Looking Good, Feeling Confident with Designer Jennifer Love, Founder & CEO of Bodylicious Couture
When she was just twenty-six years old, Jennifer Love had already established a name for herself in the fashion community as the Founder and CEO of Bodylicious Couture. Through her fashion line, she strives to create everything from tailored pieces to fun silhouettes and provides versatile fashion pieces for a variety of women, including working moms, boss babes, young adults, and everything in between.
The inspiration for her fashion brand came from growing up alongside three bold women throughout her entire life: her grandmother, great aunt, and mother who had all taught her how to feel confident in her own skin and Jennifer hopes to carry this message along to all of the women wearing her handcrafted clothing pieces.
During this interview, Jennifer shares how a breakdown led to her breakthrough, and how she cultivates confidence as a burgeoning entrepreneur, designer, and style icon.
Thanks for sitting down with Confidence Daily! Tell us about what you do.
I am a Fashion Designer and owner behind Bodylicious Couture, a luxury fashion versatile women’s clothing brand. After having a mental breakdown in 2018, I created Bodylicious Couture to help me find my purpose and calling in life. By doing this, I saw that I was building a legacy and making a mark in the fashion world.
My goal is to give women the freedom to change their looks in seconds by creating a versatile piece that can be worn in multiple different ways. I love being able to provide women with innovative garments and making couture ready to wear!
How do you cultivate confidence?
Confident has never been a word that I would use to describe myself, but once I started my clothing brand, it helped me see my greatness! Honestly, I finally am proud of all that I have accomplished. Being able to know that I am giving women looks that allow them to feel confident, gave me the ability to cultivate confidence in myself. I am also motivated when I read about how people love Bodylicious Couture, being that it is my baby. I am a proud confident mother, watching her child make a mark on the world!
What does being a woman-owned business mean to you?
It truly means everything to be a woman-owned business right now. It's quite an honor, especially when it comes to the fashion world. I am excited to hopefully inspire the next female designer!
What was your business origin story?
In the past, I worked as an Industrial Painter at nuclear plants around the United States and started realizing that this job was not 100% reliable. So I started thinking of other avenues of income. During my mental break, I decided that I had one true purpose and it was time to start working toward living my dream. That is when I started working on designing a collection! Through that process, I found love in my creativity. That is why my first collection is called Passport to Freedom because my clothing brand Bodylicious Couture saves my life and helped me see that I was on my way to greatness.
Okay, coming up with a great idea and actually taking the steps to become an entrepreneur and launch your company are two very different things. How d:
I knew it was time to take steps to become an entrepreneur because I felt that there was never a right time to start. I just did it and decided that I was going to let God lead me. Do you know how many million-dollar ideas never come to fruition because people are afraid? So, I would not let fear of the unknown or failure deter me from chasing my dreams. If you feel a little bit of fear, I used it as a motivator to start my entrepreneurship journey! Let it be the push to look back one day and see that your ups and downs were worth the fight.
Sometimes entrepreneurship can be a hard and isolating journey. How do you stay confident along the way?
I focus more on knowing that I am building a great future, especially when it comes to providing generational wealth for my future children. Also, to know that I created a company that will be here after that I am gone and have a clothing brand that will be here 100 years from now!
If you had to list three traits or attributes that have been pivotal for your success, what would they be?
Consistency - Procrastination is easy, but it's important to get up every day and put effort into your company, no matter how long it takes. With consistency, you will see that every accomplishment no matter big or small is a win. You have to be able to keep going!
Learning - Always be open to learning from the mistakes that happen, learning from your team, and learning from your industry. By doing that, you are expanding your mind and knowledge, which can help take your business to the next level.
Gratefulness - This may not sound like a common one. The state of being thankful can change your attitude completely around. Being thankful for something before it even happens. So go ahead and cheer for every single sale, they show up as wins from God’s blessing.
What's one myth you'd like to debunk about your line of work?
That fashion is for a certain group of people that can afford high-designer. Fashion is a lifestyle, for amazing people who are not afraid to express their self through clothing!
What advice would you give to burgeoning entrepreneurs?
Be your first fan, cheerleader, and customer. Once you understand that, then everyone else will follow suit. Also, hire people that are smarter than you in what you do!
What words do you live by?
“Ask and you shall receive.” Trusting in God and taking a step of faith, so many blessings will come. Believing in yourself enough is the first step!
Any final words of wisdom?
I believe in you. You are the next person that will solve a problem and I am already cheering you on! Bodylicious Couture was the push I needed to know that I had greatness in me. Since I launched, I have been featured in magazines that I use to read as a kid, like Reader Digest and Grazia Magazine. I have had reality stars and actresses that I ever would have met wearing my clothes. As I keep working on my dream, I am believe and excited about seeing you live yours.
