Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Norton.
Hi Rachel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my brand at the very tail end of 2020, shortly after graduating with my Masters. At the time, I was a single mom significantly struggling financially and was concerned with being able to find work in the midst of such a crazy time. It was one of those moments where your back is up against the wall and your only options are to push through or fail. Being a mom, I tapped into my ‘mama bear’ mode and decided to take my degrees in business and put them to use. I started saving stimulus checks and was luckily able to get a bit of business financing to start investing in the brand. It took over eight months to solidify all of the backend aspects and receive inventory so the brand wasn’t officially launched until August but I was able to make back all that I had spent in just three months so I’ll say every bit of the work and investment put in was very worth it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would love to say that it’s been smooth but honestly, its had more bumps than triumphs. Although the brand started out strong, being overworked quickly caught up with me. Again, I was a single mom doing every bit of work for the brand on my own from inventory management, digital marketing, website editing and even doing the photography for the brand in my living room! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to keep up with demand, stimulus checks were cut off and I was left with no choice but to find steady work. I had to take a break only six months after launching Zenith Nadir and lost mostly all of the momentum I was able to gain early on. Luckily, I was able to find a remote job with a boss that actually encouraged me to continue building my brand. It’s been a slow rebuild but I’ve been able to carve out the time to go back to doing pop-up events and will officially be launching the new website later this month.
We’ve been impressed with Zenith Nadir, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Zenith Nadir is a luxury streetwear clothing brand created to bring light back into our community which unfortunately suffered from so much darkness during 2020. The mantra that we live by is “Through the highs and lows we stand together because our strength knows no bounds. Through our darkest days of struggle we’ve persevered.” and this is displayed on all of our signature graphic tees. This mantra directly reflects the name of the brand and why it was chosen with the definition of Zenith being ‘the highest of highs’ and Nadir being ‘the lowest of lows’. I thank my sister every day for suggesting that name. It perfectly represents what we stand for and further encourages the community to continue supporting one another because, at the end of the day, we’re all we have.
What’s next?
In regards to the future, the thing that I am looking forward to the most is being able to further spread the messaging of Zenith Nadir and to finally be able to make enough profit to truly stand by our motto of supporting the community. One of my major goals is to help support other Black-owned brands whether it be through grants, extensive promotions or just teaching people in my community how to properly create and run a successful business. That’s truly my passion and I can’t wait to be able to fulfill that purpose of Zenith Nadir.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thezenithnadir.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thezenithnadir/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thezenithnadir
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheZenithNadir
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/thezenithnadir/_shop/
Image Credits
@deonjphotography
