101: Building a Triple Bottom Line Business.
Be Brilliant In Your Business Podcast, Episode 101
“People want to support you, you just have to be willing to let them.” - Linsi Brownson
Today I am joined by Melissa Kiguwa, CEO and founder of Obanj Jewelry. Obanj is a luxury sustainable startup where members can borrow high-end designer jewelry like Chanel, YSL, Dior, Hermes, and more for a small monthly fee (current packages start at $29 a month).
They are on a mission to democratize luxury and help people look and feel like a million bucks without having to spend it.
Rental fashion like Obanj makes it fun to play because the risk is low and you may just discover something new about your style in the process.
PLUS, exposing yourself to luxury items expands your thinking by giving you a real-life visual of your rich self. This is a power move in my book.
In this episode, Melissa and I talk about sustainable consumption, the trials of starting a product-based business during a pandemic, how to identify gaps in the market as an entrepreneur, and a clever win-win way to gain investors or become an investor no matter what your current financial situation is.
If you enjoy the Be Brilliant In Your Business Podcast, please subscribe and review us on iTunes, Spotify or Audible! Your words mean so much.
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Consume less, stun always.
This is Melissa’s motto and I love it!
As the world moves towards more sustainable consuming habits, we need to have a critical eye when we observe our personal shopping habits.
Do we need to purchase a brand new pair of Tiffany & Co. earrings for an upcoming event? When you see them in your jewelry box years later, how often will you have worn them? Could you have spent the money in another way that would be a better investment for you?
Entrepreneurs fill gaps in the market.
Like Melissa did with Obanj, you can look for inspiration from the businesses you admire.
In her case, she looked at fashion rental providers for garments such as Rent the Runway and Stitch Fix. Both succeeding in their market as they’re providing a service that had previously not existed. But looking through their inventory, Melissa realized that they were limited in their jewelry selections. Being a jewelry enthusiast, she knew what she had to do.
Equity crowdfunding is a great way to start investing in businesses and startups without needing to invest thousands of dollars.
The best time to start investing is yesterday, the second-best time is today ;) With contributions starting as low as $100, investing is accessible to more people and previously excluded communities are to start building generational wealth.
Check out platforms such as We Funder and Republic to start. Click here to learn more about becoming an investor with Obanj.
Find ways to celebrate your victories when you are alone in your office.
This is especially important if you either work by yourself or remotely.
Think of yourself as a pro athlete. When they’re playing their games, they can see/feel/hear the support and excitement oozing from their fans. When you are working by yourself, you need to be your own number one fan. Doesn’t mean that you need to scream and clap and do a victory dance every time you accomplish a task (although I would fully support that if that’s how you wanted to celebrate), but find ways to celebrate your wins.
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Visit Obanj.com website
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Episode 101 Transcript
Linsi Brownson
[00:08]
You are listening to Be Brilliant In Your Business, the podcast that helps you create a rich business and meaningful life. I'm your host, Linsi Brownson, and I'm here to deliver a creative cocktail of pep talks and practical tools to break the habit of being busy so you can have what you really want in life.
If you are new to the podcast, welcome, I am so glad you're here and look forward to being part of your brilliant business. Before we dive into today's episode, I'd like to remind you that if you're a fan of the show, the best way to show it is to share it. Take a screenshot of this episode and tag me @linsibrownson, or leave us a review in your favorite podcast app. It means so much and I love being able to connect with you a little bit more personally.
So are you ready? Let's go.
Hey, Mavericks. Welcome to the show. Today we are talking about wealth and luxury and identity, and how objects in our life have symbolic meaning to us how they can contribute to the sense of identity or the luxurious experience of life that we want to create for ourselves. Whatever that looks and feels like for you, your version of it is exactly what I'm talking about.
So, specifically, we're talking about this in the context of high-end jewelry or luxury jewelry. I have a fabulous guest on the show. Her name is Melissa Kiguwa. She is the founder and CEO of Obanj jewelry, which is a membership site for renting high-end luxury jewelry. It's a business model much like Rent the Runway where you can go and pay a very small nominal fee to have beautiful pieces delivered to you to borrow every month and look and feel your best all of the time.
And so we are really digging into not just the jewelry and the beauty aspect of it, which is such a powerful component, but also the social mission behind it what it means to be a woman, specifically, but really and truly anyone what it means to have this desire for beautiful things with this desire for more in your life and how to reconcile that in a world where we have maybe a little bit too much knowledge. Okay, it's not too much, but where we know so much about the dark side of what that can mean the impact that it can have on the planet, the impact it can have on marginalized communities. Oh there's so much to this conversation, but really bringing those two pieces together, right.
So, how do you look good and feel good, and also do good in the world at the same time. This is quite a rich conversation. And speaking of rich, we also dive into the topic of investing and why investing is such a powerful way to create a positive impact in the world. And Melissa's company has a pretty cool way to get started with investing whether you're new to it or not. This is a great way you don't have to be the typical Silicon Valley-type in order to start investing and start participating in that.
So, stay tuned for that because we talk about this closer to the end of the conversation. This is such a good one. I'm so excited for you to hear this. Let's dive in and talk with Melissa.
This episode is brought to you by 30 Day Done. My simple framework to take your best ideas off the backburner and get them done in you guessed it 30 days or less. And you're gonna do it without overwhelm or overworking because burnout is lame. I'll show you how. 30 Day Done is free for you inside the maverick HQ, a resource vault that is chock full of helpful tools for your business. Visit Linsibrownson.com/maverick to join now.
Hello, hello Melissa, thank you for coming on the show.
Melissa Kiguwa
[04:15]
I'm so excited to be here.
Linsi Brownson
[04:17]
I am thrilled to have this conversation with you. We were just chatting prior to this recording about how unique your business model is. I can't wait to dive in and talk about so many aspects of this with you. But, let's start by just having you introduce yourself, tell the listeners who you are and what your company is all about.
Melissa Kiguwa
[04:38]
Absolutely. So, hi everyone really happy to be able to chat with Linsi today and be in front of you. My name is Melissa Kiguwa and I am the CEO and founder of Obanj. And Obanj is a luxury sustainable startup where members are able to borrow high-end designer jewelry like Chanel, YSL, Dior, Hermes, and more for $29 a month. We're really new, so, really a baby startup. But we are so excited to sort of leave behind the challenging stuff of last year to say the least, to say the least. And to sort of enter into, you know, a time when we also can sort of enjoy our lives again. And so I think that's what we represent. We represent, like, what's good about life and how to enjoy it. But we're about democratizing luxury. And, you know, everyone should feel good.
Linsi Brownson
[05:33]
That's so good. I love it.
Okay. So, since you brought up obviously COVID, and the changing world, I think it's a really interesting piece to consider that, you know, jewelry is something that we are typically utilizing for, especially luxury jewelry, for special occasions and for in-person events. But how does that relate to this lifestyle and the way that our lives are changing nowadays?
Melissa Kiguwa
[06:04]
Yeah, I love that. Well, I think that the first part is the sustainability piece of it all, right? I mean, so, my background is, before I started this company, my background is in media and entertainment. And that's sort of why I felt the need. So, you know, I worked in Hollywood and I was I would have to attend all these sorts of things, but I was like, one, why do I have to break the bank to have to attend these things? First of all, like just so much economic pressure. And I was like, I'm young, I like, this just doesn't make sense.
But then two, fashion accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions. 10%, right. So, you know, whether you're looking at the supply chain, whether you're looking at the trillions of leaders used, whether you're looking at textile creation, human rights abuses, when we talk about conflict zones, or where gems come from, I mean, it once you start looking at the underbelly of it all, it gets really dark.
And so, I'm somebody who considers myself conscientious. I moved through the world incredibly intentionally. And so, I always felt a sense of tension. I always felt the sense of, Okay, so, I'm trying to quote/unquote, fake it till you make it. And I'm trying to be in these spaces where I look good. And at the same time it doesn't make sense to me personally, economically, and at the same time, it doesn't make sense to the environment.
And I thought surely, like, I like, why are we all spinning in this rat wheel, this rat race trying to look a certain way act a certain way, when, in fact, we can, you know, kind of a tagline from our site that you mentioned before, when we're talking, you can consume less and stun always, you can really lean into, like, we can live minimal lives and still be incredibly radiant, still being incredibly beautiful, right? Like, we can access our self-expression and it doesn't have to be tied to consuming all the time, right?
Linsi Brownson
[08:08]
I love that so much that just like lit all of the neurons in my brain. Yes.
So, one of the things that this brings up for me is this idea that, you know, jewelry or objects in general, objects are symbolic, we give meaning to them and we make them into something significant. They're, they're just objects, right? Whether they're, whether we consider them beautiful or not, is subjective and this story that we tell them this meaning that we assigned to it can mean so much in our lives. And I love that you are you had mentioned that doing this company was kind of bringing together your favorite things, right? So, you had a little bit of that tension in saying I love beautiful things, I do want to look good and this is how I feel good is when I'm wearing this stuff. However, there's that dark side to it, and how do you bridge that gap and bring those two things together? [Right.]
So, yeah, it's to give it that kind of symbolic meaning but also have the social mission behind it. I think that speaks so deliberately to, I would say women in general, and sort of how we perceive the world and our way of approaching the world.
Melissa Kiguwa
[09:25]
Can I go even deeper? I mean, do we go? How do we know? Because I think about it in terms of so I love Sex in the City. I love the show. I love the movies, watch them multiple times, made partners of mine that I was dating at the time watch them with me. I love I love I love it. And there's a really famous line that Carrie Bradshaw Oh, like says where she goes, "I like my money right where I can see it hanging in my closet". And I know that especially my 20's right, I did all the things. You know, you buy the beautiful clothes and you take them back or you know, you borrow from your friends. Like I mean, there's a lot of things we do as women to access beauty. So, none of that has changed.
But when I started my company, right, I think that's where like the intersection of women and economics became really, really big for me. So, I am a black woman proudly so, and in my community, a lot of times very, like luxurious things are seen as social signifiers, right? Like, it's your way of communicating your value to the world. There's even that movie with Taraji P. Henson about the mathematicians, the black woman mathematicians at NASA, and how you know, I'm paraphrasing, but someone had sort of asked one of the scientists, how come you always are dressed to the nines? Like, how like, the rest of the guys are just basic? Like, why do you always look like you're on a catwalk? And she said, so no one mistakes me for the janitor. And I think that's part of like the collective memory of specifically black women but even women in general, we have this relationship to beauty, right? We have this relationship to how we want to walk in the world and how we want to be seen, right. And I think that that's pretty ancient, right? Whether it's getting a mate, whether it's being acknowledged in our social settings, whether it's just having value.
But when I started this company, and I started digging into the data around women, entrepreneurship, and all of those things, it was overwhelming in terms of thinking through, if it's true, what Carrie Bradshaw says, I like seeing my money where I can see in my closet, right like, and a lot of us take a sense of pride when we're doing well and we buy these beautiful things. And as we should, we worked really hard. But the economic gap if I'm spending $1,000 on a Chanel necklace, right? But we live in a world with the gender wage gap, we live in a world with all these sorts of things, what it means when I want to make big financial decisions, purchasing a home or starting a business, right, taking a chunk of money and investing, right, in Tesla stock. That, like, our relationship to fashion, the money we spend, it can be so big, right? And even, I had to sort of sit with myself and say, how much is in my closet that actually could have gone into my business. But like, I wasn't aware, right? Like I was proud.
So, these are just like my, that's like my own personal story of entering into this. And recognizing how like, deep it goes. Now, of course, when you when you interact with the brand, we're very light-hearted. We're very fun. I mean, it's luxurious. We want you to live your best life. But in terms of me as the founder, I think I have a very critical awareness of the ways women live in the world, our financial realities, but also our, you know, sort of planet realities, and really trying to figure out how do we do business in a way where we're able to sort of have that loop, right, where we're able to sort of do good, be good, but also really provide something that's relevant, right, to the way we live our lives.
Linsi Brownson
[13:15]
Yeah, do good, be good. And I would add feel good.
Melissa Kiguwa
[13:20]
Yeah. 100 percent.
Linsi Brownson
[13:22]
Yeah, that's such a, it's a triple bottom line, kind of thinking.
Melissa Kiguwa
[13:26]
Yeah, we don't have to feel guilty to want to look good. But you know.
Linsi Brownson
[13:31]
Exactly. And what I think is so interesting, too, and so what I really love, and I just keep coming back to the sort of different ways I've tried to find the right words for this. But this approach, your approach to this kind of business, is really, I think, addressing a challenge that, again, I'm going to assign this probably more gender-specific to women, but this is a human challenge of figuring out the more that we learn about who we are, the more we come into ourselves, the more we learn about the realities of the world, I think we often run into this we have this experience of dissonance between you know, what do I want and what are my values? What do I really believe in? And how does that align with, like you said, those greater ambitions and those desires to have luxury and wealth and excess and abundance in our lives. And sometimes we can really feel kind of stuck sort of as you had addressed it between, you know, seeing fashion items or luxury items in a particular light as good or bad, I guess assigning the sort of morality around it.
But yeah, I think it's just it's it's so important to recognize that you know, fashion, especially with luxury items, or with any items, it's not about the thing, it's about the meaning. It's about how we feel when wear it. It's about, you know, our identity and who we see ourselves as. And it's not that we are better or worse or more successful or less successful in having those objects. It's about, like, giving ourselves permission to be at our best. To feel our best.
Melissa Kiguwa
[15:18]
Yes, and it does and, Linsi, it does change things. It does. You know, you walk with that Tiffany bracelet on and necklace, you feel like you are that girl.
Linsi Brownson
[15:29]
One hundred percent. You know what's so interesting, Melissa? So, I have been recently, I've been recalling I did this this vision at the very beginning of my career. So, about 15 years ago, I did this, like, meditation as deep visualization exercise and I saw myself as a successful business owner. I was doing something completely different in my career back then from what I saw, and it was very interesting that that's now what I've created.
But I've been recalling this vision so clearly that I can see my office, I can see my desk, and I can see my outfit and my hair, I can see what I look like. And I'm telling you, Melissa, that is what I have around me today. I am wearing that outfit, I'm wearing that power suit in my office in my home, and I'm doing my hair the way I envisioned it. And it's just so fascinating that you know, as a 20 something, you know, new professional, trying to figure out who I was in the world, that I had something that was like so tactile, and clear to me, and that it has meant so much that it's carried through to how I actually have the things arranged in my life today.
Melissa Kiguwa
[16:40]
I love that as well. It also speaks to what a manifestor you are, right? Which is, which is exactly it, like, and that's where I come back to. We work really hard, right? Like, we work really hard to become who we become. And so, we should have options to enjoy life. And we should have options to enjoy and to and to self-express exactly, as you've said, right? Like, what a beautiful story, what an inspiring story, and what a sense of power you would walk in the world with knowing that you did this, right? The hell or high water you made it happen for yourself, right. And so we also, you know, deserve the ability to, you know, adorn ourselves in all sorts of ways, right. To sort of, like, be able to, I call it co-curating with whatever we believe in, in the world, right? Like, just you get to co-curate your life, you get to, you get to do this thing, you know, and I think that's amazing.
Linsi Brownson
[17:41]
Yes, I could not agree with you more.
So, okay, I'm really curious to know, why jewelry? Why was that the specific direction that you went? What is your connection with jewelry?
Melissa Kiguwa
[17:55]
Yeah, well, it's really funny because I went to grad school in London. And I was not studying anything about jewelry. So, before I mentioned media and entertainment as my background. So, I started as a journalist, traveled the world doing that, and then I made my way to Hollywood. But while I was in grad school, I always had this sort of passion for jewelry and I thought, oh, maybe I will, I can on the side, you know, sort of become an artisan and make beautiful jewelry. And I would go to trade shows and I would meet fifth-generation artisans who had relationships with the, you know, diamond mines. And I was like, oh, Melissa, stay in your lane.
I was always I've always loved the space. And when I thought through, okay, well, you know, all those sorts of things that we've been talking about, you know, and really sort of digging deep. If I'm going to leave my career, it has to make sense and it has to make sense to what I can spend the next 10-20 years of my life committed to. And you know, I saw that Rent the Runway has done extraordinarily well, and we know them in terms of garments, Look Tote has done really well, and Stitch Fix, and we know them in terms of garments, but in terms of jewelry and accessories, which we'll be expanding into, you know, that's a space that really hasn't been explored as much as it can. There's, there's much there's a lot you can do in that space. And so, that seemed to me where the niche was.
Linsi Brownson
[19:23]
Mm hmm. Yes, that's so that is the mark of a true entrepreneur, right? Is finding those gaps of the market and saying, you know what, I have something here that I can do I take my unique spin on it. Yeah, I love that. And I think, you know, it speaks to, again, the accessibility point of it. So, yes, maybe not everyone is in a position where they need or want to get dressed up to the nines in the full thing, but that piece of you know, statement jewelry that makes them really step into those shoes or into that identity for themselves, that can do it.
Melissa Kiguwa
[20:01]
Yeah. Yeah. 100
Linsi Brownson
[20:03]
So, what is your favorite type of jewelry? Do you have one?
Melissa Kiguwa
[20:07]
Oh, so I am a sucker. I mean, I love the sort of Breakfast at Tiffany's sort of look, I think a lot of Audrey Hepburn's classic looks are just absolutely stunning. So, you will usually find me with you know, studs, I love gold, I love you know, diamonds, you know, little diamond studs, I like, you know, if I'm my hair's always down so, if I sort of like, push my hair back behind my ears, you get that glimmer. I like the glimmer. But I think that really beautiful layer dainty pendants always look really beautiful.
You know, it that's the beautiful thing, we consider ourselves a second closet for women, or, you know, whoever wants to become a member. And so, really, you can also explore new things, you know, I'm not, I wouldn't normally wear something chunky, but when you have options, you can try you know, you can lean into trying different things and playing with colors and trying things but I tend to go more the sort of classic subtle look for myself.
Linsi Brownson
[21:14]
Yes, yeah, I it creates this sort of playfulness, like you said, to have those options and to see, you know, maybe I do like something that I wouldn't have considered before. I think that speaks so much to how we evolve over time. And because I'm, I'm similar, I would say I have been very clear on what my personal style is for most of my life. And, and I also really love to play with trends. So, I think jewelry is one of those places where you can kind of play it up, play it down, you can have a really funky purse sometimes like accessories that can be fun to play with. And then you kind of come back to this like okay, but who am I? How when do I feel most myself? Or when do I feel my best?
But yes, I love this playfulness that just gives you these options to explore. You know, what, what else could I look like? Or even how would I feel in wearing something different that's totally outside my comfort zone?
Melissa Kiguwa
[22:12]
Exactly. We the three brands, I'd say, that our members tend to love the most Hermes, of course, Tiffany and Co. and Chanel, like those three? Oh my gosh, always. We're always trying to get as soon as we put them up, seconds it's rented. And I'm like do they know we're new? Like we need to we're new business. Like we got to keep product.
Linsi Brownson
[22:39]
Yeah, right. Exactly. Yeah, that's a good problem to have, right?
Melissa Kiguwa
[22:46]
I guess so. Yeah.
Linsi Brownson
[22:49]
That's awesome. So, it sounds then like your members are very devoted, they're super into this. Which is, you know, ideal client at its best.
Melissa Kiguwa
[23:00]
For sure. I think that especially coming out of 2020. You know, we hope, you know, we know what's going on right now and we know that there's the potential of, of new things happening, but I think that we all sort of want out. We all sort of just want to be able to, you know, live our lives. So, I look at 2022 hopefully as the year where really, we can sort of embrace life again, you know.
Linsi Brownson
[23:28]
That's right. It's the year where you can start wearing bracelets again, because people can see them.
Melissa Kiguwa
[23:33]
Exactly.
Linsi Brownson
[23:34]
Right now it's all about the earrings and necklaces.
Melissa Kiguwa
[23:37]
Exs- that's exactly right. On the zoom.
Linsi Brownson
[23:43]
Yes. Some human contact. Oh, love it.
So, okay. So, social impact is clearly a very important foundational part of what you're all about. The other thing that I really want to talk about that I'm so fascinated by, is this equity crowdfunding, can you tell listeners, like what that's all about and how that looks for your business?
Melissa Kiguwa
[24:05]
Yeah, 100%. So, in order to explain equity crowdfunding, I need to go back a little bit and just explain, like, fundraising landscapes in general. And I'm sure many of your listeners know this being in the business world. But just like a quick little recap.
So, you know, generally to invest or to get into investing, there's sort of different levels. You start with yourself and a co-founder, if you have one, and you put in your personal finances into the business.
And then sort of the second round would be a friends and family round, where you're able to sort of get the people in your life who believe in you and believe in the mission of what you're trying to build, to give you some money that can go into the business. And again, they're getting shares for this, and they're getting some sort of equity for this.
Then the third round would be angel investors. And those are individuals who, you know, can write a check of $10,000, but maybe even $50,000, right? Individuals who, you know, are accredited investors, want to get involved in the business, but they're not necessarily writing big old checks. And then you get into the VC venture capital world. And those are writing anywhere from, you know, there are micro VCs now that will write anywhere from 250,000 to a million dollars. But usually, you know, when it comes to VC, they're writing a million dollars, 10 million dollars, 250 million dollars, right? They want a 10x 20x 50x 500x return on their investment, right?
Only a small sliver of businesses actually fit into that. But, when we come back down to these, like our family of friends in the angel round, if you need an infusion of capital, outside of maybe the bank loan a bank loan, or you need an infusion of capital, outside of, you know, the more traditional ways you can get access, those are sort of your options.
And now, when we talk about women's businesses, again, I dig into the data a lot, you know, it's just, we don't tend to be financed in these ways.
Now, equity crowdfunding is about five years old. And it sort of looked at the gaps between women being able to not just women, sort of any community that's left out of the investment space. And to become an accredited investor, you usually have to have about a million-dollar net worth, right? That's a Silicon Valley model, right? How many? How many people who have a million that it's like, oh, I'm just gonna write checks to startups that may or may not make it, right?
So, that's where equity crowdfunding comes in. And it says, listen, like, we all should be able to play this game, we all should be able to build generational wealth for ourselves. It shouldn't just be athletes and entertainers, it shouldn't just be guys who are able to like Grant Cardone who's able to, like buy billions of dollars worth of real estate, you know, and like Warren Buffett, like, it's, there's gotta be more to this, there's got to be more ways for us to get in on this. So, with equity crowdfunding, you can invest $100, at a minimum of $100 in a company that's on a platform, We Funder is one of the biggest ones Republic is another really big one. And you get in there, and what they do is, you know, all these private companies, meaning the company has an IPO or hasn't been acquired, private company sort of go on there. And similar to Kickstarter, they're like, hey, we're trying to raise $100,000, we're trying to raise a million dollars. And I think the cap is 5 million on what you can raise on We Funder. And they aggregate it. So, you can come in Linsi, and put in $100, I can come in and put $100, someone else can put in 1000, you can put in 5000, you can put in 10,000, whatever sort of was is within your means. And at the end of the round, it aggravates everybody, so that that business has raised that round of money, but with everyday people who can get in on this.
And so, again, coming back to the idea of democratizing luxury, which is I'm passionate about, it's democratizing the startup investment space. And again, these are the things that really excite me, because I think that's the way forward. And that's the future of things, which is, you know, when we talk about all these like big problematic things, I'm like, well, there's really cool new businesses and ways of thinking and paradigms that like, want to solve these things and want to bring us into a new world that is more equitable, and it's just cooler. And you know, like, how cool is it to call yourself an investor right for the first time.
So, we've been running an equity crowdfunding campaign, it's pretty recent, a few weeks old, we're, we've already raised 60% of our minimum goal, which is pretty exciting. And, you know, we just encourage anybody who's interested in investing for the first time, like, we've had 20 people who have invested but who now can officially call themselves an investor, because they've invested in a bond, and you know, even people who are used to investing but you just want to diversify your portfolio, you want to lessen the risk. So, you can just sort of disperse your investments through a number of different private businesses instead of 10,000 to one now it's 1000 to 10 businesses, right like.
So, so, it's just a really interesting way to think about this. I've been going on and on and on but you get the idea.
Linsi Brownson
[29:07]
Yes, it's there's so many things that I'm I am right there with you, like luxury and wealth do go hand in hand in that we have to be able to come to the table right to even have that consideration. And again, especially when we talk about women and certainly anyone in marginalized communities, it's very rare it needs we need people like you we need companies like you, we need organizations that can actually open up access and bring people to the table to even begin that process.
And so, I love you know what you're saying about if this is something if you've never invested before, you can take $100 which you know, we can access $100 most of us can very easily and start to come to the table start to play this game which automatically gets you more curious, it gets you more interested and, like you said, it gives you control over where you're investing your money over, like, what kind of impact you're having in the world, because so many of us start businesses, right, because we want our business specifically to have a positive impact in the world, on our customers on our clients, on, you know, our close-knit community. And when we start thinking about investing, and getting in and building our wealth, but also giving back at the same time, there are historically very few options that give us real control to say, you know, I can earn money from these investments, but in a way that feels 100% good to me, not just 40% because there's a payoff, there's a return on that investment.
Melissa Kiguwa
[30:48]
Right. 100% and the old school model was you work really hard, you know, you make a lot of money, and then when you sort of like, are older, significantly older then you, you start giving back through philanthropy, or you know, you know, you create a fund or a trust and all of that stuff, and it's just like, you know, hey, like we can we can start doing little things now. We can get we can, you know, we can make it work.
Linsi Brownson
[31:15]
Yeah. Yes, women and small business owners love to give, we love to be generous and we often do that with our time. [Yeah.] And that is problematic, for a lot of reasons. So yes, this is a way to start giving and participating in the world in a bigger way a whole lot sooner.
Melissa Kiguwa
[31:35]
And if you're a small business, it's a way to have your community support you. And it's a way to, you know, it's that generative relationship because I think that when you're on you're an entrepreneur, it can be very isolating, it can be very, you know, you can run into burnout so quickly. Like, there's lots of, like, things that have come with being a business owner.
But having your community I that's the thing that's been so shocking to me.
I made a joke the other day to a friend of mine, I said, you know, when athletes go play, at least, like, they go in front of an arena and like all these people cheer them on, like, you know, they're like, Oh my gosh, I love you, LeBron.
But when you're sitting at home, like running Facebook ads, I'm like, looking at your Google Analytics, you're in a room by yourself. You know you're talking to your team, but your world is way smaller.
And so, the most surprising thing about the crowdfund is watching all these people be like, this is amazing. I love this, or I've been watching this from afar, and I love you, or even your family and friends coming in and being like, let me tell you why Melissa is great. Or, you know, let me tell you why Linsi is wonderful. Like, this is like, I've known her for 10 years, and like, this is why I think this business, and you're just like, Whoa, like, you know, I didn't need the ego boost. But also I did because natural being trying to run a business.
Linsi Brownson
[33:02]
Oh, it is. That's so good. I love that.
And, yeah, it's um, you know, I always tell people, like, your community, and people do want to support you, you just have to be open and willing to let them and this is such a beautiful way to do that. It's like this love fest of people showing up for you, and contributing in a whole lot of different ways.
It also as you were talking, I was thinking, do you remember, Staples has that like easy button, like, this little tchotchke thing that you press? And then it's like, that was easy. I think entrepreneurs need one that's like claps and cheers.
Melissa Kiguwa
[33:40]
Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I agree that should we sell that on the side on Etsy? Totally.
Linsi Brownson
[33:47]
Yeah. Or at least it could just be an app. Yeah. Once an hour, you just have a thing pops up that says, hey, you're doing a great job. [Exactly.] Every time you hit send on an email, it's like whoohoo!
Melissa Kiguwa
[33:59]
Exactly. Your hair is great. You did the thing.
Linsi Brownson
[34:03]
So good. I love it. I think we're onto something here. So good.
Well, okay, Melissa, thank you so much for coming and sharing all this.
I think you could tell I could talk with you for hours. And so, I just want to sort of recap and give listeners a chance to digest all of this, but there's kind of two ways two directions that I want to send listeners to go connect with you further and one certainly to go and check out the jewelry. These memberships start at $29 a month and they will make you feel like a million bucks every day.
Melissa Kiguwa
[34:38]
Yeah 100%. Our closet has more than $40,000 worth of jewelry. Come in get in. Like I said jewelry is always rented. So, right now our biggest thing is like just getting more inventory always, right? But yeah, come on. You can follow us on Instagram instagram.com/obanj.jewelry and you can you can become an investor.
Linsi Brownson
[35:00]
Yes, yes. So okay, so tell people how they can get started with that you mentioned as little as $100, which is so sexy to me. Yes. Get Started become an investor. How do they do that?
Melissa Kiguwa
[35:11]
Exactly. So you can go to wefunder.com/obanj and what I always say to everybody is do your due diligence beforehand. So, We Funder is great, because we put all our information out there, right? Like you have to register with the SEC, you have to file like a form C. So, there's like all this stuff that has to go in. But do your due diligence, check out the platform, see the other businesses, see what's going on? See, you know, like, see how people are talking about their businesses and things like read the art, the articles on the FAQ. And when you're ready when you're like this Is it. This is, like, I love this thing. Come on back to Obanj's page, start with us.
Linsi Brownson
[35:57]
I love that. Yes, that is your crash course on investing right there. [Yeah.] And yeah, and then come on back and get into the luxury jewelry market.
Melissa Kiguwa
[36:07]
Exactly. We would love to call you part owner of the business.
Linsi Brownson
[36:11]
Amazing. Well, thank you again, Melissa. This has been so much fun.
Melissa Kiguwa
[36:16]
I love it. Thank you so much. And for your thoughtful questions. It's been really lovely.
Linsi Brownson
[36:21]
Awesome.
Thanks for listening to the Be Brilliant In Your Business podcast. I hope you enjoyed this episode and if you heard something particularly insightful or inspiring, I would really love to know what it was. And I'd love to get your review.
So, I have a fun way to do this. come and find me on Instagram @linsibrownson and send me a private message with a voice memo or a quick note. Something that I can share here on the show. As a thank you for sharing your thoughts about the show, I've made a special gift to get you energized and inspired when you open your laptop. I created some beautifully designed desktop wallpaper with some of my favorite mantras and motivational ideas that I think you will love to see.
It's a win-win and a fun way for us to connect. So, come find me on Instagram @linsibrownson and let me know what you think.