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How did your business idea come about?
There’s a lot of little things that caused the business idea to align.
At the time I had recently moved to Copenhagen with my life long dream to set up my own business within the fashion industry. But I quickly learned how pollutant fashion is and gave up on the idea of working within the industry because it didn’t align with my own values.
Out of interest I started to research more about consumer behavior and thought I’d advocate on making fashion more sustainable but realised not many people wanted to hear it because nearly everyone was part of the fast fashion community.
Fashion was always a part of my identity so I personally struggled with how I could still love and play around with fashion by wearing new things but also being ethical in the process.
The second part of this is that I moved back to Scotland to figure out what I actually wanted to do with my life and was constantly reading up on climate change and consumer behaviour. I randomly was put in touch with a Stylist from the 80’s who had a warehouse full of clothing that she wanted rid of. I went there and saw all the amazon designer pieces and suggested that she rent them out.
The same week on route to a Styling networking event in London I came across an article about the circular economy whilst on the train and it was then it dawned on me that renting designer fashion would be the ultimate problem solver for my own problems and was obsessed with figuring out if it anyone else shared it. I always remember hearing that the best way to think of a business idea is by solving a problem that you already have.
I looked to see if there was anyone doing the same thing and at the time there was no other rental platforms other than a handbag rentals in London and a subscription based service in the States called Rent the Runway. It was there that I came up with THE KILLER MUSE, a peer-to-peer fashion rental app. But before this, THE KILLER MUSE was a fashion blog I had played around with for a few months so that my creative juices could keep flowing.
What was the defining moment that made you decide to become an entrepreneur?
I’ve always been very entrepreneurial-minded since I can remember.
When I was at high school I used to have a prepaid lunch card for kids that came from a low-income household who would use it to be able to afford food. A lot of my year didn’t bring their cards so they would always ask to use mine to top up to purchase their lunch.
Let’s say for talking sake I had £2.50 on my card every day. I would go without my lunch, use the money from everyone to top up my card but pocket £2.50 in cash and at the end of the week. I’d make at least £12.50. There was always change left from everyones top ups so I always ended up with more.
But in all seriousness I have always wanted to work for myself. I have too creative a mind to be told what to do and I’m someone that likes to be in control of their life and to live it the way I want so it only made sense that I work towards my own vision. I’ve never been enticed by a salaried job, just never been my thing.
What does a typical day look like as the founder of The Killer Muse?
Honestly, it’s difficult to answer this because everyday is so different. It can go from being a super sociable day to being behind the laptop doing the boring things or doing really creative things.
I will share my mourning routine though because it’s how I start everyday despite how it looks.
- I wake up at 5/5.30am
- Read 10 pages of a book
- Do 10 mins of yoga
- 10 mins of meditation and visualisation
- Take a few mins to be grateful for 10 things
- I journal my thoughts and feelings to become aware of any feelings I’m feeling
- Read out my affirmations and have cold shower
This probably takes me to about 6:30/7 and I spend 5 mins organising my day which tends to be pre-organised in terms of my focus but I list my To Do’s within that focus and pretty much get on with all of my tasks which are different day to day.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far, and how did you overcome it?
My biggest challenge has been believing in myself. I’m getting better at it but it’s a struggle when you only measure yourself by other people’s success.
It’s been difficult to see other peer-to-peer rental apps reach market and achieve success before mine because when I founded this app there was no one else doing it. But I’m beginning to realise it’s okay and that my vision is very different and ultimately grateful that there’s so many people wanting to change the world for the better because that’s why we’re doing it right?
But definitely, self-belief has been the biggest challenge because I’m not academically smart and I’m a creative at heart so falling into the tech world can be overwhelming at times.
What are you most proud of from what you have achieved so far?
Obviously having a working app is a great achievement. But for me, the proudest moment was when I was working on the photoshoot to create content for the launch of the app. I have produced photoshoots for other brands before and always wished and hoped that there would be a day that I’d do that for mine. Just working with such a creative team to bring my vision to life was such a crazy moment. I had spent 3 years behind a laptop working on this and could finally share with my audience a snippet of my very big vision and I really loved that.
What piece of advice would you like to share with other female entrepreneurs?
Invest in yourself because you deserve to and don’t ever let anyone talk you down. If you do everything with passion you’ll not have anything to lose because passion is a beautiful thing and incredibly infectious.
What inspires/drives you?
People inspire me! I absolutely love people that are unapologetically themselves because we’re all here to share the gift of us. I love when people dress the way they do, dance the way they do and love the way they do. I’m so in love with all of that.
I’m driven by my past experiences because I don’t want my future to be anything like that. So, my future vision is what drives me because everything I want can be achieved no matter how crazy and big it seems and the feeling I get when I envision my future self with all that I have achieved is what makes me want it more and more.
Who is your greatest inspiration?
This is hard because I don’t idolise anyone. But I will say that I’m inspired by my higher self. When I’m in a place of calm and alignment I feel like the universe gives me all the tools I need to be better. So, I always want to be there because my higher self allows me to grow and be better. I want THE KILLER MUSE to be something people can see themselves as. They are their own MUSE.
What do you want to achieve next?
I have so many business ideas I want to pursue and a lot I want from this app but right now my focus is for THE KILLER MUSE to absolutely dominate the fashion scene.
Visit The Killer Muse or check out their instagram at @the.killer.muse to find out more!
