Joy: Welcome, Shauna Harper and Selena Young! I appreciate you both being here. Can you tell our readers about yourself?
Shauna: Sure, in general, we are two black female entrepreneurs from Oakland, California. We are both members of a Black Divine Nine Greek Organization, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. We started our business, Define Me Greek, in 2012. It is the first Greek apparel company to specialize in signature definitions and words for tees and accessories.
Selena specializes in the marketing and social media piece. I specialize in creating designs and operations.
Joy: Okay, I love that! My niece just crossed AKA. Shout out to all the AKA’s!
Shauna: Yes!
Joy: So talk to us and tell us how this business got started.
Selena: We are located on the west coast in California. When we first started, there was a lack of Greek apparel companies on our side of the world. We had to do a lot of traveling, primarily down south and on the east coast to get our brand out there. Social media was also not prevalent for small business owners at the time. We were at the forefront of really utilizing social media to grow and expand our businesses across the world. It is just exciting to be able to see your business grow from an ideation point to a full-on business seen not just in the United States, but internationally as well.
Joy: Yeah, absolutely, and that’s a perfect segue of what I want to talk about next. How important would you say representation is in this industry?
Selena: I would say it’s extremely important to be in this space We are in a very unique space, and it’s a sorority brand. We capture the essence of our various sororities one word at a time, So when we talk about integrating that aspect into the fashion industry it’s really important. Our brand represents black women, and elite organizations, that’s a huge undertaking, right? To just have a brand that can represent the rich history and legacy of these organizations. We want people to have pride when they wear our designs. It’s not just throwing on a tee or just wearing an accessory, it’s really about representing who you are and what you stand for within these organizations. We want you to represent, we want you to feel good, look good, and be able to tell that unique story of your respective organization.
Joy: I love that! It’s your brand and you want to represent it well. How would you define your brand in one sentence?
Shauna: I think it is hard to capture everything that you stand for in one sentence. I would pair it down to, “Define Me Greek is a premier apparel company with trend-setting designs that capture the essence of your organization one word at a time.” I think that pretty much sums up how we define our brand.
Joy: I love that! I applaud you both as black women in business. Many times in business, there are certain challenges that you face. Can you talk to us about some of those challenges and how you overcome them?
Shauna: Yes, there are many challenges, even just as a business owner in general. We feel like as black female business owners, it presents some unique and special challenges in and of itself. In general, I feel like there’s a lack of strong support systems. Many business owners are doing this on their own and don’t have that support system or that group to go to. We literally developed this company from the ground up. It was very grassroots learning along the way. I feel like a lot of black women don’t have somebody to talk to as far as it goes with their business, and as far as networking with other small businesses.
Joy: Yes, one of the first things I tell new entrepreneurs is to get a support system because you’re going to need it. You’re going to need somebody to encourage you on those days that you don’t feel like you can do it. I want you both to answer this, if you can. What is one tip that you would give to a business owner that’s new to the game?
Selena: I would say marketing is key. As an entrepreneur, there are so many platforms you can utilize to expand your business. So really investing time, money, and resources to figure out how you can market your business, whether that’s on social, whether that’s utilizing your existing network, whether that’s getting out emails, text messages, or so forth, you should look for opportunities to market your business wherever you can.
Shauna: That’s a good one. My tip would be to start where you are. I feel like sometimes we think we have to have it all together just to get started. Many of the tools that we need are right in front of us. If you’re doing a cookie business and you make chocolate chip cookies only, start with that. Don’t feel like you’ve got to make every type of cookie before you can get started. It doesn’t have to be perfect before we get started.
Joy: Yes, those are great tips. I think that’s great advice for someone who’s looking to get into business. Start where you are and just create! How do you find that balance between being creative and also being your true, authentic self?
Selena: What’s wonderful and unique about our brand is that we create all of our designs, and so we have very fluid brainstorming sessions where we tap into our creativity. There are so many inspirations around you, but as it relates to our brand, authenticity is key; we want our designs to be reflective of who we are. What I love about it is that you can’t find our designs anywhere else, right? So if we’re in a room full of people, our designs are unique, they’re created by us. We take pride in every single piece of apparel and accessory that we put out there. We take our time, and we don’t just go out and throw out a design just to sell it. We are intentional about what we put out there. We try to stay true to our brand and keep it very simple, and unique. It’s gotten us this far and we’re proud of that.
Joy: Your designs are amazing! I can see that your creativity and your authenticity are very well balanced. So, I want to ask one question that isn’t on the interview sheet. What is one thing that you have learned from the time you started your business up until right now?
Shauna: I feel like there are so many lessons in business, my goodness. One thing that I feel like I’ve learned is you’re going to make mistakes, that’s just the nature of business. But there are opportunities to turn your challenges into successes if you’re able to pivot in the right ways.
Joy: Yes, pivot has been the term to describe these last couple of years for sure. Selena, what have you learned so far?
Selena: I’ve learned that there’s power in people. People around you can help grow your business. It’s really, of course, having a strong support system as we talked about earlier, but it’s just utilizing the people that are around you. I think a lot of us have resources that we don’t necessarily tap into. I think we started that off immediately when we first started. We started immediately tapping into our sorority sisters. It’s a brand for us, so why not tap into that? So I would say learning to leverage the people that you have around you because there’s so much that they can offer to you in some capacity with your business.
Joy: Yes, use your network to get where you’re trying to go. I agree. Can you both share one quote that keeps you motivated to keep moving forward? I will pick on Shauna first.
Shauna: “Everybody wants to shine like Diddy, but doesn’t want to grind like puff.” Be mindful that it’s a lot of hard work! What you see on the outside is a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and years of work.
Joy: Inserts Diddy bop! Yes, I love that. My husband loves Diddy, so he’ll be happy when he hears this.
Selena: I Love it! I would say, “Bet on yourself.” Your dreams can only take you so far. If you bet on yourself the universe is going to conspire for you to achieve your dreams. If no one else believes in you, you need to believe in yourself! It may take time, it’s not going to happen overnight, but just keep being persistent and it will come to you.
Joy: Yes, I love that, you both are so inspirational. You are the definition of black girl magic! Please tell us what’s up next for you and where our viewers and our readers can find out more information about you.
Selena: Yes, of course, we’re looking to expand our existing collection of apparel accessories, so definitely be on the lookout for that. We’re looking at partnering with other brands and other entities, so that’s a big thing as well. We have some speaking engagements coming up, and we have eBooks coming out. We’re just super excited to see the brand go even beyond apparel and accessories, where we can leverage our existing journey through entrepreneurship and help other women. We have a ‘pick our brain’ session that we have on our site. So if people want to pick our brain, they can schedule some time with us. You can find us at www.definemegreek.com. And on all social platforms at Define Me Greek.
Joy: Okay, that sounds great; I appreciate you both taking the time to do this interview!
