Despite what society might tell us, success doesn’t have to mean a rags to riches story or a meteoric rise to the top of the industry you’re trading in.

For a lot of SMEs, success is often much more centred on community and connection.

“Being a source of beauty, inclusivity, recognition and acceptance to members of our community is how I measure the success of my business. We want to continue to be a brand that makes each member of our community feel seen and valued,” states Longe.

“For my team, supporting them in achieving their goals and furthering their careers is super important. And for me, the freedom and economic means to build a life that I am truly proud of is a cornerstone of success.”

Learning from each other and thinking outside the box is often how we get our best ideas and grow beyond our expectations in life, and it’s a lesson to be learned in business too.

“If I could give one piece of advice to other small business owners, it would be to build a community through mutual respect, honesty and vulnerability, and provide a service or feeling for your customers that satisfies more than just their materialistic needs.

“Thinking outside the box was also massively important for Kai,” adds Longe.

“Because Facebook and Instagram marketing has become very expensive, with a much smaller return on investment, we’ve found ways to connect with our customers and reach new customers by approaching our marketing from a more human-centric POV.

“We focus on making clothes that invoke a feeling in our audience and make them feel seen. We have a monthly feature called Muse Of The Month which spotlights a different customer each month. This then introduces them to our community and rewards them with a gift card for the beautiful content they create when wearing Kai. For the customer, this is also an incentive to keep creating beautiful content and offers them the opportunity to be discovered by more people.”

If you take anything away from this deep dive into redefining goals and success in 2023, let it be that seeking out supportive resources and solutions and focusing on building a community of like-minded people (who are likely to turn out to be your first customers) will always help your business grow.

One small business owner shares how she redefined her idea of success in 2023