Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Haynes.
Kim, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always had a passion for fashion and wanted to be a fashion designer in high school, but life had other plans. I had my first daughter at 17, and after high school, I worked multiple jobs that demanded my time and energy, leaving no time for school. Three marriages and two additional children later, there was still something missing.
I spent my days at work daydreaming about business ideas, trying to find ways to break free of the mundane. At this time, a friend introduced me to secondhand e-commerce, and I was hooked. I started reselling part-time until one day while reading “You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero, I made the choice: to take the risk to pursue happiness and self-fulfillment. In February 2019, I put in my two-week notice, and with the support of my family, I created Thread Envy.
Since I started this adventure, I have had many ups and downs, successes and failures, accomplishments and struggles. I attribute a lot of my progress to the people around me. I spent a lot of time learning about entrepreneurship through the IEWBC (Inland Empire Women’s Business Center), I returned to college to get a degree in Business Administration to further my knowledge of how to properly run a business, and I became part of an invaluable network of resellers and vintage enthusiasts who share my passion and, many of which, have become very good friends of mine.
My business now spans multiple online presences, and I am in the process of building a dedicated website for my vintage collection. I am also a regular vendor at multiple outdoor vintage markets, including the San Diego Vintage Flea Market in Normal Heights and the Palm Springs Vintage Market. This summer, I was able to expand my business by creating my own pop-up events with a rented mobile boutique from a small business in LA called Hustle Trucks, which has truly been an amazing experience as I’ve connected with incredible business owners all over San Diego and partnered with them to support each other. I am also proud to say that I recently occupied a booth where I sell vintage clothing and hard goods in a retail collective space called Open Market OC in Laguna Hills, CA.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t believe that anyone who is an entrepreneur has a smooth road, at least not completely! The pandemic was definitely a challenge as I had to step back a bit from my business when my kids were home and required homeschooling and virtual education. I, fortunately, did get help from my husband as he was able to take time off to help with the kids for part of the pandemic, but even so, I found myself still trying to find my bearings as a full-time entrepreneur and a mom.
In addition to the challenges coming with balancing personal life and running a business, I found myself trying to pivot my business to make more money but realized that focusing on selling products that I didn’t have a passion for, like modern clothing instead of vintage clothing, was making my work feel like a “job” and I wasn’t getting the satisfaction I did previously. This taught me that instead of spreading myself thin and trying to do everything at once, I am much more successful and fulfilled when I can put my energy into a focused area and thrive doing what I have a passion for. Besides, isn’t that the reason we become entrepreneurs? As the saying goes, make a career of something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Thread Envy is a small, woman-owned business sharing our love of true vintage clothing with the world. I personally select a carefully curated collection of vintage women’s and men’s fashion and accessories, as well as collectibles and home decor items, from the 1930s to the 1970s.
My mission is to provide a fun, personalized experience where people can enjoy shopping styles of the past while providing a mindful shopping experience to customers seeking high-quality, beautiful, and unique pieces that help reduce waste and support a more sustainable lifestyle.
Thread Envy not only brings people a great shopping experience that allows them to express themselves through fashion, but it gives people the option to shop sustainably and to support a small business that they can create a real connection with.
Fast fashion has such a detrimental impact in so many ways and the majority of people don’t realize it. From textile waste to resources being wasted and polluting the earth during manufacturing, the clothing industry is killing our planet more and more as we consume more and keep clothes for less time every year. I love giving vintage clothing new life by connecting beautiful, well-made clothing items with their new owners. Even items that need cleaning or repair can be restored to their original beauty so they can be worn again.
If we continue to grow awareness in our community as the secondhand fashion industry continues to grow, we can make an impact! Thread Envy is committed to providing each customer a personal and fun shopping experience while teaching people that they can make small changes to their habits to help the planet. Thread Envy currently makes a difference in the community by providing education to our customers about sustainable shopping. But I want to do more than that with this business.
One of my goals is to educate people, with an emphasis on women, on entrepreneurship and how to take those difficult first steps. I have done e-commerce presentations for courses at the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center to inspire and educate female and male entrepreneurs about the different types of e-commerce and how they can get started. I hope to continue to network and share my knowledge because I really want to see all of the people in this industry succeed together!
My next mission is to partner with a friend of mine who also owns a vintage resale business, Breezy Von Breezy, to create an outreach program. We want to work with corporate sponsors to provide basic equipment and personally provide entrepreneurship training to victims in Domestic Violence shelters. Our goal is to show people that even in the darkest of days, there is hope and opportunity. We want to show others how it is possible to build a business that is profitable and sustainable with very little start-up costs and allows you to create your own work-life balance, especially for those with children who are trying to start their lives over and need stability.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I think that I am a pretty open book when it comes to my business and my customers, and I love to have personal connections with the people I do business with, whether they are customers or other business owners/collaborators.
That being said, as much as I am a carefree, spontaneous, outgoing person who loves to think outside the box and loves trying new things, I struggle with mental health disorders, and that takes a toll on me more than I let on. With social media and being the face of a small business, I think that entrepreneurs tend to highlight the good parts of our day and our successes in business, and we always put on a happy face. I suffer from an anxiety disorder and Bipolar 2 disorder, so there are many days where I find myself having a hard time with motivation, focus, or productivity, and I think it is so important that those things aren’t completely hidden from the public eye.
I don’t want to use my brand or my social media presence to bring people down or get too personal because this business is my livelihood, and I do love to share my positive outlook on life with others. I do occasionally try to share some of my struggles with my audiences, online and in person, because I feel like it should be acceptable for people to know that running a business comes with challenges; not everything always works out how we expect or want it to, and to remind people that there is a real human behind the brand and it’s ok not to be perfect!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://threadenvy.online
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threadenvyonline
