Heather Sanders began her journey to empowerment with a 26-hour drive in her Ford Fusion. The leap of faith came in 2012, when at age 19 she moved from her hometown of Dallas to Los Angeles.
It wasn't really about empowerment at first.
“ I just wanted to be with my cool boyfriend,” she says of rapper King Trell, now her fiancé. “But God knew why I was coming here. ”
Now 29, Sanders says she loved traveling with Trell on tour and following their lead, but it wasn't long before she felt a strong need to create something special. 'herself. She decided to start an online store selling fashion by many different designers. Trell gave her $500 in seed money to start buying items at a local swap meet and selling them online.
Enter Brittney Turner, who had sold her original designs on Etsy. “We met on social media,” says Sanders. “Brittney talked about her custom denim. She then moved in with me and became my partner.
Together the women founded Sorella (Italian for sister) in 2012, describing their combined fashion sense as “comfy, flashy, sexy – tomboy girl cool, but we can also do a dress or sweats in heels.”
Sanders was already an Instagram pro with 1 million followers, so social media became Sorella's driving force for marketing. “I believe I was an influencer before there were influencers,” says Sanders. “I posted a photo a day for a month on Instagram. I got dressed, wore Sorella clothes and took pictures to build the brand. »
It didn't take long for them to transform their small online store into a million dollar business with an internationally renowned brand and a thriving brick and mortar boutique on chic Melrose Avenue.
It worked, big time. During her early years, Sorella set up shop to occupy a warehouse, overcoming the challenge of shipping orders from Sanders' home. Successful pop-up shopping events in the warehouse led to the opening of a brick-and-mortar store, which was so successful that the partners were able to open a boutique on posh Melrose Avenue. Sorella has won influential fans such as Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian.
Having turned her faith journey at the age of 19 into a million dollar business, Sanders is now focused on how to encourage other young women to do the same.
#GirlsTour
Sanders and Turner launched Sorella with no experience in the fashion industry; they simply did whatever it took to grow their fledgling brand. Having succeeded on their own terms, they began looking for ways to spread their independent streak to others and spawned the #GirlsTour campaign, which they describe as “representing strong women, working women and independent women. of all ages, colors and sizes. #GirlsTour is “Enabling women everywhere to not only be confident and have a vision, but also be a super girl with style and excitement. ”
It started quite simply as a slogan on a T-shirt. Then Sanders says, "a guy came over and said he wanted to paint something on our wall, and we said 'paint GirlsTour.' After the artist adorned one of the exterior walls of the store with a huge white-on-pink GirlsTour mural, women and girls from all over the world started coming to take selfies outside.
“I am still learning and growing. Although I am successful in most people's eyes, I still have a lot of work to do. »
But the selfie site was just the start. This summer, Sanders hosted a contest to choose 10 forward-thinking girls in their late teens and early 20s as GirlsTour ambassadors for a mentorship program that combines learning with community engagement. The goal is to “connect girls from different cities and states and help them practice new ideas and new clothes,” she says. "We'll teach them how to become an entrepreneur and provide them with tools in their cities, like Shopify and ShipStation and ways to do designs, and introduce them to our makers. »
Related: 7 Ways to Become the Best Mentor Ever
After a two-day workshop in Los Angeles, these “Ambassadors of Fashion and Philanthropy” return to their hometowns to start their own businesses and give back to their families. communities, partnering with local charities and nonprofits in monthly activities like back-to-school giveaways. held in September and upcoming Thanksgiving turkey campaigns and holiday toy giveaways.
Consistency is key
While helping the girls achieve their goals, Sanders keeps a close eye on her- same. "My current goal is to become one of the biggest women's fashion brands in the world," she says. “I am still learning and growing. Although I am successful in most people's eyes, I still have a lot of work to do. ”
Sanders is a big believer in consistency. She advises potential entrepreneurs, “Find out what you want. If you want to be an influencer, post something on Instagram every day. If you want to start a business, do something for your business every day. It could be a search or a meeting.
The important thing is to keep going.
“Work hard,” says Sanders. " Everyday. »
