“Do good. Feel good. Celebrate where you call home with pride!”
A returning favorite in the Nova Box collection, is My HOME Apparel. My HOME Apparel feels passionate about providing high quality apparel that you can wash and wear over and over again! All items are designed and hand-printed in Nova Scotia, Canada and then shipped all over the world from their store in Truro. In addition to being a wonderful local company, 5% of all profits are donated back to initiatives to end homelessness in Canada
I recently spoke with Miriah Kearney, Founder & CEO, to find out what makes her and her company tick.
What do you see as the biggest opportunity for local business owners or people who want to start their own business? From a Rural standpoint, I would say the advantage of doing business in a small community (or maybe anywhere in Nova Scotia) is that people really get behind you. They rally with you and truly want to see you succeed. In fashion or clothing, people often think you need to be based in a big city (Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver), I think there is MORE opportunity to be based in a rural community. It’s kind of fun to be a big fish in a smaller pond. There are also a lot of grants, loans and initiatives out there for people who want to start a business. Personally, I don’t feel that there is a strong sense of competition. On the contrary, I feel like companies are eager to work together and collaborate.
What drives you? At My HOME Apparel, we are really driven to give back to our community. We have a very strong social responsibility component to our business. Nothing makes me happier than knowing we are having a positive impact on our community; I would say that is my greatest joy (along with my family). This drives me to grow the company because I know that the higher our sales are, the more we can give back. We also really love our staff; we try to keep them motivated to do well, to keep empowering them by offering opportunities to grow.
What has been the most interesting thing you’ve learned (about yourself, the industry, being an entrepreneur, etc.) while running your business? I’ve learned that I love working in a strong team environment. I didn’t know that team building would become a massive part of my career. I always thought I would have a team, but I never realized that building the team would be a big passion of mine. We have a lot of staff meetings, dinners and get together to brain storm ideas. I really do value initiative and input from the team; if someone has an idea, I encourage us to roll with it and make it happen. This was definitely an evolution for me! As an A-type personality, I was used to doing everything myself. My team is constantly amazing me at the things they can do for the company. I so appreciate that I can delegate things, or go on vacation and still have things run smoothly. I completely trust their judgement, and I love them so much for that.
Miriah’s journey to entrepreneurship is an interesting one. She left her successful teaching career in 2012 to start a business with her friend. As the business grew, she realized she was passionate about the clothing side of the business while her friend enjoyed the jewelry part. My HOME Apparel was launched in 2015 and has been going strong ever since. Miriah has a great sense of pride in her community which is very evident in their company mantra: Do good. Feel good. Celebrate where you call home with pride!