We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kiana Taylor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kiana, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
My generosity comes from being in a position in the past where I had nothing, I was homeless with nothing to offer material wise only myself, love and loyalty to those who were loyal to me. I know what it’s like to wish someone would just take a chance on you and help in any form whether it was a job offer or a roof over my head or just something to eat. I left home at a young age I was 16 yrs. old and still in high school but determined to not let that be an excuse on why I wasn’t going to be successful in life. Everyone has a story, but I know not to judge people based off their past story people just need a hand maybe not even a hand just one finger even offered to them to give them that one bit of hope that this is not how their story ends but instead a new chapter to rewrite a beautiful beginning. When you’re generous and bless others in return you will receive blessings yourself.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have always had a love for fashion, my grandmother would make our clothes when we were little, and I was always fascinated with her sewing machine and what it created. Growing up we did not have a lot of money to buy the type of clothes I wanted to wear so I would start making my own cutting up my jeans making matching purses, I would even get mad at my sister if she didn’t put on a matching outfit, she would not be allowed to hang out with me lol. I started working at the age of 14 in retail just to get discounts and found the passion in helping the customers find outfits and styling them in the dressing room of the store. Thats when I knew I could do this for the rest of my life and be happy, there is a certain type of feeling I would get seeing how happy someone would be when they saw their complete look put together not matter their size or how they felt when they first walked in by the time I finished with them they felt like the most beautiful version of themselves that they haven’t seen in a long time. Fast forward to 2018 I launch Keep It Pretty Beauty, what first started out as an online store I was able to turn it into an actual store front in 2020 with the help of my cousin Latoyia Taylor. We focus on women apparel and accessories and also hair; our goal is to elevate your style and try something out the box but still have you confident and comfortable. We are doing a rebrand and relaunching our website this fall and so excited of the new products and services we have to offer. Keep it Pretty will be hosting brunch events that empower women & give back to women in domestic violence in the spring of 2024, also will be outsourcing and working with hair vendors in Indonesia where we will be on a hair tour to India and Bali march of 2024, and opening a new location in phoenix, AZ and also Dallas Texas end of 2024. Not only will you be able to shop with us but also receive a personal stylist consultation every month as a service to our customers. We are excited and hope everyone loves our products as much as we do.
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?
The three qualities that were most impactful in my journey was definitely my resilience, determination, and work ethic. This is a tough industry but not only that being an entrepreneur alone requires tough skin. You have to be able to withstand and recover quickly from difficult circumstances that may appear. The world is going to bend you stretch you and pull you in every direction possible, but you have to have the determination to spring back and recoil into shape. Your work ethic is going to determine how far you get with your goals, for example think about how much time you spend on social media a day, now how much time do you spend actually spend working on your goals whether they are big or small? If you are spending majority of your day on social media and only 1 hr. or 2 towards your goals, you cannot expect the same outcome from someone who has successfully reached theirs. You have to treat your goals like your 9-5 and put those hours in. It’s ok to take a break to recharge your mind, if you are not healthy mentally you will not be able to give your business the best version of YOU.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The number one obstacle or challenge I am facing right now is balancing mom life and work life. I tend to over work myself to where I started missing out on things my kids had going on in school or even outside of school, I didn’t realize it till my 8yr old kept calling me grandma and I asked him why he keeps calling me that and he said “sorry mom it’s cause you’re always at work and grandma be with us so I’m use to calling her name”. That hurt my feelings so bad, but also was a wakeup call to be more present because certain memories you can’t get back and your children will always remember who was there not what bought for them. Now I give myself a set schedule and stop making myself so available for others and now put my kids schedule as the top priority. Don’t get so caught up in trying to be successful that you forget to be there for your children cheering them on their own success stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopkeepitpretty.com
- Instagram: @shopkeepitpretty and @prettygrltaylor
- Facebook: @KeepItPrettyLLC
