Farissa Knox gets to wake up every day and do whatever she likes. The benefit to her is the brands she’s choosing to build she is immensely passionate about.
Farissa owns RLM Media, a boutique media buying agency, as well as the app WhatRUWearing, a social application for fashionistas to share their daily clothing choices.
Not thinking entirely about being an entrepreneur, Farissa found herself in 2008 working for a company that was going bankrupt. She immediately started thinking about getting another job when her husband threw out the idea of working with the clients she had been working with previously. Farissa sent out 5 texts while driving in the car with her husband and all 5 confirmed their desire to continue working with this newly minted business owner.
Farissa knew that she’d either have to work like a slave in the business, doing most of the work herself, OR she could bite the bullet and hire people to help her do the work. This decision proved to be the linchpin for her success because she was ultimately committed to the success of a “business” not just her doing the work.
Around the 10:00 mark, Farissa talks about being raised in an entrepreneurial environment, her mom running an in-home daycare and managing everything that went along with that. What her parents gave her was the belief that any dream she put her mind to she could accomplish.
Bouncing back from the down times has been a tremendous learning opportunity for Farissa — figuring out how to make payroll or covering an expense that a client refused to pay for. These situations have forced Farissa to learn, to buckle down and accomplish what she sets out to do. In the long run, her goal is to be acquired by an agency who appreciates the work they do.
Farissa’s love of fashion (and what you’re wearing says about you) led her to create an application that allows women to share what they’re wearing on a daily basis. “We can see what celebrities are wearing every day, but what if you aren’t getting your clothes shipped in from France every day? How do we see what the average women who loves fashion is wearing every day. This was the reason behind WhatRUWearing?”
Knox says what people are looking for is an exclusivity around social media experiences where the users they’re around are people like them. When everyone on the app is ‘into’ the same thing, and they don’t have to waste time getting rid of pictures of kids in their feed, they’re far more engaged. High engagement = higher profitability.
The overwhelming source of users for WhatRUWearing has come from campus ambassadors on various college campuses recruiting their friends to use the app. The WhatRUWearing girl loves a great deal, loves how clothes make them feel, but isn’t about the label.
When I asked Farissa how long she went without a paycheck, she said right now she doesn’t pay herself anything right now. Instead, her income is invested back into the company because as she puts it, “I am my own retirement plan.” How freakin’ cool is that?
Books recommended by Farissa:
Hillary Clinton’s Hard Choices
Farissa’s Book
Love, Sex and Friendship in No Particular Order
For more of Farissa, check out: www.FarissaKnox.com
Farissa’s answer to what does building a bigger life mean to you was profound: You can’t build a bigger life by yourself, it’s all about who you surround yourself with #Truth
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