Jennafer Grace is the owner and founder of her namesake brand Jennafer Grace, a handmade boutique clothing line from Southern California. Featuring carefully selected textiles, each limited edition piece is deisnged to be loved for many years to come. She’s also a Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) member! In this member spotlight, we asked Grace a series of questions about both her professional role and personal life, including the woman that inspires her, her leadership style, her advice for the next generation of female leaders, and much more.

1. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
“The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin.

2. What is a tip you have for productively leading a WFH or hybrid team?
Be concise and do not micromanage — focus on what your employees have accomplished.

3. What’s a mistake you made early on in your career?
Trying to figure out my own systems instead of investing in technology.

4. What’s the toughest part of being in charge?
Inspiring people and dedicating time to make them feel understood.

5. What’s the best way you motivate team members?
I try to celebrate all of the little wins and discuss positive feedback as often as possible! In addition, sharing the fresh goals/plans of the company.

6. What woman inspires you right now and why?
Martha Stewart. She seems to have created an empire based on her own interests, while being true to herself and creating a work-life balance.

7. What are you looking forward to the most for the industry over the next year?
The opportunity to create and organize at a higher level than before. It seems like all bets are off with traditional retail, so we get to pave our own paths and create our own formats to earn the trust of our consumers.

8. What is one thing you look for when interviewing a potential candidate?
I think that open mindedness and flexibility are very important. I have learned to be wary of too many sentences that start with the words “I know.”

9. What’s something that you learned about yourself in the past year?
That my mental and physical health are not only inextricably linked but also that they are some of the highest impact pieces to my business. Also, this lesson is never completed and requires constant attention and maintenance.

10. What’s your favorite podcast?
I love podcasts! For business and motivation I enjoy “Goaldigger” and “Manifestation Babe.” For entertainment, “Smartless.” For True Crime; “Last Podcast on the Left.”

11. What values are most important to you as a leader?
Honesty! And accountability. These are the most important values across all aspects of my life.

12. What’s the most important thing people should know about you?
I think that I’ll circle back to the last answer a bit. It’s important to me that people know I’m honest and have integrity. That I am holding myself accountable; working on improving myself and my business constantly.

13. What practices or boundaries have you implemented in your personal life to create more work/life balance?
I have been consciously working on who can access me, and thinking carefully about the energetic influence of who I spend time with.

14. How would you describe yourself in a single sentence?
An aesthetic time-traveling dreamer with her heart firmly rooted to the earth.

15. What’s your favorite app?
My guilty pleasure is Instagram but I love Pinterest as a tool! And My Fitness Pal to keep me accountable.

16. What do you do to recharge?
Spend time with family, work on self care and cuddle my hairless cats. I’m working on making traveling a more relaxing experience.

17. What is your biggest accomplishment?
My biggest accomplishment (so far!) was to bring my company into the millions mark with a very small team and self funding — all while having fun and taking care of people in my world who really needed it.

18. What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
Listen. Listen to your people, listen to their challenges. Listen to your consumers, to business leaders who you respect. Most importantly, listen to your body, your gut instinct and your heart.

19. What gets you up in the morning?
Being able to do what I do! It is different every single day so there is always a puzzle. And coffee … I absolutely love coffee!

20. What do you like most about being a member of Women in Retail?
I am new to this organization but attended the Los Angeles meetup. I was blown away by the level of support in the room — it felt reminiscent to how my friends hold each other up. But with the most incredibly impressive resumes at the table! I so look forward to learning, building and contributing to the group in any way that I can. Thank you for having me!

Interested in connecting with women like Grace? Apply today to become a Women in Retail Leadership Circle member!