We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Reese a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Taylor , thank you so much for making time for us today. We can’t wait to dive into your story and the lessons you’ve learned along the way, but maybe we can start with something foundational to your success. How have you gone about developing your ability to communicate effectively?
I grew up in a house of “talkers”. Both of my parents are very confident people with zero fear of public speaking. They are great leaders, public speakers, entertainers, and can easily articulate a point in a conversation. They taught me the importance of complete sentences, intelligent conversation and the importance of saying what you mean + meaning what you say.
When I started college, I loved sports, playing sports and talking about it and set out to be a sports broadcaster or talk show host so I signed up to major in communications. Taking several classes on effective communication and interpersonal relationships prepared me for life more than I ever knew they would. I knew no matter what my profession ultimately was, I would always interact with lots of people. In my first few years as a coms major, I was able to study theories and different communication styles that explain how and why people tick the way they do. This allowed me to refine what I learned from my parents while gaining a deeper understanding of the people around me. It’s a truly fascinating thing to study and practice since every business is in the people business. You’ll never regret understanding how to reach and understand them better. I certainly don’t.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started making jewelry in 2004; my freshman year of high school. I wanted earrings to wear to a school function and just couldn’t find what I was looking for. Those were the early days of the internet and online shopping wasn’t anything like it is today. At the end of a long day of errands with my mom, she took me to Hobby Lobby. While looking for her art supplies, I stumbled upon the bead aisle. Until that point, I had no idea there was a bead aisle. It was bright, colorful, shiny, and full of possibility. I knew at that moment, that was the place for me. I very quickly found several styles of red beads that got me so excited. The design was coming together in my head. At that time, I didn’t know how to make earrings but I knew I was capable and was just going to do it and I’d figure it out. My mom was kind enough to indulge me and bought me the beads and a few starter supplies. That night I put together my first pair of earrings and wore them proudly to the school function.
I didn’t know it then and honestly didn’t realize it til just now, but I have been designing team-colored jewelry since day 1 and I’m still doing it. I started the Taylor Reese brand in September of 2022 as a way to provide fashion-forward fans for teams with a smaller following a selection of bespoke, artful jewelry with the option to customize to any team’s colors and culture. aka. a fancier way to fan. I attended Appalachian State University and Queens University of Charlotte and at the time, they were both considered very small schools. Team merchandise was only available at the campus bookstore and what was there in terms of fashion-forward apparel and accessories was very limited or nonexistent. I had made all my jewelry for games and sorority functions but never found the right time (if there is such a thing?) to turn it into anything more than a hobby.
I worked in corporate retail and in the NFL after college then moved right into motherhood and put all entrepreneurial ideas on the backburner. By the time 2022 rolled around, I had been home with a newborn and a rowdy toddler for 2 years and was itching for some creativity and professional purpose. I pulled out all my bead supplies and started designing again. It fueled me the same way that first bead aisle did and I knew it was time to take the brand to market to see what it could be. The response the first year was incredible! I knew that team colored, or as I like to call it: “fancier fan” jewelry was needed. It is the core of my business and what motivates me to design and make.
We truly believe in serving the underserved and that extends far beyond college teams. We design collections for high schools and partner with their booster clubs to donate a percentage of sales. Last fall we added two custom options online that allow anyone to customize our two best-selling bracelets for their kid’s school, recreation team, jersey number, or initials. We are passionate about all sports and what that means to all kinds of fans.
This year we are launching more collab pieces and a new gemstone collection that will give fans more sparkly but the same great style they can expect from us. We are also very focused on growing our wholesale distribution. We have had a great experience selling to our fabulous retail partners and would like to continue to grow that channel. It’s going to be an exciting year so you’ll want to follow along via our newsletter or on social.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first skill/ quality I have to talk about is the importance of a strong work ethic. My parents always taught me the importance of a good work ethic and how important it is for people to be able to count on you and what you say. For me, these things go hand-in-hand and have been the things I have gotten the most positive feedback on in my working life. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” I believe in that and believe in doing things the right way or not at all. If someone has to come behind you and do better or more, then it isn’t glorifying to God and it doesn’t reflect well on you in the role you’ve been given. I take pride in the work I do and feel that developed quality has helped me tremendously on my entrepreneurial journey. I cannot think of an area of business where you would need a stronger work ethic.
The second skill would have to be the good communication skills and social networking. Both of them have always come very naturally to me and I take pride in being able to maximize the potential of any room I am in. I love collaborations and have had several successful ones because I am the type of person that is ready to be best friends in 5 minutes. I love meeting new people, specifically other women in business and feel my outgoing, maximalist personality makes it easy for me to communicate and network with anyone I meet.
Lastly, I feel pretty strongly about my organizational skills. A huge part of running a business, especially as an entrepreneur, is juggling a lot of different roles and wearing even more hats (hello working mamas out there). This is never truer than in the first few years of establishing a business. I am naturally an organized person and love to sort and organize things, but had to come up with a schedule and a system to keep the business organized. For me, there are days I handle certain tasks. For example: Mondays are for getting caught up on emails, weekend sales, and to-dos that need to be handled. Tuesdays are for calls. I have a standing call at 11 am every week and since I’m in the focused mindset, I schedule other needed calls before and after that one. The rest of the week is determined by immediate business needs – designing, PR, social media planning, and styling photo shoots for upcoming collections.
It’s hard to say how one should implement these skills to work for them but I would say to find something that does in fact work for you in your business journey. Good organization may look different for each person but the key is to find a schedule and system that works for you and your team. What keeps everyone adequately informed on expectations, updates, and important things? What keeps the business moving forward? If you can filter out the distractions and focus on the needs and get them organized, the other things will fall into place or be easier to handle when they pop up. The other two are less subjective. I feel very strongly about good communication and a strong work ethic. Invest in these deeply and invest in the people who demonstrate these qualities. If you struggle with one or the other, start small and find tasks and exercises that help you discipline yourself in these areas. I promise you will never regret it!
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I truly believe in doing both. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and I often have the mentality of “I can do anything” – remember those earrings? On a personal level, I am not afraid of new skills and if there is a design I come up with or if I have an idea for a project or even a kid’s birthday party and I cannot find the item or the supplies easily, I will find a way to create it myself. I can only do this because I read a lot and am always investing in education and learning from others ahead of me so I can better understand the conversations and transactions going on in and around my business. That being said, I know when it comes to my business, it will suffer if I try to do everything myself. I know that I am a strong designer, have a clear and articulate vision for my brand, and am a strong networker. I thrive in social environments. If I spread myself too thin, everything suffers and nothing gets done well. I have had to learn to quiet the “I can do everything” voice and stay in my lane. If it doesn’t serve those three categories or require me to move the business forward, I have to delegate that task to someone else on my team and let their strengths shine.
Our social media channels are a prime example. My branding and styling background helps me create beautiful content, but once I have it, my mind goes blank. The job of managing all the channels while being witty, funny, entertaining, relevant, and part of the trend conversations in the caption gets me overwhelmed before I even begin. Knowing it is a task that has to be done but also one I dread, I found a great team that loves social media, understands all the technicalities of it, and has handed that task over. It’s not a job that feeds my soul or gets me excited about my business and when it began to drain me, I knew it was time to delegate.
Ultimately, every business owner has to be very honest with himself or herself to admit when you need help and to find the right person to help. It doesn’t have to be an agency or even a new hire if you can’t or don’t want to pay for it. If there is a young, vibrant person currently on staff who wants more responsibility or to flex some creative digital muscles, let them! Whether one chooses to “do it all” or play to their strengths, keep learning and educating yourself on different topics. It will never hurt you to be informed and part of the conversation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shoptaylorreese.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/shoptaylorreese
- Facebook:facebook.com/shoptaylorreese
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-reese-41635b41/
- Twitter: twitter.com/shoptaylorreese
- Other: TikTok: @taylordavisreese
Image Credits
All photos, Monica Farber
