Elizabeth Turley: From fired to fabulous

SANDPOINT - Talk about landing on your feet. Less than two years ago, Elizabeth Turley sat stunned by the news that her job as director of marketing and brand management for Coldwater Creek was being cut at a time when downsizing was sweeping through the business world.

Within a week, she had begun to formulate a business concept of her own. By the time a few months had passed, she had investors and apparel industry heavyweights ready to jump on board. Today, she is the president of a company that faces an interesting dilemma - its customers want merchandise faster than she can get it to them.

Turley parlayed her experience at major women's apparel companies such as Chico's and Coldwater Creek into a specialized line of clothing that takes brand loyalty to a new level. Her clothing, which is licensed by colleges and universities, features discrete design elements that show off the school's logo or color scheme. The product jumps out at the buyer - women who have been frustrated by a distinct lack of fashionable merchandise that celebrates their alma mater - because it represents an entirely new category.

Until now, the collegiate clothing world has addressed its female customers by offering smaller sizes of the same silhouettes in guy's team shirts and athletic wear, sometimes with a feeble attempt to make the item look more feminine. Or as people in the clothing trade describe the process, "Shrink 'em and pink 'em."

With her background in women's apparel, coupled with an enviable contact list of magazine editors, television producers and national celebrities, Turley quickly realized she had stumbled upon a virtually untapped clientele.

"This market has never been served and we truly are first to market," she said. "I spent my first several weeks of research trying to find out why no one else was already doing this."

Turley named her new company Meesh & Mia and printed a catalog featuring tops, jackets and sweaters which, apart from the dainty scholastic details found on hemlines, cuffs or collars, would look right at home in any contemporary clothing line.

She now travels the U.S. signing up new accounts and trying to explain to a competitive client base why they might have to be patient until Meesh & Mia can dress up their particular school.

You are in the midst of doing something many people aspire to - starting your own business after a career of working for someone else. What does that reality feel like?

It's incredibly exciting, because I've dreamt of doing this my entire life. And, through some changes in my corporate life, it really opened the door to pursue the dream.

Was that change you mentioned an example of how seeming adversity can turn out to be a gift?

It definitely was. Through downsizing at Coldwater Creek, I was relieved of my position. You don't realize, when you invest so much of your time in your job, that you're just not able to even consider pursuing this kind of dream. So I was blessed by moving on.

Women's apparel companies tend to have catchy names. How did you come up with Meesh & Mia?

Meesh and Mia are really very contemporary names. The brand is formed from the loyalty that women who get to know each other in college have for one another. This consumer doesn't want to be marketed to as company-to-people, it's really peer-to-peer. It's about their lifestyle and the friendships that form during those college years.

But it sounds like the brand manages to bridge generations by using that alma mater connection, is that the case?

Truly. The loyalty lasts a lifetime. Children are born into it - you see them at the game in their logo T-shirts and sweatshirts and cheerleader outfits and it continues on from there.

Before now, there hasn't been much for women in terms of fashionable clothing that ties to their college days. Was that your big "a-ha!?"

It was. We were told by young alum who were in the professional workforce that they didn't have anything to wear on casual Friday, so they had to be very creative in finding clothing in their school colors, or accessorizing to show their individual style. They really had no options in the licensed apparel market. This would be apparel with the college insignia on it, to show their loyalty and their colors. The market is saturated with T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and hoodies - occasionally some sweatpants with the college logo across the behind - and it really is not appropriate for the woman who is 25-40.

Is that your target market?

We feel our market is actually 20-50. We follow the trends very closely, so we are interpreting them for this consumer. We design and manufacture the product and find ways to include the school logo or mascot in a more feminized way, as the athletic logos are very masculine.

It sounds like you come to the party with the very thing all clothing companies try to create - a strong connection to the brand.

Yes. We have made the deep connection to her alma mater while we give her an opportunity to maintain her style and sophistication.

As you travel to colleges and universities, you're walking into the ultimate "old boy" network in many cases. How is your pitch received for this new concept? Do guys get it, too?

Actually, they do. It's amazing how many guys say, 'My wife would never wear a hoodie, either.' So it' s been remarkably easy conveying the concept. They understand that the market is demanding more sophisticated, feminine apparel for women. They also understand that it's the fastest growing category in the licensed apparel market, so they're quite anxious to fill those needs.

Were there hurdles involved in creating a manufacturing company out of a business suite in Sandpoint?

There were huge hurdles. Your connections are everything. Throughout your life, you maintain professional relationships that will lead you to the right path, but it can be difficult, being so remote, to find the right partners in the apparel industry.

Between working for Chico's and Coldwater Creek, did you build up quite a bit of Rolodex power during your career?

Absolutely. In fact, we were very fortunate in being able to recruit key leaders in those companies, as well as other connections in the industry, to be active participants on our advisory board.

We were very fortunate to approach Charlie Kleman, who I worked with very closely throughout my years at Chico's when he was CFO there. He certainly had experience with tremendous growth - he delivered 8,777 percent return on investment to the investors in Chico's - so he brings invaluable skills to help us on the way. Another one of our advisers developed the Ralph Lauren children's apparel brand and has come from a lifetime of manufacturing.

How do you avoid looking farther afield in these first stages and start thinking about future development of a children's line or a men's line?

With the development of any brand, you have to be able to maintain extreme focus in order to achieve your goals and make sure you're delivering a consistent product to this specific market.

Throughout our research - months and months of due diligence before we launched - we were asked by many, many people, 'When will you do children's wear? When will you do men's wear and other brand extensions?' It's very difficult not to wander off in those directions, but you have to keep your focus. We know we are positioned for high growth, so it's important to surround yourself with, not just a board of directors, but also an advisory board that can support you. Because high growth can be more difficult than slow growth.

What kind of potential is there for growing this brand?

It's massive. There are thousands and thousands of colleges and universities. We're focusing first on the Division I-A, NCAA schools that have intercollegiate sports for both men and women and there are 348 of those universities, which is a lot of ground to cover.

But it's truly endless. We've already been approached about international expansion into universities in Europe and Canada. Right now, we're officially licensed with 15 universities and we're approved for an additional 12 universities that will launch in February. Our goal is to be in 45 universities by the end of 2011.

Your marketing background took you to some large and successful companies. Is that your primary skill set as president of your own company, or do you wear several hats?

In the beginning, I wore many hats, from design and product development to marketing. But at the end of the day, it's really all about relationship marketing, so I'd have to say that comes through in all of my areas of responsibility, from developing relationships with the university licensing directors and the buyers in the retail stores right down to the consumer. Marketing is always a part of that and that is one of my strengths.

What are the similarities and differences behind your former career of creating brand awareness for large companies and building a new brand of your own from scratch?

There isn't that much difference, honestly. It's just that the product is much nearer and dearer to your heart. We joke that our products are like our children - we develop them and then push them out into the world. In this case, out into the market.

Are the marketing opportunities such as national magazines and television programs similar, as well?

My past life has influenced me in so many ways, because we are working on national campaigns right now, still working with the same editors that we worked with before. And we're also going after national personalities to be spokespeople and they're very interested in our brand.

Do you enjoy talking to people about your new career?

It's funny. In the past, my first question to people would be, 'What do you do?' Now, it's 'What's your alum?' (Laughs) It's amazing to get people talking about that. In the business environment, it may not be something they get to discuss very often, so, as soon as you open that door, it just pours out and they are diehard, loyal fans. I wouldn't say it has been easy launching this business, but it's one of the easier things to launch, because it does touch so many hearts.

Take us back to the day you were told your job was being cut. After a career trajectory that saw you being recruited to new and higher positions, how did you react?

It's sort of like getting knocked on the back of the knee, because all of a sudden you think, 'Oh, my gosh - I've never lost a job in my life.' The only time I've ever left any company was voluntarily, so it was really a blow. I actually anticipated the downsizing, so, in one way, I really was not totally surprised when my position was eliminated. But at the same time, the harsh reality sets in. It took me about five days to sort of wade through it and start networking. Then I came upon this concept through conversations with others.

How do you view the Meesh & Mia brand? Is it something you want to roll out quickly or do you take baby steps?

From the very beginning of the concept, I've visualized this company as what it would be in the end. And I've always known it would be very, very big because of the amount of people who exist that are passionate about their brand - their alma mater. As we go down this path, we're holding at bay universities that are asking us to ramp up our growth rate. At the same time, we've been asked by investors, 'Shouldn't you take it a little more slowly?' It's like walking the balance beam. Do you maintain sustainable growth, or do you take it more cautiously and wait for another company to come in and take the market share before you even reach those next universities?

How do you guard your flanks when you have a hot concept?

Again, it's all about relationships. We know there already are a lot of people watching us, because they've ordered our clothing for sampling. But we have been first to market and we've worked with a collegiate licensing company, which is an agent for 280 universities. Will we always maintain that ground? Certainly, to a degree. Do we expect competition? Absolutely - it's a $3.5 billion industry.

Where did you choose to start, as far as serving those colleges and universities?

I started with Penn State because my family is deeply ingrained in that community with lots of alum. Penn State is a blue school, so we realized we would gain efficiencies of scale if we launched with other schools of the same color. From a production standpoint, the more you're manufacturing that is alike, the more it brings your costs down.

But as I've built relationships with the licensing directors at various universities that are purple or green or orange, I've actually had people who are angry with me because I didn't come to them first.

So schools are almost as competitive about this as they are about intercollegiate sports?

They are! (Laughs)

What would you say to a woman whose career has been cut short and who has a dream of starting her own business? Any words of wisdom you'd impart?

Since I started this venture, I have spoken to many women who say, 'I have this great idea, but I wouldn't know where to start. How do you do that?' One thing I didn't realize until I became an entrepreneur is that you can really tap into the local community. I found that there are so many other people who can point you in the right direction and help you get there. I wouldn't have gotten there if I hadn't relied on the help of my friends in the business incubator and consultants with the small business development center and the economic development center. You realize that there are so many resources out there that you just don't know about until you start looking. And then you find that there's so much help everywhere.

What were some of the biggest lessons you learned during your corporate career?

I learned some of the wonderful lessons, but I also learned what not to do and how to avoid certain traps that any company can fall into. Landing on my feet was the biggest thing, because now I'm realizing my real potential. And during all of those years in the corporate world, I was probably allowed to use only 10-20 percent of my actual potential.

Did you ever worry that taking this leap of faith might be a foolhardy move?

No. I've always believed that where there's a will there's a way - and it's never let me down.

Date of birth: Jan. 24, 1955

Family: Husband, Ron Fausnight; Children, Michele, 36; Maria, 33; Anthony, 26; plus 4 stepchildren,13 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren

Education: Life. I took courses all over the place, but did not earn a degree - one of my greatest regrets. I was a young mother raising kids while taking professional development courses and working my tail off.

Number of hours you work in a week: 70

Number of hours you sleep in a night: 5

Hobbies: Gardening, hiking, reading

Favorite travel destination: Hawaii

Favorite movie: "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

Favorite book: "Delivering Happiness" by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh

Favorite type of music: Classical

Favorite spectator sport (or leisure activity): College football

Any one person who most influenced your life: Leon Okurowski, a general partner in the restaurant chain where I was VP of Operations. He was the mentor who taught me to believe in my ability to excel - without a degree.

Quality you admire most in person: Integrity

Best advice you ever received: "You can do whatever you want to do ... just go for it."

Any one thing you would say is your greatest accomplishment: Starting a new business in a down economy at 54, with little capital and a lot of faith.

Favorite quote: "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

Historical figure you would most like to meet: If we could turn back time, I would love to meet Winston Churchill.