Speaker 1: Welcome to Made by Women, a new podcast by the
Speaker 1: Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. At a
Speaker 1: moment when businesses face some of the biggest challenges in
Speaker 1: recent history, we bring you inspiring stories, practical insights, and
Speaker 1: shared learnings to help you successfully navigate in today's environment.
Speaker 1: Every Thursday, Made by Women will showcase the experiences of
Speaker 1: legendary women entrepreneurs, fierce up and comers, and everyday women
Speaker 1: who found success their own way. Consider this your real
Speaker 1: world NBA designed for the new Now. I'm the land Vervier.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today. A few
Speaker 1: brands are as iconic, recognizable, or successful as Tory Birch.
Speaker 1: Her double T logo label is on everything from shoes,
Speaker 1: to dresses to bags. Tory Birch is worn around the world.
Speaker 1: It's hard to believe this global empire started just sixteen
Speaker 1: years ago with a small store in Lower Manhattan. Tory
Speaker 1: Birch's approach to business has always been way ahead of
Speaker 1: the curve. She built her company around a purpose, the
Speaker 1: purpose of empowering women. At the core of her work
Speaker 1: is the Tory Birch Foundation, with supports and educates women entrepreneurs.
Speaker 1: During this time of COVID. Tory has responded by pulling
Speaker 1: together resources to help small business owners navigate the crisis,
Speaker 1: donating products to healthcare workers, and launching a campaign called
Speaker 1: hashtag Wear a Damn Mask. Tory also continues her mission
Speaker 1: to empower all women with her Embrace Ambition summits that
Speaker 1: help women to know and express their power. There's so
Speaker 1: much to learn from Tory Birch. At the end of
Speaker 1: this show, we'll tell you how to apply for the
Speaker 1: Tory Birch Foundation Fellows program for women entrepreneurs. Enjoy my
Speaker 1: conversation with Tory Birch. Well, Tory Birch, it's so wonderful
Speaker 1: to be with you today for this broadcast. Everyone knows
Speaker 1: the name of Tory Birch, but most probably don't know
Speaker 1: the full scope of what Tory Birch the company does.
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and
Speaker 1: the company? Well, first, Mom, thank you so much for
Speaker 1: having me. I'm so thrilled to be doing this with you.
Speaker 1: And when you ask me that question, where do I
Speaker 1: even begin? Okay, let me start by saying, Tory Birch
Speaker 1: is a lifestyle brand and we empower women around the
Speaker 1: world to live in full color with character, beauty and competence,
Speaker 1: and that sentence is something I have thought a lot
Speaker 1: about over the years. We are a company that has
Speaker 1: ready to wear, footwear, handbags, accessories, watches, home fragrance, and
Speaker 1: even an active wearline, tory Sport, that we launched five
Speaker 1: years ago. But we launched the company in two thousand
Speaker 1: and four in Lower Manhattan and a retail concept and
Speaker 1: a and a website. We are now a global business
Speaker 1: with more than three stores around the world, which is
Speaker 1: hard to believe when I say that. And we have
Speaker 1: a foundation that is so pivotal in everything we do
Speaker 1: around the business, around my life. It advances women's empowerment
Speaker 1: and entrepreneurship in the United States by providing access to capital, education,
Speaker 1: and digital resources to women in the US. As I said,
Speaker 1: one more thing, it's a lot. And we have a
Speaker 1: fellow program that is now and it's six years and
Speaker 1: the Foundation's Global Embrace Ambition Initiative Land which you have
Speaker 1: been at, which challenges stereotypes and creates new norms to
Speaker 1: empower women. So that's something that I'm incredibly proud of
Speaker 1: and thank you for coming well and well you should be.
Speaker 1: It's just extraordinary to have that audience of enthusiastic women
Speaker 1: and men are mostly young but really looking forward to
Speaker 1: developing their futures, and the inspiration you represent for them,
Speaker 1: it was just an extraordinary experience story. There are so
Speaker 1: many listeners who I know, our entrepreneurs, and I think
Speaker 1: what you just said in terms of your brand and
Speaker 1: all of the ancillary but critical elements that your company represents,
Speaker 1: I'm sure they find extremely inspiring as well. You know,
Speaker 1: you mentioned the foundation and I wanted to follow up
Speaker 1: on that because your goal from the very beginning was
Speaker 1: highly unusual, because you put purpose at the or of
Speaker 1: what you wanted to do, and it was just exceptional.
Speaker 1: The first time I heard that, I kept thinking about
Speaker 1: what an extraordinary that proposition that was. Can you tell
Speaker 1: us a little bit about how you always had this purpose,
Speaker 1: not just in establishing a business, but also in doing
Speaker 1: good at the same time. Well, and I know you
Speaker 1: remember this, Milan, but you were one of the first
Speaker 1: women I reached out to get advice, and I thank
Speaker 1: you for taking my cold call because a purpose led
Speaker 1: business fifteen years ago was very unusual, and certainly talking
Speaker 1: about it more in an internal way was something that
Speaker 1: we focused on then. Really messaging it externally, because I
Speaker 1: was very careful about it ever being perceived as marketing
Speaker 1: in any way. To have a foundation as an intrinsic
Speaker 1: part of the company was something that I knew from
Speaker 1: day one I wanted and it was going to be
Speaker 1: my way of actually giving back in a significant way.
Speaker 1: But I also knew that it would take time and
Speaker 1: we had to build a successful company before I was
Speaker 1: ready to message it externally. So I remember our meeting
Speaker 1: so well in Washington. I came in and you were
Speaker 1: so um amazing with your time. Number one, thank you
Speaker 1: for that, because I didn't get all yeses when I
Speaker 1: called people back then the idea of a purpose led
Speaker 1: company I was pretty much laughed at. When I went
Speaker 1: to try to raise money, I was told very concretely
Speaker 1: never to say business and social responsibility in the same sentence.
Speaker 1: I was almost patted on my back as if it
Speaker 1: were charity work. So it just made me more determined
Speaker 1: to to really make a purpose led business something that
Speaker 1: we're so proud of today, and obviously today is a
Speaker 1: very important concept from an innovation standpoint. Well, yes, you
Speaker 1: were really ahead of your time in thinking that way
Speaker 1: and acting on that purpose component and it shows and
Speaker 1: everything you've done ever since. But can we go back
Speaker 1: a little bit. What was it tory that as you
Speaker 1: were growing up that you seemed to have this fascination
Speaker 1: with starting a business. Did it come early? Did it
Speaker 1: come late? When did it come? You know, it actually
Speaker 1: came late, I, I I laughed, And so I was actually
Speaker 1: a really late bloomer, that said I. First of all,
Speaker 1: I grew up as a complete tomboy outside of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: I grew up on a farm. I spent my days
Speaker 1: riding horses and playing tennis, grew up with three brothers.
Speaker 1: Never really was that interested in fashion, but I had
Speaker 1: very stylish parents and they were are very much part
Speaker 1: of my inspiration throughout my whole career. But I did
Speaker 1: get a job in fashion right after I graduated from
Speaker 1: University of Pennsylvania. And I had just applied and this
Speaker 1: designer named Zorin. I don't know if you remember him,
Speaker 1: but he he looked like Respued and he was from Yugoslavia.
Speaker 1: He was the ultimate minimalist. And he said I could
Speaker 1: have a job, but I had to move to New
Speaker 1: York by Monday, and I had graduated. I think the
Speaker 1: prior Wednesday so um. That was my induction into fashion.
Speaker 1: It was vodka starting at ten in the morning. I
Speaker 1: had never seen anything like it, and I just fell
Speaker 1: in love with fashion. But I was more in the
Speaker 1: business end. I went to different places like Harper's Bazaar,
Speaker 1: Ralph Lauren bear Wang. My last job was at LVMH
Speaker 1: for loev But I worked in PR and marketing and advertising,
Speaker 1: never in design, and certainly not in being an entrepreneur
Speaker 1: and starting a business. So it was after I had
Speaker 1: my third child I realized I had to make a
Speaker 1: very difficult choice at a lot of women's face and
Speaker 1: that was to give up a career that I loved
Speaker 1: because I had three boys under the age of four.
Speaker 1: So it was during the time when I was a
Speaker 1: stay at home mom for three or four years that
Speaker 1: I concepted this, this company that's so fascinating. So then,
Speaker 1: how did you go about building your brand and the company?
Speaker 1: Of course, well, I I in a way feel like
Speaker 1: because I was thinking in unconventional ways, it ended up
Speaker 1: working to my advantage. I didn't have traditional training and
Speaker 1: starting a business or designing anything for that matter, so
Speaker 1: I had instinct and gut, and so I came up
Speaker 1: with a direct to consumer concept UM e commerce was
Speaker 1: part of that. People told me that no one would
Speaker 1: buy online fifteen years ago. UM it was multi categories.
Speaker 1: People told me that that was crazy and that I
Speaker 1: should start with one and partner with a wholesale UM partner.
Speaker 1: So everything that people advised me, I kind of did
Speaker 1: the opposite, and we launched with one store downtown. I
Speaker 1: don't know if you ever were there, but it was
Speaker 1: on Elizabeth Street and out of the way block that
Speaker 1: the rent was really inexpensive, and UM we we came
Speaker 1: up with UM. I came up with the the store
Speaker 1: we opened with outdoors, nothing was ready and it was
Speaker 1: during fashion week, and we had an event from ten
Speaker 1: in the morning until six at night, and and literally
Speaker 1: by six at night, we had sold through most of
Speaker 1: our inventory. So we knew we had touched something. And
Speaker 1: I think it was a white space in the market
Speaker 1: because it was very beautiful quality and it was not
Speaker 1: at a luxury price point, and I think that was
Speaker 1: the key. People felt that what we were being able
Speaker 1: to give our customer was had a lot of value
Speaker 1: to it. So fascinating, and you knew what the niche
Speaker 1: was as soon as you completed that early launch well,
Speaker 1: I was missing it in my I felt like I
Speaker 1: didn't want to spend luxury price points I couldn't and
Speaker 1: I didn't want to spend that every time I went out.
Speaker 1: And then there was the contemporary market wasn't mature back then,
Speaker 1: so it was very more mass and then there was luxury,
Speaker 1: and there was a giant space in between. And I
Speaker 1: think that's what we um. I didn't realize it at
Speaker 1: the time, but that's what we encountered and that's that's
Speaker 1: why I think our company resonated. Well. That's interesting because
Speaker 1: I know we have many entrepreneurs listening and finding that
Speaker 1: niche and knowing where product or a service isn't being
Speaker 1: provided but might have great possibility. You clearly discovered well
Speaker 1: in champ with our melance. Sorry to interrupting. The chances
Speaker 1: are if you're missing something, other people are as well.
Speaker 1: And that's something I've talked to a lot of entrepreneurs
Speaker 1: about that if you are feeling that something is is
Speaker 1: not there or meeting a need, that that's a that's
Speaker 1: a good way to look at your business. Well, so
Speaker 1: you got it off the ground. It was clearly the
Speaker 1: right moment and the right way that you conceptualized it,
Speaker 1: then how did you scale it? Because that's always a
Speaker 1: very big challenge. You know. Our business plan at the
Speaker 1: time was opening read to five stores in the first
Speaker 1: five years. We ended up opening seventeen. And the only
Speaker 1: thing I can say is never when we had a
Speaker 1: few things that were hard to define how much they
Speaker 1: impacted our business. One was actually going on the Oprah Show,
Speaker 1: and that was in our first year of business. I
Speaker 1: thought it was a joke we had given or a
Speaker 1: friend of mine had given her one of her producers
Speaker 1: some things for Christmas, and then her producer gave some
Speaker 1: to Oprah and they ended up picking us for the
Speaker 1: next big thing in fashion. And going on her show
Speaker 1: was really an experience. I went to Chicago, we did
Speaker 1: a fashion show, and she looked at me and she said,
Speaker 1: have you ever been on TV? And I said, no,
Speaker 1: I haven't, and she said, don't worry, it's only thirty
Speaker 1: million people. So that was just I mean, the whole
Speaker 1: the whole thing was surreal. The next day we had
Speaker 1: close to eight million hits on our website. So that
Speaker 1: obviously propelled our company in ways that are hard to define.
Speaker 1: But when you think about where we took it, from there,
Speaker 1: I think every decision that we made was thinking about
Speaker 1: the long term, and I think that served us really well.
Speaker 1: It wasn't about a quick anything. It was really about patients.
Speaker 1: I always said We're a patient company because I wanted
Speaker 1: to build things that would last, something that was truly meaningful.
Speaker 1: So we took our time. We e commerce was in
Speaker 1: the end, a very interesting platform for us, obviously from
Speaker 1: a selling standpoint, but also to engage our customer and
Speaker 1: learn about our customers. So many of the people that
Speaker 1: were buying online. That is how we would determine where
Speaker 1: we opened different stores. We saw where our customers were
Speaker 1: starting to come from, and so that was invaluable as well.
Speaker 1: Such good advice of really really interesting We'll be back
Speaker 1: with senecas made by women. After this short break, when
Speaker 1: Oprah told you an audience of thirty million, you must
Speaker 1: have frozen if laughing. I couldn't even like keep I
Speaker 1: definitely couldn't keep a straight face. But I was just
Speaker 1: the whole the whole weekend was just this is the
Speaker 1: real experience, as I said, for me, and it was
Speaker 1: you know something that is We'll stay with me always.
Speaker 1: She's been an incredible support. She supports obviously women and
Speaker 1: people in business, but over the years she has been
Speaker 1: a huge support. Right were there particular challenges along the
Speaker 1: way or even now that you faced or continue to face?
Speaker 1: When I always say a startup, there's a challenge every
Speaker 1: day and a new challenge. Um, it is an amazing journey.
Speaker 1: But it's one that my parents gave me good advice
Speaker 1: when I started out. They said, I think of negativity
Speaker 1: as noise. Thicken your skin and be prepared to wear
Speaker 1: a seatbelt for the rest of your life because it
Speaker 1: is a very ask pace with with challenges that you
Speaker 1: can't even imagine. I mean, when two thousand and eight happened,
Speaker 1: our business was on an incredibly fast and high trajectory
Speaker 1: and it stopped overnight. Just makes that look like nothing,
Speaker 1: because you have a health crisis on top of the
Speaker 1: business crisis, and clearly the health crisis is the biggest
Speaker 1: priority and protecting our teams and protecting our customers, protecting
Speaker 1: our families, but then you have this giant business crisis
Speaker 1: on top of it. I think of agility, I think
Speaker 1: of being flexible. I think of how do you move
Speaker 1: with the current and take in the macro and what's
Speaker 1: happening in the environment, but also be a good decision
Speaker 1: maker and don't react too quickly or too slowly. Well
Speaker 1: and as you just said that this COVID a moment, Uh,
Speaker 1: not only is a health crisis and you have business
Speaker 1: around the globe, but also an economic lunch. How are
Speaker 1: you addressing it in an ongoing way. Well, early on
Speaker 1: in March when I started to realize what COVID was
Speaker 1: going to mean beyond the health issues, and clearly, as
Speaker 1: I said, that was the first party, but the second
Speaker 1: was we realized very quickly we had three stores that
Speaker 1: were shut around the world, and we had to really pivot.
Speaker 1: Not our strategy, but we had to double down on
Speaker 1: many of our strategies. We had to really think about
Speaker 1: how we were going to manage through this. One thing
Speaker 1: I also realized is that a giant sector of American
Speaker 1: business was not being represented, and that is the fashion industry.
Speaker 1: And for some reason people think the fashion industry is
Speaker 1: a light industry. I think it's safe to say it's
Speaker 1: millions and millions of American jobs are at stake and
Speaker 1: we're at steak. So I got involved in pulling together
Speaker 1: with my husband a group of CEOs of American business,
Speaker 1: fashion and retail, and we wanted to come together and
Speaker 1: and have a voice with the government to make sure
Speaker 1: that we were being heard and really try to protect
Speaker 1: our employees and and really make sure that we were
Speaker 1: being talked at, talked about. Like the entertainment industry, I
Speaker 1: mean we we are a very important part of the
Speaker 1: American economy. So that was one aspect. The second aspect
Speaker 1: was how do you manage the closing stores around the
Speaker 1: world and making sure your business continues. And for close
Speaker 1: to two months we were paying employees without a tremendous
Speaker 1: amount of revenue coming and so that obviously can't last
Speaker 1: for that long. And luckily we had e commerce, we
Speaker 1: had different places that were open at different times, so
Speaker 1: we managed. If you had asked me how we were
Speaker 1: doing in March would be a very different answer than
Speaker 1: how we're today. I'm very proud of what our team
Speaker 1: has managed to do. Um and are the resiliency of
Speaker 1: our business, resiliency, flexibility, obviously being astute about how to
Speaker 1: deal with the unexpected. But I wonder what in particular
Speaker 1: gives you strength tory in difficult moments, because this is
Speaker 1: clearly has been in the last several months and continues
Speaker 1: to be a difficult time. Well, I think number one,
Speaker 1: I would say my family and and certainly my team,
Speaker 1: which is a second family, gives me a lot of strength.
Speaker 1: I mean, having five thousand employees and no knowing that
Speaker 1: that's a tremendous responsibility, and just seeing how genuinely they
Speaker 1: care and how much people wanted to help each other.
Speaker 1: It was. You know, I always think about grace under pressure.
Speaker 1: I think about it certainly as a parent, which I'm
Speaker 1: sure you could relate to, but certainly also as a CEO.
Speaker 1: By the way, I'm no longer CEO. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you knew that, but my husband has taken over
Speaker 1: that role and I happily gave it to him. So
Speaker 1: I'm just focusing on the product and and the brand.
Speaker 1: And I would say having him helped me navigate through
Speaker 1: this with his expertise and global understanding was invaluable. So
Speaker 1: but I think, you know, making sure that my mom
Speaker 1: would always say to me, and you're as happy as
Speaker 1: your least happy child. I could deal with anything as
Speaker 1: long as people I love are healthy, and so I
Speaker 1: get more focused when things get tough, and I think
Speaker 1: that's that's helped your mom was clearly a wise woman.
Speaker 1: I'll remember that saying she's She's still absolutely right about that.
Speaker 1: So we we've talked a little bit about the purpose
Speaker 1: that always compelled you in your business and is still
Speaker 1: a strong motivation for you. We've been talking about COVID
Speaker 1: and its impact. Tell us about your hashtag where damn
Speaker 1: mask initiative? Where did that come from? I know you
Speaker 1: have a lot of famous people involved in the initiative,
Speaker 1: and obviously it's tremendously important if we're going to stay
Speaker 1: well during this horrible contagion. Well, I just don't understand
Speaker 1: how wearing a mask could in any way be politicized.
Speaker 1: And I think I don't mind using my platform and
Speaker 1: weighing in on humanity. That's something that I will always do.
Speaker 1: It's not always popular, but I will always do that, um,
Speaker 1: weighing on humanity and equality. Wearing a mask should not
Speaker 1: be anything but accepted across the board. And if it's
Speaker 1: not about protecting yourself, protect others. And so I was
Speaker 1: just annoyed by the fact that people found a way
Speaker 1: to politicize this and and make it not and and
Speaker 1: make people have the ability not to wear a mask.
Speaker 1: To me, was insane. So I sent a letter to
Speaker 1: a bunch of people and I said, I think we
Speaker 1: can help change this if we start this idea of
Speaker 1: making wearing a mask interesting and cool. And so I
Speaker 1: posted a selfie which I rarely do, it's not not
Speaker 1: necessarily my thing, and and wrote hashtag wear a damn mask,
Speaker 1: and it became a bit viral. Happily, I think we
Speaker 1: have close to a hundred thousand people that have post
Speaker 1: about wearing masks and the importance of it. I think
Speaker 1: that is not something, as I said, that should be politicized,
Speaker 1: nor is voting. That's my next initiative that I've been
Speaker 1: working a lot on. Well, I wanted to ask you
Speaker 1: about the voting because I read that you are making
Speaker 1: it easier for your employees by closing the stores and
Speaker 1: offices on November the three, and that you're even giving
Speaker 1: a paid day off two employees who up to work
Speaker 1: the polls. So once again, purpose story well listen in.
Speaker 1: In two thousands, Teane I wrote an op ed for
Speaker 1: The Wall Street Journal to challenge other CEOs to give
Speaker 1: their employees time off to vote. I have no idea. Well,
Speaker 1: I do know why it's on a Tuesday it was
Speaker 1: from the agriculture industry back then. They didn't want to
Speaker 1: have it on Sundays because of church. Well, I think
Speaker 1: it needs to be updated. Certainly. I think voting should
Speaker 1: be compulsory, but it's not. I'm passionate about voting, and
Speaker 1: I'm even more passionate about understanding why people are not
Speaker 1: inspired to vote When you look at fifty two percent
Speaker 1: of America voting. Obviously, that is one of the lowest
Speaker 1: turnouts in any area of modern society, and I think
Speaker 1: that it should not be perceived as democratic in any way.
Speaker 1: Our democracy requires active participation, and I firmly believe that
Speaker 1: these should not be partisan issues. Everyone has their say,
Speaker 1: and how we're governed what makes America is strong and
Speaker 1: ensures politicians are accountable. So I am incredibly passionate about it.
Speaker 1: That passion is coming through, and I couldn't agree more
Speaker 1: um And I think what you're doing is you're providing
Speaker 1: an incentive because a big part of the problem has
Speaker 1: been historically that people can take time off and it's
Speaker 1: really difficult often to do that very early in the
Speaker 1: morning or late at night or or whatever. The inhibitions are,
Speaker 1: so and we make it really difficult to register even
Speaker 1: I mean, we have to figure this out as a society. Yeah.
Speaker 1: More more power to you, and thank you for being
Speaker 1: an example on that. I want to go back to
Speaker 1: the Tory Birch Foundation and what you are doing with
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs because you have been engaged in this space. When
Speaker 1: you were first deciding how you would channel your commitment
Speaker 1: to purpose, I know entrepreneurs loomed large. Can you tell
Speaker 1: us about that, and then perhaps what you are doing
Speaker 1: to help entrepreneurs because that commitment continues. Yeah, I mean, listen.
Speaker 1: I knew that I wanted to start a foundation when
Speaker 1: I started the company, and I knew that it would
Speaker 1: be around women and children, but I didn't really know
Speaker 1: exactly how that would unfold over time. And in two
Speaker 1: thousand and nine and before that, I spent a lot
Speaker 1: of time going to places and taking meetings with people
Speaker 1: to figure out what what our foundation would be about.
Speaker 1: How would we help women, how would we help children.
Speaker 1: I went to Haiti and met with microfinance groups. I
Speaker 1: had meetings with incredible people like my meeting with you
Speaker 1: in Washington. And the thing I realized is that women
Speaker 1: had a much harder time in business, and certainly accessing capital.
Speaker 1: So that was something that I started to really think
Speaker 1: a lot about, and in two thousand nine, that's what
Speaker 1: our foundation did. It was really how do we empower
Speaker 1: our women in the United States? Because I felt the
Speaker 1: United States has a lot of issues that we need
Speaker 1: to deal with right here, so I wanted to start
Speaker 1: here one day. What I love it to be global, absolutely,
Speaker 1: but I think for now we have a lot of
Speaker 1: work to do here and explain some of the kinds
Speaker 1: of assistance you render to entrepreneurs. Is it training? Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I mean we we do education, and certainly we are
Speaker 1: just about to start our new Fellowship announcement where we're
Speaker 1: going to be open for people to apply UM to
Speaker 1: be one of the next group of fellows. Will be
Speaker 1: picking fifty women. So if any entrepreneurs are listening, you
Speaker 1: should go to Tory Birch Foundation dot org and you
Speaker 1: can read about how to really apply and and be considered.
Speaker 1: Because it's a very exciting year where we spend a
Speaker 1: lot of time on education. We when there wasn't a pandemic,
Speaker 1: would fly UM the Fellows into New York for a week.
Speaker 1: We'd give them access to people in business. We'd have
Speaker 1: seminars and on education, on business, on marketing, on entrepreneurship,
Speaker 1: on anything that you could think of. But one of
Speaker 1: the real things that we're creating is a community and
Speaker 1: the ability to network, because men are so great at that.
Speaker 1: So to have a community and be the go to
Speaker 1: source for women entrepreneurs is what our site has become.
Speaker 1: We've had over twelve thousand people write business plans with
Speaker 1: a lot of the things that we have to teach
Speaker 1: you how to do that on our site. Um we
Speaker 1: have a great partnership with Bank of America that we
Speaker 1: started in two thousand and fourteen to give women access
Speaker 1: to low interest loans, and we've given out over fifty
Speaker 1: seven million dollars two women in the United States, and
Speaker 1: Bank of America has committed to go up to a
Speaker 1: hundred million, which is extremely exciting. We, as I said,
Speaker 1: have this great network where many of these women are
Speaker 1: facing similar challenges regardless of their their business, so to
Speaker 1: help each other is also an invaluable part of our programming. Well,
Speaker 1: any entrepreneur knows, and certainly anybody in the business who
Speaker 1: works on entrepreneurship knows that among the great challenges are
Speaker 1: access to capital, access to training, access to networks and
Speaker 1: you've bundled all of that together through your partnership with
Speaker 1: the of A and in other ways to provide that. So,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, and Milan, you know our fellowship program, we
Speaker 1: give a five thousand dollar business education ground to each
Speaker 1: fellow that has picked, so that that's a really exciting
Speaker 1: thing for them as well. Well. I certainly encourage any
Speaker 1: of our listeners who are interested in this to go
Speaker 1: to your website and learn all about the Fellowship program. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and just quickly that one of the pivots that we've
Speaker 1: done with the Foundation during COVID is we've become this
Speaker 1: go to destination for small businesses navigating government resources and
Speaker 1: other pandemic related support. So we'd be We also have
Speaker 1: three weekly webinars on topics from federal relief options to
Speaker 1: financial management to again marketing communications and that's been really
Speaker 1: helpful to a lot of as we know, small businesses
Speaker 1: have just been crushed. Now that is a real service.
Speaker 1: I was in a conversation um just last week with
Speaker 1: a group of organizational representatives and this was a big issue,
Speaker 1: the one that you just described that's COVID related issue,
Speaker 1: which is how do you navigate the relief space these days,
Speaker 1: and where do we get in front of women are
Speaker 1: the hard of it when you're looking at small businesses
Speaker 1: exactly disproportionately. You know, we're referring to it as the
Speaker 1: she session instead of a recession. So many women, Yeah,
Speaker 1: so many women are hurt hard. So in the context
Speaker 1: of all of this, let me end by asking you
Speaker 1: what makes you optimistic at this time? So many people
Speaker 1: are hurting and wondering what's going to happen to them,
Speaker 1: and you've had to go through all kinds of challenges
Speaker 1: in your business. What keeps Tory Birch going? Well, I'm
Speaker 1: an optimist by by nature, and I can't help being optimistic.
Speaker 1: I believe in humanity, and I think this younger generation
Speaker 1: now is poised to tackle many of the big issues,
Speaker 1: and they've been woken up as far as I'm concerned,
Speaker 1: they realize that what happens in leadership roles really matters.
Speaker 1: So I think that that is a big positive that's
Speaker 1: coming out of this time. And I think obviously voting
Speaker 1: is an important part of that. But I believe in people.
Speaker 1: I believe in humanity, decency, ethics, so I I can't
Speaker 1: not be optimistic. I think that it's tough stuff that
Speaker 1: we're dealing with, and wherever you look, whether it's racial justice,
Speaker 1: or climate change or anything that you can think of,
Speaker 1: it's just one thing after another. So I think the
Speaker 1: thing that I love most is bringing people together and
Speaker 1: people are I see that. I see it in my company,
Speaker 1: I see it with my friends, I see it in
Speaker 1: my community. Well, you've obviously done that well, and I've
Speaker 1: been a witness to that firsthand as well. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for reminding us of those bedrock virtues that
Speaker 1: we should never forget and certainly to practice. Thank you
Speaker 1: for caring. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for
Speaker 1: your know how to enable others to be successful entrepreneurs
Speaker 1: as you are. Tori. This has been a wonderful conversation.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I have to say thank you for being
Speaker 1: an inspiration showing I really mean that, um. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Our networks do matter, and everybody being a support to
Speaker 1: each other I think is a wonderful way to proceed
Speaker 1: in life. But we're so grateful to you, Tori. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much. Thank you, Milana stay safe. Every time
Speaker 1: I talked to Tory Birch, I get inspired all over again.
Speaker 1: Tori makes everything seemed possible. Here are some lessons I
Speaker 1: took away from that conversation. First, it's not only possible
Speaker 1: to build a business around purpose, it is desirable. Tori
Speaker 1: had a mission to empower women. It became the pivot
Speaker 1: point for everything she does. Second, it pays to be
Speaker 1: a contrarian, to trust your gut when you know it's right.
Speaker 1: Tory was laughed at by investors when she said she
Speaker 1: wanted to create a foundation first a company. Second, when
Speaker 1: she said she wanted to sell directly to consumers, she
Speaker 1: was told no one would buy fashion online. Everything people
Speaker 1: advise me, she said, I did the opposite. Finally, Tori
Speaker 1: suggests that entrepreneurs can succeed by finding a niche they
Speaker 1: can fill. As Tori says, if you feel that something
Speaker 1: is missing, that's a good way to look at your business.
Speaker 1: If you're a woman entrepreneur who wants to learn from
Speaker 1: Tory Birch, apply for the Tory Birch Foundation Fellows Program.
Speaker 1: Fifty women entrepreneurs will be selected for this year long program.
Speaker 1: It includes education, workshops and a five thou dollar grant.
Speaker 1: Applications are open until November twelve. Go to Tory Birch
Speaker 1: Foundation dot org, made by women, is brought to you
Speaker 1: by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Support from founding partner pH