Meet Alexa | Owner of Kəˈrizmə /Charisma/

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexa, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
The single most important decision I made that contributed to my success, was KEEPING MY 9-5. Every business needs money in the beginning and if i quit my job which is my main source of income, how could I ever fund my brand without getting a bank loan? Also, I’m truly not a person who only see myself as a sole entrepreneur, I personally have no problem working for corporate, I’ve made over 6 figures from my 9-5 and I actually like what I do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In a saturated market it’s very hard to stand out and I pride myself on having a very creative brand name. That’s what I’m most excited about. It’s so creative to the point where when I filed for my trademark, I had no issues because the name has a certain uniqueness. Nothing in life is easy, however, I have noticed the harder I work the luckier I become and the easier things become. My greatest challenge has been finding uniqueness in the clothes that I’m selling. Figuring out how to not be apart of those who are only selling t-shirts or mimicking exactly what the bigger brands are currently doing can be difficult at times when that’s all that’s in front of me. Wether it’s on TV or Social media or on billboards. By taking my time with my brand, I’ve been able to see things from a different perspective. WHAT ARE THESE BRANDS NOT DOING? Is the biggest question of them all. Going to business school and learning the number one thing all business owners should know has elevated my brand. What problem am I solving with my clothing band? This led to What are other brands not doing? Which opened my mind to take what brands aren’t doing and use it as weapon to have a not only a unique name but unique clothing as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my BFF Caitlyn came to town, I definitely what to attend another Hawks game or Falcons game, depending on the season. I love a good lounge where the music isn’t extremely loud and we don’t have to yell at each other during our conversation, so we’d probably go That Burger Spot where the food is great and the vibe is right. We’re both huge foodies so majority of our weekend would be eating a different restaurants.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My girlfriend has been my #1 supporter since day one! Even when the vision was very much blurry, she still believed in my dream. Fast forwarding from 2017, when I first thought of the brand, to 2019 when she decided to pick up a camera are business partnership and relationship has grown tremendously. Dating a photographer and being a clothing brand owner is past golden. I honestly couldn’t thank her enough for her efforts that she put into taking dope pictures for my brand and being a supportive girlfriend!

Website: kerizme.com

Instagram: shopkerizme

Twitter: lexabadu

Image Credits
Happiness Kanu