We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Omar Kinnebrew a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Omar, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I believe that imposter syndrome can plague anyone at any level in their career or business. I certainly felt it when building up the brand and introducing myself as a CEO. Essentially anyone can be a CEO if they start a business; the problem with me is that I didn’t feel as though the business was at a point of significance (age and revenue) where I was truly the CEO of a company. In reality, I was just one guy with a brand and a passion that was providing some amazing custom pieces to the market. No matter how small I felt as a founder, people always saw the business on a more grand scale.
What’s interesting is that I didn’t feel like a true CEO until I hired employees and purchased a larger building; but in reality, people looking at the brand didn’t see a change per se. They saw it as the same thriving bespoke clothing business regardless of team size and retail location. This really put things into perspective and gave me a much needed boost in confidence for what we were offering to the world.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
At Bespokuture, we deliver handcrafted garments, shoes, and leather goods to men & women across the nation. We create exquisite pieces for individuals who truly bask in luxury and invest in their attire for all aspects of life; from a laid back boat trip to the most formal of events. We truly provide all the custom pieces you will ever need.
I always smirk when I think about the start of my entrepreneurial journey. I tell people that I fell into this life, and it’s 100% true. In 2015, I created a pocket square holder so that I could keep my handkerchief from falling to the base of my pocket. I perfected the design and my wife encouraged me to sell it online. It was an instant success through Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon Prime, and added a spark in my business life. At that time I was a full-time sales management professional and this was merely a hobby. However, it fueled my passion in the world of fashion and showed that there was money to be made. With the growth in sales and excitement over my device, I began the patent process so that I could secure the IP rights and get my product into major retail chains and even go on Shark Tank. After 18 months of the process and getting my patent submission to the “Published” stage, I found that a competing brand had updated their submission to mirror mine and would be the one to get the patent. As you can imagine, I was completely crushed. The pocket square holder was my baby and now I couldn’t sell it or my revenue would be forfeited.
I decided that I wouldn’t let the fire burn out and I connected with a master tailor and asked him to work with me if I created a custom suit line. My previous clients were already wearing suits or sport coats so I was able to pivot and keep the momentum going. In 2017 I was laid off from my corporate role and felt confident enough to pursue my business full-time. In 2018 I rebranded from OSK Styles to Bespokuture, in 2019 I doubled my revenue, in 2020 I purchased my first commercial space, in 2022 I hired my first employee, and in 2023 I expanded to a 5,500 sqft building and grew to 9 employees. This is truly a passion that I get to pursue every single day… And we’re only getting started!
We are currently working on strategic partnerships to further introduce Bespokuture to elite markets as well as creating a line of dinner jackets for those urgent requests.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Success on my journey can be attributed to a multitude of skills or qualities, but these three have had the most impact.
1) Calculated risks – as an entrepreneur I think it’s important to attack what scares you and take risks. You need to extend yourself beyond your comfort zone so that you can forge a path for growth. The important part of risk taking is to ensure that they are Calculated. Meaning, you’ve vetted the opportunity and considered the best and worst outcomes; while also calculating profitability.
2) Product knowledge – bespoke tailoring is a very niche offering that most consumers are unfamiliar with. Most of my conversations consist of educating people on the importance of natural fibers and hand made construction. When clients understand what it means to invest in these garments, they feel good when making the decision to have superior pieces crafted for their wardrobe.
3) Grit – This is the intersection of tenacity and perseverance. It drives you to keep going through the very hard times knowing that if you stick with a calculated plan, there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
These days I focus a lot on talent acquisition. We operate in a very niche industry which calls for a certain type of individual to join the team and be successful. In the beginning, I didn’t truly understand the type of employees needed; or I had a very misconstrued idea of what certain individuals should be capable of doing. Now that I understand what type of team member “could” be successful; it’s all about weeding through the masses and finding the right individual(s).
Along with the pure search and screening, there is an additional level of complexity in understanding if a candidate is truly looking to work. Yes, this is a very attractive and glamorous industry; but it takes hard work to be successful. We’ve had candidates apply and not show up for first and second interviews, or they’ve been turned off when we discuss the amount of work required to reach certain goals. However, I am confident that we will continue finding the right sales professionals to join our bespoke clothier team.
Contact Info:
- Website: bespokuture.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/bespokuture
- Facebook: facebook.com/bespokuture
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/bespokuture
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@bespokuture
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/bespokuture-hapeville-2
