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Boots, Bikinis, and Bold Moves
13 Plays19 days ago
Most entrepreneurs spend years talking about starting a business.
Carley didn’t.
She saved her money from waitressing and babysitting, sourced manufacturers herself, organized her first photoshoot in her sorority house, and launched a swimwear brand before most people her age were even thinking about business.
Today her brand, BootinBikinis, is growing rapidly — and her story is a powerful reminder that sometimes the best way to start a business is simply to start.
Dream Big. Start NOW!
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Transcript
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Dream Big and Stay Resilient
00:00:04
Speaker
The voice of growth, mastering the mind and market.
00:00:10
Speaker
I love swimwear. I bought so much of it and a lot of it was very expensive. There was a big niche in the market for a high quality swimwear brand. Everything I do is very unique. um I put a lot of love and detail into all my suits.
00:00:28
Speaker
I truly, I stay up at night just thinking about all these different ideas that I want to run with and do.
00:00:35
Speaker
You have to have a thick skin being an entrepreneur. think we all have one life, we should dream big and i have a lot of ambitions and aspirations for myself.
Starting a Business: Bold Steps and Early Lessons
00:00:46
Speaker
I love to negotiate more than anything.
00:00:51
Speaker
know, the world will throw you crazy things and it's how you respond.
00:00:56
Speaker
I jumped the gun and I was like, I'm just going to go it all in.
00:01:02
Speaker
I didn't tell anyone I was starting it until a week before. And I was like, yeah, I'm doing this. And I had it planned for six months. I had a teacher and he was telling us all about taking an entrepreneurship endeavor. And I asked him, I go, well, what have you done?
00:01:16
Speaker
And he goes, oh, well, I haven't done one yet.
00:01:22
Speaker
Million dollar question. I don't know.
00:01:26
Speaker
hey there, Carly. How are you doing today? I'm great. How are you? I'm doing fantastic. Thanks for being on the podcast, The Voice of Growth. And I know that you've been busy and we've been busy and we finally got a ah chance to catch up. So I'm so glad that this is happening.
00:01:44
Speaker
Me too. I know it's been a lot of back and forth. So i always like to start on the the sort of the origin story and where things started for you and and and particularly about the boot and bikini side, because i know you've done other things. We did a research about some of the things you've done in your past in empowering women and all these other things. But let's start off with, give us the the ah the start, the idea of boot and bikinis.
00:02:13
Speaker
Definitely. um Well, I would say growing up, I obviously I grew up in San Diego. And so I was always in a swimsuit. My friends and I were going to the beach every weekend. And I love swimwear. I bought so much of it. And a lot of it was very expensive. We're talking
Boot and Bikinis: From Concept to Creation
00:02:27
Speaker
two to $300 for a set.
00:02:29
Speaker
And my parents never could justify how such small fabric costs so much. But I was just always enamored by it. And that's what I spent all my money on was bikinis. It wasn't until I got to U of where I saw a lot of girls either wearing like $10 bikinis or $2 bikinis. I'm not gonna give like the brand's names, but there was a big niche in the market for a high quality swimwear brand that was in a like $100 price point for the set.
00:02:53
Speaker
And when I kind of noticed that I was like, huh, I'm into something. And I was so passionate about it. So I started sourcing different manufacturers. And it wasn't until I went to Greece that I was really inspired by European fashion. And I really was like, you know what? I'm going to go with this. I used up all my savings that I did have from babysitting, waitressing. You know, I saved up like crazy and fully funded it. Started just ordering samples, comparing manufacturers, quality products.
00:03:21
Speaker
Had my first photo shoot actually in my sorority house. I texted a few of my friends and I was like, who wants to model? You'll get a free bikini. And we had like this white curtain. It was kind of ratchet, you could say But it was so fun and exciting. And the beginning also, I started boots. and Cowboy boots were really big at U of A. and I saw a niche in the market because if you went online, they were always sold out. And i was like, how can I balance winter and summer? boo and bikinis, that's the name.
Roots of Entrepreneurship: Family and Community Influence
00:03:49
Speaker
Started running off with that.
00:03:51
Speaker
And then, yeah, we just kind of started from there and been growing like crazy. No, that's fantastic. I, yeah you know, of course, being in Arizona, I totally understand the the lifestyle. It is hot here, you know, half the year or more.
00:04:07
Speaker
And if you don't have a pool, you you find a pool, you find water. So that's awesome. um You said you grew up in San Diego. Tell us about that. Yeah, I grew up on an island, Coronado. It's not actually, it's like a peninsula, but people call it Coronado Island. Oh, I know Coronado very well. Oh, you do? Okay, have you been?
00:04:24
Speaker
Yes, many times. Many times. So yeah, I've gone up there my whole life. My mom's been there and she was, I think, 12. And it's a very small island, but i absolutely love it My friends and I are still best friends to this day Everyone rode around bicycles, going out. You know, it was crazy on the weekends, just between house parties and stuff and a lot of pool parties I'd always host.
00:04:47
Speaker
And there couldn't have been a better place to grow up. It truly was a magical, and it's a magical place. and I love going back. um It's almost like a different world there. I mean, it's kind of crazy.
00:04:57
Speaker
It is. it ah It is like a little bubble. And you know everyone. And everyone knows you. Every time I go to the grocery store with my mom, it takes like two hours. She knows everyone in town. yeah So let's talk a little bit about that that early start.
00:05:12
Speaker
What was it about you back in we'll say, even high school and and early college that Where was the DNA that that led you to do this? I mean, are your parents in the the mix, been in business? Did you have anybody in your family that was in business? Like what, I mean, that's a big jump for you to do that. What was the sort of the ah the mentorship that was there for you?
00:05:35
Speaker
Yeah, well, back in Coronado, actually, my whole family, are they're all entrepreneurs, not one person between my grandma, mom, dad, aunt, uncle. They've never had a boss the day in their life. and my dad, he was in land development, real estate. My mom's an interior designer.
00:05:51
Speaker
My grandma, she started her own um interior design business. My papa, he had a real estate business, but like it was more so building houses and all that. So everyone kind of, like I would say I beat it to their own drum. That was kind of in my DNA. um Education was important to my family, but it was never like I would be in trouble if I got a C. My mom was like, C's get degrees. It was much more about like a hard work ethic and common sense will get you further in life than actual academics. Yeah.
00:06:18
Speaker
So I was kind of always raised with this idea. My dad also, he dropped out of high school when he 16. And he grew up with absolutely nothing, became very successful on his own, was just a very hard worker. so we've always had this mindset that him and I truly have always bonded over entrepreneurship and business.
Brand Philosophy: Authenticity and Community
00:06:34
Speaker
In high school too, I started a different business called Carly's Customs where I cut up designer Louis Vuitton authentic duffel bags and I'd put them on like vintage Levi jackets.
00:06:45
Speaker
So I kind of did that for a minute, which was interesting. and then I started like different volunteer clubs in in high school. um Also in eighth grade, I started that women's club where we made all these bracelets and donate them to Ray Schoen's Hospital. So I would say like I've always just kind of wanted to be a leader,
00:07:02
Speaker
I never really cared what anyone thought and just kind of beat it to my own drum. And my dad, same thing. He never cared what anyone thought. Yeah. You know, one of the things i like about your brand, and obviously I'm not a direct consumer, but people around me are consumers.
00:07:17
Speaker
What I like about your brand and what I like ah really like about your story is that you're able to be true to yourself and also follow the market. I mean, you identified an unmet need, you identified um ah ah target market, but it's also coming from you. Would you agree with that?
00:07:38
Speaker
Definitely. Yeah. Everything I do is very unique. um I put a lot of love and detail into all my suits. So I feel like everything is authentic to me. but it's also been this whole woman community, especially at U A. It's been magical, like just seeing everyone not only in it, but supportive of it My little was here yesterday visiting me and she was like, it's so crazy to see what started to what it is now. And my girlfriends from U of A, they've been so supportive seeing it from the start.
00:08:07
Speaker
That's great. i um I think community is so important. Sometimes our friends are there for us and sometimes they they try to hold a mirror and help us to grow by being more critical.
00:08:21
Speaker
you have people in your life that are like that, that are maybe less rah-rah, you know, high five and more like, hey, why don't you really think about these sort of things? My mom.
00:08:33
Speaker
My mom keeps me grounded. She's like, well, we need to talk about taxes, your LLC, make this legit. She's very like fact based and she likes to make sure everything is, you know, the T's are all across, the I's are dotted. And it's great. I need someone to be more serious with that. My dad was always the big dreamer of it.
00:08:51
Speaker
And my mom was always the more like logistics behind it. Yeah, I know your your dad passed away just recently, and um i i my condolences, of course. Thank you. I grew up without a father. ah My father died when I was one. so it was ah kind of an odd thing for me that i didn't I didn't really miss anything because I didn't know what I was missing.
00:09:12
Speaker
And I know for you, your father was ah was just this pillar in in life, and so I'm sure he's very proud of you. and Thank you.
Navigating the Fashion Industry: Challenges and Triumphs
00:09:20
Speaker
yeah Tell us about that phone call when you got from PacSun or i had that all roll out. I mean, that must be crazy.
00:09:27
Speaker
that was That was exciting. So um every year i do internships, meaning this is started when I was in Barcelona. I didn't proposed this idea. I got a lot of DMs about girls needed internships for school credit and everything. And I was like, I can't really afford to pay interns. That feels weird bringing someone on for free. But girls were like wanting internships. And I was like, interesting. I'll put an application out and see if anyone applies. And we had over 150 applicants.
00:09:55
Speaker
Was not expecting that. And I was like, what? This is crazy. And within that, I was like, I was expecting to bring on one or two. i brought on 10 girls and it kind of snowballed into this like three month internship where we'd meet on Zooms once a week. And I would like just kind of bond with these girls and they would help make Instagram stories, come up with brand ideas, look into the market, our competitors and also vendor like meetings.
00:10:20
Speaker
So my one intern, Kaylee Walden, she's amazing. She also went to U of She found this amazing show called Collective. And I actually attended Collective as a buyer helping someone out before to pick out like swimwear, which is funny.
00:10:36
Speaker
And she presented me this opportunity, but it was really expensive and it seemed really ambitious. But I looked into it and we got a booth and we went up and me and my colleague at the time, Sandy, she's great as well.
00:10:49
Speaker
We did not know anything about it. We walked in like we knew what we were doing. I had no clue. And a bunch of vendors will come up to your booth and you just kind of fake it to you make it and they want to buy. And we had a lot of success at the show.
00:11:02
Speaker
and you never know when it's a big buyer. mean, we're all Paxson. They won't tell you who they are. yeah They'll just come by your booth and they'll take your information. so they took our information. I didn't know it was Paxson. And then I get an email that Paxson wants me to come up to their headquarters in l LA and meet with them and show them my whole spring lookbook.
00:11:20
Speaker
And I was like, is this legit? Like what And so i was about to move to New York City and I was like, is this is crazy. Yes, I'll come up. So I drove up there by myself. I brought all my suits with like garment bags, set up a rack. And, you know, they had like multiple buyers come in I did a whole presentation on my brand myself, why they should buy from me. and they said, we love it all. We're we're sold. We'll i email you the MOQs.
00:11:44
Speaker
I was like so excited. Took myself out for lunch at Hillstone. I was like, mom, I did it. It was a proud, it was definitely a proud moment. i And then from there, obviously we moved forward and worked with them. It was great. It was great when tariffs hit though. So that was difficult figuring out the pricing and the shipping and all that. But we've been able figure that out. And yeah, it was a great success.
00:12:09
Speaker
And you're still, you're still selling through Paxit as well? Not at the moment. So with tariffs, I put on hold bigger vendors just because with my manufacturer, everything was very much up in the air as it is overseas right now.
00:12:21
Speaker
And I didn't want to have to wait six months, five months. Like sometimes they can ship me something and I'm supposed to get next week and it could be three months later. and then even PacSun too, they had to cut back on budgeting for swimwear. But we're still in cahoots trying to set something up for next
Design Philosophy: Uniqueness and Elegance
00:12:36
Speaker
spring.
00:12:37
Speaker
That's great. If I remember correctly, you do like a limited run, right? yeah Once they sold out sell out, that's kind of how it goes, right? Pretty much, yeah. We have one suit right now, the Kenzie, that sold out pretty fast. So we're thinking about bringing it back just because it is such a great seller and it's really unique with the detail.
00:12:55
Speaker
But I try to do everything in small batch. I think a lot of fashion now is over mass produced and overdone and you don't want something that everyone else has. I want you know our customers to be so excited about our pieces because I put so much effort into them that they're running onto the site the day it drops, getting it and feeling like, wow, I'm in this amazing bikini. It's unique. You can't just like get it everywhere else.
00:13:17
Speaker
No, like that. You're looking at your Instagram, ah your bikinis are, and this is for me, like I'm and i'm a layman, obviously. um I do have a little bit of some experience with the fashion industry, but not really this. I mean, there're it's like, it's elegant, but it's also a little bit playful. There's polka dots, there's rhinestones, or maybe not rhinestones, but it looks like something like a rhinestone. Yeah. um Is it?
00:13:41
Speaker
Well, there there there's silver so like there is silver studs. And a lot of manufacturers in the United States, because I've tried to be sourcing here, and I met with a manufacturer in New York, they're not able to produce the embellishments that I want and or for the price point that my customers could afford. You know, all my suits are sold as 98 as a set. That's why I'm trying to be niche in the market. But with the U.S., I had to, you know, change my prices to a lot more and the quality wouldn't be as unique.
00:14:09
Speaker
If you had magic wand and could put one of your bikinis on on any model you wanted, it be and what? Oh, Sophia Ritchie. Yeah? Not that she's a model, but she, I'm not really big into the whole like model is that. I don't really care. That sounds terrible. I should. Yeah. and But I love Sophia Ritchie. I love everything about her I've always looked up to her since I was like 16.
00:14:33
Speaker
For some reason, she's like my it girl. So are you going to meet her? yeah Million dollar question. I don't know. I'm not like a crazy fan by any means. I just think that she's like really elegant. I like how tasteful she is. And she just seems like a great mom and wife and and um great, great style. Very classy. I love her fashion.
00:14:58
Speaker
So this is a, we do a lot of ah sort of pretending and and thinking about things differently um when I ask questions here. if ah If for some reason Boone Bikinis disappeared tomorrow, what you do with your life?
00:15:15
Speaker
but What would I do in my life? I'd probably be starting a different company. i already have a few different ideas of other companies I want to start. I love, ah truly, I stay up at night just thinking about all these different ideas that I want to run with and do And I'm not going to say what they specifically are, but I love coming up with a concept in my mind and then figuring out how I can bring that product to life.
00:15:39
Speaker
That's like entrepreneurship 101.
00:15:42
Speaker
Is that what you studied at U of What did you study? So at U of A, I was in an entrepreneurship class and I got in a fight with my teacher, funny enough. Um... did not love that class. Basically, had a teacher and he was telling us all about taking an entrepreneurship endeavor. And I asked him, I go, well, what have you done?
00:16:00
Speaker
And he goes, oh, well, I haven't done one yet. And he's like I have a lot of ideas. And I'm like, so you have these ideas, but you're teaching us, but you haven't once, you know, because it's a lot of risk financially, confidence, you know, you're putting yourself out there publicly.
00:16:14
Speaker
and it was really hard for me to grasp learning from someone who never experienced that high and low of failure in putting themselves out there. And he had a lot of critiques for my business strategy for boot and bikinis before I even started it. I did a project on it and he didn't really see the point of it.
00:16:31
Speaker
And don't know, it was interesting because I'm like, I was a 21 year old girl running with my idea with my waitressing money and you're teaching me about entrepreneurship. Okay. Steve Harvey, this is a great story about Steve Harvey.
00:16:44
Speaker
Back in high school, he was told by one of his teachers that he'd never amount to anything and he would never be able to afford a TV, color TV.
00:16:55
Speaker
So when Steve Harvey made it, made it big, he sent his teacher in from high school a TV every year and still does.
00:17:08
Speaker
ah So it's sometimes we have this ax to grind. And, and I mean, I'm sure now it's sort of like semi playful, but people like that the that, that professor that sort of was, uh, poo pooing your idea, like that was some fuel to the fire for sure.
00:17:27
Speaker
Totally. And I'm never one to like get, I'm not like a sensitive, like, oh, I'm sad. No, I could care a less what people think. You have
Leadership and Vision: Creating a Positive Work Environment
00:17:35
Speaker
to have a thick skin being an entrepreneur. You have to be able to put yourself out there, take criticism and really not care what people think if you really do believe in your product. And no matter what, if you're putting yourself out there, you're going to have people not like it or some people love it. You know, that's part of just being out there. But you have to have a thick skin with being an entrepreneur for sure.
00:17:54
Speaker
So give us give us an example of a time when maybe you got or some really bad criticism or something, somebody was really upset about your, whatever. Is there there's a story you can share with us regarding that? Yeah, I'm trying to think. I've never really had a customer be super upset, to be honest.
00:18:15
Speaker
I'm trying to think. ah
00:18:19
Speaker
I don't know, to be completely honest. I haven't had one person ever come out being like, I'm not happy with my suit. Obviously, if they aren't, I'd be like, so sorry, I'll give you a store credit or let's do an exchange. I like to be, you know, always giving the best customer service.
00:18:33
Speaker
But... Not really. That sounds terrible. i I obviously have experienced like shipping delays and like customers being upset with that, especially with like me receiving suits late and having to ship them out later. And I've always been like, oh, well, here's a discount code or, oh, I'll make it up to you or, you know, doing my best to make sure the customer is always happy will always be my priority.
00:18:55
Speaker
Yeah, I guess with as the with that as a backdrop, my next question is really about you being a female founder and you've got a balance between being authoritative and being likable and being approachable, but also getting stuff done.
00:19:14
Speaker
do you find that there's a um ah harmony that you have to have between these different aspects of your life or are you just you and people just need to figure it out? Well, I feel like with anyone I've ever brought on, because I've also had a team, I've also employed girls and people part time. Like I've worked now with over 100 women between my years with Burt McKinney's, be it all the internships, be it I've had people on to do collabs with influencers.
00:19:39
Speaker
I've had girls do my social for, you know, years at a time, and I'm still super tight with all of them. And the retention of girls wanting an opportunity is amazing because I really try to create a really positive environment with Bouton. I've been fortunate enough to work in you know the service industry, corporate world. I worked for bosses I've loved, bosses I haven't loved, and really have gotten the idea of how I want to be treated, how I want to feel as an employee.
00:20:05
Speaker
that now I can use those lessons to treat my other, you know, girls who ever do work for Brooklyn with the utmost respect. I'm super transparent, super welcoming, you know, life's hard. You got to be nice to people. Like, and I've had bosses that are just so demanding and, oh, no, thank you. I always want to show, you know, work hard, play harder. Let's have fun with Life's short, you know, doesn't need to be that deep.
00:20:31
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. You know, the thing about social media and what we see today is sometimes the life of an entrepreneur is very glamorous. but Would you agree or would you have a different thought about that?
00:20:46
Speaker
Totally. um I think that yes and no. like I'm very privileged for my life. I've worked very hard you know to pay my own rent, pay my own bills and figure it out on my own.
00:20:57
Speaker
But also, life's not always glamorous. I think social media can be really fake and a lot of people play into it. And to be honest, you somewhat have to to create you know buzz and business and drive and get those sales and That's just part of social media. But to be honest, I delete so like Instagram for weeks at a time. and I have another girl run my Instagram because I love getting off social media. My favorite thing is putting my phone in a drawer for a day and like going out, going to the beach or going walk. I hate being on my phone scrolling.
00:21:29
Speaker
so social media can be toxic. And I think it's really important to take breaks and, you know, stay away from as much as you can, but also in a professional manner, creating content and driving sales. So it's finding that balance.
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you're obviously in your early mid-20s. I'm turning 25 next week. I'm scared. Wow. Well, happy your early birthday.
00:21:53
Speaker
Thanks. And yeah, that's, um you know, you've got a lot going for you. You've been doing a lot, but certainly you have a lot to to go. Like if you were to look in a crystal ball and think about where you'd like to be in life,
00:22:07
Speaker
in, we'll say when you're 50, like double your years here, um, paint us a picture of what you imagine your life to be. and i know it's hard to do, but, but yeah, you know, we're here at this podcast, so let's make it happen.
00:22:21
Speaker
Okay. 15, I would love to have a family. I'm very family oriented. I want to find like an amazing husband. I want to have four kids.
00:22:32
Speaker
I want a big house with a pool. that I can like host. I love hosting all my friends. And then work-wise, I would love to continue, obviously, beard and bikinis. I would love to create a huge business out of it, be able to bring on women and really create a fun work environment.
00:22:48
Speaker
I don't want it to be so corporate. I want it to be really like creative and unique. I've never been one to want to sit behind a desk all day. Like in school, I love to lunch break the best.
00:23:00
Speaker
So I'd want to create a really fun environment and bring on girls that work hard, but play harder, if you know what I mean, have a great mindset. And I think we all have one life. We should dream big. And i have a lot of ambitions and aspirations
Embracing Technology: AI and Traditional Methods
00:23:15
Speaker
for myself. But definitely to be a mom is like my number one priority one day. That's great. I mean, you have um a good family foundation and that's always is very useful.
00:23:26
Speaker
I mean, my, my, so my mom, my, I mentioned earlier, than my father passed away early. So she really had to, to dig deep. I mean, she actually, my dad died when she was ah like your age, basically.
00:23:39
Speaker
So imagine having like a one-year-old. She you stay super young. Yeah, she was, I think she was 24 when she had me. You know, this is a different time, right? Yeah. And so, yeah, she had to really dig deep and she moved back to my hometown.
00:23:53
Speaker
and My grandmother was in the mix, my other grandmother. So I was raised by women. which gives me a ah massive edge in in business. And a lot of my friends that are like super whatever masculine or I am very masculine as well, but I have that feminine ability to see certain things like empathic almost.
00:24:13
Speaker
And so intelligence. 100%. And it's been useful for it for me in business negotiation. And I've been really um like leaning into it, you know.
00:24:24
Speaker
um what if so And this is going to be an easy question because I think I already know the answer. What would you say your like top three strengths are in in business and in life? I would say emotional intelligence. um I love digging deep. I like to have really meaningful, deep conversations with my friends.
00:24:43
Speaker
I would say in business negotiations, I love to negotiate. more than anything. And then I would say i'm really honest and loyal to my friends. There's no BS here. I'm honest to my customers.
00:24:57
Speaker
And I think honesty is always going to be the best. I can't stand liars or any BS. So I would say no bullshit. Honest. No, that's good. I like that.
00:25:09
Speaker
um I guess with that, and I'm trying to like weave a thread here. Is AI part of anything that you do? And if so, how do you use it?
00:25:20
Speaker
Yeah, to be honest, I'm such a grandma. Like I like to meet in person, pen and paper, technology. I'm like, this is, I swear, I'm like the worst at technology, which sounds really bizarre, but I just, I hate it. I like to do stuff old school, but I have been using now AI to help me write more professional emails, but which I've been addicted to. And it's kind of when you start getting in the groove of it, you start to really enjoy it. But I always still reread my emails, change out things.
00:25:51
Speaker
yeah I always make it authentic to myself. But that's the only only thing I really use from like AI right now. And I know you use a lot of models in your social media posts and all that. Would you ever consider using an ai model?
00:26:04
Speaker
No. No, no, no, no, no. I want to show cellulite. I want to show real bodies. And honestly, I just kind of ask my friends, you know, who wants to model because my friends really are the consumers. It's girls my age that are buying good bikinis. I want it to be real and authentic where you see it on her and you can see it on yourself. You know what i mean? So i always am open to whoever wants to model. i have girls DM me and I'm like, great.
00:26:30
Speaker
You know, I want to be real and authentic. They don't need to have a big following by any means. I just want someone who also is like a good reputation and like a strong, I would say woman empowerment, like female I look more at than I do anything else. Yeah, that's powerful. I think, uh,
00:26:49
Speaker
the whole finance world is being taken by storm. The engineering world, a little bit by storm. Accounting is being taken by storm. um The movie industry, and and now you see it a little bit in fashion where AI is entering in that with these these digital twins. And yeah, it's it's changing for sure. But at the end of the day, you're creating a physical product. I mean, you're making something that people wear. So yeah're it's going to be hard to separate that from the AI you know crew for sure.
00:27:19
Speaker
Definitely 100%.
Resilience through Personal Loss: Impact on Life and Business
00:27:21
Speaker
I do think that AI is going to, you know, obviously, become involved in to my business, it's going to be become involved to everyone's business. I just don't think we're there right now. But I could definitely see in the next year, us growing into that more so.
00:27:35
Speaker
Yeah, so i've I've been doing a lot with AI. You know, certainly I'm i'm kind of a bit like you that I don't like technology very much. You don't? Am I not? do No, I kind of, I mean, I run a technology company besides doing this podcast.
00:27:48
Speaker
And I just, I'm kind of like a woodsman, like put me out in in a mountain lake or on a beach or so like get me out there and I'm like happier than hell. and Like I'll rebuild a sailboat, whatever. i enjoy that. ah So I have to use technology and I have to be,
00:28:06
Speaker
like well-versed at using it. um But this is what's happening and and from what I see. And it's gotten me sort of thinking. And I would say in the next two, three years, maybe five, you will have, like you and I will have,
00:28:24
Speaker
an AI employee, an agent that works for us that is completely virtual. That, you know, when you go to like ChatGPT, whatever you like, you go up to ChatGPT, you type something, and if you don't hit enter, you walk away, nothing happens, right? And then you hit enter and then it does its thing.
00:28:42
Speaker
There will come a time in a few years where it'll be literally... You're going to like say, hey, like, like hey, Siri. And that that AI agent is just going to like look at your your your desktop. It's going to send you emails. It's going to be on a Zoom call. It's going to have like an avatar of like a person on a Zoom call.
00:29:00
Speaker
um How do you feel about all that? Being somebody that doesn't like technology like like me. I feel like it's obviously just inevitable. Like, yeah, I don't love it, but if it's going to be beneficial and it's going to speed up processes, like it's definitely interesting. And I think I just don't like change. I'm really hard on letting things go or letting people go like out of my life. I'm very loyal, like I said. So like just the idea of change is always scary to me but it's also really exciting. So I'm sure once I get used to it and we all get used to it, it'll be really beneficial.
00:29:33
Speaker
Yeah, what's crazy is like my my grandmother, she's still alive and very healthy, thank God. um She's 94. and she She has a cell phone, and which is not a big deal.
00:29:45
Speaker
But she has a flip phone and she has everybody's numbers memorized. It's ridiculous. I love it. So I was there a few months ago and down in my hometown and I wanted to get, so I wanted to grill some steaks. I'm like ah like a grill guy, I guess. And she goes, let me call Douglas Meat Market. And so she pulls out her phone and she dials five two zero three six four whatever it was. She knows it, yeah He knows it. and And it's crazy. And now my mom's on Facebook. And so these things, yeah, they're 100% inevitable. um And but I'm a little bit more cautious because obviously my world's a little bit different in that, you know, I employ people for engineering aspects and machinists. And so it's a little bit more um closer to the vest.
00:30:31
Speaker
um How much do you know about stoicism, by the way Have you ever heard anything about stoicism? No. It's a philosophy, and when I tell you what it is you're going to be like, oh, yeah, that's that's pretty much me.
00:30:42
Speaker
So socialism, generally speaking, is like if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, oh essentially. And if you yeah you can't control the world around you. You can only only control how you react to it, how you respond to it.
00:30:57
Speaker
um Do you see anything or have you had an experience in your life where you've had to really – dig deep, like retreat, dig deep, reformulate, but spend some time with yourself. I'm not sure if you're, if you're religious or not. Have you ever had a moment like that in your life?
00:31:16
Speaker
Of course. I think when my dad passed, everything in my life switched a lot for me. i lost a lot of, not myself, but like hope, if that makes sense.
00:31:29
Speaker
It happened very sudden. He lost a lot of blood in his surgery. And it was one of those things that I couldn't control. And I'm such a control freak. And I got to the hospital before he passed, but I was just so shaken up by it. and i still am, I think, to this day But it's something that has just kind of changed your mindset life. And i had to retract. I, you know, put a pause um on everything for a minute.
00:31:54
Speaker
I put Bittman on a pause. I put my life on a pause. I moved home to be with my mom and take care of her a little bit. And I think you kind of, you know, the world will throw you crazy things and it's how you respond. And I put myself in grief therapy and really wanted to dig through the emotions I was feeling versus going around it.
00:32:11
Speaker
i think, and you know, unfortunate things happen to a lot of great people, but it's how you react that really shows. So I tried to handle the best, but fully I deleted social media. I wanted to like live in the moment and just really go through it privately.
00:32:26
Speaker
And it was good and peaceful, but that's just life, you know?
Empowering the Next Generation: Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
00:32:31
Speaker
Yeah, that is. i heard a ah comment the other day. going to paraphrase it, but it had to do with grief.
00:32:38
Speaker
That you never fully let go or get away from the grief. You just become familiar with it. You become friendly with it. And you begin to understand that It's never going to go away.
00:32:52
Speaker
ah That man is going to always be part of you, no matter what, no matter what. And he's going to, his memory is going to to just support you and make you happy and make you sad. I mean, i I have loss in my life and same thing, like you have to be sort of familiar with it. 25 years old to be,
00:33:13
Speaker
shit right What advice would you have for a an 18-year-old, 19-year-old going into college about to have that whole experience for themselves that that might have like um yeah a personality like yours, an entrepreneurial personality?
00:33:33
Speaker
Definitely. i'm i would say you read books. I've been really passionate about reading. i just think that educating yourself, I love to learn. I think being a sponge and being super open to learning from others, I've always been the person that asks like the most questions in the room and wants to always learn the most.
00:33:51
Speaker
So I would say like always ask questions, go the extra mile in your classes, ask your professors, you know, more about the personal their personal lives as well. Like I liked really getting close to my teachers, especially in the retail department.
00:34:04
Speaker
And then beyond that, if they want to start an entrepreneurial endeavor, i would say find a mentor and start it You know, I think I jumped the gun and I was like, I'm just going to go it all in. And i like I succeeded, but I also lost money in certain ways. I'm currently trying to start a mentorship program where, say, for instance, a girl can come to me directly and i can just, you know, be her mentor and help her FaceTime her and guide her and answer any questions so I can save her money in the long run of how to start a business, niche, manufacturers, social media,
00:34:40
Speaker
But if you want to start a business, again, my best advice, educate yourself, read books, do your online research, and then start it. I think a lot of people overthink it and they talk about starting a business. I didn't tell anyone I was starting it and until a week before. And I was like, yeah, I'm doing this. And I had it planned for six months.
00:34:57
Speaker
So I think that moving silently also helps, but also just going for it. You got to go for it. A lot of people, I hate when people talk about talk and talk. It's like, What are you doing? Walk on the walk. Don't talk the talk. Yeah, there's an there's an interesting phenomenon that exists in in psychology where...
00:35:16
Speaker
people like us are driven by, by an internal sort of engine, you know, and we get satisfaction by like getting things across the finish line. Um, and sometimes when people just say that they're going to start a business, that same feeling is released the same like dopamine. And so then they don't have any, any gas in the tank left to actually do it across the finish line. So I, myself, uh, I like suffer from that a little bit. So I have to be really careful about what I share with people and what I don't. So 100% agree.
00:35:51
Speaker
Definitely. um Any final thoughts you want to share with our audience? I mean, this has been a really informative and fun podcast and I'm glad you came on. um But I want to see if you have anything else to share with ah with our audience or maybe a little bit about what you're doing in the future or this new release you've had recently with the with the new line. Anything you want to share?
00:36:11
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. um Well, our new suit is going to be coming out soon. in The Regan is with my roommate. She's amazing. and she's also like an influencer. So we've been working this collaboration for a while putting a lot of love into the PR packages, the ideas behind it, and just like the photo shoot itself.
00:36:29
Speaker
This suit is really cool. The material is amazing. Each suit two I'm coming out with, I'm really perfecting the quality, I would say. And the material keeps getting better and better. you And then I think my other advice is to any, you know, young woman who is watching or who wants start their own business, again, is just do it and feel free to reach out to me. I love to help in any way I can.
00:36:51
Speaker
But there's something really powerful. McKinney's to me is not just like a swimsuit line. It's been, again, my roommate did not know her before. Burt McKinney's now we're fully living together in New York with other girls. So My brand has brought me so many different places, which I think is awesome. But it's also introduced me to so many amazing women. i was in New York the other day on 50th Street, which I never go up that far. And a girl stopped me and was like, Oh my God, do you own boot bikinis? was like, Yeah, my God, like you know what that is?
00:37:20
Speaker
So I always have imposter syndrome with it as well. and But then she was like, yes, I love, you know, following along. And, you know, I want to start my own business. So I think my next step in my career is I really want to help other women start their own businesses. I love being a woman leader, a woman founder. I'm very proud of that.
00:37:39
Speaker
And just starting like a woman community. i think it's, you know, what what fulfills me more than just the swimsuits. That's fascinating, Carly. That's a movement. I mean, you've created a movement. And and certainly Bikinis is is this the outlet for now, but I have huge hopes for you and I've become a big fan of yours. And so thanks for being on the podcast.
00:38:03
Speaker
Of course. Well, thank you for your time. This has been so fun and I'm happy that we finally got to do it. I apologize. I've been so busy. It's okay. It's great that we finally got to connect. And then when you come down to Tucson, make sure to look us up and we'll we'll spend some time together.
00:38:17
Speaker
Definitely. Yeah, I should be there maybe within the next year. We'll see. All right. Cheers. Bye. all right cheers vi