Ecommerce

Suzanne Lerner, co-founder and CEO of contemporary fashion and lifestyle brand Michael Stars, is an activist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Under Suzanne’s leadership, Los Angeles-based Michael Stars, the company that she co-founded with her late husband Michael Cohen, has evolved into a collection of beautifully designed fashion essentials. One of the first socially responsible apparel brands, Michael Stars has always ensured fair wages and was an early innovator in local sourcing and manufacturing. The company also recently received the Southern California Apparel Social Responsibility Award from the Los Angeles Business Journal. Suzanne’s activism and philanthropy focuses on funding grassroots and community organizations that are building critical pathways to gender and racial equity. She invests in communities both domestically and internationally through personal grants, impact investments, and the Michael Stars Foundation, which she and Michael established nearly 20 years ago. She is a frequent contributor and speaker on running socially-responsible businesses, women entrepreneurs, and encouraging the next generation of leaders. She serves as the vice-chair of the Fund for Women’s Equality (ERA Coalition) and as a board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the Foundation Board of the ACLU of Southern California. She is an advisory board member of Prosperity Catalyst and Children Mending Hearts and a member of Women Donors Network (WDN), Women Moving Millions, and the Women at Sundance Initiative. An avid supporter of documentary film, Suzanne was an associate producer of “The Fight,” winner of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize. She received the “Woman of Vision” Award from the Ms. Foundation for Women and was recognized as one of “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” by Women’s eNews and as “2020’s 25 Most Influential Angelenos,” by Angeleno Magazine. She resides in Manhattan Beach, California, New York City, and Mykonos, Greece with her #feministpup @ms_simba For more information visit suzannelerner.com In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:00] Intro[01:16] Starting in the 80s vs starting today[04:03] The retail landscape over the years[08:15] The images reflect the brand[09:54] The importance of deadlines[10:17] Rebranding can lead to wins[10:43] KPIs that are important[11:21] Don’t compare conversion rates[12:48] Why Suzanne made her choices[16:15] Sponsor: Electric Eye https://electriceye.io/[16:35] Sponsor: Mesa http://getmesa.com/honest[17:29] Sponsor: Rewind http://rewind.io/honest[18:04] Sponsor: Gorgias https://gorgias.grsm.io/honest[19:33] Sponsor: Klaviyo http://klaviyo.com/honest[20:59] Suzanne’s activism and philanthropy[28:00] Compassion in difficult times[29:43] Suzanne’s advice for people starting out[31:19] You’ll gain more than you lost, whatever happens[31:55] Where to find SuzanneResources:Buy long-lasting, contemporary clothing with luxury essentials that embody the modern California lifestyle. https://www.michaelstars.com/Help support the vision of creating an equal world where women feel confident and empowered to use their voice https://www.michaelstars.com/pages/foundationConnect with Suzanne https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannelernerScale your business with https://electriceye.io/Level up your customer support https://gorgias.grsm.io/honestGet a free trial at http://klaviyo.com/honestGet a 14-day free trial at http://getmesa.com/honestGet 1 month of automated Shopify backups for free at http://rewind.io/honestIf you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!Review Link: http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1447700156Honest Ecommerce is a weekly podcast, community & educational resource providing online store owners with honest, actionable advice to increase their sales and grow their business. Visit http://honestecommerce.co/ for more information.If you like our videos, consider subscribing & joining our FREE Facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/honestecommerce/Or get all our content sent directly to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter: https://honestecommerce.co/pages/subscribe