Fridays with Flea Style

Tanya Taylor started her popular clothing brand at 25-years old after working with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and their label Elizabeth and James for years. She’s breaking the traditional fashion brand mold from offering unprecedented sizes and painting all of her own textile designs to employing out-of-the-box social media and marketing techniques (she leaned on our host/Flea Style founder for a recent campaign instead of solely seeking out famous influencers, for example). We sat down with the smart designer to talk about her company’s early days, current challenges and ways she’s found success in the entrepreneurial world.

Detroit native Melanie Elturk always thought she’d be a lawyer. But after starting her legal career at 23-years old, she quickly found her true passion in her hobby selling hijabs online for fellow Muslim friends and fans. Today the business is based in New York City to support the demand for the booming brand that has cornered the market for beautiful headscarves. We sat down with the CEO and popular fashion influencer to talk through organically starting a business to finding funding and staying ahead of the uncertain retail curve.

Lesli Marshall grew up an athlete, not an artist. But after burning out on sports in high school, she tapped her creative side in college and fell in love with art. It took her years to find her creative stride and says she’s still far from the best. However, she’s figured out the art of the sale and how to pitch herself for huge projects, murals and curation work and has found major success calling Facebook, Coachella, Tom Thumb, 7-Eleven and Virgin clients. We sit down with the business savvy creative to learn about her starving artist days, rock bottom moments and how she’s now designing the life of her dreams.

After graduating college, Kyle Noonan followed his gut instead of his degree and worked in the restaurant world because he loved it. While his mom was initially disappointed by his decision, he got his hands dirty on the ground level of the food and beverage industry for years. He took that experience -- partnered with a pal’s serious business skills -- to launch FreeRange Concepts, an experiential brand that blends food, drinks and things people are passionate about from pets and sports to live music. Today their company, which includes The Rustic, Bowl & Barrel and MUTTS Canine Cantina, has grossed over $60-million. We sit down with the CEO and founder to learn about his small business journey and how he’s now managing the highs and lows of a huge company with over 1,000 employees.

Sarah Wilson’s life is a best-selling book waiting to be published. From her Mormon childhood (she’s one of 13 siblings!) and impulsive move to New York with $40 to her name post college to her difficult divorce, ditching Dallas for small town Texas and road to happiness and fortune, the married mother-of-two tells it all while offering tons of inspiring advice in this episode.

Over the past seven years, 37-year old Josh Zad has built a coffee and tea empire with a dozen locations and 180 employees spanning from LA to Japan. He’s also the brilliant creator/owner of popular trademark "But first, coffee.” Another cool accolade? He’s our podcast host’s former landlord. Yes, it’s true! Do not miss this episode where the old pals powwow about how Josh went from landlord to budding commercial realtor to culinary genius cashing in on both good bites and good vibes.

Clarence Greenwood (aka Citizen Cope) is a highly-acclaimed American songwriter, music producer and performer. He’s also a savvy small businessman after years of learning on the road and through multiple mistakes. We sit down with Cope to learn about his childhood (his first jobs will surprise you!), early days in the music industry, creating his own record label and how he figured out how to run a successful brand and company while staying true to his passion and beliefs. “My success was built by one small step at a time… it was a result of a lot of failures and continuing to push along,” says Greenwood. Tune in to this poetic episode to be inspired and energized by this candid creative chock full of sage small biz advice.

Carson Kressley stole our hearts when he splashed on the scene in 2002 as a fashionable fixture on Queer Eye for The Straight Guy. But before his big TV break, he worked his way up the fashion ranks starting as an executive personal assistant at Ralph Lauren. We sit down with the hilarious TV star to learn about his childhood, early career, climb to fame and how he balances it all — with style and humor. Tune into this hilarious episode to learn the backstory and some serious small biz skill from this fun-loving style setter.

LunchboxWax is one of the fastest-growing franchises in North America. We sit down with the visionary behind the specialty fast-wax empire to learn how a small town aesthetician turned an idea into a booming business in the middle of the quiet Northwest. Tune into this fascinating episode that explores small business life, the importance of self-care and how to build the biz of your dreams from nothing — anywhere.

Kameron Westcott may be best known for her Real Housewives of Dallas gig, but the California native is also working hard on her small business owner role. She recently started Sparkle Dog Food, a healthy alternative for pups made with top-notch ingredients and eye-popping pink kibble. We talk to the mom-of-two about the show and balancing her personal life while trying to build a company that’s close to her heart.