Meet Melissa Teichert

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melissa Teichert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Melissa, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
This is actually a topic I still struggle with. I will say that at this point in time in my life, I am the most confident I have ever felt. I am blooming into a profound sense of sureness of who I am, what my skills are, what I’m capable of and what I bring to the table when I sit with others. I have always been a great team player, but for a long time I was reluctant to take the lead. I never thought I had the strength to lead. I didn’t think I would ever be management material. I come from a family of artists. Creativity is the foundation of my existence and the instabilities that come with always trying to make something new can sometimes make you feel lost.

I have always been shy to a fault. I’ve had a hard time when it comes to meeting new people and trying to get to know them with a certain depth that could allow us to collaborate or bond in some way. I think the outer shel I created to represent myself is maybe intimidating to some people, but I pride myself on being warm and friendly with everyone I meet. That would be the start of where my confidence comes from. The fact that I know that a stranger may look at me and think I would act a certain way based upon what I’m wearing, but, I am confident that I would prove them wrong by showing them the it most respect and kindness.

I have met people that have seen this to be a weakness, but over time it has proven to be the strongest trait I have. I find enjoyment in the shock actually. I am daring. I am not afraid to take risks and test and push myself to see how far I can go in creating something that is worthy of the attention of others. That’s why I started my own brand. That’s why I registered my idea and got a business license to pursue it. I am confident in my ability to take risks and figure out how to achieve success as I go.

I spent many years listening to other people tell me how I should be living and doing things, but when I have pursued something for myself. I saw a glimmer of success I never suspected and I actually became afraid of it.

Today, I can say I have faced my biggest fears. I am more determined to push myself forward to finish the personal creations I have started that bring me more happiness than anything else I have done with my life so far. I know my needs. I need to be able to write and perform music. I need to be able to create my own garments that I can’t find anywhere else. I need to be able to write about my experiences and research. Those three things are what I choose to pursue in confidence. Even if I don’t find success in them, I find the confidence to look back and smile and know that every experience was worth it.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Have you ever wanted to feel unique? We look in the mirror and see our reflection every day. We have this image of ourself that almost seems 2D. We look for ways to define ourselves by picking a favorite color, pattern, texture, or shape and applying that to the current image we have to stand out in some way. It is true that every individual is unique in their own way.

This is the concept I wanted to wrap around my brand. I have always found uniqueness in fantasy and mythology. I wanted to incorporate these ideas into my designs which have changed a lot in the few years that my business has been active. I like to create things that are loud, but still subtle, so you get just the right amount of shock. I don’t like to keep myself in a box when it comes to creating a new collection. I put a lot of thought into how it will be seen and worn before I release it to my store.

I am hoping to gain the interest of people who are inspired to be incredible. I think everyone I have ever met is so incredible in a way that I could never replicate. That’s where I find my inspiration. KALLISTII LLC is a brand that includes men and women’s fashion. The main catalog consists of ready to wear items that are manufactured with custom prints using advanced technology. Each design is original and unique which is where I coined the slogan, “ A Brand Dedicated to Uniqueness.”

I’m hoping to expand in the next year by making the catalog available to retail stores to gain further distribution opportunities and grow the current customer base and build a solid team to help me run this corporation so that I can further expand with promotional events and other opportunities for growth and development.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I can honestly say that having basic knowledge of how a business works is crucial to being able to make it past the first step of initiation. I took a shot in the dark. I have over 11+ years of retail experience. I never thought I would be able to get out of retail so I decided to go to college and get a degree. I took all kinds of classes that I was interested in because I wasn’t really sure which direction to take at first. In the end, I wound up studying computer science and software development which became a crucial skill to developing an E-Commerce platform. I did everything myself. I picked the web hosting, set up the business email smtp servers, and did the complete product catalog, pricing system, and policy guide on my own.

My advice to someone who is interested in pursuing their own business is to not let discouragement stop you in your tracks. The first time will always be the most difficult but, that is only the beginning of your experience. There is a whole road waiting to be explored!

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The current challenges I am facing boil down to marketing, collaboration, and partnerships. I have been handling everything on my own up to this point and these three things are very crucial to move things forward. It has been a huge struggle to meet people who are interested in what I am doing let alone, trying to get them involved. I feel that when the time is right, I will be able to find the contacts I am looking for to bring help me make this pursuit as successful as possible.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Photos are provided by the printing service for our product catalog.

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