Transcript

00:00 I'm telling you I may be a workforce you've ever interviewed. No that's not possible through canvas. What's the hardest part about being you. What's the talent you have that most people don't know packing light. What are you really bad at math who would you like to trade jobs with for a week at this fair. What's the funniest thing you've ever read about yourself on the Internet. Today I look like a frog favorite color pink favorite food so which I know is rough. But like I also say croissant not my favorite place to visit Cape Town. Favorite book oh right now super nanny what is your spirit animal. I don't really understand that because like I'm not an animal people say I'm their spirit animal as though the whole thing is very confusing to me. I don't know poodle nice who has made you the most starstruck oh when I was bartending when I first moved here Paul reading he hummin I like about died when I walked up to the bar. What have you learned about yourself from being a business. But I'm tougher than I did myself credit for what's the best thing about being. This is Casey nice debt when people are nice to me it today. What's the worst thing I just have to get all the time I'm exhausted being near it. What is your definition of the perfect day sleeping in well lunch more sleeping cuddling with my babies Netflix Chinese food and more sleep. What makes you mad everyone what was your first job.First job on the book with gift wrapping I William see now my for Christmas you could live in any era. What would it be the 70s California beach if you could take lessons from any expert what would you learn and from whom okay. So. There's this guy I'm obsessed with Marc Ramona's and sometimes I tell the girls that were candidates they should watch a show just like a little like tutorial. We need the Prophet Marcus. Neither prophet Marcus lemonis I love him.

02:04 I want him to sit down with me and like I'm doing right and wrong how would you describe yourself in three words moody obsessive funny. What's the best advice you've ever been given. What's the worst that can happen. What's the worst advice stick to your plan. What's your worst have it ever a lot louder. What's your pet peeve people cheering with their mouths open how often are you wrong but every day what what's the word I use a lot. What game show would you like to be on most survivor. I don't think I'd make it very far what are you afraid of be honest. My parents dying do you have a superpower yes no maybe sometimes I dream things that actually happen. I just have to figure out how to realize that it's going to happen before it happens instead of recognizing that it happened in a dream before it happened.So I can like use it for good when do you feel the most creative okay. So I really know when I get massages the ideas for jewelry designs and things and plans come to me like so I continue to get one and finally your best advice for entrepreneurs. Other one is that you can't but if there's a true entrepreneur then you know and you have an idea. It's this fire that does not go away and you can't stop until you do something about it. And it's like this. It's you have to scratch and the only way to scratch. The itch is to do things so there. That's the advice you don't have that itch. Then you're not a real entrepreneur and I would say get a job I'm Candace - a knife - and your weapon behind the brand Bryan ali-a.Hey I'm Bryan Elliott welcome to another edition of behind the brand. I'm here with the amazing we can't. It's Candace cool like that Candace thanks for having us to your New York office oh so fun to be here. Wow usually ask my guest how'd you get this job. How did I get this job. I had a friend when I first mentioned New York City and we both worked at a restaurant and I knew that I didn't want to work at a restaurant and I always I didn't care what I was young and I was wild and I was like I'm gonna be my own boss. I don't care what I do and she wanted to be a jewelry designer. So I was like let's do it and I mean I was so young. I'm stupid. I didn't know that like you don't everybody told me after the fact you shouldn't just you should have done that but that's what we did. We moved into his to do apartment together and repair jewelry for 20 bucks here and there and that was like I think the first turning point and then the biggest turning point came. When five years later. After we were already in Barney's and nominated for CFDA Design Awards and like kind of a well-known brand she came to me - I don't do anymore and I was like what do I do now and I had to decide whether to fold it give up or keep going. But for whatever reason I was like well. I don't really have a choice like there is no folding so sayonara and it's mine now and that's when that's on me. It was really change in height and that was fin right.

05:25 Let's go back just a little bit for people who may be living in a cave and don't know you know sort of your history where you come from. So you your parents. You were born in South Africa right and then you moved out here to like the Texas area walk us through what that looked like when did you come out and why did you come out. And so I was a baby and my parents left because they didn't agree with. Apartheid and Houston was a boom City because of oil and they had a shortage of medical workers. I don't know how into this Hugh hunt gap like it is kind of interesting because that they were recruiting doctors just basically bringing them and their families over to Texas so within the same. Like five years there was this ghetto of like Jewish doctors and their families from South Africa and all of my family friends growing up. Like I had a South African accent until I actually went into school because all of my like aunties and uncles and family friends were South African. So although I left at a young age I very much grew up like. It's the cultures that couldn't escape it so that was Texas. So I have this like kind of exotic South African situation. But then I definitely have this suburban private school. Texas went to UT Longhorns like my case so like my tacos like my beer that kind of thing I have cowboy boots.I've belt buckles. I have it all that's awesome such an eclectic mix fun fun. Do you think you know part of your upbringing cultural heritage whatever gets folded into your design presence. You know your design ideas wanna honestly. I don't think so what do you think that comes from the way is it just something like where do you find inspiration. I don't know and that's like that's like such a hard question to answer because. But I don't know if I could pinpoint it. I would teach it and I've done everybody could find inspiration. That way.I have no idea like a lot of it is just liking the material and liking the medium. So I love gold I love diamonds. I love jewelry. I love it in it. There are girls who love jewelry and the relic air like. It's just something they own an accessory. We love jewelry. It's like you could pour over a junk box full of jewels and just pour over it and how it's set and the colors and the feel and when was it made and then you become a connoisseur of the stones and the patinas and an obsession. It's why I like people who do film and cameras and stuff. They know their materials and they love it and that's I think what it is with me and jewelry. It's just a different material yeah.

08:09 You know a lot of people who watch this there preneur xand there. I think they struggle or maybe they always ask. The same kind of question is like whether I have writer's block or it's some sort of creative block. How do I stay creative you know and I always think about this. I ask really creative people how they stay creative whether it's you know if they do research or if they travel if they're they find their inspiration and you know nature or whatever you have to do okay. That's what I wasn't joking when I said massages because I think that when you're looking at something for too long and you're feeling stuck you have to remove yourself from it and whether that's a vacation good for you. If you can afford to take the time off or a walk around the block or I'm going to go to a movie today and not go into the office because everything I look it reminds me of the deadline I have or you get a massage where you get to listen to like raindrop music and harps and some strangers rubbing your back and you're forced to think of something you're forced to just like let go and that's when it all comes rushing in yeah that's really good advice. Oh I mean what I hear you saying is you sometimes need to hit reset or you need to walk away and not be so like all in your business.All the time you've got to kind of come outside and come back you're. A you're a mom now and I think a lot of people who watch. This are also moms and they're looking at you and people like you who are doing it. All talk about that how have you made that transition. How are you how you dealing with that how you making that work you know being full-time successful businesswoman mom. What not it's really hard. I don't I really don't know who I feel worse for because on the weekends I have this I get the full-time stay-at-home mom situation especially cause Casey travels a lot so I'm by myself with the baby and then during the week I get to experience a working mom and like neither of them are totally awesome. So I don't know I don't know if I have friends or three kids and stay at home with the kids all day and like to me that sounds. Just like. This is the most stressful nightmare ever. But then I also assume word I feel like instead of getting the best of both worlds. I'm like 50% as good at running a business as I was before I was a mom and I'm probably 50% as good at being a mom as someone who isn't working here. I mean so I'm like. It's like being bicoastal like you don't really get the best of both words. You get like half of LA and half of New York yes if you feel like spread too. Thin listen time spread too thin because I I get home and all I want to do is just chill and I can't because I got to put the kid to sleep which is like now an hour-long process because she's know she knows how to manipulate and like then I have a husband that I have to pay attention to and like what how was your day and let's talk about your work and do you want to eat our take out together or separately nice. I think it's just I'm exhausted all the time and I have help to like. I don't know how people do it and I only have one yeah well. You know they say 1/3 whatever it's still a hundred percent of your time right right I was just cutting the pipe.Maybe let's do liver forward thinking like how important to you is what you're doing right now like you know the modeling aspect. So Francine's watching you probably like you know as you know you're female. She's a female how important is that modeling like you got a business. I want her to see me working or I want to see me independent. I want to see her to see me you know crushing it. You know yeah. I mean there's definitely things that I would like for her to learn from from me look what I think independence and financial independence. I don't ever want her to think that she need that I need my husband for anything other than just being my partner and why is that important to you I don't know I don't know I mean it's something we argue about all the time he's like. Why won't you let me spoil you and I'm like I don't know just doesn't.It's not in my DNA. I don't like it. I want to earn my own money and like I don't know what it is. I don't know where I come from my mother. My mother doesn't work. She's she's fully supported by my father. I don't know what it is. You think it might be.

12:50 How are you being vulnerable. No terrible terrible. You think it might be yeah probably. I mean now we're getting into like psychology stuff but yeah. But I think that it's it's okay. I don't I don't know so that I want her to see and then I also want her to see me complete a project from start to finish when she's older like. I think that's really important to know that there's more than just a little everyday things that there's like long term things you need to work towards and to see things through from start to finish and so those things are good.But I will say that I do have a guilty feeling because I also don't want her to think that I'm the mom that's never around so when she gets as she ages. I'm gonna have to figure out a way to be there for her ballet classes and be there to pick her up from school and stuff right. Now. It's fine. But I certainly think that important to let's go back and explore that vulnerability I mean just because I struggle with it - to be honest can I tell you a quick story sure so I'm adopted and I was on this thirty year search for my birth parents and finally just a few years ago I found my mom and when I found her she did not want to be found. Mm-hm I was not expecting that and it was like a sucker punch to the gut. Like I was I was depressed actually. I was first sad and then I was really bummed out like I can't believe this is happening like how you know almost like how dare you almost like how could you you know your mom. You can understand like I'm a dad I cannot even get my head around like rejecting your child.You're flesh and blood. And I just didn't know I didn't know anything. All I knew is that she didn't want have anything to do it me and so I was sad for a while and as a result I think I started to put up really high walls like I'd worn my heart on my sleeve and she just trampled it. I crushed it and so I wasn't really aware of it. But my friends were telling me like hey. You know something's not right like you know you're you're less happy. You're not happy as usually are and and like you're kind of more guarded and and it's true I was I didn't want to be vulnerable because it hurt too much mm-hmm a couple years later. After more research I found my dad and my dad was actually super open. He was you know he's this really liberal guy literally lived on Haight Ashbury. He was a hippie you know did every drug you can think of played guitar living the caves in the wine business really a awesome guy and he told me the whole context. He told me that that he and my mom were very much in love but they were only 17 years old and that it was just not meant to be and so they decided to part ways and that she was pregnant the whole time living at home and her parents had no idea and and so they literally found out. The day. I was born that she was pregnant and so I started kind of piecing it together like oh she still feels. Maybe guilt or shame or maybe something that she's still carrying with her. He told me you know all these other things that really helped me anyway work through the whole thing and I've since read a couple of great books that it also helped me kind of flush out.

16:24 This vulnerability issue. One of my favorite authors is Bernie Brown. Do you know brain a so bernie is the psychology person she's actually out of Texas. She has this amazing TED talk that's been built viewed like gazillion times and she says that the depth that were willing to be vulnerable is the true measure of our courage. So the depth that we're willing to be vulnerable is the true measure of our courage and that just nailed me like just totally nailed me like I was like an indictment like okay. So I'm a chicken you know and it really helped me start to be more comfortable.Although I'm totally not there but like I wonder if some of those feelings that you have besides being tough and independent and awesome have something to do with you know wanting to avoid pain or hurt and all that you know absolutely in an even more like obvious way. It's that I don't yeah. I don't I think I feel like you're you're putting yourself in a vulnerable position. When you're having somebody take care of you. I don't want to be. I don't want ever to have to feel like well. I owe somebody something. Let's move towards. You and Casey so talking about your life on camera or you know as a willing or unwilling participant. What's that like I'm unwilling I don't know I mean what do you want to know. I mean do you prefer not to be or you like yeah. I prefer not to be yeah.I'm in the frame you know I'm not smiling. I don't want to be here. I'm not into it. I mean when I know I'm in an episode of course. It's human nature to go and watch it and see what I looked like and it's not how I talk and was it was it funny. I remember I said something was that funny to the Edit it properly like and then to read the comments. But then I stopped because I mean the emails I mean I told you like this is like difficult for me. That's how I I mean I knew a long time ago. I could never be an actress because I don't like. It's complete insecurity like I don't like how I found out like how I look I don't like I don't know I'm doing things the right way or yeah. It's just not the only thing I like about it is having a record of like our lives. But then I hate that it's so does everybody so it's hard. I mean it's definitely been like a big issue for us. But then it's like what do you do when you love someone and something makes them so happy no so you've been able to find some compromise. We've been able to find some compromise and yet you're also internet famous for not giving a rip about anything. That's what I love about you is well that's obsessed irony isn't. It is it like I really don't care but then the reaction is like people react to it and I've become this like unwitting figure and that's what Billy came from what happened was you know my business partner left me. I just figure out how to run this business by myself and she was the designer I was not so. Although I had input and ideas all of a sudden. I was the one that had to design jewelry.

20:06 It was terrifying absolutely terrifying. I had no idea what I was doing and then things felt a little funny. You know like. This doesn't feel like just aesthetic afin with the girliness and the pink and the it wasn't me wasn't me. I'm much more masculine. I'm much more like brute force with my humor and with my cursing and with my drinking and with my smoking a cigarette with my coffee like and it didn't it didn't.It was like this yeah yeah. I could still design for Finn because it's my company and I understood the brand and I understood the design and I knew what to do so. I did it but I was never connected. Never felt connected in fact even the name like it wasn't. She had the name before we got together. She's like I want to call it Finn and I was like okay. You know whatever. But then something happened when KC started the vlog okay so sorry. So before the vlog I had I wanted to quit Vince and I wanted to quit. It wasn't me like still super successful like profitable company and paid my employees. Know everything's great we're going to sell it. I was considering what to do was I going to sell it was I going to yet was I going to cut myself out and just hire someone to design and like let it be its own thing. Why not rough. Lorne does that right like so. It's but just not be a part of it. Anymore. I considered maybe not working at all if I were to have a kid which wasn't really an option. So then I was like what is me well.I all those things I said if that's me and so I wanted to start this brand where it had one necklace that you bought and it had one perfect cashmere sweater. It had one perfect cashmere scarf and the one perfect tote and it was going to go from there and it was going to be only online and it was mine no partners. No but it was my aesthetic and I could connect to it and the sweater was going to be because it was the only sweater you wanted to buy for hundred dollars and the necklace was going to be $3,200. It was going to be a really high-end the basics kind of brand so I'm in the works they developed a logo and I was talking with cashmere factories and I was talking with my jewelry factories about the necklace and then these kids started to comment on spin love your. Jewelry wish I could afford it Candace you're a badass. I look up to you and all it was like what is going on and I had a talk feedback. I had to talk about it and Casey's like you're nuts if you sell $400 cashmere sweaters. He's like you have this audience and give them what they want and I was like yeah but you know I want to do really nice things. He's like do nice things but take it down a notch and so Finn so Billy changed a little bit. The logo didn't change the premise didn't change it. But it's now because of Casey's blog and because of this audience that he has and these girls that like are telling me. They're like asking me for something basically Who am I to deny yeah like okay girl. I got you. I hear you you want a necklace you can afford. I will make you a silver necklace and there's still people who say it's too expensive what like it can't afford champagne and you can't afford channet but like that where Billy came from. So now there's this brand. It's more me and the funny thing is that after I spent so much time developing this new version of Billy I was able to go back to Finn and be like okay.

24:00 This is my first baby and I do love it and I'm good at it. I'm good at it. I'm good at designing for it and let's keep going. See you walked away. You hit the reset you refreshed. You got fresh eyes and that's that's awesome advice yeah. So now I've got two companies and two children because KC's my other child I love that story I love that story so much. I guess what advice would you have to people who feel stuck. You know sometimes you get into a rut a rut that you can't get out of and we talked about maybe walking away getting massage and that's that's awesome but like sometimes you know we don't know when to cut bait on something. You were debating whether to sell your company or transition what to do with it like how long do you give that with quotes great idea until you give up on it like maybe. It's not working. Maybe you're not getting the feedback you're looking for I mean I feel like sometimes great people quit great things too soon or not so great people keep doing them too long. How do you know like how how and when to stop well. I think there's two things one is the emotional part of it and one is the financial part of it emotionally if it's killing you.Maybe it's time to end it. However there's also the financial part of it if sin was killing me a little bit inside but it was profitable and I didn't have another plan. So it wouldn't have been wise to just shut down a profitable business with employees and rent. Paid and Barney is caring like I had these assets that people strive for that work their asses off for so it would be irresponsible to shut it down without something else right. But so that's the two things you have to decide but like if it really was so so so bad that eat that financial part. Just didn't matter anymore that I was like miserable walking into up to the office every day and like I wanted to slice my eyeballs out every time I saw the CID logo. Then I would have had to really been like make a plan with steps on how to stop that how to end this and segue into something else. But you have to have something else you can't do it. I can't do it. I give up and stomp your foot and then be like something else will come my way like you had the first thing because you had a plan so what's the next thing it's okay and it's always fine to like give up on an idea. I mean within my companies. I give up on ideas all the time I have probably made over 200 pieces of jewelry. There's not 200 piece of jewelry on my site. There's probably 40 percent of what I've ever made has been cut and scrapped and sold for gold like because it was that perfect design failed.What are you going to do now I need a next one your growing company you're starting to add a team. I would think a bigger squad. How are you how are you picking your team are you picking on skill culture fit personality. How do you find and keep good people. It's really hard um so especially if you're the visionary right like you've got the vision and it has to missing of it. I do have the vision and it has to be somebody that agrees with the vision everything else. I can teach if they're some but everything that I don't have it's okay if I if I reach a point where I don't know how to do something like build a website. That's when I outsource right so I go to an expert for that they go to an expert for big diamonds or if I don't know anything about rubies. I go to an expert not going to hire a GI a graduate just to help me with diamonds. I don't need that like I can outsource anything that I need like that what I mean here is my structure and my support team.I need someone that is going to laugh at my jokes when I'm here someone that will have a glass of wine with me. After it's super cultural is what I'm getting at like here we have to connect and the girls that work for me. That stay around a long time are the ones that are like Casey cause them the girls I pay to be my friends. The green wanted to know what those girls you pay to be your friends and I'm like yeah. I am because we hash we we hash out ideas. Together. They implement the ideas for me. I respect their opinion. I was misled. You. You you probably don't have a lot of yes women or yes people around you right no and if any other my if I get the feeling that they're just saying yes just to be nice I will call them out on it. I tell me what you really think right now and then they'll tell me what they really think. But they're like my still like my girls. Here they're like my niece's are like prevention old I can't be their sister. They're just good people that have my back. We had a girl here actually. We're growing and I had another girl here and she lasted about a month and she she quit and I was like I she quit and then the next hour were like I'm so much June and she didn't click yeah but you didn't get our senses of humor. I don't know it's like a sorority in here so if you don't fit in you're not going to like it.I think that's across the board that's how people are hiring that they're hiring on the soft skills or what people no personality you know integrity sense of humor integrity. It's huge like I need someone I can trust. I need someone's going to be there for me that's happening to come into work. That's happy to stay a half hour later. But I can text a funny joke on the weekend and they're not like why the choice excuse. Me only good it's my choice I decide who I hire I want to hire. My son's final thoughts. What would you you know 2017 what would you tell eighteen-year-old Candice pool. In 2017 you know maybe just coming out of college but heading into this workforce. You know a lot of the a lot of the younger generation. They're super sharp on top of it and you know they're crushing. But some of them are still confused about how to do this adulting how to do this business thing. What advice would you give her well. I think there's two jobs that everyone should have in life before they do. Anything one is in the service industry. Another would be as a receptionist or an office manager.I wouldn't say you're going to graduate from college and get the job of your dreams. You need to learn how to stuff paper in a printer and you need to learn the numbers for for like DHL and FedEx and you need to learn how to be nice to people like for tips. That's it you can't jump out of college no matter what your degree and expect to succeed it. Whatever you do unless you code. I think because people need coders but yeah you got to get to work. It takes work and practice and if you can't get the job you want get the job you can get. That's it and try again later know these kids. These days scare to work.