 Rusty Kamori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is a very successful business owner and host and producer of her very popular fashion sense TV show on OC16. She is Valerie Joseph, and today we are going beyond style. Hey Valerie, welcome back, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Hi Rusty, thank you so much for having me. Great to be here. Valerie, you've been doing so many incredible things throughout your life, and I know that you graduated high school from Roosevelt. Now, right after graduating Roosevelt, what did you do? I immediately entered the workforce. You know, so I come from a family of humble beginnings, and I grew up with three sisters, and we didn't have the luxury of sending me to college after I graduated high school, so I thought I wanted to enter the workforce. I moved out of my own, I moved out of my parents' home, and I wanted to make my own money so I could buy my own things and learn how to earn money and just learn how to live on my own and be independent. So I did that right after high school. Now, what kind of jobs did you have, you know, when you're working, and what kind of businesses were you working at? So my very first job, Rusty, was at Wendy's, and I can tell you I lasted a week, but right after that, I entered the retail industry, which is where I found my passion, and it's an industry where I realized this is where I wanted to stay and evolve, and I wanted this to become a career for me. So there was a, I remember a boutique at Alamona Center that was the place to work at, the place to shop at, that I really wanted to work at. My first interview, I didn't get in, but it was a learning experience for me because I learned what they were looking for. I learned how to interview, I learned how to engage with others, and I learned how to become confident with my own skills. And so that not getting the interview on the first or getting the job on the first interview was a great learning experience. So from there is when I realized that fashion industry was where I was, was the retail sector that I wanted to remain in. And so I moved up the corporate ladder. I started working for various companies from big box to off price, small companies, large companies, places like Splash, Swimwear, Marshalls, Roth, Nike, and it was after all of those years of experience in my retail industry is when I decided I wanted to do my own thing. Well, I'm just impressed that, I mean, you're just such a hard worker. And, you know, we all grew up learning that in order to achieve something, you got to work hard for it, right? Oh, absolutely. It doesn't stop, you know, and it's funny working hard as a business owner doesn't feel like working hard. It's a different type of stress, a different type of, it's a different type of workload, and it's constant. But you said it right, working hard to get what you want. Now, Valerie, I know that you just entered your seventh season of your TV show fashion sense. I mean, every time I turn on my TV, there you are. And I'm like, hey, Valerie. Now, why is your show so successful? You know, I wanted to talk a little bit about success because that's a really great question. A lot of people ask how I became successful, what makes me successful and what makes my show successful? I believe success is personal, and everyone has a different definition of success. And for me, it means doing what you love. And, you know, you always say that you always use the quote, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. It's so true. The TV show started as a show for women about women by women. So it was really, it has no cook recipes, mocktails, lifestyle hacks, style hacks, style solutions, fashion tips, we feature inspirational stories. And it was to, it was for the dynamic women on the go. So information for busy moms or busy women who just needed some fun and interesting tips. Well, it's become a show that everyone's watching, not just women, but men and children, everyone in the family is enjoying it. And I feel it's successful because it has a lot of takeaways. So it's relevant, it's easy to watch, it's entertaining. And yes, we encourage wearing fluffy things in the kitchen. And we encourage you to just be expressive with fashion and not to be afraid to express how you feel on the inside. And what does that look like on the outside? And so we really encourage that. And I think that people get that from the show, and it's something they can resonate with. Well, you're definitely expressive and it's very entertaining on the show. And you know what I like about it is you're so real, you're so authentic, and you're really showcasing a lot of relevant things about lifestyle that, yeah, a lot of women want, but then it kind of, it educates us guys as well. So many men want to learn like, how do I dress? What do I wear? Yeah, yeah. I think there's a learning for everyone, and everyone can learn from our show. Absolutely. I completely agree. And Valerie, tell me about what you do behind the scenes of your show. I know that, I mean, you're the producer, the writer, the editor. Is that true? You're a one-woman show? I am a producer, editor, the writer. So I think, well, the pandemic has actually given me a silver lining story to share. And like everyone else, we all had to learn how to do something different. We all had to grow out of our comfort zone. And for me, it was learning how to edit. I never ever thought that I would ever learn or I never wanted to learn how to edit. It's not something that I thought, it just didn't spark my interest. It wasn't fun. It didn't seem colorful, you know. But I lost my entire staff during the pandemic. And the show must go on, like, you know, and so with Google and YouTube by my side, they taught me how to edit a show. So now I create, I write, I style, I host, I film myself, and I edit the show. And so everything that you see, I do it. I do have some help that I bring in on really big shoots. I'll bring in someone to help assist with certain things. But primarily I do it all on my own. And I've learned that I do enjoy editing. And so I've learned that it's just become a different way for me to become creative, I would say. It's not just dressing people, but now I can get, I can really create the show. So it's really interesting that I enjoy doing that. Well, if you never try it, you never know, right? So I guess that's a good thing that you tried it. And Valerie, I know that you, you own, you're the owner of your lifestyle boutique store posh at Ward Center for many years now. Can you tell me about your store? Yeah, absolutely. It started in 2005 when I opened my first boutique, the Valerie Joseph boutique. And it was opened because after working in the retail industry, I realized that I felt tapped out of the different roles that I could do within a company. And that's when I realized that I needed to do something more that I wanted to be much more influential. I wanted to touch more lies and enrich more people's lives and just wardrobe more than what I could during the companies that I was with. And so opening the Valerie Joseph boutique in 2005 allowed me to really fill the service gap that I thought was missing in Hawaii. It also allowed me to offer product that wasn't easily found in Hawaii as well. And so as we grew as the Valerie Joseph boutique, we had an opportunity to enter Alamona Center to open a store there. And that was 2008. 2008. Yes, right before the big recession. So we entered Alamona. We closed our small store. And I thought, okay, so this is an opportunity. Any retail would want to have a store in Alamona. And back then, you needed to be on a wait list. You needed to have X amount of revenue to get into the mall, which we didn't have, which is why we opened at the McCulley Shopping Center. So we enter Alamona. And I knew that I was going to lose the strong connections I had with my local customers. But I also knew it was an opportunity for us to grow globally. So after 10 years of operating as the Valerie Joseph boutique, I already felt that I was losing too much of that connection with the locals. And I needed to get back. I felt like I needed to get back and just reconnect with them. So we left Alamona Center in 2015. We opened Posh in 2016 as a purpose to reconnect with the local customers. And it was an opportunity for me to rebrand and just to reopen my dream boutique, a space where women could feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. And that's what Posh does. And I'm proud to say a year later that we won the Hokela award from the retail merchants of Hawaii for the best new retail business. And so I'm really glad that we made that move to reconnect with Hawaii. Well, Valerie, when I walk by your store, I always go in to see if you're there as well. But I also realize that there's other guys that kind of peek into the store because there's always women in there, right? And you can't help, but there's just, you know, I feel like it's a space of energy and positivity and it's encouraging. So it's hard not to walk in, right? It totally is. And Valerie, I know that you started your own skincare line called Coco Java. How did that come about? Gosh, okay. So this is a story that started when I was searching for something to reduce the appearances so like behind my back, I always had so like behind my back. And in fact, my laser are the one area of where I'm most self conscious about it. Everyone's got their one body part that they don't love. That's mine. And so after trying so many different products, I was not successful in finding one that helped reduce appearances. So like, so one day I remember specifically, it was a warm summer day in 2012. I don't remember the day, but I remember the year. And I learned what caffeine does to your skin. So I ran to the kitchen, I made a pot of coffee, because back then we made coffee and coffee pots with the filters. I took the coffee grounds and started scrubbing the back of my hand and I thought to myself, wouldn't it be amazing if I could create a product that was so natural? It's edible. And that was my aha moment. I said, yes, it would. So I did, I did more intense research to learn what are the best ingredients that have the best benefits to your skin. And I wanted a concoction that was simple, easy to read, that was edible. It was safe enough so that it would safe enough to eat. And so I made a concoction that was really simple. I had them in little mason jars. I gave them to my staff one Christmas. And they encouraged me to sell it on the sales floor. And I thought, okay, it's something I made out of my kitchen. Okay, so we put it out on the sales floor and it kept selling out. And my girlfriend said, Val, you have to take this to Japan. And I said, okay. And so I didn't want to. And so it was a Tokyo International Gift Show. And that's one of the largest gift shows around, right? And so Hawaii would take some businesses and they would build a Hawaii pavilion. And so she said she wanted me to join that. And I thought, I can't go to this big trade show with a mason jar. So I found, I call him my coffee man. I found a distributor and I took him my concoction in the mason jar. And I said, listen, I have 10 weeks. I'm going to go to the Tokyo International Gift Show. I need your help. I came up with three different products. And I want you to help me to come up with a coffee blend for each of these. And he was like, whoa, what is this? You're going to eat, you're going to scrub and you're going to eat. I said, yes, it works. And so he was so jazzed as excited as I am. And so with him, we came up with three different blends for my coffee line or for my beauty line. So I have a face polish, a sunlight scrub, and a body scrub. And so that's how this whole thing started was because I needed, I was looking for something that actually worked. And so not only do we also have the beauty line, but we've expanded it to offer ground coffee. So we have our signature ground coffee. And we also have gluten free vegan, pinking mixes that we offer. So that's the whole product line. Wow, you're a true entrepreneur. And so do you get together with some of your girlfriends and do these scrubs on your face? So literally, it's so fun. I mean, it's fun because it's edible, you know, there's, it's one thing when you're putting a mask on your face and you know, it, it'll drip into your mouth and you're, you're afraid of it because you don't know how you're going to, how you're going to react or what kind of reaction you're going to have by consuming it. But, you know, it's fun to be lathering something on your face and knowing that you can lick it off or have it drip in your mouth. Just it's fun. It's fun. It's edible. And it works. Well, Valerie, everything you do, I mean, everybody loves you because you're fun. And I mean, whenever you would have events, you know, I mean, I was there for your kickoff of your fashion sense TV show. I mean, so, so much fun with you. And Valerie, I know that you have both of my books. What are some things that stood out to you in the books? You know, Rusty, one thing I love about your books is that you are relevant and you speak as if you're talking like the reader feels that you're speaking to them. So it's not a whole lot of regurgitation of information. It's just really your mentoring through your words written in your book, which I find not many authors can do. And one thing that I feel really connects with me as your power of these, your people, your purpose, all of that, I feel to me is my groundwork. I feel like you have to work with your people. You have to have a purpose. You have to have all of that in place to move forward to become successful. But I think the most thing I admire about you is being able to mentor not just in person, but through your work on your book. And that's fascinating to do. You know, I read it and it's like, you're talking to me. And I'm like, it's Rusty. It's like, you're here, but you're there. You know, I love and I think that's why so many people enjoy reading your books. Yeah. No, Valerie, that's so kind of you. I mean, you're such a successful business owner. And yeah, I mean, the four Ps definitely connects with what you do, which would, what makes you successful. Now, how would you describe your leadership style when you're running your boutique, for example? There are two things that I find are important when I'm leading others. One is that they have to service from the heart, which to me means they don't care how much you know, unless they know how much you care. And if your customers don't feel that you care about them, you can't, you can't carry on a conversation. You can't build a relationship. The sales will come. You have to look at each person as a real human being and be able to connect. And they have to feel that you're genuine and you're sincere, sincere. You have to feel that because we're human and we all connect through feelings. And so it's true when you walk in, you feel this vibe, right? The vibes are so real. And I teach my everyone that works under me that it's, it's a real thing and you have to service from the heart. And so that's number one. The second thing I also teach is that if you are never challenged, you will never grow. So that's a premise for them to know that they will always be challenged, but they will also come out learning and growing from it. And so I find that having that type of relationship with everyone that I lead is, I would define that as my leadership style. So just really focusing on those two things and being able to groom that or groom them through experience. I love on hand experience. I love giving them things to do, areas to fail, things to learn from, mistakes to, mistakes to do. And so I love having that type of environment for my team. Well, I know you're all about relationships and really have a, I mean, you have a passion to really help other people, I mean, through all of these years. And Valerie, as an entrepreneur, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs? Yeah. Okay. There's a lot, but I think the quote, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life is real. And I also feel that it's important to find your passion. A lot of people find that they're not sure what they're passionate about. They love, they love certain things or they like certain things, but they're not really passionate about it. When you find your passion, it's something, the fire is so strong that it will not let you fail. You'll learn, you'll go, you'll fail through mistakes, but you'll learn, but it won't, it'll allow you to be successful. It'll allow you to continue to drive forward. It won't allow you to quit. And that's passion. And when you can find what you're passionate about, it's amazing what you can do with it. And I think that's important for anyone who wants to start, whether you want to start a new business or work for someone else. I completely agree. I mean, whatever you do, you have to be passionate about it. And people can make a choice. They can make a change to do something different. I mean, so many people feel like they're stuck or they're complacent, right? Yes. And you talk a lot about changing your book as well. And I think one of the things for me, I really believe change is good. And you're right. The change is hard. It is hard. It's hard to swallow. It's hard to embrace, but it's constant and it's inevitable. And if you don't accept it, then I think that's going to be a really big challenge for you to get creative or to move forward or to grow. Yeah. I totally agree. And I know that as a business leader, I mean, you've had to adapt and adjust to really find ways to succeed or to achieve your goals. And Valerie, what's a big adversity or a big challenge that you've dealt with in your life? There isn't one big challenge. And we talk about change. And I think change, to me, is the challenging element for anybody. But for me, change is that challenging element. It's being able to know that you have to constantly recreate, re-enhance, re-brand, reconnect, just be relatable. And if you don't change, you don't become relatable. Everything changes. And especially in the fashion industry, things change weekly in fashion. And so that really helped me to realize, like, I got to keep moving. I got to keep up with everybody. And I need to know what the newest thing is. I need to know what people would want. Or I need to be able to give people something new, something fresh, something exciting. And that occurs with knowing that you have to continue to change. And so that becomes, to me, a constant. So it's not just one thing. I think it's just that whole big change thing that drives me. I can see that because I've known you for many years. And it's really, it's fun to see how you change and your creative ideas and how you just try to find new possibilities. And when you reflect back on your life so far, Valerie, what's a valuable lesson you learned? Oh, gosh. Good question. I think the lesson I've learned was that failing equals success. Your failure equals success. I'm very competitive. And I hold very high standards for myself. And so knowing that failure is a good thing really helped me to realize that that helps you to grow. And so that's the reason why I try to instill that learning mistakes through my training when I'm grooming others. Failure is good. I mean, not filling up yet, but going through, filling along the way is good because that really humbles you and it teaches you and allows you to grow. And it keeps you grounded. And yeah, I agree because Valerie, there's two types of people, right? When you fail, you're either going to quit or you're going to try something else to try harder, right? That's really what it comes down to. You're absolutely right. You can either be at the wrong place at the wrong time or at the right place at the right time. I believe in the latter. I believe everything happens for a reason and that we are all where we're supposed to be, exactly where we're supposed to be. So if you pay attention to what the lesson is, then you learn from that versus, ah, wrong place, wrong time, ah, you know, that's kick back to the curb and let, you know, I mean, there's so much more energy and so much more positivity when you focus on the latter and like, okay, this is supposed to happen. Why, you know, and just have that type of attitude and open your mind to what the lesson is that's going to help you succeed. Valerie, your husband, Joe, I mean, he's a great guy. You guys make such a great team together. Thank you. Now, out of his many great character traits, what's the best thing about Joe that you admire? So he's been a business owner himself for over, gosh, almost three decades. And the one thing I admire about him is that he's a great leader in the fact that he really encourages a positive work environment. And in his environment, he has employees that work in different roles, so they don't necessarily do the same things. But he has a knack for managing an environment of positivity, of growth, of one team. So I admire, I really admire his leadership style. On a personal side, he's got the cutest lock from behind. I always love watching him walk. But, you know, he's the one person that's always been the cheerleader in my corner when I started my business because he's so smart, he's funny, he's witty. He has great advice. And I think a lot of his friends also seek to go to him for just small, you know, some advice for business advice as well, or just anything in general. He can take a weird situation and make you laugh about it. You know, I can have a bad day or say something really funny or not very positive and he'll turn it around and I'm like, okay, that was really funny, you know, he'll make it fun. So he's fun. I can totally see that with him. And Valerie, you've accomplished so much in your life so far already. And what would you say is a future goal of yours? Oh gosh, you know, if I can continue to groom people to be successful to whatever their definition of success, if I can continue to groom people to achieve their goals, then that makes me feel like I've been a part of that process. I've been a part of that journey. I've been a part and I've enriched their lives in some way. That to me would be, that to me would make me feel very fulfilled, I would say. I love hearing that. Valerie, it's been such a pleasure having you on the show today. I mean, you are someone that definitely goes beyond the lines and I really want to thank you for taking time today. Thank you so much, Rusty. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Valerie and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha. the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.