On a sunny Thursday morning our founder, Larissa Muehleder got dressed to stay in and go LIVE with Refinery29 Unbothered and black-owned hair brand Rebundle! She shared tips on how she grew Muehleder with social media and how the BLM movement has impacted the success of her business since June 2020. Interviewing her were editors Venesa Coger and Maiya Carmichael who guided the meaningful conversation as they discussed some amazing pro tips for using Instagram, Twitter, and Tik-Tok that can help grow any small business. The founders also shed light on their struggles and journey as black female entrepreneurs. Scroll to the end for 4 major takeaways from the LIVE.

For the interview, Larissa looked sporty chic in a full brown look by Muehleder. She was serving in the Jada Mesh Top ($198.00) layered with the Countdown Bralette ($125.00) and paired with the Come-Up Sweatpants ($298.00) for a luxury athleisure fit.

To tie the look together she sported a brown smokey cat-eye, slick up-do and black combat boots. The weather in New York can not be trusted, so to take the look on the go, Larissa threw on the Classic Slashed Hoodie ($245.00) also in brown. Would you rock this look?

1. MILK EACH PLATFORM FOR WHAT IT’S GOOD FOR

Use each social media platform to its maximum capability. Instagram for shopping related content. Tik-Tok to show more unfiltered, behind the scenes or tutorial videos, Twitter to dive deeper into conversations with witty posts and Pinterest to create moodboards that document a style, story, or idea that can last longer so in return be viewed longer. The more opportunities you have for you to allow new and old customers to connect with you, the more your brand will grow.

2. PRO INSTAGRAM TIP: Reels go viral faster and they work best with a voiceover, a tutorial or fast transitions showing how to style a look. For image posts, make sure to use the album feature so your followers can see what you’re promoting from different angles and always ask a question in your caption to warrant a response or a call to action. As small brands the best way to advertise yourself is to use features like reels, live, and chatrooms. (Apps We Recommend: Sked, Unfold, Unum, Videoleap, MoviePro, Camera+2, PhotoGrid, Memento)

3. REMAIN AUTHENTIC

Exhibit the authenticity of your brand by posting content that can resonate with your customers/supporters and don’t be discouraged by the likes or views. Keep trying and remember sometimes it takes weeks for a post to spread and go viral so don’t be so fast to delete it but most importantly, pay attention to what works and what doesn't.

4. RAISE FUNDING ASAP

Start by asking family and friends to invest in your business with a kickstarter & crowdfunding campaign. From there you can use companies like Shopify & PayPal who offer Micro Loans based off of your sales. Looking up grants and competitions is a great way to raise money as well. For example, Rebundle won a Glossier Grant. (Best Resource Sites: Assembled Brands, HelloAlice, Tory Burch Foundation)

In the age where nearly everything is online, social media will be your best-friend when it comes to the growth of your business. These social platforms will offer companies like yours a plethora of ways to connect one-on-one with your target audience and nurture them into becoming uniform customers. Don’t be afraid of trial and error. Take the risk and allow yourself to try, fail, and succeed. There’s pleasure in the unknowing. 

Watch the look on the move here.