PWR WMN's CEO and Co-Founder, Kimberly Borges, and COO and Co-Founder, Miriam McDonald, join ChedHER to discuss how they are building an apparel brand to make women feel confident and powerful, and the latest trends in workplace fashion.

Opening Bell

This Blazer Can be Your Number One Hype Woman

alright switching gears here to our next guest, we are getting ready when we're getting ready in the morning, sometimes it can be a little hard to find, you know what to wear and certainly what to wear that makes you feel confident and powerful but one piece of clothing that can be a staple in your wardrobe and bring your outfit to that next level is a blazer. Power Women is an apparel company created by two best friends. Making it their mission to become your number one hype woman joining us now is power woman, co founder and Ceo Kimberly gorgeous and co founder and Ceo Miriam Mcdonald also best friends, kim let me start with you. You know, we dug into it a little bit with the open there, but what's behind the story of this company and what does being a power woman mean to you? So Miriam and I actually started the idea while we were in car sales, we both sold cars together and that's how we got really, really close because you're working six days a week, 10 plus hours a day and we came across the same problem over and over and the problem was that we were never prepared for business or life in general because our clothes never actually equipped us with the things that we needed to carry. So we would get into test drives and feel vulnerable because we couldn't carry pepper spray because our blazers didn't have pockets, we would close the deal and not have business cards because our blazers didn't have pockets and we couldn't carry them, We would close, you know, we would want a signature and we couldn't even get a signature because we couldn't carry pens. So we just always felt like we were one step behind behind our male counterparts and we decided to do something about it. We couldn't find anything in, in the industry that fit our needs That let us express ourselves. You know, we're 31. We're wanting to express ourselves differently than past generations in the workforce. And so we wanted to color, we wanted prince, we wanted femininity, we wanted individuality and we wanted functionality and that's where the blazers came about and that's what power woman is. Parliament is a way to empower yourself. It's a way for you to feel and be prepared for anything that you might need during the day. And also a way for you to bring yourself to the table. You're not having to look like anybody else. You get to look like yourself and your during your most powerful moments. And that's what Power woman is. I love that there's an element of functionality because I do agree that in women's fashion, sometimes that component is the one that gets caught cut in and kinda at the cost of maybe fashion ability of being more fashionable, but you can have both to the point with your company here in the same vein, kim, you know the pandemic that has shifted things in the workplace, especially for workplace fashion as we know it. I'm curious what trends are you seeing in workplace fashion right now? We're seeing that work where fashion has completely changed. People, especially women are no longer afraid to express themselves using color, using different fits, different prints. And we're seeing that women are much more willing to come to the table as themselves, which means that they're not wearing blue, black and gray exclusively anymore. They can command the work room in a pink blazer, they can be themselves at the boardroom and they can do so professionally fashionably and functionally. So that's what we're seeing is. People women are now realizing that they deserve to have pockets that they deserve to be able to express themselves and they're doing so, you know, with us with power woman and that's a privilege. I absolutely love it. Miriam, you're both women, obviously women of color and immigrants. How does this play a role in how you operate your business as a team? Yeah, so one of our main things was inclusivity. I was born in Mexico kim was born in the US and moved to Columbia. So she grew up in Colombia. So we wanted to like we wanted our brand to be inclusive, not just of women, but also different career types, so are different just things that you do in life. So a mom can wear a blazer, A working mom can wear a blazer or a student can wear a blazer. So we just wanted to make sure that we were inclusive, not just the women's sizes careers, but of everything in addition to all of that, you both have a lot going out or going on outside of even just this business, Power woman, remember you have a full time job Kimberly, you are a mother of a two year old baby girl, How do you, you, you each, you know prioritize everything going on in your lives and driving this business to success. Yeah, so we always say it's not about balancing work life balance, it's honestly about prioritizing, so what is important to you and also having a routine is super important. So I do work full time, sometimes I work 12 days a day, sometimes I work 10 days, I mean 10 hours a day and I was like 12 hours a day, 10 days a day, so you know having a routine is so important, so I know that in the morning I can get up, I can go work out, I could have time for myself, I go to work, I come back and then I work on Power Woman and so for me it all is a part of the fact that I am supported immensely by my family, by my friends, by my husband and so just like Miriam said it's all a part of a routine and prioritizing, I don't balance because there's no way to balance so many parts of our lives that are so full, but we just picked up the most important ball that day and make it work and make it happen. Um, of course, family to us is a priority and we do business in a very female oriented way, which means family comes first. We prioritize our mental health and we prioritize, you know what makes us the most happy. Um, luckily everybody in our lives is super supportive of Power Woman and we have a whole team of friends and family that is always willing to step in. Whether it's to babysit my daughter, Sofia, whether it's to help us, help us with pop ups, help us with try ons with videos. They're always on hand to pop in. I absolutely love it, love the work that you guys are doing. Congratulations! I started this company much success to it. Thank you so much. Power Woman. Co founders, Kimberly, gorgeous and Miriam Mcdonald