Each month, Built in Los Angeles features some of the key players in Los Angeles' burgeoning tech space and the women who are making it all happen. We'll ask these founders, strategists, developers and innovators what drives them forward, their secrets to success, and what advice they have for the next generation of female entrepreneurs.
Hilary Novelle Hahn
The Style Club founder Hilary Novelle Hahn talks about her entrepreneurial inspiration, caffeine, and how to get to a great working relationship (hint: practice, practice, practice!)
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WHAT DO YOU DO?
I'm a founder/CEO of The Style Club.
HOW DID YOU BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Entrepreneurship has always been a natural impulse for me. I grew up with a mother who was an entrepreneur herself. She founded and built a major market television station that she ran successfully for 25 years. So creating a business was in my blood.
WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
I was always told you have to love what you're building. It's so simple and a little trite, but true. You have to love it! There will be a lot of rainy days, the love is the only thing that will pull you through.
WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE ON A DAILY BASIS?
Each day presents a new challenge, there is no biggest challenge. One thing I have learned over the last year or so is that solving a simple problem often leads to a solution for a much larger problem.
WHAT'S YOUR SECRET WEAPON?
Starbucks!
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE INDULGENCE?
Shopping. I have a problem but my solution was to start a fashion company now I'm surrounded by clothes. See that part about love what you're building.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
When I was in fifth grade, I began to train as a competitive ice skater. On Saturdays, I worked with the younger kids. It paid well and was my first executive position.
WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN?
Whoa! That is a big responsibility! I think that young women ought to devote themselves to developing their interpersonal skills. I look at it this way, doing business is basically about finding that "sweet spot" in the relationship with the person on the other side of the desk that will allow the two of you to get something done. The only way to become proficient at that is to practice and it is never to early to begin.
Connect with Hilary at www.styleclub.me.
