Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / Giving Back as a Business with Angel Johnson

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Giving Back as a Business with Angel Johnson · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

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  You know, when I started a business, I knew I want to bake in supporting others because my
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  mom has always taught me, hey.
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  You know, you're doing good in the world and good things are happening to you.
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  Make sure you don't forget about people, and you can help throughout the process.
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  You don't have to be a super big business to start giving back.
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  So that's I want to bake it in from the beginning.
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  3210 ignition
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  Oops off.
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  Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the small biz chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert Melinda Emerson.
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  Melinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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  you need to succeed and live the life you dream of.
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  Now here's the small biz lady herself.
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  Melinda Emerson.
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  Hi.
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  This is Melinda Emerson, the small biz lady, and I wanna welcome you to another edition of
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  the small biz pack podcast.
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  Today, we have a very interesting guest.
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  Her name is Angel Johnson, and she's the CEO and founder of iconic.
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  A motivational and inclusive activewear line that donates 10% of their profits to nonprofit
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  organizations.
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  Angel, welcome to the small business chat podcast.
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  Thank you for having me.
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  Alright.
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  So you gotta tell me.
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  How did you they're so many at leisure wear kind of lines out here.
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  Tell me how you found yourself starting this company in in in know, how did you get the idea
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  and how long have you been in business?
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  So I started the founder of the company in October 2019.
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  And it came to me at 1 AM in the morning when I was working a long night shift.
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  And I turned to one of the surgeons I was working with.
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  And I said, hey.
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  I'm a sergeant repair company.
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  And he said, I'm just trying to make it through the shift, ma'am.
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  We get off at 4 AM.
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  But the whole idea behind it came when I went to the gym on base and it's a a definitely a
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  male dominated environment, any base gyms, as most gyms are.
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  And I was working out with one of my friends and he said, hey, Angel.
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  I don't know what type of leggings those are that you're wearing, but I can see everything.
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  And so that was a horrifying enough experience for me to start start up business because a lot
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  of active wear out there isn't truly squat proof.
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  So if a woman's squatting, she should feel comfortable and secure in her body, to know
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  that no one's looking and seeing her underwear through it.
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  So that's the whole premise behind iconic.
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  I have definitely seen people walking in the mall they don't know.
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  You can see their whole business behind them.
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  You mentioned that you you were in the military?
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  Yes.
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  I was in the air force for 8 years.
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  Oh, wow.
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  Okay.
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  So you made your transition from being in the military to being an entrepreneur?
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  Yes.
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  I did that in August of 2021.
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  Okay.
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  So tell me, how did you come up with your name, Iconnie?
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  Does it stand for something?
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  Yes.
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  Actually, it stands for I can overcome.
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  Nothing's impossible.
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  I wanted my motivational act over the line to have a motivational name.
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  Very neat.
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  Very neat.
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  Was it hard when you first got started to figure out sort of, like, how you were gonna
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  manufacture?
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  I mean, know if you have a sewing background, but, like, how did you get started
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  manufacturing your your initial products?
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  I think that was the toughest part learning, hey.
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  Do I use a, middle man to do it and the price associated with that?
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  So it's definitely some failed iterations before that.
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  And then I finally learned that, hey.
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  If you talk directly to the factories, Not only do you get the best price, but you kinda
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  streamline the communication and make sure they know what you want and not what the middle
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  person wants.
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  So that's really how I got into it.
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  And then a lot of tons of research and a lot of trial and error.
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  So where do you manufacture your stuff?
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  So I will either manufacture in China, Hong Kong, which is treated separately than China or
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  Korea South Korea.
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  I see.
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  So how do you sell your athletic wear?
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  I know you have a website.
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  I've been all over your business website, but do you sell it just through your website, or do
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  you sell through any other channels?
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  Well, we sell through our website, and then we also sell through Amazon.
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  And the partnership we've had built with Amazon has really helped the business.
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  So what percentage would you say of your sales sort of, like, come from your website versus
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  Amazon in terms of
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  your About 40% through Amazon and 60% through our website.
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  Okay.
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  And what kinds of things you know, has Amazon enabled you to do?
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  Like, do they have any, I don't know, support services or anything that, like, sort of, like,
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  helped you figure out how to really leverage their platform?
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  Yes.
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  I actually really love Amazon.
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  I'm in their Black Business Accelerator program that was just started in 2020.
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  Specifically for Black owned businesses.
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  They help you learn how to do advertising.
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  They give you a mentor to help you make sure all your listings are good.
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  So that's something I've really appreciated from them.
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  So you would definitely recommend that program?
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  I would definitely recommend that program.
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  And they have a lot of courses that a business owners could tap into, not just black owned
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  businesses, but the accelerator program really helps Black owned businesses.
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  Okay.
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  Now when you kinda first started out and you had this first germ of an idea, like, Did you
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  have a plan to be an ecommerce business?
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  I had a plan to be a ecommerce.
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  I definitely didn't actually wanna set up a storefront.
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  Because I am an extreme introvert.
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  So even, like, doing this is, like, stepping out of my box for me.
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  So I was thinking, Hey.
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  Let me leverage ecommerce because I can talk to a lot of people without having to be in the
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  room with a lot of people at once.
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  Mhmm.
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  So as you were growing your business, what made you get interested in, you know, setting up
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  your business on the Amazon store?
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  It was actually Oprah's favorite things.
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  When we got selected for that, one of the prerequisites was to put your stuff onto
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  Amazon.
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  So someone could shop Oprah's favorite things list all in one click.
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  Oh, wow.
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  So were you one of Oprah's favorite things this past holiday?
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  I was, in 2020.
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  Oh, wow.
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  What an amazing break for a one year old business.
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  How in the world did you get that?
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  What what I mean, did you submit?
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  Did they call you?
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  Like, everybody wants to know how to become one of Oprah's favorite things.
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  And I have no idea.
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  So I, like, I I have a I applied for tons of stuff in 2020, but there was never a submission
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  form.
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  You can't really apply for it.
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  And so I got a call before it.
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  The list came out, and they were like, hey.
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  We want to feature your Uber's favorite things.
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  You can send us some products.
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  And I thought it was a scam at first.
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  I had a definitely check the email.
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  I was like, let me research this email, make sure they have the right ads.
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  And then I researched it, and they they sent me an overnight label.
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  I was like, oh, overnight label's cost, like, a $100.
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  This be real.
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  And so I was like, no one pays for this.
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  And then, yes, they were like, hey, you're we we went through the deliberation process.
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  You're an open to everything.
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  And I was like, what?
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  And so everyone always asked me that story, but I I don't ever have a good answer.
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  Well, you know what?
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  Who knows?
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  Somebody heard about you.
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  Somebody got some of your product and and got it to over and she loved it because I do know
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  that she does not put her stamp on things that she does not legitimately like and use.
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  So I mean, that's just amazing.
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  So I know that you transitioned from military service into your business Has being a veteran
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  been a help to you, or has it been a hindrance at all?
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  I think people tend to trust veteran owned businesses.
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  A lot.
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  So I think that it's helpful also, but I think personally for me, it's been a lot different.
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  It's been a whole overhaul of my life.
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  I went from someone always telling me what to do and how to move and how to do everything to
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  having to plan my own schedule.
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  So the 1st couple of months, I got to my stuff.
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  I can't do this.
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  I need I need more structure, and I actually had to give myself structure.
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  So, like, my days are so structured because I'm used to that.
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  That's what I'm used to.
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  Interesting.
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  I bet you there's a lot of other entrepreneurs that could use some of that structure.
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  Like, so they don't get caught, you know, looking at TikTok for an hour.
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  Anyway, so I know that some of your proceeds go to nonprofit organization.
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  So can you tell us about some of your nonprofit partners?
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  So we donate 10 percent of our profits to nonprofit organizations, and some that we
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  donate to our close the kids of Denver girls on the run of the Rockies.
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  My sister's house, which is in Charleston, South Carolina, the food bank of the Rockies,
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  and many more organizations and really how those partnerships started.
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  Like, when I I was already volunteering at close to kids of Denver before I even started a
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  business.
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  You know, when I started a business, I knew I want to bake in supporting others because my
• 9:06
  mom has always taught me, hey.
• 9:08
  You know, you're doing good in the world and good things are happening to you.
• 9:12
  Make sure you don't forget about people, and you can help throughout the process.
• 9:15
  You don't have to be a super big business to start giving back.
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  So that's I want to bake it in from the beginning.
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  And then I thought, hey.
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  The first nonprofit I should should support is close to kids at Denver because I I'm actively
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  working here, and I see that we're struggling.
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  As a volunteer, I saw that we were struggling.
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  We didn't have enough clothes, especially during the pandemic because people thought do I
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  donate my clothes and then some of the clothes we couldn't take anymore?
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  We're like, hey.
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  You know, you actually have to wash them now before you donate them before we could do that,
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  but now with the pandemic, And then I saw that throughout the pandemic.
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  A lot of people were suffering on their own, so they couldn't donate to non profit.
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  So I wanted to do everything I could to help for nonprofits, especially in my community.
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  Now your business is based in Denver.
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  That's where you are?
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  Yes.
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  Oh.
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  Based in Denver.
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  Tell me about some of the things that feed your soul as an entrepreneur.
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  What is your favorite podcasts that you listen to.
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  Well, obviously, I'm gonna say your podcast.
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  But things that feed my soul as an entrepreneur are customer emails.
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  I always love that when a Summer will send me an email, especially ones with photos, like,
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  hey.
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  I love your activewear.
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  Another thing that feeds my soul is designing the activewear.
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  That's actually, like, I think that's one of the best parts just sitting there and sketching
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  out something.
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  And then when you see it come to life, I'm like, oh, wow.
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  This was just the sketch, and I always, like, keep those.
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  And then I think the third thing is being able to give back to nonprofits.
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  So making sure I can help others.
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  And then just seeing that, and we've also donated clothes when we some shirts for close
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  to kids of Denver and about being ambitious.
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  And those shirts didn't even last an hour.
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  In the store because all the kids wanted them.
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  So it's just I thought that was really cute.
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  So now I know that you have a brand new line.
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  You have a spring line that's about to come out.
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  Tell us about it.
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  Yes.
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  So we have a collection on April 16th that's releasing.
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  It's called the back to basics collection.
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  And that has our largest size range to date.
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  It's gonna be small through 4 x large.
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  And we're calling it the back to basics collection because our society is so obsessed
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  with being, like, the best the greatest is better.
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  And a lot of times, we need to realize that we can exist within our own being.
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  And then especially during our fitness and health journeys, we need find more productive
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  ways to motivate each other and motivate ourselves without comparing ourselves to
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  others.
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  Because a lot of times, that's how you get hurt on your fitness journey.
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  Either copying Instagram workouts or so.
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  And then the nonprofit we'll be supporting with this back to basis collection is the mile high
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  miracles.
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  They're women that have been through the rehabilitation process.
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  And now at this stage of their process, they're learning how to get back to their being how
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  they were before their abuser or their addiction.
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  Wow.
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  What a wonderful charity.
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  And I'm a excited.
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  Listen, you've made you've motivated me.
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  You know, I've got a big milestone birthday coming up this year, and I'm trying to get some
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  of these pounds off.
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  So I think I need some new gear.
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  So I'm a I'm a get on your website when we're done here.
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  Of all of the the the products and and different technologies that you use in your
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  business, what do you think is your favorite business app?
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  My favorite business app, I think, is Shopify.
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  It's my back end for my store.
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  The reason why I just love Shopify is all the analytic data that they provide.
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  I think they make the whole buying process for the customer, you setting up your website looks
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  so easy.
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  Mhmm.
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  A lot of entrepreneurs, particularly when they're early on in their journey, They had
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  that one business book that really impacted them the most and maybe made them feel like
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  they could actually do it.
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  And I was wondering What is your favorite business book that you've ever read?
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  My favorite business book is profit first by,
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  By Mike McCallaway.
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  Who is actually one of my college classmates.
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  I've known him for forever.
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  Oh, nice.
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  We both went to Virginia Tech.
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  Yes.
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  That's my that's my favorite all, like, all time favorite book because I think it's very
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  practical.
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  Like, I have my account set up the way that book has, and and it has allowed me to pay
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  myself and make sure my business is being profitable without and then operate with what I
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  can because it definitely, like, honed me and, like, you if you don't need to spend 70% of
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  your stuff on operating expenses don't operate with more of a lean budget.
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  I 100% agree, and that's a really good book.
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  I I actually enjoy all of Mike's books, but profit first is is definitely that's his
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  legendary book.
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  And and and I love it.
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  I'm a big fan of the pumpkin plan too, but don't tell him.
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  Anyway, but, but now tell me this.
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  I know you're still just a few years into your business, but What do you think is the best
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  business advice that you've ever gotten?
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  The best business advice that actually resonates in my personal too is from my pastor,
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  and she said to elevate your faith above your level of anxiety.
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  And there was the whole message around that was, like, you have to have faith and you have
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  to do the work.
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  You're gonna have anxiety throughout your whole process, even business life, whatever, but make
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  sure you're doing the work so you can see the out come.
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  Don't let your anxiety stop you from even doing the work.
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  I would really appreciate that.
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  That is That is words to live by 100% is tweetable too.
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  I love it.
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  So listen.
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  Tell us if we're interested did in getting some of your athletic wear.
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  Tell me again what your website is and how we can get in touch with you.
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  It's iconicic0ni.com, or you can shop Amazon.com/icony.
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  Love it.
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  Alright.
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  Thank you so much for being here on the small Bishop podcast.
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  Now for those of you listening, if you are interested in getting your business online.
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  I want you to head over to smallbizladyuniversity.com.
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  We have plenty of courses there to help you start making the money you really deserve
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  online and over to Small Bizzlady University and check us out.
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  Alright.
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  Till next time, I'll leave you with this.
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  You never lose in business.
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  Either you win or you learn.
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  This is Melinda Emerson, the small business lady, and we'll see you next time.
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  Thank you for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
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  For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
• 15:47
  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.