought it would be.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah, it's flawed in some way. And it's almost like and so what your job is not to worry about the result. You just make the next Pearl. But it's also to acknowledge and accept the fact that you're never going to do it how you think it should be done or perfectly. I mean, yeah, because it's like, well, what else is the point? I mean, we're here.
00:37:18
Speaker
if we don't really have full control over every situation in our life, we don't have control over the people around us, we don't have control over what happens, for me, who shops with me, my surroundings, my loved ones, health, all these things, if you don't have full control, then what really is the point? The point is just, yeah, focus on you.
00:37:47
Speaker
It's easy to get away from that and get in your head and feel like very small-minded instead of greater picture. There must be so many mornings where you get up and you're like, how am I going to accomplish A, B, and C? But you have been doing it for almost 10 years.
00:38:05
Speaker
Yeah, it's definitely not easy. I try to work on how can I be more efficient, not just with my time, but also because if you're going to put so much into your business, no matter what you're doing,
00:38:25
Speaker
if you're working at a company, if you have your own company, same thing.
Balancing Business and Personal Life
00:38:30
Speaker
But if that is going to require so much of your time, then like, how do you want that to look? And how do you want the rest of your days and like your free time to look? And I feel like as much as I love what I do, it's still my time as my most important element. I want to spend time with family and friends and doing the things that I want to do.
00:38:52
Speaker
sometimes I think the times when I'm feeling regret or animosity or
00:38:58
Speaker
It's because I'm upset at the business stealing my time. So I've had to learn to put up barriers and I think just be more efficient with scheduling, like really marking down. I have all these things to do. I wear all these hats. I wish I didn't. I wish I had more help. Wish I could afford other people. But because I don't, at the stage I'm at right now, today,
00:39:23
Speaker
I have to think, how can I monetize my time the best? And then how much other time do I personally need to commit to whatever it is, my personal life or taking breaks or travel or whatever it is? And so to me, that feels like something that I wish that I would have done starting five years ago that I'm just now putting in a place like now. And do you feel like you didn't do it before because it seemed like a luxury?
00:39:52
Speaker
Yeah, it almost was like I was making the business be like an excuse for me to be on my laptop until midnight or whatever. And it feels like I have full control over that. There's no need for me to be making those decisions.
00:40:08
Speaker
and I felt like I would be upset or I'd feel like my time was stolen and that would be me upset at myself or the business or whatever. There's no one to get mad at. I think that putting up those barriers, that really, really helped me to feel like I had more control over my time.
00:40:29
Speaker
Do those barriers mean like I'm just not going to work past this time and then whatever doesn't get done today, I'll do it tomorrow or how does that end up looking for you?
00:40:40
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I used to work almost every weekend and I'd take Monday off, but then I started to feel like I'm missing out on so much friends. I mean, nobody else is off Mondays and I'm missing like the farmer's market or like hanging out with people that actually are also off. And so I then started to have staff, like budget, just put these benchmarks in and
00:41:07
Speaker
budget for other people to work in our store on the weekends. And so things like that. I implemented something where I work from home or from wherever I want on Tuesdays. And for me, I'm still working, but that gives me the flexibility to like, what if I want to do it at the pool? What if I want to do it at home with my pets, you know?
00:41:29
Speaker
I feel like last year I did a really big deep dive on what do I want and need and there's no time like the present to do that. Yeah, like you said, if it doesn't get done, it doesn't and that can be hard to sit with, but I've been trying to just work
00:41:48
Speaker
quote everyone else, like, work smarter, not harder. And to really, I don't, I'm undiagnosed, but I feel like I'm ADD. And so I really have to block my schedule, set that out the week or the day ahead and say I'd want from one to two, I'm literally emails two to three, I'm doing this task, and then put everything away and focus on that.
00:42:12
Speaker
And it is pretty sad. I don't know if anyone else struggles with that, but it's pretty satisfying when you actually do do those things. And then you can at least feel good about that as opposed to the days when I'm just like showing up and doing all these right, get pulled in all these different directions. And then it feels like, what did I even do? And now I have still all this stuff left. My biggest, I don't know if I'd call myself a procrastinator, maybe.
00:42:38
Speaker
Maybe it's like i don't know fear i have no idea what to blame it on but it's more so i Will just focus on all these different tasks and not focus and so i think yeah it's always tugging me and i'm working on a
00:42:55
Speaker
that for myself. Like I'm trying to improve that because I think it'll improve the rest of my life. And also, you know, kind of like you referenced with the podcast and sticking to it and showing up and doing like at least this and then going back and looking at what you've done and then taking more steps and then looking back. I think for me, that is important with goal setting because I am so used to running
00:43:23
Speaker
balls to the walls, head underwater, can't keep up, doing as much as I can with little time and little people, but not knowing really like what am I trying to achieve. So another thing and also in terms of my scheduling and time blocking, I'm trying really hard to come up with like four tangible doable goals that I really need like my personal or my company to
00:43:53
Speaker
to tackle. So like big need goals. And then putting under it kind of how can I get there and then looking back on them about every week, two weeks and seeing have I done it? Have I taken actionable items? And I have you read or heard of the book Traction? No, I haven't.
00:44:14
Speaker
It's a good one for small business owners, but also I think just really anyone in business or doing any projects. It helps in a lot of different ways, but that's a big one. It's taking a step back and looking to see, okay,
00:44:30
Speaker
I know I'm trying to run this business or I know I'm trying to do this project, but what is my actual goal? Like, what do I want out of it?
Future Goals for Maddie Apparel
00:44:38
Speaker
You know, my overall message with Maddie was to what Maddie stands for, make a difference in every way. And we're still doing that. What our products do is they empower the customer to actually be taking action. So we're just like a funnel for them to do that.
00:44:56
Speaker
help navigate that, facilitate that. But that's really what my goal as a business owner is to kind of educate, to empower, to listen, to learn, to teach, to grow. And that takes a lot of going back to that original mission a lot. And I learned a lot in a accelerator I was in last week in Chicago. And that was about
00:45:21
Speaker
what are the things that you say no to? You know, what are the things you know are in your yes lane? And then what are the things that if you're not, you don't need to bring everything in, go back to that original set of values, that original mission.
00:45:36
Speaker
And then that makes it easier to say no. Maybe that's like a partnership someone wants to be part of. Maybe that's something someone throws your way or someone who applies for a job. If they don't hit those values in that original goal set, it's an easy no. And so I think going back to those things is helpful.
00:45:56
Speaker
That's cool. Okay, so what's next for you, Haley and for Maddie? Yeah, so a cool thing about slow motion goods in the storefront is other people from our team and that could fluctuate. That's a cool thing. Things can be delegated.
00:46:15
Speaker
can do that renovating, can do that sourcing. And by sourcing, that's literally, we're taking maddy apparel waste, like fabric and material, leather waste. We're taking, we're thrifting and that's, you know, sneakers and skateboards and canvases. And so other people can do that. Mostly it's been me sourcing these things and doing a lot of the renovations, but that's kind of the cool part. Other people from our team can take
00:46:44
Speaker
part in it. Whereas it's a little hard to do that with Maddie apparel and the design process. I do the designing, then it goes to the SO team. They make it. So people are in our internal team in the store and whatnot can't contribute as much. So I'm excited about that. But I,
00:46:59
Speaker
Maddie with Maddie apparel and the products I have big goals and it's mostly scaling but doing so kind of in a controlled way like we talked about. I know that we need to kind of get to the next step. Our cash flow is tight. We have these bigger wholesale orders now and they're hard to fulfill up front. We get paid
00:47:21
Speaker
upon the delivery and even after that, which is tough for a small business. So, you know, I know we need cashflow and I'm willing to kind of take steps toward how that looks. But yeah, those are kind of my next goals. They involve
00:47:38
Speaker
you know, being in more wholesale accounts so that people can find us in other stores all over, just growing and being able to make, you know, a bigger impact. And then I then just along a lot, what we're talking about personal growth and making sure that these things align with with me as, I guess, the driver of the ship. Yeah, that person's always has to kind of be on board, so to say so.
00:48:07
Speaker
I'm working on those things and making sure I feel good about each step. Yeah, that's really cool. Well, from the time we spent with you all, was that last year? Yeah, last year. Yeah, from the time we spent hanging out with you and seeing your operation, seeing
00:48:29
Speaker
how you interacted with your employees and with the so teams and the leather teams. And, you know, I think it's really, really cool what you're doing. I'm a huge fan of, of what you're doing, but also how you're doing it. I'm excited to see what Maddie apparel goes on to do. And thank you, Joel. Thank you. That means a lot. Also, did you, did you hear about the telly award? I'm sure Doug. Oh yeah, I did. Yeah. Yeah. Gold.
00:48:54
Speaker
Yeah, we got it. Let's go team. We got a gold for the win. That's right. That's awesome. Congrats to you guys. That's such a huge thing. I mean, I'm proud of you guys for getting that. That's amazing. It was such an incredible film and we were happy to be part of it. Cool. I'm glad.
00:49:12
Speaker
It was fun to hang with you guys. And thanks for having me. This was fun. I'm excited to see hear more of your podcasts and just see you keep moving and cranking it out. It's exciting. Cool. Thanks, Haley. I appreciate it. And yeah, I look forward to following along with what you keep doing as well. So big fan. Awesome. Well, thanks so much, Joel. Cool. Good to see you chat with you. Thanks, Haley.
00:49:49
Speaker
You can learn more about Hailey and Maddie Apparel by visiting maddieapparel.com. The link is in the episode description for that. You can see the video that we created together on the website, on the Our Process page, and you can find all the products that they create and sell. My wife and I have a few items of Maddie Apparel as well. In particular, I have a hoodie that I love. It's buttery soft and I love wearing it.
00:50:16
Speaker
But they have all kinds of really great products that would make really great Christmas gifts that you can feel really good about giving because they make a difference for women in need and really for everyone who touches the product before it gets to you. And again, you can find that all on their website. All right, that is it for this week. Thank you so much for listening. If you're liking the show, please subscribe for more future episodes. Have a great week and see you again next week.