Founder of The Office of Angela Scott, Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Office Of Angela Scott
Courtesy of The Office Of Angela Scott
When Angela Scott launched her footwear label, The Office of Angela Scott in 2012, her mission was to create a brand that would empower women. After all, a great pair of shoes can have the power to make a woman feel good. As Scott explains, “I have always been interested in how powerful shoes can be, how empowered they can make you feel. Shoes serve as the defining accessory upon which we can stand tall and proud.”
But when she refers to standing tall, she’s not referring to stilettos — she’s referring to feeling strong and poised, in styles that boast a high level of craftsmanship and comfort for women, designed by a woman. The Office of Angela Scott was founded for women who mean business and with A-list fans like Julia Roberts, Ellen DeGeneres, Cate Blanchett, and Jennifer Lawrence, the brand has established a reputation thanks to a high level of craftsmanship and detail, normally offered in men’s dress shoes.
As a fearless entrepreneur who has had to “keep up with the boys” for most of her life (Scott was a foster child with three older brothers, and one of her earlier jobs was working in the male-dominated industry of construction and estate management), she literally had to learn to move swiftly in her footwear.
Scott pivoted into public relations while working on creating her own brand, where the notion of being a founder was demystified: “It was a confidence booster, because I spoke to so many designers that I assumed were big companies, and then found out they were really pulling it together on their own.”
In addition to Scott’s fierce aesthetic in her designs, she has a strong leadership strategy and philosophy based on her multifaceted career experience.
Find out the rationale behind her five golden rules:
1. Don’t underestimate the power of intuition.
The expression “women’s intuition” is a thing, but how has it served Scott in her career so far?
“There have been so many times in my life, even as a young adult that I had that gut feeling, and I didn’t go with it. Because it was either the path of opposition or it was the less desirable decision, and as soon as I started the business, I knew I had to follow my intuition.”
When she told people what she wanted to do as her next career move and that footwear was her calling, those close to her tried to dissuade her.
“I think one of the biggest aha moments for me was right before I started the company. I fished around and talked to colleagues and mentors about wanting to get into the fashion industry, and how footwear was just calling my name. But I can’t tell you how many people were like, ‘How about T-shirts instead? T-shirts would be super easy! And I think that was the first time I really stuck with my intuition, and thought to myself, No, there’s a reason why I feel this way about footwear and I’ve got to go with it. And it may not be the cheapest route into fashion, but I have a feeling it’s going to be the right route.“
2. I’m not a fan of maybe’s.
“The word ‘maybe’ has no intent. It just sits there, floating in this haze of ‘I said maybe because I couldn’t make up my mind or I wanted to leave the door open just in case’, and I think in life and business, you’re going to make some good decisions, you’re going to make some bad decisions, and that’s just life. But to leave it in the air with no intent in a ‘maybe’? That just doesn’t sound right to me.”
What does Scott think about saying “no”?
“I think as long as you have confidence and valid reasoning for saying no, then it’s not a bad thing, because at the end of the day, you’re going to have to be the one that supports the no. Have confidence in it. Because if you live by ‘maybe’, you’re going to regret never having said ‘yes’.”
Founder of The Office of Angela Scott, Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Office Of Angela Scott
Courtesy of The Office Of Angela Scott
3. There are no departments. Titles don’t mean anything, value all the opinions on your team.
“It’s nice to allow people to feel like part of the whole group. By closing people off in titles, you limit their possibilities, because you don’t know what they can do, unless they’re given the opportunity. You never know if the girl who came on to do social media ends up being an incredible graphic designer too. It’s about valuing all the opinions. There’s no hierarchy.”
4. Less talking, more doing. Stop telling me what you’re doing, just do it.
Scott is not here for micromanaging.
“I’m very direct and very organized, but I let everybody do their job. It’s up to them to take the avenues and do the path.”
5. Get out of the office. Lunch is not to be eaten at a desk. Go hug a tree, walk a dog, or smell the fresh air.
Before actually launching her own brand, Scott was working in the corporate world, which is where the daily “sad desk lunch” was her normal routine. She felt guilty stepping out for a 20-minute break or even visiting her grandmother, for example, as she was constantly grinding.
This is not the lifestyle she wants to implement at her current company, which is a tightly-run team of seven women.
“For me, as a business owner, I wanted to do everything that I could to not be the business owner that the people I worked with were or had to be, because of corporate guidelines. Work-life balance means riding my bike to work but staying late when I need to. It’s having lunch with my husband or taking all the girls out of the office because they’re used to being at their desks and saying, “let’s move, let’s go to the sunshine, we’re going to walk to coffee. We’re human. It should be a human approach. And we don’t get that time with family back.”
So what’s next for Scott? She’s thinking of redefining the concept of leather goods and office essentials, and creating products that encourage women to claim their seat at the table.
“When women give other women gifts, it’s when we’re getting married, having a baby or when it’s our birthday. I would love to be the company that women go to, to give other women gifts for when they have successes in their careers. Give her something that makes her feel confident and makes her want to sit at that table. We can uplift each other in that way and we can recognize each other.”
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