Welcome! The following is KL Small Business Services' (that's us!) interview with Ms. Tené Aiken, an inspiring entrepreneur walking the walk as she grows Eternal Sunshine Sales LLC, her reselling and wearable works of art business in line with her values. This is the first of a monthly series featuring small businesses dedicated to actionizing their values in all aspects of operations. Before sitting down with each business owner, we give them for consideration five questions around their business and their values. The resulting post is a reflection on the entrepreneur's response and our conversation.
What are your business' core values? Why did you choose these values for your business?
How do you currently integrate these values into your business' operations?
What's happening in your business in the near future?
What's the best or worst advice you've ever received?
In closing, would you like to share any thoughts or words in relation to what's happening this month, e.g., holidays, themes, local or global events.?
In [our] experience, only about 10 percent of organizations have operationalized their values into teachable and observable behaviors...used to train their employees and hold people accountable. Ten percent. ~ Dr. Brené Brown, host of "Dare to Lead" podcast, professor, and internationally renowned speaker and author on leadership.
The first thing one notices about Tené Aiken is her joy over being with you. It is effusive, impossible to ignore, and on this day of our interview, it is as contagious as ever. We sit down on her couch after making ourselves a salad, pour two glasses of wine, and dive right in.
Tené has been an entrepreneur, both part-time and full, for over a decade. However, I would argue she's been one for much longer than this as she's been an artist and a creator for almost her entire life. After all, aren't all entrepreneurs, at their core, creators? They identify a problem or opportunity, create a solution, test and retest this solution, and decide on a final version, which they then sell en masse to the world. Although this process has not changed for centuries, millions of books, videos, and media posts have been created to help entrepreneurs navigate and optimize it. Within this vast content has grown a sub-sector of entrepreneurs dedicated to minimizing the entrepreneurial process' deleterious effects it has on the resources--both human and environmental--required to create hundreds of "solutions" society depends on every day. This sub-sector of entrepreneurs goes by many names--social, sustainable, or impact enterprises, mission-driven, triple-bottom line, and, my favorite, "hippie-granola business types". Whatever their name, Tené is a proud member of this group, growing her business in line with her values of preserving our earth, minimizing waste, and bringing joy to people through art.
"Even as a kid, I always thought about the earth, marveling at what it provided and at its beauty. Nature has been a driving force not only of my art but of seeing that art IS everything. Nature also has shown me life's circularity, which goes hand in hand with my business." Tené started her first company over a decade ago to showcase her artwork and jewelry. Over the past three years, she has turned a corner in her second business, Eternal Sunshine Sales (ESS). Through ESS, Tené resells "gently loved" fashion on Poshmark, Mercari, and eBay. Even more popular are her "hard goods" such as unique or antique plate ware and home decor items. "Above all, the product must be in excellent condition. Transparency with my customers builds trust, and trust builds my business. I will not compromise on this." Of course, in resales, one effectively competes not only on uniqueness but on price, and Tené knows no profit means no more business. This is where her value of 'using everything' works to her benefit.
Tené will typically collect items donated to her from friends and family and purchase inventory from consignment shops and sale racks. When she buys items online, she saves all packaging for future use. Upon returning home, she examines everything closely. Ready-for-sale items are photographed and posted on her sites. Then the 'real fun' begins. "I know there's a market for less-than-perfect cashmere, so if a sweater or scarf is not up to snuff, I can sell it elsewhere." (As a mere layperson, I'm wondering how in goodness' name one finds this out not to mention knows this factoid!) "That's just one example of how I sift through my leftover items, assigning each to various re-purposes and re-uses." Tené will use buttons, pieces of fabric, and broken ceramic in her art and jewelry; swaths of clothing will serve as packaging. "I often think of how Native American tribes and other indigenous peoples would use everything from an animal. I take this same approach. Nothing has to go to waste."
Tené has been operating ESS this way for the past four years. Reselling online is a fast-moving, competitive business. She has had to pivot quickly and repeatedly. But it is fun, not work, for her, and she is eternally (no pun intended) grateful that she is able to align her personal values with those of her business. "The insides are the same as the outsides, which allows me to live in alignment and with authenticity."
Our discussion moves to the final two questions about advice received and what's coming up next. Tené shares a line that helps her stay focused in busy times: "Make provisions for your vision", which, to her, means simply that one must carve out the time to create the reality one wants because it is not going to appear on its own. Tené also speaks about the importance of legacy. For her, legacy is clearly less about leaving an actual footprint and more about an example and inspiration to others of trying one's best to live, sell, purchase, consume, and create with respect for nature and in alignment with one's values.
As for the future, her customers and community can be excited for more upcycled jewelry and hair accessories from "damaged" goods. She also has been creating more "wood burned" pieces. Spring is coming, which is when she, personally, celebrates the New Year. It's the season of rebirth, of nature creating anew. Thus, she'll be spending these next few months "hibernating" over her work tables in preparation to share her creations in the Spring, when the Earth comes back to life.
Did you like this article? Do you love what Eternal Sunshine Sales is doing? Would you be interested in helping Ms. Aiken grow her business? She needs website development help, social media content management help, and help with tax preparation. If you have these skills, follow her at instagram.com/eternalsunshinesales and DM her!