Hi Amigos!
Welcome back to another episode of the podcast!
When I started this podcast, it was the middle of the pandemic and I was listening to a lot of different shows that all seemed to highlight people a bit older than me. I realized that there was no one talking about people in their 20s also striving and doing the damn thing. So, I started the show. As the years have gone by, more and more shows are being created and I’m so happy there’s now so many younger podcasters interviewing our peers :). The show has expanded in a way that I could’ve never imagined! The fact that we have charted on 30+ Apple Podcast Charts is still mind blowing to me. If the show has taught me anything it’s that no matter what your age is, it’s never too late or too early to start doing what you love. I’m so excited to start inviting more and more people into the podcast to talk about their journeys regardless of their age :) Can’t wait to have more of these conversations on the show in 2023!
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As the Founder & CEO of Factory45, Shannon Lohr works with idea-stage entrepreneurs to launch fashion brands that are sustainably and ethically made.
Shannon got her start in 2010 when she co-founded {r}evolution apparel, a sustainable clothing company for female travelers and minimalists that was featured in The New York Times, Forbes.com and Yahoo! News.
Through her online business school, Factory45, Shannon has worked with over 500 entrepreneurs in the sustainable fashion space, many of whom have gone on to launch some of the most transparent supply chains in the fashion industry.
Shannon has worked as a consultant for crowdfunding projects that have surpassed their goal amounts by as much as 300%, and has worked closely with startup apparel companies from all over the world to create ethically-made products with a focus on environmentally-friendly materials.
Shannon is a strong advocate for increasing supply chain transparency through sourcing, localization and storytelling. She’s been named a thought leader for the future of fashion and was nominated as a "Woman of Note" by the Wall Street Journal.
If you’re looking to start a sustainably made clothing brand, aren’t sure what you’re next move is, if you want to start something new, then this episode is for you!
TAKE AWAYS:
Where are the holes, the gaps, in your business?
The way you spend your day to day is the way you spend your life
There is a societal expectation of instant gratification but It takes years, it takes time and perseverance.
Food for thought: What’s the why of what you’re doing? What keeps you pushing when things get hard?
Think through the decisions - always align back to your why.
Nobody has it all together.
Start before you’re ready.
Buy less, buy better, buy second hand.
Maybe those things you really wanted at one time, would’ve been great, or maybe not, and you’re exactly where you need to be.
Trust yourself, trust in the process, and above all, trust in your journey.
LINKS:
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00:00] Drea: Hi Shannon, Welcome to the podcast.
[00:00:03] Shannon: Hi Drea. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:05] Drea: I would love for you to
[00:00:06] Shannon: tell us a little bit about what were
[00:00:08] Drea: your twenties like?
[00:00:09] Drea: What was it? During those times, did you always know that you wanted
[00:00:13] Shannon: to be a part of the sustainability and
[00:00:15] Drea: environmentally
[00:00:16] Shannon: friendly world? Oh, definitely not. I think about, being in college, I was a, what I call a fast fashion bargain bin junkie. I was known for going to a forever 21 or an h and m right after class on a Friday.
[00:00:34] Shannon: Picking something out to wear that night and then checking it into my closet, never wearing it again. I was a part of the fast fashion problem, which is to wear clothing, one or two times, and then for it to basically end up in a landfill. no, my twenties. In the beginning were very much spent,in college as a journalism major, not really interested in fashion beyond what I personally wore.
and then it wasn't until after college when I graduated in the middle of the, 2008 financial crisis that I decided I wasn't gonna get a real job. And I went and I traveled for two years, and that sort of opened my eyes to a different career path, an alternative way of living, and then what led me to, sustainability and fashion.
[00:01:22] Drea: In those moments where you were in that transition, did you ever
[00:01:25] Shannon: feel a little bit of pullback, a little fear, or maybe people in your corner, like friends or family that knew you, what
[00:01:31] Shannon: you studied and everything that you felt? Not sure
[00:01:35] Drea: if you should switch or make this
[00:01:36] Shannon: transition.
[00:01:37] Shannon: Oh, for sure. I can, it took me probably a good. Five years of having my business and being profitable and being able to support myself for people to stop asking me at seeing family at Christmas or friends at parties, you know them asking me when I was gonna get a real job.
yes, anyone who you know, I think that's with anything in life, if you choose an alternative path, then you're gonna get some pushback. If it's not what is considered societal. .
[00:02:06] Drea: And like you said it, it took you five years. It wasn't like an overnight decision that just ended up working.
[00:02:13] Drea: So what was that like those five years of you, making the transition, maybe having some trial and error, like everything that, someone starts from scratch. What
[00:02:21] Shannon: was that time like when you were really going.
[00:02:24] Shannon: It really started when I got back from traveling. I spent, like I said, two years traveling around the world. I was bartending to support myself and I got back to the states and I decided, really that I didn't wanna get a real job.
[00:02:38] Shannon: I didn't wanna sit in an office. I wanted to do something different. And that's when I ended up starting a clothing brand with my then co-founder. We did that for two years, we thought it was gonna be this like entrepreneurial failure and it ended up being a really cool success, but it, we realized it wasn't what we wanted to do in the end.
when you talk about going against the grain or pivoting or, doing things that people wouldn't understand, that was. Was another thing. people didn't understand why I would leave that supposed, what seemed to be such a successful first business, but I knew that I wanted to do something different and I ended up starting Factory 45, which is the business that I've been running since 2014, and it's the business I run now.
and it ended up being a very hard decision to leave that first bus business, but definitely the right decision in the. What do you feel like
[00:03:33] Drea: was the decision that made you realize you needed to switch and start your own company?
[00:03:38] Shannon: I think because, so rarely people go into starting a business with this idea that okay, it's just going to be an experiment.
[00:03:48] Shannon: It's gonna be a project. We're probably not gonna be successful. It'll probably fail, but we'll get a failure under our belt and then we'll learn from it, and then we'll be able to move on and, Do something even better. And when it was successful, it was like,
[00:04:02] Shannon: Wait, I thought we were going
[00:04:04] Shannon: to fail at this so that we could learn from it and then move on.
[00:04:09] Shannon: And we ended up being the highest funded fashion project in Kickstarter history At the time we were featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal. It was like on the outside all of this success, and it was an amazing first experiment, but I didn't come from the fashion background. I didn't really have any long term plans to run a fashion brand itself.
[00:04:29] Shannon: But in doing that, in having that first experience and that first, entrepreneurial project, I. A bigger hole to fill in the market. Anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship, that's what you wanna look for is the holes. Where are the gaps that you can fill with your business? And there was a bigger gap in people who wanted to start fashion brands in a way that were sustainably and ethically made, but they didn't know how.
and it was really, For the doors to open and manufacturing and suppliers and all the things that go into creating a physical product. And so that's what I ended up doing is I started factoring 45, which is now, the premier, first in class, online business school to take sustainable fashion brands from idea to.
[00:05:18] Drea: I love learning about how everything came to be and how certain things, like you said, they look so good on paper or to other people, but to yourself or the people behind the scenes. You really know what you wanna go for and what is
[00:05:33] Shannon: or isn't working. Yeah, and I think, some advice I got when I was in my twenties was,the way you spend your day to day is the way you spend your life.
[00:05:42] Shannon: And so if you're not happy with how you're spending your days, then you're not gonna be happy in the long term with how you're spending your life. And so yes, we, it was an amazing learning opportunity, but I didn't necessarily want to be spending my days running that business. I knew that there was a business that.
better highlighted my zones of genius that could be more profitable, could sustain my lifestyle and help me grow, revenue and all of those things. It ended up being, the best decision I could have.
[00:06:15] Drea: How did
[00:06:16] Shannon: you know that there was a market for
[00:06:18] Drea: Factory 45 to become an online business school for these startups that wanna create sustainability in their brands?
[00:06:26] Drea: How did you know, Did you have people come to you or ask you questions? Or is it, was it more something you started because,you were already involved in it in some way and you wanted to just create it and
[00:06:35] Shannon: find whoever was a good fit for it? I think it was a little bit of both. but more the first was, when we were launching our product and we did our Kickstarter campaign at the same time we were blogging about it, this is back in 2010.
[00:06:49] Shannon: So blogs were really big. We had just started an Instagram, we had a Facebook page, so we would get questions all the time. How did you start, I wanna do something similar. What's the first step I should take? We were getting all these questions and, I knew that there were people, especially, I'm a millennial, millennials, and I do believe Gen Z as well.
[00:07:12] Shannon: We really care about making the world a better place about sustainability, environmentalism. The fashion industry is the one of the most polluting industries in the world. it's in the top five most polluting industries in the world. And so we need to change the fashion industry from the inside out.
[00:07:30] Shannon: And I wanted to be a part of that, helping people start fashion. What I say is the right way from the start with sustainability as a core part of the business model.
[00:07:41] Drea: Yeah, and what's crazy is that you've helped 500 plus entrepreneurs now do this, so definitely I feel like this impact is incredible. So I congratulate you on that.
[00:07:51] Drea: Thank you. What would you say now is what you're focusing on now that you have this online business school that has been successful, you've helped 500 plus entrepreneurs build a sustainable fashion space for themselves and their brands. What do you feel is the next step for you? What is something that keeps you going and keeps that passion?
[00:08:10] Shannon: It's a good question. I think that when I was first starting out, I, it, it was a solo show. It was really me and then my first hire was an assistant and we worked together for, probably five years before I really started to hire people seriously. And now I have a team around me, that. Has allowed me to have more freedom , I have two kids.
[00:08:38] Shannon: I'm married. I, we were living a bicoastal lifestyle for a long time. Half the year in Boston, half the year in California, we were able to travel. and that I think was ultimately my goal when I set. Start even my first business in 2010. I just wanted to keep traveling, to keep making, my own schedule, living life on my own terms.
[00:09:01] Shannon: I was never in entrepreneurship to, scale to millions of dollars. That was never my goal. My goal was to create my ideal life, and for the most part, I can say I'm very much living that right now. And it, anyone who's listening it, It takes years, it takes time. There is this idea, there's this, societal expectation of instant gratification that you should, success should happen overnight.
[00:09:32] Shannon: And,overnight millionaires and all this, that is all just. A fallacy. so I would just encourage you to remember that it does take time. It does take perseverance, but understanding what your end goal is. It's what I call your why. Why are you doing anything that you are doing, that helps you get to that end goal in a way that will feel better for you and keep you pushing and persevering when things get hard. Yeah. Thanks for
[00:10:03] Drea: saying that because , the show is literally called The Journey of Pursuit Because of that, because
[00:10:07] Shannon: I really love highlighting the journey because it isn't just
[00:10:11] Drea: overnight, It's an over time thing.
[00:10:13] Drea: Especially as entrepreneurs, especially as creatives, especially as people that are making impact or wanna make
[00:10:19] Shannon: an impact in the world.
it's all about, like you said, the why. Why is it that you do this every single day, even though you think or feel like you're not getting. Any closer to your goal because it is, it's something that takes time, like you said.
[00:10:32] Drea: So thanks for saying that because it's so true. And that's what we love highlighting here on the show, is just making sure that people know the journey is what needs to be. Enjoyed
[00:10:42] Shannon: on the way there. A hundred percent. Yeah. I think about when I met my husband when we were 27 and that was over.
[00:10:50] Shannon: That was 10 years ago, like almost. Exactly. And when I met him, he's also an entrepreneur. He was starting his business and he was, Living in his office, like he was sleeping in his office and showering at the gym because they weren't allowed to turn the water on in their office because then the landlord would know that they were living there, him and his co-founder.
[00:11:13] Shannon: So that's just like a tiny example, like when you are, and now he's a very successful entrepreneur. But it took time and it takes sacrifices and it takes making those unconventional decisions that his parents. Probably what are you doing? But he knew that, it's what he needed to do to, to, uh, ultimately, lead to his success.
[00:11:34] Drea: Is there something that you feel like you do every single day or that helps you
keep that mindset
[00:11:40] Drea: alive while you are taking the steps every single day to just get closer to the dream or to make sure that your
[00:11:46] Shannon: dream that you already have
[00:11:47] Drea: with Factory
[00:11:48] Shannon: 45 is still alive and. I think it's, at this point I've been doing this for so long that it's almost second nature, but I do think I do check-ins with myself.
and that can come really daily. That can come weekly, monthly. It's whenever you. tasked with making a decision whether that is a decision about your business or about your life, or about your relationships.
[00:12:15] Shannon: Think
[00:12:16] Shannon: through, Does the answer, does my answer to this decision? Whatever it is, support that end goal.
[00:12:24] Shannon: That why that you have. If you say yes to this thing, is it getting you closer to your ideal life, your ideal job, your ideal relationship, whatever it is. So I think it's those little check-ins that again, maybe aren't even conscious, but you're just checking in with yourself. Is this decision And the decision I make going to get me closer to that end.
[00:12:47] Drea: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I love that. Do you feel like you wish someone taught you something on your journey towards creating factory 45, Or even if you were to, I don't know, tell your
[00:12:59] Shannon: kids something now of what
[00:13:01] Drea: you wish someone had said to you, or any advice you would give to someone in their twenties that looks up to you and wants to do something similar to what you're.
[00:13:09] Shannon: Yeah, I think, they're both probably cliches, but they're worth repeating. The first is, Fake it till you make it. I truly believe in this. No one knows what they're doing. like when I think back to being in my twenties and I remember going to my first speaking engagement and it was like the first real time I had to get up in front of an audience and go on stage.
[00:13:34] Shannon: It was at Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver. I'll never forget it, and I was terrified. I did not realize how terrified I truly was until I got up on that stage and had to speak and my voice was shaking and I was sweating. It was like this whole physical body reaction. It was horrible. The moderator at the end asked the audience if they had any questions.
[00:13:57] Shannon: Nobody had any questions, cuz they probably just wanted to get me off that stage cuz they felt so bad for me. I look back at that as a seeming failure, right? this is, this was, a moment in my entrepreneurial journey in my twenties that was like pivotal, right? I still have nightmares about it, but I think had I known back then, nobody has it all together.
[00:14:21] Shannon: No one is I don't know, even professional speakers, right? They get butterflies in their stomach, but it's. They've been doing this for years. They've practiced that. they have experience. That's the only thing separating you from the people who look like they've been doing this for years, is that experience.
[00:14:39] Shannon: So if you can channel that sort of, Confidence of Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna fake this until I make it because I know that in 10 years I will have made it. It's almost like you're projecting that on your younger self and that can instill a confidence in you. It doesn't have to be a speaking engagement, obviously, but anything you're doing, just remember that everyone has been where you are.
[00:15:05] Shannon: The only difference is time and experience. The second thing. Start before you're ready. This is the biggest one, and I think especially when it comes to entrepreneurship, we're all waiting for the perfect time, the perfect circumstance, the perfect amount of savings in our savings account. To start the business, to do the project, to take the trip, whatever it is.
[00:15:28] Shannon: Start before you're ready because you will regret. Tomorrow that you didn't start yesterday and everything, especially when it comes to starting a business, takes longer than you think it is going to. So there are so many things if you are listening and you do have that entrepreneurial drive.
[00:15:48] Shannon: There's so many things you can do now that don't require much money or any money at all to start a business. And, do it little by little as you work up or save up or wait for that right time. But, yeah, start before you're ready and fake it till you make it. Yes.
[00:16:06] Drea: Start before you're ready is my motto.
[00:16:08] Drea: I feel like I've said this so many times on my podcast, but I used that same thing. I used 20 seconds of courage to start my show. 20 seconds of courage to press record. 20 seconds of courage just starting. I knew that if I thought about it too much, I probably would still be sitting at my desk waiting and, for everything to be perfect.
[00:16:27] Drea: And I love what you said too, because you actually answered one of the questions I usually. Ask on the show about failure,, I will skip that and ask you the second one in a little bit. But before I do, I actually wanted to go back quickly because I would love if you could share how you
[00:16:42] Shannon: feel we could be a little
[00:16:44] Drea: more sustainable today.
if in the fashion industry or not, maybe you have other ways to be sustainable, but if
[00:16:49] Shannon: someone, they
[00:16:50] Drea: shop at the fast fashion companies because that's what they can afford. What's some tips you could give us of how we can start being a little more environmentally friendly today?
[00:17:01] Shannon: Sure. So anyone who is, new to fast fashion or fashion industry or sustainability in fashion, the average American throws away over 80 pounds of textiles a year that goes into a landfill. The majority of our clothing is made out of polyester or synthetic materials that are all, they're oil based.
[00:17:22] Shannon: So it takes over 200 years for your clothes to decompose in a landfill. If you can start by, Gen Z's great about secondhand on thrift shopping, so that is huge. If you can buy secondhand clothing, that is awesome. If you can wear your clothing longer and buy less, that is another huge impact you can make by not shopping at the fast fashion chains that make it's really disposable clothing.
It doesn't last long. It falls apart in the wash. it's out of trend after a week because that's fast Fashion is designed to have 52 trends a year. so if you can start to buy. Buy better and then buy secondhand. those are three things that would have a huge impact on sustainability, just in general.
[00:18:15] Drea: Yes. I love that. I am such a thrift slash vintage. I love to treasure hunt, so I'm glad that's something I am attributing to the sustainability world. I feel like I've, I'm learning so much more every single day about it. I love that this is something that you are passionate about because we definitely need more of that and for people to teach us more about that, I think as well
[00:18:38] Shannon: is really important.
[00:18:39] Shannon: Thank you. That's great that you're already doing vintage and thirsting.
[00:18:42] Drea: So the question I usually ask is,
what has been
[00:18:46] Drea: your biggest failure or loss, and what has been your biggest win or success in your career, your personal life so far? So I feel like you touched upon the failure one, but I would love for you to let us know, what do you feel has been your biggest win or success in your life so far?
[00:19:02] Shannon: Oh, I'm so fortunate. I think that it took time, Like I said, it took many years, but I feel like again, I'm living my ideal life and probably. When I was, in my twenties imagining what my ideal life would look like, it's probably is even better than what I could have imagined for myself.
[00:19:24] Shannon: So I think that's a lesson in when you come upon failures or bumps in the road. Or let's say, I remember in my twenties I really wanted to get this fellowship at npr. I was a journalism major. I really wanted this and I, I didn't get it. and then I applied for this Nike fellowship and I really wanted that and I didn't get it.
[00:19:48] Shannon: And these were disappointments that happened along the way in my twenties. But had I gotten those, And gone that different path. maybe it would've been just as great, but maybe not. Maybe those things happened so that I could get to this place where I'm living beyond my wildest dreams. it's just, you have to remember that these, the disappointments, the failures are leading you to where you're supposed to be.
[00:20:13] Shannon: I do believe that, and. Just trust yourself, trust in the process and above all, and I think this goes on theme for the podcast, Trust in your journey. I love it. That's such a
[00:20:27] Drea: great way to end the show. , thank you so much for being on the podcast. I've loved learning more about you and how you're helping the world, and I just feel so blessed to be on a show that allows me to connect with more people like you.
[00:20:41] Drea: So thank you
[00:20:42] Shannon: Yes. Thank you for helping me tell my story,