We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alicia Rau a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alicia, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from various sources. Overcoming adversities has been a significant factor. Challenges have taught me valuable lessons and strengthened my ability to bounce back. Additionally, reconnecting with my inner child has provided me with a sense of innocence, curiosity, and adaptability – qualities that all fuel my drive. Maintaining an open-minded and optimistic outlook also helps me to face obstacles with determination and hope.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Definitely! Bête Noire specializes in luxurious, high-end dark fashion. We are renowned particularly for our avant-garde couture gowns and accessories. Clients often contact me searching for someone to understand and support their vision. I love materializing what may seem unattainable into reality. We’re excited to be bringing our services to our clients IN PERSON! Our brick and mortar is in the works. We hope to open sometime in 2025.
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?
Resilience: The ability to bounce back from setbacks and persist in the face of challenges has been crucial. Cultivating resilience involves acknowledging failures as opportunities for growth, maintaining a positive mindset, and seeking support from mentors or peers during difficult times.
Adaptability: Being able to adjust to changing circumstances, market trends, and new information has been key. It requires a willingness to continuously learn and unlearn, and remain flexible in your approach.
Passion and Persistence: My driving force has been a deep love for my work met with persistence. Passion drives motivation, and sustains momentum during challenging times.
My advice for those early in their journey is to embrace failure as a stepping stone to success, prioritize self-care to recharge, and surround themselves with a supportive network. Embrace the entire journey as a process of growth and discovery.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Over the past few months, I’ve realized that my biggest area of improvement has been fully letting go of how people perceive me. Instead of allowing the opinions of others to dictate my sense of self-worth or influence my decisions – I’ve learned to prioritize my own values, aspirations, and authenticity. By embracing who I am without the need for validation, I’ve gained a new sense of confidence in living my truth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopbetenoire.com
- Instagram: @betenoireshop
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/betenoireshop
- Other: Tiktok: @betenoireshop
Image Credits
Dixie Hartzog, Haley June, Mackenzie Lenora
