Meet Trailblazer Kathryn Dickinson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Dickinson.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
AILLEA is a result of my personal mission to take back control of my health. After years of chronic ailments which doctors would simply medicate the symptoms, but never cure the source of the problem, I set out to heal my self, part of that journey was cleaning up my beauty routine. I started on the process of replacing every product I used with ones that worked as well or better than the ones I had been using but had no toxic chemicals. The amount of “green-washing” (having one organic ingredient but lots of other chemicals and advertising as organic) and false advertising left me frustrated and incensed. Realizing that true transparency does not exist in the industry, I created AILLEA, a safe haven where customers KNOW that EVERY product is safe- free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, petrochemicals, endocrine disruptors and toxic ingredients, but still delivered the performance I had come to expect (and love). At the end of the day, I ended up creating the store I wanted to shop.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I just laughed out loud at this question. Nothing is EVER a smooth road when you are starting out. It takes 2-3x longer than you expect, costs 3-4x as much money as you expect, but it is 10x more rewarding than you could imagine. Each and every store I opened (I now have 6 – Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, Atlanta and two in Denver where I started) had construction delays, delivery issues, hiring issues. You just have to work through it. My biggest piece of advice is to let the experts do what they do best. I tried to be my own accountant, lawyer, publicist, etc. upfront and I ended up costing myself more time and money when they had to come in behind me and fix the issues I had created. The second is to make sure you are setting up the right building blocks. Rapid expansion shows you VERY quickly where the cracks in your foundation are – and if you are not set up operationally to handle the larger volumes of business, growth could be your downfall. The last piece of advice is to go find great mentors and community of like-minded business supporters. They have been my backbone as I have grown.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about AILLEA – what should we know?
AILLEA is a clean beauty boutique with over 50 brands of skincare, makeup, hair care, bath & body products. We have some of the strictest standards in the industry, but still have products that perform as well, and in many cases, better than conventional products. I am really proud of the business I have built, but more than that, I am proud of the team that I get to work with every day at AILLEA.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
The biggest issue is I think people underestimate women. My husband works in finance and when people (men and women are equal offenders) hear that, they all automatically assume that he has to help me with the business in some way. He is my biggest supporter, so he gets upset that people say that to me. I have an MBA from Columbia Business School. I am quite capable of managing my own business.

I also think raising money is harder for women. When you walk into meetings, people are looking for reasons to say no vs. reasons to say yes.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aillea.com
• Email: contact@aillea.com
• Instagram: @ailleabeauty

Image Credit:
Andrew Clark Photography
https://www.facebook.com/andrewclarkphotography/

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