Today we’d like to introduce you to Marli Crowe.
Marli, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I got the idea for C. Suite from my other business, Crowe Career Services (CCS), a career enhancement company specializing in resume and cover letter writing, LinkedIn optimization, interview prep, career coaching, and styling. I also manage CCS’s Instagram page where I do four daily posts every week: #MondayMotivation, #TuesdayTips, #WorkWearWednesday and #ThursdayTalk. For #WorkWearWednesday, I would either feature a young professional showing what they wore to work or post places where my followers could buy work clothes. I noticed I was always posting the same places (Zara, H&M, J. Crew, Banana Republic, etc.) and my followers would ask if I knew of any other places to buy work wear. I realized there was a gap in affordable and trendy work wear for young professionals and that is when I got idea for C. Suite. We launched on December 20th, 2019 and have almost sold out the first collection. The journey has been exciting so far. It is an amazing feeling to see your dreams come true.
Great, 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?
It has not been a smooth road. This line was over a year in the making. It took time, patience, and lots of overthinking. C. Suite is self-funded, with some help from my family, so my biggest challenge was financing. You don’t realize how much everything costs until you’re in it. I had to make the decisions about what was important and worth spending money on, and what could wait. I made a plan, put pen to paper and went from there. I also have no background in fashion, so I had to do a lot of research on how to do this and what it would look it. And now that it’s out, I’m getting positive and negative feedback (which can hurt sometimes), but I’m learning, growing, and iterating. I have to remind myself, the first iPhone looks nothing like today’s iPhone. Every business, idea, or product is meant to be iterated.
What should we know about C. Suite? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
C. Suite is an affordable and trendy fast-fashion work wear brand for today’s young professionals. We offer work-appropriate and stylish clothing for professional women and are expanding into menswear later this year. We are the only brand of our kind. From my research, there is not another solely work wear brand for millennials. There are a lot of brands that sell work wear, but are not primarily work wear, or are not affordable, or are not work-appropriate. Every one of our pieces you could put on and walk into any corporate environment. When I would look for “work wear” on other fast fashion sites, it would be a model in a blazer with no bra underneath or a tight, short dress. That sends the wrong message to young professionals and could never be worn in the office. What also sets us apart is our price. That was the main reason I started C. Suite. If you’re an average millennial making around $50,000/year you can’t afford a $250 blazer or a $150 dress. All C. Suite items are under $100 and it’s my intention to keep it that way. Also, all my pieces are named after notable women in the c-suite. There is a bio for each woman on every product page. I want my customers to feel like their chief of their lives and careers when they are wearing my brand.
What I’m most proud of as a brand, is C. Suite is getting young professionals excited about work again. Too often, we’re trying to rush through the day or rush through the week to the weekend. I hope with C. Suite, my customers will get excited about to going to work again , feel good throughout their day and that feeling will translate into career success. Something I’d like to do in the future is to collect data from my customers and see if dressing better positively affects their career progression.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
For apps, I love Hypetype, UNUM, Hootsuite, and Prequel to make cool images/videos/GIFs and to plan the content for my social media channels. For podcasts, I love “Therapy for Black Girls.” It doesn’t have to do with business or fashion, but it helps me keep my mental health in check as I go through life. I also like “Side Hustle Pro,” that podcast has helped me a lot as I grow this side hustle and pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
Fiverr.com is my lifesaver. It’s a site for freelancers and it’s been so helpful for everything from my business cards to my website. And lastly, Google has been my best friend. I knew nothing about starting a boutique. I knew what I wanted to do and I started googling.
Pricing:
- “Lisa” Blazer = $39.99
- “Lisa” Slacks = $34.99
- “Emily” Skirt = $24.99
- “Nzinga” Dress = $34.99
- “Ursula” Jumpsuit = $39.99
- “Rosalind” Blazer Coat = $44.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopcsuite.com
- Email: info@shopcsuite.com
- Instagram: @shopc.suite
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shopcsuite
- Twitter: @shopcsuite
Image Credit:
Models: @justyourlocalginger @nicky_india_ @moorelove12 @jennachanel; Photographer: @x.nali
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