Milano Di Rouge 2013 Fashion Show

Milan Rouge of Milano Di Rouge: V Things I Wish Someone Told Me Earlier I Became A CEO

An Interview With Charlie Katz

Be Respectful and Demand Respect — I treat everyone with the same respect, and I as well need respect from these same people. I try to be compassionate, friendly, and empathetic, but equally a leader, I too must exist house. That's how boundaries are set up.

As a function of our series called ' Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO ' we had the pleasure of interviewing Milan Rouge of Milano Di Rouge.

Milan is a serial entrepreneur, fashion designer, media influencer, author, and philanthropist. This Philly native worked from the footing up to make a name for herself and her Milano Di Rouge empire. Starting with merely two shirts, and a large dream, Milan launched Milano Di Rouge originally equally a t-shirt line. Today Milano Di Rouge likewise offers Men's, Women's and child's luxury streetwear.

Cheers and then much for doing this with u.s.a.! Before nosotros dig in, our readers would similar to get to know you a bit more. Tin can you tell us a bit nigh your "backstory"? What led you to this item career path?

Southwardure. And so, information technology all started with blogging. In 2013, I started a blog, and I used it every bit my outlet to write well-nigh love, motivation, and dating. In merely three months, I had 100k views, Understanding the power of having a growing audience, I began brainstorming other means to reach them and ultimately sell to them. I wanted to keep their attending while I had information technology. That's when the idea of creating a motivational fashion brand came to me, and that's when Milano Di Rouge was born. The reason I chose fashion is considering I wanted the make to bring everything that I honey together. I beloved motivating and inspiring others, and I love fashion. Fast forward to today. We've grown so much. We now have an app that we've formatted similar a magazine, nosotros motivate our community through inspiring daily texts, nosotros requite communication, and we accept almanac way shows. I too love empowering my community, and then I make it a priority to give back through the company via back-to-schoolhouse drives, Christmas drives, Thanksgiving nutrient drives and giveaways. I'm truly working at my dream job and making an impact at the same time. I'm grateful!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to y'all since you began leading your company?

Yes, there is one that I can never forget. 1 day, a customer messaged me on Instagram telling me that a few nights prior, he planned to impale himself. While looking in his drawer to find the pills, he found our brand's signature quote instead and changed his listen. When he wrote me, he sent a picture of the quote and said, "This bulletin right here saved my life." To this day, that is the most interesting story and interaction I've had since leading Milano Di Rouge considering upwards until that point, I hadn't realized that my make could impact then many people.

Our brand's signature quote is called The Milano Dreaming Quote, and nosotros accept it on our shirts and a few accessories to remind our customers to keep going:

"Don't be average, be cracking! Speak the life yous want to live into beingness. Information technology'south never also late to follow your dreams. More than powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin. You must beginning somewhere. Be motivated. Cocky-motivation is fundamental, only more than importantly, motivate others. Be driven. Let your drive take yous to new heights you've but imagined. Be radiant. Allow your personality polish and so brilliant that information technology inspires others to want to hunt their dreams every bit well. Today is your twenty-four hours. Let go of excuses, remove all doubts and make your dreams reality."

None of us are able to achieve success without some aid forth the way. Is there a detail person who y'all are grateful towards who helped get yous to where you lot are? Can you share a story almost that?

This is ever such a hard question because I feel that everyone in my life has helped me get to where I am. If I have to choose though, I choose Greg Samuels. Greg is my friend, my property director and my logistics manager. He has been with my company since 2014, so he knows the ups and the downs. Ane of the "downs" that I can vividly remember is opening my flagship shop in 2016. It was a hard experience because I had to piece of work with contractors who tried to outsmart me, unfair landlords and and then many other things. If Greg wasn't by my side, I have no idea what I would've done. Having him at that place to guide me though that journeying and having him in general through all the highs and lows of concern helps me out a lot.

Ok, thank you for that. Allow'south now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, simply about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects neat historical progress, but it likewise shows that more piece of work still has to exist done to empower women to create companies. In your stance and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I'd say the lack of respect we make it our corresponding industries is a huge barrier for women founders and aspiring women founders. Wanting to break into an industry but being disrespected and undervalued by those already in the industry can exist very intimidating. For me, not but was the style manufacture male dominated when I entered merely trying to then cleave my lane in streetwear was an fifty-fifty bigger hurdle. I had to bargain with a lot simply considering I am a adult female, and in streetwear, nosotros are severely underrepresented. At the time, the streetwear designers that I knew were male, the photographers were male, the videographers were male, and the manufactures were male person. I literally had to pause barriers, demand respect, and even get as far as taking a male friend with me everywhere I went, and so I wouldn't be sexualized and disrespected. Thankfully, I see a divergence in the manufacture now, and I hope that my journey inspires women to demand respect and to not be intimidated. We deserve to exist in those spaces every bit much as anyone else.

Can yous assistance articulate a few things that tin can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

The ane thing we need to do is to erase the stigma that says that a successful woman ever has a man behind her business organization. That'due south simply not true for me and for many other female founders. When we proceed this stigma live, what nosotros're doing is making women believe that nosotros need men to keep our businesses afloat, whether it'south for strategy, funding, or something else. I'm here to say that nosotros don't. Men can play a unique office of course, but equally women, nosotros are equipped with the brains, the drive and the hustle that's needed to create our own empires. What a man can give to us concern-wise, we tin can requite to ourselves or each other through 18-carat sisterhood and back up.

This might be intuitive to you lot as a woman founder, but I recall it volition be helpful to spell this out. Tin can you lot share a few reasons why more women should get founders?

This question makes me retrieve of "Run the World" past Beyonce. In the song, she talks well-nigh how we're smart enough to make these millions, strong enough to bear the children, then nosotros plow right effectually and get back to business. I'd say that sums up my answer. Women just work differently. It'due south uncomplicated. Men work strategically, simply we work strategically, emotionally, and instinctively. Being born with female person intuition is a gift, and many of us don't realize how powerful it is in business. I besides feel that women hustle harder, we're more than solutions-oriented, and we accept more than empathy, which is also very powerful in business concern. I believe that nosotros're literally born with the tools required to run empires.

What are the "myths" that yous would like to dispel most being a founder? Can y'all explicate what yous mean?

The biggest myth that I hear over and over is that every bit a founder, y'all don't work as difficult as an employee. This is a huge misconception. I've honestly never worked so hard in my life, especially because I choose to be very active in my business organization. Though I heavily rely on my team, I still brand a witting effort to know the basics of everyone's role, so that I'm able to get the task done if they are unavailable. Many founders don't talk about this. They don't talk about how much work it is to constantly learn virtually roles yous are unfamiliar with, particularly when you have a huge team. Another myth that many founders don't talk about is the pressure that you constantly experience, knowing that you have real people with real lives and real responsibilities who heavily depend on y'all to support their families. If I don't work hard, my squad doesn't swallow, which means daycare, doctors' appointments and housing among other things become an issue. That's why I desire people to understand that existence a founder is a lot of work, simply the primal is this: If you find something that you love, information technology makes the work experience worth it. I believe that's the reason I don't mind working then hard for Milano Di Rouge. It'due south because I truly love the make, which makes it easier to dearest the piece of work.

*Is everyone cutting out to exist a founder? In your stance, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder?

Everyone is cutting out to be a founder, just the work is what separates those who are successful at it from those who need to try again. To be a successful founder, you demand to be a corking leader, take initiative, and exist solutions oriented. Y'all also need to be able to coil upward your sleeves when duty calls and go the job washed with no excuses. Knowing how to be a team-thespian is also very of import because to lead a team, it'south crucial to know what it's like being on a team.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, What are the "Five Things You Demand To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?" (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Be a Leader — Bosses tell you what to practise, while leaders guide you and exercise what's necessary to help you get it done. Every bit a leader, I'one thousand easily-on with everything in my company, and when my team needs help, I bound in. This as well applies to anytime their role requires them to learn something new. When this happens, I try to larn as well, so that I can help in the future if necessary. I had to practise this with my team recently. We just switched over to a new app vendor, and when they scheduled a demo telephone call to demonstrate how to use their platform, I joined the call, and we learned together.
2. Exist Understanding and Know Your Personnel — Know who you lot're working with and how to piece of work with them. When you do this, you'll be more understanding, you'll have a better idea of how to run across their needs, yous'll be more than compassionate, and almost importantly, yous'll know when to terminate, promote and bench.
3. Be Respectful and Need Respect — I treat everyone with the same respect, and I besides demand respect from these same people. I try to be empathetic, friendly, and empathetic, but as a leader, I also must be firm. That'south how boundaries are set.
4. Know the Basics of Every Function in Your Company — I can't stress this enough. Know the basics of each employee's role, so that if there comes a time where you demand to footstep in, you can do and so with ease. I recently had to practice this twice when our buyer left soon after I gave nativity, and our social media manager quit without detect. Their absenteeism acquired a strain, but because I knew the basics of their office, I was able to leap in until a new manager and buyer came onboard. Knowing the nuts prevented me from rushing into hiring the wrong people and most chiefly, from dropping the ball.
5. Learn — You should e'er be learning. Only because I have the title of existence the founder doesn't mean I know it all, and I make sure my team understands that and knows that I'g a lifelong student. I as well acquire through the wisdom plant in books, interviews of the greats, podcasts, and courses. I'm e'er hungry for knowledge, and I believe that all women founders should be besides.

How accept you used your success to make the earth a better place?

I utilise the success of my business to inspire others to exist successful. I want everyone, especially young black girls, to look at me and ask themselves, "If she can do it, what's stopping me?" I also make it a point to use my social media success to share the highs and lows of my journeying with the following I have because that makes it fifty-fifty more than inspiring for people when they come across that nosotros all can really button through every obstruction that comes our way. Zero is impossible. When it comes to my financial success, I take ever and will always requite back. But last year, I donated more than $50,000 to single moms, I contributed to Thanksgiving drives, Christmas drives and dorsum-to-school drives.

Y'all are a person of neat influence. If yous could inspire a movement that would bring the virtually amount of adept for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I'd create and establish a "Making Dreams Reality Building" in my city. It would serve as a haven for urban teens, and I'd brand sure in that location's a heavy emphasis on the kids learning important life skills, such as financial literacy, personal development, business management and mental health. Once adequately trained, the teens volition and then exist deemed employable by Milano Di Rouge and our partners. A refuge like the Making Dreams Reality Building would solve and so many problems that we see time and fourth dimension again amidst our youth, the principal one beingness that they take too much idle time. A lot of the trouble that our teens get into comes from them not having wise ways to spend their time, so through this initiative, they'll be molded into productive, responsible taxation paying citizens who take a solid pattern to use when they grow into adults.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Concern, VC funding, Sports, and Amusement read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a individual breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Beyonce. Hands down. She'due south all about empowering women, she's intentional, and her inventiveness is out of this world. She gives me then much inspiration. Information technology's unreal. I heed to her vocal, "Freedom," and watch her interviews before all my fashion shows. A lunch with her would be a dream.

Thank yous for these fantastic insights. Nosotros greatly appreciate the time yous spent on this.

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