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

Hi Valerie, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
The thought process behind starting my business was immediately solving a problem. The problem many boy moms face when shopping, very little options in the boys fashion sector.

After my oldest Caden (11) was born I noticed instantly the difference when shopping for him vs a girl. It wasn’t until 6 years later after my youngest son Clay (5) was born the birth of Clay brand was also born. My oldest being my initial inspiration and my youngest son who the brand is named after.

One piece of conventional advice I’d have to disagree with is that you need a college degree in the field of which your seeking to do business in, in order to be successful. That is totally not the case passion, knowledge and hustle beats a degree any day!

Risk for me has always been second nature from my teenage years leaving off for college out of state alone at the tender age of 18, to joining the United States Army where I served 13 years, a tour to Afghanistan and toured the world, to stepping out on faith and starting a business on pure faith and passion. Risk are no stranger to me!

Taking risks has allowed me the opportunity to learn myself, my limits and the courage to understand what’s for me and what isn’t. Those key abilities has allowed me to expand my brand in other major cities and in ways I never imagined.

Habits that helped me succeed is my discipline which was instilled in me from the military knowing how to starve my distractions and stay the course is definitely the primary key to my growth and success.

The most important factor behind my success and brand I would say is staying in my lane and not allowing the outside world, temporary trends to alter my reason and my goals. Always staying eager to learn more and remaining humble in all success and accomplishments.

The most important lesson my business has taught me is no one owes you anything, not a purchase, not a repost, nothing! Many new and even seasoned entrepreneurs expect support not knowing that’s a trust that’s gained not owed. One saying I live by is “Work so hard they don’t have a choice but to know who you are” in other words rather a person has a kid or little person in their life to buy apparel, shoes or accessories for they will know what Clay Luxury Kids is, our mission and our reason!

Balance is constantly ever changing, being a mom of two courageous and very energetic boys, a wife, sister and friend many come to for advice or depend on I’m constantly re-shifting what balance looks like and it truly depends on the season.

My balance has changed a lot the more you add to your plate I feel the balance becomes more and more difficult to maintain. I think balance is essential for success, sanity and truly taking care of myself. The true fact of the being successful is being selfishly unselfish. Saying no to that girls night out to get your 4th quarter financials completed, or spending an entire summer traveling to a city to open a new location and canceling all summer plans.

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?
Clay Luxury Kids is a place all kids fashion, shoes and accessories. Having license and accounts with 140 brands luxury, designer and premium brands alone and counting. From our uniformed staff, our grade A customer service we are the elite place to shop for Children. Our clientele consists of many elite celebrities and influencers.

I am most proud of my rapid expansion and ability to sustain sales, employees and mental stability during a pandemic the scariest, darkest time I’ve ever experienced in life. I’m where I am today by having pure faith and taking the advice giving by those I wouldn’t mind trading places with and immediately started applying it. Nothing was easy about the process lots of sacrifice both physically and financially but I stayed on task and got the job done!

I overcame challenges by taking nothing personal and using mistakes and challenges as building blocks to help me up the ladder vs staying stagnant. Some lessons I learned along the way is timing is everything and you can’t rush the process. I learned to not become fixated on someone else’s success. Lastly continue to educate yourself within in field there are always something new or innovative shifts that can assist your elevating.

I would like the world to know that I have come to put my brand name Clay Luxury Kids, unique business etiquette and stamp in every major city in the U.S and top fashion countries and I will not stop until the goal is accomplished. I’ve worked endlessly on growing and staying true to my brands mission, morales and values.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would have to first visit some good eating options Slutty Vegan, Paschals, OLG, Pappadeux.

We’d then take a tour back to our roots visiting all of the museums.

Lastly some outdoor fun stone mountain hiking, Olympic park, Skating and some indoor basketball.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to take the time to shoutout my husband most importantly the push for me to keep going when I want to give up and my supporter in everything I do, secondly the Clay Luxury Kids staff team and interns. These individuals not only help drive my vision but also push me in ways they would never imagine.

Website: www.clayluxurykids.com

Instagram: Clay luxury kids

Linkedin: Valerie Thomas

Facebook: Clay luxury kids

Image Credits
Drico Lamar (Cleveland, Ohio)

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