Co-Founder Diana Joins the Team Full-Time
Six years ago, Amy and I had an idea to start a business that would provide employment opportunities to disadvantaged women in our community. In the beginning days, we dreamt big and often thought of what Rebel Nell could become. As we began our business, we immersed ourselves into meeting with some of Detroit’s existing and incredible social enterprises. We were in awe of what those who came before us were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. In particular, I remember meeting with The Empowerment Plan. As we toured their space and met with their team, it was incredible to see the impact they were having on the community first-hand. Their founder, Veronika Scott, turned her school project into a fully functioning and highly respected social enterprise. In doing so, she was able to fully invest herself into running her business on a full-time basis; we were inspired. After this meeting, Amy turned to me and said, “We’ll get there one day.” Amy and I were new to the entrepreneurial world, we both had full-time jobs and we had little to no experience in the jewelry industry; by all accounts, she was crazy!
Fast forward to present day, Amy was completely right in her prediction. Last year, she had an opportunity to transition from her day job and run our company on a full-time basis. Her focus is not only on the overarching strategy of running our business and growing it to its fullest potential, but particularly on the sales and marketing side. Since she’s invested 100% of her time into Rebel Nell, we’ve made significant progress in a multitude of areas. It’s been incredible watching the impact that she’s had since taking the leap!
This year, I was able to take advantage of a similar opportunity and am happy to announce that I am officially a full-time member of the team! My role is as Chief Operating Officer for both Rebel Nell and our non-profit arm, T.E.A. (Teach. Empower. Achieve). In this capacity I’ll be tasked with ensuring that we’re productive and efficient in all areas of our business. On the Rebel Nell side I’ll ensure that, during the jewelry-making process, we are operating at full capacity, that we are efficient in training our team members and that we are minimizing any loss that could negatively impact our mission. Additionally, our mission demands that we remain dedicated to improving the lives of our team. For this reason, on the T.E.A. side, I’ll be spearheading initiatives that will challenge our team members to continue to grow both on a professional and personal level.
We’re looking forward to what’s in store for Rebel Nell and T.E.A. now that the two of us are completely invested in furthering our mission and living out our dream!
And, as we always have, we continue to dream big!
