Meet Katie Western and Meghan McAnally, the masterminds behind the clothing boutique West Alley. These amazing ladies, who are located in Arizona and have an online store that allows customers effortless shopping, aren’t just badass businesswomen. They are badass businesswomen who are working to help other women who are in the same situations they were in. That’s right, female empowerment is written into the very core of their business.
And, even better? We got to talk with them. They told us that the start of their company “initially it was just a clothing boutique but we decided to take it a step further and create a space that empowers women and floods them with positivity. We wanted to create a boutique that encourages women to feel bold, confident, and beautiful no matter what stage of life they are in.”
They hand-pick clothing that they think will help women feel beautiful and boost their confidence to take on any obstacles they are facing. They want to help women live their best lives and their slogan of “Be Bold. Be Confident. Be You.” proves it.
I know what you are thinking. This isn’t anything special. Lots of clothing stores are now launching female empowerment campaigns to combat negative body image issues. Tons of companies are trying to show people that anyone can be happy in their own skin. But the difference with West Alley is that this isn’t just talk for them.
They told us that they “didn’t want to stop at just empowering women we wanted to also help support women entrepreneurs. So we have set up the West Alley Business Grant to support women as they set out on the journey of starting their own business. A portion of proceeds of every sale at West Alley goes towards the grant and every year on West Alley’s anniversary we award the grant.”
The grant program funnels a portion of West Alley’s earnings into supporting young, female entrepreneurs, just like themselves. They said that by shopping with West Alley, “You are shopping for a cause and not just spending money on clothing. You are actually making a woman entrepreneur’s dreams become a reality by supporting the West Alley Business Grant. It’s a beautiful thing.”
They are literally empowering other women in every aspect of their company. The customers buy clothing that makes them feel great, and in doing so, help other women get their dreams off the ground. Basically, it’s a win for everyone involved, and female empowerment is flooding out of this company in every direction.
Towards the end of our chat, as if they weren’t already doing enough for women trying to break into the business, West Alley’s founders gave us some advice. They said that their biggest piece of advice is to “Never take the easy route. The hardest of routes make the best business owners because that is when you learn the most about yourself and your industry. You are going to be told ‘no’ often, and you will likely fail over and over again, but your grit and passion are what will help enable you to conquer your goals, and then essentially, your industry.”
I mean, come on. How much cooler can a company get? If you want to be part of West Alley’s mission and not only get some badass clothes, but also help the next great female entrepreneur reach her dreams, head to West Alley’s website or download their brand new app. We all probably need a little more empowerment in our lives, and this is the perfect way to get it.
Disgusting capitalism. As an anarcho-neoliberal this makes my head hurt. You shouldn’t hold your position of privelige over POCs so blatantly by acting like we can afford it like most typical cis-white neurotypical folks. You need a wake up call sweety.