Inside The Hanifa Pause: Luxury takes patience

The internet loves a meteoric rise—and an even faster takedown. We open with a raw look at BBL reductions and what this reversal says about influence, body autonomy, and the unseen costs of surgical upkeep. Then we make a sharp turn into the realities of building a luxury brand: preorders that aren’t instant, production cycles that break if a batch fails quality control, and timelines shaped by global shipping and sourcing. The common thread is grace—how we treat women when they change their minds, and how we respond when a woman-led business hits turbulence.

We get specific about Hanifa’s indefinite pause and why it matters. If you want quality fabrics, thoughtful tailoring, and designs made to last, you can’t expect fast fashion speed. We talk through what customers deserve—clear updates, realistic ETAs, refunds or credits when needed—and what founders must practice: proactive communication, courageous pauses, and the audacity to apologize once and move forward. Strong customer care is not fluff; it’s risk management and brand equity, especially when social media turns a delay into a dogpile.

We also press on the double standard women, especially Black women, face in entrepreneurship. Underfunded yet over-scrutinized, they’re asked to deliver perfection with thinner margins and less grace. If we value diverse luxury and designers who cut for our bodies, we have to align our expectations with reality: fewer drops, truer prices, and timelines that protect quality. Along the way, we share practical tactics—“reach out before they reach out,” scale back to scale up, invest in service that solves—and a reminder that trends fade but craftsmanship endures.

Hit play to rethink what luxury really costs, how trust is rebuilt after a miss, and why offering grace can be a competitive advantage. If this conversation moved you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Transcript

Cold Open On Luxury And Cost

SPEAKER_01 0:00

People may complain and say it's too expensive, but it's not for you. And I think it's okay. Like, there's levels when it comes to shopping and buying luxury. And you can't expect luxury and it not cost that because there that comes at a cost.

Hosts Introduce And Morning Banter

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Hi, I'm Crystal Vega. Hi, I'm Amanda Booze, and welcome back to Elevators Podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. It's early in the morning when we're we are actually recording the show. And you want to know what's so crazy, Crystal. I was doing my makeup this morning and I was thinking, it's so funny. I was thinking to myself, I'm like, girl, thank God for our BET breaks days where we had to do our own makeup. People, okay, let me take it back. So, Crystal, you guys have been watching. If you are new here, thank you. Welcome. Thank you for joining us. But if you aren't, you guys know we kind of started back at BET, right? And I think people have this idea of the glitz and glamour behind working in entertainment. Whatever you think it is, it's not. It ain't. Whatever you think it's not. We didn't walk in in our robes and have gowns and hairy makeup waiting for us. No, we we were coming off of the train with our makeup in our bag, tons of it, and we had to literally do our own makeup. So I am so grateful for those moments because I feel like that's why I'm able to just like do my makeup so quickly or just do it when I need to do it. I have not paid to get my makeup done in so long, and I have to thank BET Breaks for that.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

No, for real. I mean, I did have like a robe waiting for me when I worked at the Lundo, but before that, girl, it was, and even then, like I ended up doing my own makeup because you just get used to

BET Breaks Grit And Doing Your Own Makeup

SPEAKER_02 1:40

like the way you look and like the way you do your own face. And yeah, shout out to the BET Breaks days where we were up at 6 a.m. just getting it like oh my god, those were early mornings. I struggled so bad this morning to get up, but I got it done. I'm very, very proud of myself. I got up and got dressed, showered, did all the things in 35 minutes. Very proud.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

I love that for you. I love that. And you're not a morning person, so I already know like you was dragging, like, but I the fact that you did that, I am super proud of you, friend. Like, that's that's just amazing. Yes, girl, I'm so proud of you.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

But how have you been doing? Well, I was just about to start bird vomiting. I'm tired. I'm like on my burnout, like last leg. I'm so exhausted. I can literally do the whole entire podcast like this with my eyes closed, but I'm good. I'm gonna get some rest. Things are busy, but things are great. Business is great, but it's busy, and I have a lot on my plate, and I'm just trying to balance it all and also take a mental break where and when I can.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

But it's good. How are you? I am doing great so far, girl. Same, like super, super busy. Just last night, we had um a

Burnout, Busy Seasons, And Self Care

SPEAKER_01 3:00

date night at my best friend's house. We had to taco Tuesday. And it was really nice to just kind of like, you know, just like relax for a second and enjoy some company. Turn it off. But yeah, it's been good. I um I'm just, girl, being consistent and trying to just keep the wheels rolling. Keep the because guess what? If you're gonna complain, who's gonna care? Nobody. Nobody cares. So you gotta keep going and keep pushing and work harder and

Setting The Topic: Grace For Women Entrepreneurs

SPEAKER_01 3:27

smarter. So there's been so much going on in like the news lately as it relates to successful women and their businesses and just being an entrepreneur, where I feel like there's not a lot of grace given when things go wrong. The internet is always gonna be there to root you on when you have your highs, but when it's the lows, everybody comes in swinging to attack. That is going to be our podcast topic. So please stay tuned. We're going to explain why we're gonna be talking about grace today. But before we do that, we really love that you guys support

Listener Review And Community Shoutouts

SPEAKER_01 4:01

the podcast. However, you're listening or watching the podcast, if you are new, please subscribe and um share the podcast with anybody that you feel would really love the show. But we're gonna get into a review because we love hearing from you guys. So one of the reviews that we got on the podcast was from Tiffany. Hey Tiffany. Hey girl. And she says, I love it here. My coworker and I listen to the podcast on our drive to work and we love it. The ladies make it informative, yet fun and relatable. It's a very safe space filled with laughs and good energy. Period.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

I love her. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Same. I love that. Yeah, so please leave us a review. We love hearing from you guys and speakpipe. If you guys ever want to like call in or just talk to us and have questions for us on like what you would want us to talk about, or if there's something you need help with, tips on, we're your girls. Tap in.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

Get into talking about grace.

Unfiltered: BBL Reductions And Body Autonomy

SPEAKER_02 4:55

You know, we gotta give you a little bit of our unfiltered topic where we talk about hot topics that are happening, but just give a real unfiltered raw opinion on it. And there is so much happening these days. Most recently, a BBL reduction hot topic conversation is going. Like, I don't know if y'all have seen, but if you haven't, basically, all these influencers, celebrities, stars have been reducing their BBLs. And I got something to say about it. I told you something.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

What tell me?

SPEAKER_02 5:31

This is why you, first of all, if you're into it, if you like it, I love it. Right? If you like it, I love it. However, this is why it's so important to not be influenced when it comes to certain things like your body and things you're gonna have to deal with your health for the rest of your life. Because and the internet will do that to you. Do not get me wrong. So I feel y'all. If anybody has been influenced to go get a BBL and get on the table, because maybe I have thought about it as well. However, same. It's so important to have that mental strength and like that confidence. Because if you went and got a BBL because you saw Kylie Jenner do it, now what? Now Kylie got the money to reduce it. Do you have the money to go reduce it? That's another thing. A lot of times when people are doing like these plastic surgeries, not realizing there's upkeep. Like if you do a breast augmentation, baby, you better have that money again in 15 years. Because you got to be a good one.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Yeah, they said like 10 years, and some less. Some is less. Like if you have any issues, it could be seven to 10 years. Some some could be even five. So you just have the have the money ready to go for sure.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Yeah. Um, but so, like, for example, Kylie Jenner, Bernice Burgos, who else has been getting ABBL rebounds. Black China. Black China. Black China reduced her.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

But by the way, I love the rebrand. I love Black China's rebrand. But she's somebody that took that, I guess, got her. How do you, I don't know what it's called. Like, I guess they get it sucked out. I don't know. I don't know what the procedure looks like, but she got a reduction. Um, it's said that Kim Kardashian and, or speculated rather, that Kim Kardashian and um Chloe got theirs removed. And I will say the girls are looking a little smaller, so I'm not sure if it's for a fact. One of Kylie's friends, um, Stasi or Stacey got hers done. And I think, I don't think Siza got a reduction, but I know Siza was very open with saying that she felt like she felt like it was very unnecessary to get a BBL. And I'm with you. I feel like the girls, one, were really influenced, and some people just did it because they wanted to. And I'm not gonna sit up here and act like I never thought about plastic surgery. Hell, it might even be still on the table. But I don't think it depends. I don't think I would get I would never get a BBL. So I my philosophy when it relates to plastic surgery is removal and not addition. I thought I wanted my boobs done at one point. But then I was like, you know what? God might make an example out of me. So let me not add to something I already have. So I'm all for like the liposuctions. I'm all for like, you know, removing things.

Risks, Upkeep, And Doing Surgery For Yourself

SPEAKER_01 8:16

It's when you add a foreign object to your body where I'm kind of like, your body never experienced this before. So like that's what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

You may you never know what you have to how your body's going to react to it. And once you pay for it, you pay for it, honey. Like, just because your body starts to reject said foreign object doesn't mean the doctors give you their money back. Maybe you paid. So you can get a breast aug, and a lot of people end up getting sick from doing it because their body is rejecting this foreign object that came out of nowhere. Um, and same for BBLs. Like BBLs, there are so many nerves in your butt. It's a very dangerous procedure. Just like taking the fat out of your arms. There are people who reduce their arms, super dangerous, a lot of nerves in your arms. Like these things are really big invasive operations that you have to think about, like really strong and hard. Like, is this worth it? But I like your theory of like reduce, never enhance.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Yeah, that's my thought. And also, let's be real. A lot of times we're doing these surgeries for these men, and these men don't know what they want to do on a given day, and they're never consistent. So I think if you want to do surgery, I think bottom line, you should always want to do it for you. But I think I like that when people get like their nose augmentated or like the nose surgery, that you have to speak to a psychologist. Yeah. Because I think that there is like something we have to think about when doing these changes. Because one, you may not be getting the changes you're expecting. So you have to prepare mentally for that, right? And it's not gonna fix and it's not gonna fix the issue, which is self-love at the core, right? I think that there's nothing wrong with surgery. I'm not gonna sit up here and say that surgery, oh my God, I'm anti-surgery. Never, I'm not, because I I've also thought about it. But I do think that we have to love ourselves first and foremost. Whether we have the surgery or whether we don't, it shouldn't change how you feel about yourself. And just making sure that you're gonna be good with the results, like and making sure, like Crystal said, you have the money to fix whatever said problem because it's not just the surgery, it's the massages, it's um, it's like so much layers to it that you have to be prepared for. And then also if you want to reduce it. And I think my stance on this is whether or not somebody gets surgery, I feel like there's been so much like an uptick

Internet Judgment And Learning To Offer Grace

SPEAKER_01 10:38

in social media of people like bashing women who are very open. Like we mentioned Bernice, she got on there with her doctor, who I think she has the same doctor as Kim Kardashian, somebody in Beverly Hills. But she was doing like, I guess, her journey of what her doing the reduction. And I feel like in the comments, people don't know how to give people grace. Like you guys were hyping her up, like she's 40 something, she looked bad, da-da-da-da. The minute she wants to get on the internet and say she's doing something and she's looked at like, oh my god, like I guess quote unquote for like as a failure or like something negative, because it's not everyone's not doing it, and and people who are doing it are not being open about it. Let's also say that. I think the internet has to do a better job with giving women grace because when we're in our 20s, when we're in our early 30s, the decisions we make, we're sometimes not thinking about our 40s and our 50s and our 60s. I have tattoos that I want to remove. And I'm not gonna lie, when I got those tattoos, it wasn't like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna be removing this in 10, 20. No, but now I want to remove some of them. Not all of them, but there are certain tattoos that I want to remove. But when I was getting the tattoo, I was not thinking like, I'm gonna remove it. Like, I was like, this is what I want to do in this moment, in the season. I'm young, I'm feeling it. And that's, I feel like how women also look at plastic surgery is in the now and not in the later. Yeah. So we just have to do a better job of giving women grace where they're at. Like, if you like it, I love it. I'm gonna support you if this is what you want to do. But when someone doesn't want to do something, they were like, we told you so, and

Hanifa’s Indefinite Pause And Production Realities

SPEAKER_01 12:10

you should have never did it. Like, I think grace is not giving out enough.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Yeah. Honestly, and I will say, when in doubt, ask your mama. Let me tell you something. They were never wrong. Like, you said tattoos, and I thought about it like, yo, I'm such an indecisive person. I'm so happy I don't have tattoos because I would today want it in five years, want to take it off. And my mom could tell me, don't get a tattoo. What about when you wear a dress? And like she would make me think about all these things. I'm like, I am 11. However, were you putting on were you putting on the like the sticker tattoos? Like the little. Yeah, I would put on the sticker tattoos. But like, she would always tell me, don't do this because of this, I'm telling you, or like, even with the gym, like, don't let that cellularite catch up to you. Like, my mom, she will keep it a buck. And some will say that it's harmful to your mental health or your confidence hearing these things at a young age. But if I'm ever a little over, you know, I look like I'm a little, a little over a pound too, my mom is on it. And you know what? I appreciate that because me personally, I sometimes I need to be checked and I enjoy being checked. But yeah, when in doubt, ask your mama. She'll tell you.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Listen, tough love. I feel like our parents give us, they know. When we're younger, we don't want to hear. We're like, oh, like you're old, you don't know. Like, you don't, we don't want to hear it from your perspective. They live the same life as us. Like, I look back on things I'm doing. It's so funny because I was actually gonna do a TikTok on this. I would laugh at my mom because she always had her purse and she had a little person's side. Guess what I got? I have a purse, like my bag with all my lap, my laptops and everything. But I got a little person side. It got my lotion, it has my lotion in there, it has my chapstick, my like women things that I need. But I was laughing to myself one day when I was looking at it because I'm like, I was literally laughing at my mom when she had her coach bag, her duny and burke with her small purse inside. I have the same thing. Like, we literally live the same lives as our parents. Of course, the world is a lot different, but we we're we're living their same life. So they know what they're talking about. So we should definitely listen to the things that they are saying and give grace. Girl. Speaking of giving grace, I don't know if you've been seeing in social, but this is also gonna be the topic of our show, is Hanifa recently closed her, or she's not closing her business, it's a pause. So Anifa, who is the the owner, founder of the Hanifa brand, which is a black-owned business, a black-owned and African-owned business, is pausing her business indefinitely. And a lot of the girls are very sad about it. And I feel as though the news of this is coming up now because of some issues she's dealt with with production as it relates to her business. Like a lot of people have been giving a lot of backlash to the Hanifa brand online with just the latest drop and you know, not being able to get like their packages and all that. So there's just been a lot on TikTok and socials about just negative, negative comments regarding the brand. So I wanted to talk on that. And I feel like who better to talk about that than you and I to entrepreneurs that we've done things outside of our media career as it relates to that. And we kind of know the flow of

Preorder Timelines, Quality Control, And Outsourcing

SPEAKER_01 15:40

that, you know, maybe not at a scale, but at that flow. I think you and I could definitely talk on that. And with with intro in trolling this conversation, I do want people to understand grace should be given now more than ever because our world is not operating at 100%. There's tariffs, there's bombs happening outside, like there's things that are happening that it not only affects our lives as like civilians, but it affects businesses and productivity of that. Because a lot of the things that we get for businesses at that scale are overseas. Yeah. So I do want to keep that note, and I did want to say that. Um, but I do want to start the conversation. So first of all, I've shopped Tanifa a thousand percent.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

I love the brand. Um, the thing is, even me, like I'm in the process right now of getting a product made in Pakistan, and I'm like, I hope this doesn't go left because I have been working on this product for a long time, and I think that people don't, consumers don't understand the timeline in which how long things take, especially at a grand scale like Hanifa. Like the brand is amazing. The quality is always there, which I want to double down on because a lot of times these days, people are launching these brands and they're charging Hanifa prices, they're charging Louis Vuitton prices, but the quality don't be there. So let's put one on the board for Hanifa, okay? Quality and pricing match. Check, check. Like her stuff is amazing. The style, it's different. Check, you're not gonna get it at Fashion Nova, you're not gonna get it at Pretty Little Thing, right? But I think that consumers obviously we don't care. Like when we're consumers, we don't care. We we just know we spent our money, we want our stuff. However, the internet loves to see people rise and fall all in the same week, and it's disgusting. This is the first time I've ever heard anything about the Hanifa brand. Anything about my packages delayed, whatever the case may be. And they are not letting up on her. Right now, in most recent times, she said she is pausing indefinitely, but this conversation has been happening for a while, actually. Like people have been talking about on social media, like where's my package, and so on and so forth. And and while I do feel like we really do need to give people grace, because the same way you wait for that Louis Vuitton when you

Paying For Luxury Vs Fast Fashion Expectations

SPEAKER_02 18:10

that you bought two months ago, you can wait for some money. Talk on it, calm down.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Or the Chanel. Yep, all the brand, all the luxury brands that people love. Yeah, because and and you know what? I think not only do people need to relax and chill, like you mentioned, we're gonna feel it when we look up and there's no black and brown brands out there. We're gonna say, dang, I wish there was a brand that I can wear that resonates with me and that I feel seen in and I'm supporting another business. That's shaped for your body type. Yeah. Yeah. What? That's shaped for your body type has been Yeah, like the Hanifa brand has been, first of all, she's been in the industry for 15 plus years, for like 10 to 15 plus years, and has been kind of at the forefront of culture. Like we've seen her stuff at the Met Gala with um Savannah James wearing it, and we've seen so many celebrities wear it, and we like I've purchased from Hanifa, like, and like you said, the quality matches, it's to our body type, it's literally all of that in one. And I think as her business grew, the expansion, she's also expanding, meaning she's outsourcing. Yeah. So if you have the money to pay for something as a pre-sale, here's my philosophy. If you have the money to pay for something as a pre-sale, then why are you why are you looking for it next week?

SPEAKER_02 19:41

Go ahead and eat them up. Go ahead and eat them up because that was gonna be my next topic. If why are you looking for it next week?

SPEAKER_01 19:46

And if you don't, and if you and if you're planning a trip around that, get a backup. Get a backup item. There, there's there's a reason a pre-sale means that you're paying for something in advance, then it has to go into production. And that what people aren't realizing is then Hanifa and her company and how she runs her company, they also have to go through quality control. We don't know if there's issues with how things came back and it had to get sent back to the manufacturer. Like,

Communication, Refunds, And Customer Retention

SPEAKER_01 20:15

there's so much, like, I want people to know that when you see a business, like you see Crystal, you see myself, Amanda, or you see Hanifa, or anyone else, it's not always us running it. Like, she has a team in a production and like other people that are behind the scenes that are literally making these things come to life. And I think a lot of times we attack the person, but we don't realize like business has a certain infrastructure. Yeah. So if you don't have that money to wait, don't buy it. Go to Fashion Nova, go to what what is it, Zara or any, and and I also have shopped at Fashion Nova, have shopped at Zara, nothing wrong with it.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

But if you know, but if you want an action, quickly go to fast fashion. But Hanifa is not fast fashion, so don't think you're gonna get your stuff fast because you're not. It's not fast fashion. It's it's literally custom tailored to her season. She's not going, she's not producing things based on trends. You get what I'm saying? And I think, like I said, this is the first time we've ever heard anything. And even if, even if something was, you know, it didn't match exactly what you saw online, it also wouldn't be the first time that you bought something and then it didn't get there. I just think that in general, I just think that we love to hype people up and in the same breath tear them right back down because it didn't, you know, happen in the same time frame you thought it was. And I get it. I people are spending their hard-earned money, which to your point, if you didn't have it, I know it's gonna sting, but you probably shouldn't have bought it in the first place. That's another topic. We're gonna save that for our finance episode. However, you just you just have to you have to be patient. But as a business owner, also, there's a flip side of the coin where. You know how this goes. You know, sometimes, you know, manufacturers they mess up, they don't get it right, there's delays. Granted, we live in a world where right now we don't know today, we ain't no terrorists tomorrow. Donald Trump closes all the ports. We really don't know what's going on. But as a business owner, I think it's super important. And for me, what I'm taking from this situation as a whole is that you have to know when to pause. She was also balancing being postpartum, which is a whole animal in itself, right? So she's balancing being postpartum, launching the two kids, by the way. Two kids. And it's like, you know what? We very often like to feel like we can do it all. And it's just not possible. I don't care what the internet lets it seem like or makes it seem like that you can do this, that, and a third. Yeah, you can do things, but something's gonna lack in your life. And unfortunately, in this situation, what lacked for her is

AI Support, Real People, And Service Standards

SPEAKER_02 23:05

the release of her line.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Yeah. I want to ask a question here for our listeners and anyone who's watching is we love cheering each other on when it's good, but like, do we really give women grace though? Like, do you really honestly feel like women who are successful, or some people might be like, oh, she got it. I hate that. She got it because it appears that she's doing really well. That we don't think that they can have problems. Like, I don't know if people really truly believe in giving people grace. Um, and I I'm thinking about the brand, like Hanifa's brand. And I'm like, oh my gosh. I remember back in COVID where she had the iconic virtual fashion show when she did the 3D.

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Like, girl, what? She changed the game. She changed the fashion industry. Now brands are doing that 3D runway. Now brands are doing the whole 3D, you know, mannequins online. She changed the game. Changed it.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Brilliant. Changed it. So much so that those fashion fashion brands that I've mentioned also replicate her stuff. So she's literally a pioneer in what she is doing. And I'm hoping the pause that she takes doesn't isn't long. But for whatever time that she needs, I think, you know, we have to support her decision to pause. But like I love that you said, you know, as a business owner, you do have to know when to pause. Like you have to know when you have to say something. And I know it's very difficult to have that conversation, but I'm happy to know that she said, it's a pause. We are not closing. So we're gonna figure this out. That's what it's giving. I'm I'm taking away that she's gonna figure it out and kind of like going back to the drawing board and come back to what she wants Hanifa to represent.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

And honestly, if you gotta take an L, take an L. Give everybody their money back and shut them up. Give everybody their money back and quiet them down. You get what I'm saying? But you know what? As black and brown women, I want us to have more audacity. Like, apologize and move on. Don't sit in it. Like, it is what it is. There are multiple brands that do this.

Diversity In Luxury And Backing Black Designers

SPEAKER_02 25:15

It wasn't like she's stealing people's money. It was a delay in production. Let's be so for real. Let's be for real. Brands do this all the time. All the time. And we're not, again, we're not talking about a fast fashion brand. We're talking about a brand that is great quality, has been around for a very long time, is a pioneer in fashion. Have audacity. Apologize and move on. Yeah, it happened.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

There's nothing wrong with having a negative experience with a brand and feeling very upset about something and talk it to your homegirls. Like I can call Crystal and be like, girl, I ordered this thing, it still didn't come in yet. But it takes a special type of person to go on the internet and then voice that because I don't think people realize how much power is in social media and how something like that has a domino effect. So it's one thing to like talk about your, you know, you being upset with something that went wrong with an order via your friends. And it's another thing to go online and like put a think piece out about it because that just puts a negative energy in the atmosphere. Let's also understand women-owned businesses and men-own businesses, they get two different energies. I feel like a lot of the times, especially black women, we are expected to be perfect. We are expected to have no flaws. There's plenty of luxury brands that we've mentioned that have had flaws. Like we talk about like Chanel all the time on the show. Sometimes, like their product is not the same. Like their stitching is very cheap.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

When you think Chanel cares, they don't listen to me. They don't listen to me.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

They don't care because the money is still going to be spent and they are not perfect. Like, I just really want us to understand there are people behind these things.

Pricing, Value, And Long-Term Wardrobes

SPEAKER_01 27:00

It's not AI, it's not fake. Like, there's actually like human beings who have families that they have to take care of and so many, so much more layers to it that women just deserve so much more grace, and we are still living in like a sexist society. We are still living in like, you know, just a place where I feel like women just don't, like they're supposed to be super successful, but then they're criticized way harder than men. They're criticized like to the point where it's like, we want to just cut back. Like we don't even want to do this anymore because you're not giving us the same energy you're giving Ben, James, and Tom over there. You're not doing that. Like, so I don't know. I just I really hate that black and brown women feel like we have to show up perfectly when we are founders and business owners and are not given the same grace that men are.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Yeah. It's you know what though I'll say one thing that I've learned, and if anybody's listening who's an entrepreneur, like building something, is the key is reaching out to people before they reach out to you. And I will say that I did see people talking about that they weren't like receiving proper communication. Communication is so important. And I have worked in many industries separately from like what I do now. I've worked in customer service, I've worked in um retail, I've worked in hospitality,

Scale Back To Scale Up: Strategy And Audacity

SPEAKER_02 28:25

which I recommend everybody should work at at one point in their life because it really does shape your character and how you move in society. But that said, it's so important when you are running something to communicate to look for people before they look for you. Because once people start looking for you, they're already at an impatient point. So you have to communicate, hey, I know you're waiting. This is what's happening. You know, we appreciate your patience. The next time, hey, I'm so sorry, it's still a delay. Here's a discount for your future, for your future purchase. That's another thing, too. Like you have to, you know, massage your customers. Accommodation, you gotta accommodate. There's always like a flip side, right? So, like, yeah, we're talking about giving grace, but like as an entrepreneur in a business, my advice would be reach out to people before they reach out to you because by the time they reach out to you, they already don't have any patience. So you wanna make sure you're doing all that you can just to communicate. There's so much power in communication, there's power in knowing when to pause, and there's power in just having audacity and saying, okay, yeah, I apologize. We're moving on now. Cause guess what? When that next drop drop, we're gonna swipe, swipe.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

And it is what it is. That's a bar. When the next drop drop, we gonna swipe, swipe. I love that. No, no, I agree. That's very important, is communication and customer service. Like having an elite customer service department when you get to that level where you can hire somebody to just handle that. Um, and even if you have like a live agent on your website, that they can literally just answer questions and like literally give people what they need in real time is amazing. Because I I've experienced that. Like, I think I had an issue with some gym

Final Takeaways And Closing CTA

SPEAKER_01 30:10

pants. And I know it's really petty, I don't care. But I ordered some tights, some gym tights, because one of my girlfriends was like, oh my gosh, these gym pants are so like good. And I've never had this issue, Crystal. I split my pants.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

I was out in the streets running in. Gym pants splitting is insane immediately.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

And you know what? I'm gonna say the bet, I'm gonna say the brand because I don't care. It's called Women's Best, and I think it's a European brand. And it's not, it's not, I'm not saying it because I don't care in the sense of like don't shop, because I was still willing to like go buy stuff. I'm saying it in the sense of I just want to be transparent about what it was. The pants split, and I was like, okay, Bet. I didn't say anything. I had ordered two pants, the second pants split. I'm like, okay, so this is literally like an occurrence with these pants. So the lady, like, I emailed them and they got back to me like within 48 hours, and they were literally like, hey, can you send us, you know, whatever information about the pants? I sent photos and everything, and they sent me my refund. I was a little irritated that I even had to like do that, but I was super appreciative of the fact that they acknowledged the issue, responded to my email, and they sent me my money back. And now I might be more inclined to maybe get a different size. Like I might be like, okay, let me go back and get a different size.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

You gotta solve the problem. You have to solve the problem. You have to keep people wanting to invest in the brand. And especially right now, I know I say, like, if you don't got the money, don't spend it. Yeah, you really shouldn't. However, if there are people who are choosing to spend the money that they have right now in these times where we don't know what's up, down, left, or right next week. So everybody should be saving their coins, you have to appreciate your customers too. You have to appreciate your customers, even if it is you just sending a small discount, 5%, 10% free shipping, uh, take it. I will take it. And also I'll say too, can you have somebody um from the States work your customer service, please and thank you? Because I don't want to deal with no more AI. I want to deal with somebody who understands exactly what I'm talking about. Oh, and who knows exactly where I'm coming from. Put somebody on the phone. I'm laughing. Put somebody on the phone. I'm laughing. I hate when a robot asks me if I'm a robot. Put somebody on the phone.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Now. Answer the Google images. I'm ne I'm so like, I'll zoom into them. I need a magnifying glass because I'm like, I see a little piece of the stoplight over on this picture. Like, do I click on that one too? Because I know I'm not a robot. So I feel you on that. I just think that we're never gonna be going back to a person on the phone. It's going to be robot all the way. We're AI. We're going to be AI all the way. It's kind of scary, but that's the reality. I I'm glad we're having this conversation. And I'm hoping that the Hanifa brand, you know, comes back stronger more than ever because I love seeing, you know, African designers doing their thing and as a luxury brand, like that's amazing. Like, we don't realize just how powerful that is. There's so many, there's a lack of diversity in fashion sometimes. And I just love whenever I see someone like Hanifa, uh, uh, Laquan Smith, like, uh, you know, like, there's just like there, there's just, it's just beautiful to me. I love that. And I think it it means so much more when you spend your money and you wear something that you know the person looks like you. And I I love, I love that. So hopefully she comes back stronger than ever. And everyone who's not meant to shop the brand, don't shop the brand. Because everything isn't for everybody. That's not your customer. We we yeah, know your customer. And if the price has to go up, the price has to go up, and that's okay. And that weeds out. I I listen, one per people may complain and say it's too expensive, but it's not for you. And I think it's okay. Like there's levels when it comes to shopping and buying luxury, and you can't expect luxury and it not cost that because there that comes at a cost. Like you want the fabrics to be made well. You want to be able to rewear it multiple times. You want to be able to, whether you want to wash it in the washing machine, take it to the cleaners, you want to have I have clothing items that I've had for years. You want to have things that you have for a long time. You want to build your, you know, your wardrobe. You have a collection collection you want to build in your closet. And you can't do that and expect it to be with a black-owned business and bash them and expect that they're not gonna pause. That's underfunded, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 34:46

Probably self-funded. Yeah. For sure. You know? And you know what, too? Like, again, for the entrepreneurs that are listening, scale back to scale up. Less people, higher prices. That's okay, because that also equals less headache. I think a lot of times when we think about growth, it's always more, more, more people, more people. And it don't always gotta be more people, it could be less people, higher prices. So, yeah, hopefully she comes back, raises the price, raises the bar on bitches, and just really, you know, just comes back like dust that off because her her line is actually beautiful. Her brand is beautiful, her quality is amazing, and I'm such a stickler about quality, like when I am spending my money like that. So I just hope that this is a learning lesson for everybody. Give her grace, but also no one to pause, no one to be like, okay, I'm dragging it. I gotta give these people their money back, or I have to send out a mass email that says this collection is canceled and we're gonna have to pivot, or you're gonna have to wait till September of 2027 or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Exactly. No, I agree. I love that we had this conversation. If you enjoyed our episode today, please like, share, comment, and definitely leave us a review. That's how other beautiful people find out about our podcast show as we are continuing to grow here. This has been great, girl. I love that we did this. Um, and now we can continue on with our day, right?

SPEAKER_02 36:16

Bye.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Bye, y'all.