Episode 142: Good Business Is a Choice, featuring Selina, Benita, & Jennifer

This episode features two different conversations with small businesses that are trying to scale their business (meaning: grow it) without sacrificing their values. First, we’ll chat with Jennifer and Benita, two of the founders of Style Crush, an online secondhand/resale platform that is trying to do things in a better way. Then Selina Sanders returns (yay) to tell us about what she has been doing to scale her namesake brand, how she keeps herself motivated and healthy, and all about her new Domestika class! Also: a mini lesson on "runway" and how it applies to both large and small businesses.

Go follow Style Crush on IG: @joinstylecrush
Use Selina's link to take her Domestika class!
Follow @smallbizbigpic, Amanda's small business class series.

Other reading:
Donated junk costs Goodwill Southern California millions per year
Why rich people tend to think they deserve their money (study involving Monopoly)

Small business owners! Submit your audio essay for inclusion in the November/December episodes!

• It’s a recording you make--using either your phone or your computer. Email it to [email protected].
• It’s not an ad...it’s your story and feelings about owning a small business, including:
  What motivated you to start a small business?
  Why it’s important to you, what you do, and why you do it.
  What have you learned?
  Include information about your business and where listeners can find you.
• The deadline is November 1 and it is a first come/first served situation.
• Interested in participating in IG Lives in November and December? Sign up here.

Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/CLOTHESHORSE to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!

Have questions/comments/cute animal photos? Reach out via email:  [email protected]

Want to support Amanda's work on Clotheshorse? Learn more at patreon.com/clotheshorsepodcast

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable brands:

Thumbprint is Detroit's only fair trade marketplace, located in the historic Eastern Market.  Our small business specializes in products handmade by empowered women in South Africa making a living wage creating things they love like hand painted candles and ceramics! We also carry a curated assortment of  sustainable/natural locally made goods. Thumbprint is a great gift destination for both the special people in your life and for yourself! Browse our online store at thumbprintdetroit.com and find us on instagram @thumbprintdetroit.

Gentle Vibes:  We are purveyors of polyester and psychedelic relics! We encourage experimentation and play not only in your wardrobe, but in your home, too. We have thousands of killer vintage pieces ready for their next adventure! 

Picnicwear:  a slow fashion brand, ethically made by hand from vintage and deadstock materials - most notably, vintage towels! Founder, Dani, has worked in the industry as a fashion designer for over 10 years, but started Picnicwear in response to her dissatisfaction with the industry's shortcomings. Picnicwear recently moved to rural North Carolina where all their clothing and accessories are now designed and cut, but the majority of their sewing is done by skilled garment workers in NYC. Their customers take comfort in knowing that all their sewists are paid well above NYC minimum wage. Picnicwear offers minimal waste and maximum authenticity: Future Vintage over future garbage.

Shift Clothing, out of beautiful Astoria, Oregon, with a focus on natural fibers, simple hardworking designs, and putting fat people first.  Discover more at shiftwheeler.com

​High Energy Vintage is a fun and funky vintage shop located in Somerville, MA, just a few minutes away from downtown Boston. They offer a highly curated selection of bright and colorful clothing and accessories from the 1940s-1990s for people of all genders. Husband-and-wife duo Wiley & Jessamy handpick each piece for quality and style, with a focus on pieces that transcend trends and will find a home in your closet for many years to come! In addition to clothing, the shop also features a large selection of vintage vinyl and old school video games. Find them on instagram @ highenergyvintage, online at highenergyvintage.com, and at markets in and around Boston.

Blank Cass, or Blanket Coats by Cass, is focused on restoring, renewing, and reviving the history held within vintage and heirloom textiles. By embodying and transferring the love, craft, and energy that is original to each vintage textile into a new garment, I hope we can reteach ourselves to care for and mend what we have and make it last. Blank Cass lives on Instagram @blank_cass and a website will be launched soon at blankcass.com.

St. Evens is an NYC-based vintage shop that is dedicated to bringing you those special pieces you’ll reach for again and again. More than just a store, St. Evens is dedicated to sharing the stories and history behind the garments. 10% of all sales are donated to a different charitable organization each month.  New vintage is released every Thursday at wearStEvens.com, with previews of new pieces and more brought to you on Instagram at @wear_st.evens.

Vagabond Vintage DTLV is a vintage clothing, accessories & decor reselling business based in Downtown Las Vegas. Not only do we sell in Las Vegas, but we are also located throughout resale markets in San Francisco as well as at a curated boutique called Lux and Ivy located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jessica, the founder & owner of Vagabond Vintage DTLV, recently opened the first IRL ...