On this edition of StartupNation Radio, your host, Jeff Sloan, chats with Carrie Charlick, CEO of Essential Bodywear, and David Merritt, CEO and founder of Merit Goodness.
Created in 2003 by Carrie and her friend, Essential Bodywear’s goal is to make bra shopping fun and exciting with a high level of service that uplifts and supports women. Headquartered in Commerce Township, Michigan, Essential Bodywear is a woman-owned, $3.5 million dollar company with over 400 independent representatives in 35 states. Carrie’s business helps women start their own bra business with $549, and the company has reps that make over six figures in the business.
With 85 percent of women wearing the wrong size and style bra, their Certified Bra Fit Specialists have struck a chord with women throughout the country. In 2010, Essential Bodywear was awarded as one of “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch” by MCSB.
When it began, Essential Bodywear started with just $500. Today, the company has surpassed $40 million in sales.
Essential Bodywear revolutionizes the way women shop for bodywear by developing lifelong customer relationships, sustaining and preserving women’s health and self esteem, and offering an entrepreneurial opportunity that is both profitable and personally rewarding.
Related: Detroit-Based Clothing Retailer Outfits Customers with a Mature Look
Learn more about Essential Bodywear
Later in the show, Jeff brings on David Merritt, founder and CEO of Merrit Goodness.
Merit designs and sells high quality sweaters, T-shirts, hats and more that help kids get to college. Twenty percent of each purchase funds college scholarships for underserved youth.
David is also the founder of Merit’s FATE program, which enhances and extends educational opportunities to underserved youth through innovative enrichment and mentorship activity.
Learn more about Merrit
Sign Up: Receive the StartupNation newsletter!
Tune in to WJR 760 AM Radio on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. for an all-new episode of StartupNation Radio.
