Meet Sarah Biggers-Stewart

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Biggers-Stewart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I already had a more premium beauty brand called CLOVE + HALLOW but felt like I couldn’t fully stand behind my mission of making better beauty choices more affordable with that brand, so I decided to launch a mass market sister brand called Clover by CLOVE + HALLOW. Pretty quickly, it became obvious that Clover had more scalability and potential, so I closed operations on CLOVE + HALLOW to transition all of our resources and focus to Clover. I’m really proud of how many amazing makeup and skincare products we’ve launched while keeping our commitment to sustainability, natural and naturally-derived ingredients, and accessibility.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Some of the storms we’ve had to weather over the last few years could make your head spin. From vendor partners engaging in fraudulent business practices, to retailers filing bankruptcy overnight with zero warning, to thousands of dollars worth of products disappearing overnight while in UPS’s care, you never know what the week will bring you. All that matters is that you KNOW you can handle it. Ultimately, that sense of confidence—that I will be able to handle whatever is thrown at me and keep on trucking—is a large part of why Clover is where it is today. I’ve learned to trust my intuition (sometimes when you’ve been in your industry for so long, you really do know better than third parties), to embrace adapting and pivoting on a moment’s notice (Clover started out with a 100% makeup based assortment but is now skincare-dominant), and to not let the opinion of any one person or organization influence or distract me (there are too many examples here too count!).

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My best friend actually is coming to visit me in Atlanta next weekend! First, we’re getting coffee at either Perc or Academy in VA Highlands and doing some book browsing at Virginia Highland Books before heading to brunch at Bread & Butterfly in Inman Park. Or Waffle House—you can’t go wrong with Waffle House! Over the next couple days I’d make sure we hit Ponce City Market for all the food, drinks, and shopping in the area, get out to do something like Painted Pin or listen to some records at Stereo ATL, and finally, scarf down a fancy dinner at The Consulate because you never get the same experience twice!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My first shoutout is to my husband. Starting and growing a business is like a rollercoaster: up and down moments of the highest highs and lowest lows. If I didn’t have his support through all of it, it would have been far more emotionally taxing to navigate.

My second shoutout is to my team—and really, to all of the committed, supportive, and trustworthy employees out there. The decision to phase out CLOVE + HALLOW was scary and intimidating, but my team couldn’t have been more incredible throughout the transition. Even employees who I had to lay off but kept on for a few months to wrap things up and give them some cushion supported me and the business strategy every step of the way. I know we all learn this lesson the hard way, but when you find good people, you treat them well, and they treat each other well—it makes life so much better!

Lastly, I cannot recommend enough that managers, entrepreneurs, and owners read the book “Radical Candor.” It’s a fantastic guide on how to balance emphatic care for the people around you with providing radically honest feedback to help them grow into the best version of themselves.

Website: https://cloverbyclove.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloverbyclove/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6SZ9RBFIdOzTB9qUGS5K3Q

Other: Sarah’s TikTok (she has almost 600K followers!): https://www.tiktok.com/@thebiggersthebetter?lang=en