Today we’d like to introduce you to Rena’ Austin, Jana Austin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rena’ and Jana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Our story began in Mississippi, where we are originally from. As early as being teenagers and young adults, we have always been outgoing and set high standards and goals for ourselves, which started our long but rewarding journey to the women we are today. Being twin sisters, we naturally stood out in the crowd and taking pride in our fashion. We often made fashion statements that caused others to reach out for our fashion advice or to be their stylist for events such as birthdays, graduations, or just a night out with the girls; we were up for the challenge. Though we had a passion for fashion, education remained our priority, and we both graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelors’s in Psychology.
Leaping faith, we both decided to move to Columbus, Georgia to pursue our Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. As graduate students, despite the demanding coursework hours, we still found the time for our love of fashion by working at local boutiques. This was a great equilibrium between pursuing our career as mental health therapists and our interest in fashion (To feel good about yourself, you have to look good right, lol). After graduating from graduate school, the opportunity and time finally presented itself to focus completely on developing, planning, and executing our business plan as becoming entrepreneurs. And then we were off to Atlanta, Georgia.
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?
Anything worth having will not come easy, right? Needless to say, the road has indeed been challenging but rewarding. Being an entrepreneur requires faith, patience, and remaining optimistic. There have been many day/nights that we spent strategizing our business plan just for things to turn out completely different as hoped. I think that many entrepreneurs will agree with this next statement. We quickly realized that the majority of our supporters came in the form of strangers and not the form of familiar faces. What has gotten us through these challenges, by relying on each other in discouraging times. Moments when I felt like giving up, my sister (Co-owner) was there to provide me with encouraging words to push forward and vise versa.
Austin’s Kloset – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Austin’s Kloset is an online women clothing site that launched on March 23, 2019. We are dedicated to providing the newest/trendy styles, whether it’s casual wear, nightlife, special events or professional attire. No two looks are the same. Our goal is for our AK Babes (customers) of all body types to feel beautiful, sexy, comfortable, and powerful in our pieces. What sets us apart from others, would be that we are twin sisters who are in business together and have a genuine passion for providing unique looks to our customers. Our customer service is wonderful, we love the engage with our targeted population and receive feedback and positive criticism so that we can continuously grow as a business. Austin’s Kloset hopes to begin to incorporate the importance of Mental Health and encourage self love through fashion.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Austin’s Kloset has quickly exceeded our exceptions within the first year of launching. We have had a ton of supporters and opportunities, which we are extremely grateful for. While networking in Atlanta, we were given the opportunity to be a featured vendor at the Life ATL 2nd Annual Fashion Show showcasing our collection. Austin’s Kloset also has had the opportunity to be a vendor at two Pop-Up shops held in Mississippi. Lastly, one of our proudest moments of entrepreneurship so far was having the pleasure of sponsoring a beauty queen contestant in the Miss Black USA Pageant.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopaustinskloset.com
- Email: customercare@austinskloset.com
- Instagram: @shopaustinskloset
- Facebook: @shopaustinskloset
- Twitter: @austinskloset
Image Credit:
Kobina Essandoh (@binoshotme)
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