Laura Thomson (00:02):
All right. We’re talking about risk today. Yeah. Taking risks, reaping rewards, all the things. Lana, what’s
life like, taking risks for you?
(00:12):
I don’t know. Risks for me, I mean, well, risk is a hard word for me because I like it steady. I, I’m all
about the drive, but I really, really have a hard time with risk. I have to assess it from all angles. As Laura
well knows.
(00:31):
Yeah. Lana’s the one that will be like the spreadsheet. Okay, well if I do this, I do this. And I’m more of
like, well, let’s just jump and see. That being said, we’ve jumped a few times. And you know what? Our
internal navigation system has never steered us wrong. The compass just keeps going around. That’s
why. Well, today, our guest, well, she says she eats risk for breakfast. That those are her words, not
ours. Danielle Redner is a former C-Suite exec, the massively successful company, and she gave up all
that fame, all that fortune to found her own business. Taylor Danielle, an online Canadian boutique.
That’s really changing the way we shop and the way we connect.
Danielle Redner (01:22):
Whoa,
Laura Thomson (01:23):
We’re thrilled to have you on the podcast, Danielle.
Danielle Redner (01:27):
I would like to meet that person. Cause that person sounds fantastic, but I don’t say, I think it’s a little
overpromoted, but thanks.
Laura Thomson (01:34):
And there you go. People watch her personality leads Meet Danielle into the room before you even
meet her. Amazing. Thanks, Danielle.
Danielle Redner (01:45):
Oh, okay. So we’re going to talk about risk. It is one of my favourite topics because, and I know one of
you is more risk averse than the other one. Here’s the deal for me over, so I’m 51, I just turned 51, which
is very shocking to me because in my mind, I’m 28, but whatever. Since my daughter’s 28, math doesn’t
work out, right. I have found that same thing. Same, yeah. When you embrace risk, that’s when the best
stuff happens. And so I don’t know that I was, don’t even want to talk about how do you become take
risks or is there a method to take a risk or is it worth it to take risk? I don’t think I was born a risk taker,
although maybe there’s an element of that, but I think you become a risk taker through taking micro
risks. And one of the things I’ve learned over my career and over being a mom and over being an
entrepreneur and over just being a woman in the freaking world is that you are actually taking micro
risks every day. And it’s like that Baader Meindorf kind of thing, right? Do you know what Baader
Meindorf is?
Lana Milner (02:50):

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No. Baader. Is it Meindor or Meindhof?
Danielle Redner (02:54):
I think it’s Meindorf. Maybe it’s Meindhof.
Laura Thomson (02:56):
H I don’t know.
Danielle Redner (02:58):
Oh, now I sounded all fancy and now I’ve
Laura Thomson (03:00):
Probably sound that was, tell me us about it. So
Danielle Redner (03:05):
Baader, I’m going to say Meindorf could be Meindhof, let’s just call it bm.
Laura Thomson (03:10):
Yeah, we’ll fact check that. Yeah,
Danielle Redner (03:11):
We’ll fact get a fact check going. So that is that phenomenon where you go and buy a red car, you
custom order a red car because nobody else has that car in red. You drive off the parking lot and
suddenly you pass the same car in red, right? And you’re like, mother, that dealer double crossed me.
You must have bought two. What actually happens is your brain is constantly searching for patterns. It’s
a physiological thing. So there are not more red cars on the road. It’s just now you’re acutely aware of
red cars you’re aware of, and suddenly there’s red cars everywhere. So I’ve always found that risk. Is
that a scientific phenomenon? To me, that’s risk. Everybody thinks they’re not a risk taker until you
become acutely aware of risk and then you suddenly realize, actually I’m taking risks every day. For
some of us that’s eating sushi or an oyster, for some of us that’s leaving a massive career and starting
from scratch. For some of us that’s jumping out of an airplane. For some of us that’s leaving the house
without makeup on risk. You do. But I find that we are actually all doing risk more than we think. And
once you start to pay attention to the risks where you’ve succeeded, now you become a little bit more
comfortable with amping up the risk meter a little bit. And before you know it, you too are a risk taker.
Laura Thomson (04:31):
Oh, that’s what you need to do Lana. Just take more risks in your day.
(04:35):
Oh my God, can I take any more risks? Let’s be honest. And actually Dak Shepherd with armchair Expert
Mason podcast, he talks about that all the time. He talks about it, he’s like, ding, ding, ding. There’s
another ding, ding, ding. Because it’s funny, but it’s also like if you’re looking for something, you will find
it
Danielle Redner (04:53):

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100%. And I think we all, somehow our mothers taught us risk was bad. We shouldn’t just blame our
mothers, our parents, we
Laura Thomson (05:03):
Always blame the parents.
Danielle Redner (05:04):
We always blame the parents and the teachers. You know, can imagine when I was in school, my
philosophy of life is early is better than perfect. So that maybe did not make me the teacher’s favourite
because I played done. And they’re like, you can’t possibly be done. Everyone else is just sharpening
their pencil. I’d be like, done. Nope, it’s done. Because I really value speed more than perfection. And
that has worked for me in my life. And I think we’ve been taught in traditional upbringing, maybe less so
now, but certainly I was born in the early seventies. I was in school in the seventies. I was a teenager in
the eighties. Just say no was the programming okay.
Laura Thomson (05:55):
And it literally was the programming at every turn in your life,
Danielle Redner (05:58):
Literally. Thank you, Nancy Reagan, just the programming, just say no to everything, which is actually
saying just say no to risk. I would say it’s also saying just say no to life. Just say no to joy. Just say no to
sexiness. Just say no to everything. Great. But we were programmed if you, you’re in your thirties,
forties, fifties, even sixties. You grew up in an era where we were taught to color in the lines and just say
no. So actually just taking a micro risk, risk is a radical act of revenge. If you are in that age group,
Laura Thomson (06:38):
What I think is women too liberation. You’re taught in your lane, here’s what life looks like. Liberating
entrepreneurship was for men. It was all these things that this is life prescribed. Stay in your lane,
Danielle Redner (06:48):
Stay in your lane. And if you don’t, something horrible will happen to you is the subject.
Laura Thomson (06:53):
Your risk will never
Danielle Redner (06:54):
Right reward. But my kids were little, so my kids are now in there 26 and 28, and we used to watch cops
with
Laura Thomson (07:04):
Them.
Danielle Redner (07:05):
The cops. Boy, bad boys, what you going to

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Laura Thomson (07:07):
Do?
Danielle Redner (07:08):
What?
Lana Milner (07:10):
Bad boys? Bad boys? What going do
Danielle Redner (07:13):
Bad boys
Laura Thomson (07:16):
All the time. That’s too, we grew up on it.
Danielle Redner (07:19):
Okay. So I had friends who were like, I cannot. And I’m talking with my kids who were five and six, we
were watching this and people were like, I cannot believe you’re letting your kids watch this. I was like, I
think this show is actually really great for kids, but not to, we could have fantastic discussions around it,
which is what do all the things we’re seeing have in common? And let’s discuss maybe how we stay out
of those pitfalls but still have an adventurous life that feels a little bit more realistic to me than just say
no. So I think we’ve been programmed to avoid risk, and there’s a whole world of risk out there that is
actually not that scary.
Laura Thomson (07:57):
I couldn’t agree more. Okay. Well, let’s rewind a little bit because I mean, yes, you eat risk for breakfast,
but just three years ago, let’s give a little history lesson here where, what was your daily life leading this
huge company? I can’t imagine also being a mom to young kids. I guess they were teenagers at the time,
right? Well, not three years ago, but while you were coming up through this company, give us a little
history lesson on your time and your day-to-day.
Danielle Redner (08:28):
So for, yeah, well, thanks for all Oscar. So for 26, 26 years of my life, basically since I, I had my kids really
young. So from the time I was in my late twenties until recently, three years ago, it was a very driven
career woman. I traveled 80% of the month. I led large organizations. I was in charge of sales and
training for several companies. And then for the last 16 at a very large company, which we grew from
the ground up. And again, that was a situation where I met the right person at the right time. She was
amazing. She was inspiring. She was like, let’s do this together. My husband was cutting the grass on a
John Deere lawnmower and I walked out the door in the summer and I said, Hey, I’m leaving this other
job where I’m making great money and upwardly mobile, and I’m going to go join this other woman and
we’re going to start this company from the ground up.
(09:30):
But by the way, there’s really nothing to pay me yet. So I’ll be taking zero salary, but it’ll all work out. I
have a really good feeling, and this is why I love my husband. He was like, okay. He just drove off. So that

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was the last 16 years, all that time with two kids. I was a single mom for a time in there. It was a lot of
stuff, a lot of life over those few years. Lot of life, a lot of life. And then la I know I don’t regret a single
second of it. And by the way, without risk, none of that life would’ve happened. None of it. From
relationships to careers to, I’m very much like Laura, just jump in the net will appear. We’re good. My
track record has proven, and I think this is a great point before I’ll tell you the rest of the story, but if you
have a track record that risk works for you.
(10:20):
Risk is less scary. So whether you were a teenager and you wore something or you shaved your head
and you know, didn’t go to hell, I mean you didn’t immediately get struck by a liking bolt and go to hell,
but you’ve already survived your risk. And then I don’t know, you went and you went skydiving and you
survived. We have many micro track records. I’m just going to keep banging on that because I think
people think of risk like big financial risk, big L divorce, like big, heavy things. And sure those things are
out there, but there are so many daily risks. So if you had any track record, if you ate the oyster and you
did not get diarrhea, you have succeeded risk. And then you got on an airplane and you were fine. That’s
a risky move is airport sushi. And people do it all the time.
(11:13):
You should be taking credit for your airport sushi. So by the time I got to building that last company, it
was a hustle for 16 years. It was one of the best things I ever did. Leading a company that is $400 million
and with 400 direct employees and 50,000 sales reps who I was repo responsible for was a massive
hustle. It was 80% travel, it was 12 to 14 hours a day on Zoom. If I wasn’t traveling. It was a lot of
analytics, it was everything. And you know what, it was fantastic. It filled my cup and it made such an
impact. And I proudly was able to show my daughter what being a top level executive looks like. So
check the box. That was worth the risk alone. And I think the other thing that point I want to make on
risk is that you are not taking risks for a paycheck, at least in my role, if that’s your driving factor, there is
a safer route, but the paycheck will follow if you do what is authentically you. But I think sometimes we
again, attach risk to the reward of earnings. And those two in my experience, are not connected. Where
you get to driving earnings is when you are taking a risk by being authentic. And then I’ll shut up, is the
greatest risk of all the riskiest thing anybody can do is actually be your own F and self when you are your
own self. That is the radical risk that any of us will ever take. So
Laura Thomson (12:56):
Many people are going to say, I don’t know how to be myself. I don’t even know who that is. We hear
that all the time from people. Yeah, you do. They say, and that’s the thing is finding yourself is those
risks actually help you find yourself. It’s the circle. And I think that risk taking and being okay with yours,
being okay with that. Yeah. And I think
Danielle Redner (13:13):
Thinking back, and so this brings us back to three years ago too, thinking back to when you were a kid
before, poor Nancy Reagan. I don’t mean to beat up on her. I don’t know her, I’m sure just say no, saved
a lot of people from a lifetime of drugs. So we shouldn’t like we should. Hats off Nancy. I think it worked
for you, but I’m just saying from a world of people where that was taught to us, if you think back to
before you were somewhat indoctrinated by the world, what did doing you look like? What made you
really happy when, and this is something I do often. What was your favorite toy? That’s always a good
insight to who you really are. What was your favorite? Did you go to your bedroom and hide or did you
go hang out with the adults? Did you like being with the kids or did you want to be with the parents?

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(14:09):
Were you creative? Did you color in the lines or did you break the crayons? What was your favorite class
in school before you learned what the answers were? What were your instincts? And mine was playing
with fashion always before I learned I should be an analytical boss babe, which fine. I liked that path too.
But before I, I figured out that I needed to beat all the boys in math, which cool, want, happy to say did
it. Yay. Did it first. Before I, before figured that out, I was more creative. I loved playing with my mom’s
sewing machine. I wanted to be a fashion designer. I liked color before I wore nothing but black. I liked
color. Before I learned that girls didn’t play the drums, I wanted to be a drummer. If you think back to
those things, you actually know, and sometimes it’s easier or harder, but there are specific things I think
that you can think about which help you get in touch with who you really are. And then that can lead
you to little risks that might light you up more than you ever thought possible.
Laura Thomson (15:24):
I love that so much. And you know what I’m thinking, sitting here thinking about those little things, I’m
like, oh damn, that is that. You’re so right. That toy that, what was
Danielle Redner (15:32):
Your favorite toy, Laura?
Laura Thomson (15:34):
Oh, one of my favorites was Ask Zandar and Ask Zandar was like this wizard in a snow globe per call it
that. And you would wave
Danielle Redner (15:44):
Your hands
Laura Thomson (15:45):
Over top of him and he’d be like, the answer is you’d ask him questions and ask
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Him, ask him, ask,
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Am I going to the prom with a geek? Please say, no.
Zandar (15:56):
Excellent chance.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
You’re going to the Prom of the Geek.
Speaker 7 (16:00):
Okay, my turn. Do I have a secret admirer?

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Zandar (16:03):
Absolutely.
Danielle Redner (16:05):
I
Laura Thomson (16:05):
Can hear that in my head right now. That was my favorite. Cause I love uncertainty and new things, so
it’s like, this is my idea Zandar.
Danielle Redner (16:14):
And he’s
Laura Thomson (16:14):
Like, that’s a great idea. I’m like, see,
Danielle Redner (16:17):
Ok, I love this so much. First of all, Zandor Zander is on point, but why and what’s the movie Big? Yes, in
the movie Big at Zandor At the beginning.
Laura Thomson (16:31):
Yes, in the Fortune teller box. Yes. Yep,
Danielle Redner (16:34):
Yep. But I love that because would you say, I don’t know you that well, but would you say you are an
innately curious person?
Laura Thomson (16:42):
I am. And I’m always looking for the other path that’s in my head. And Lana and I are Lana’s always like,
where’s your head going, Laura? I’m like, I’m looking for a new path. I’m looking for a new way. That’s
not the well-traveled path always.
Danielle Redner (16:57):
And then when you were asking Zandor, were you quiet in your room with Zandor your happiness? Like
Laura Thomson (17:04):
Yep, I would totally play it by myself and ask all these questions, but what’s my life going to look like
this? Should I do this?
Danielle Redner (17:11):
So that tells you a lot, right? About what the kernel of your spirit actually is. And it sounds like you
actually have followed that path and do those things that fulfill you. But maybe there was a time earlier
where you

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Laura Thomson (17:25):
Didn’t, oh, I’m sure right? You’re going to ebb and flow. But I feel probably most kindred to where I am
now with that toy. And that’s maybe why it comes to mind more than any other.
Danielle Redner (17:34):
Lana, what was yours?
Laura Thomson (17:35):
That’s wild. I’m struggling with this one. I was like the dolls, the babies, the Barbies. But I was also the
one who we would go to Fanny’s fabrics with mom and she be hand me a whole bunch of 90 pound
books of dresses and patterns. And one of my favorite gifts ever was one of those books. And I would sit
at home and I would draw patterns for clothing. So I mean, it’s interesting because I, creativity’s always
been a part of me, but I push myself in different directions. So you talk, think about taking risks. My
career path has not been the same. I’ve worn a lot of hats, but it all does kind of cycle back to that
creativity. So really, I don’t know. I love that. It’s actually really nice to think about the foundation and
then the journey. And that’s so true to who you are too, because look at you. When my kids were born,
Lana made them baby blankets. And even when mom passed away, Lana made me pillows of all mom’s
dish towels and it’s all there. The fabric is still there. I
Danielle Redner (18:42):
Love literally the fabric literally and metaphorically literal. Yep, exactly. Of who you are. Yep. I think if
you think back to those things that made you happy, that maybe there’s a way you can embrace those in
your everyday life, whether that is something that naturally flows into your career or your daily life, and
maybe those do create some micro risks. But the thing I’ve always felt about risk is the real risk. I mean,
it sounds so cheesy, but we have one life. The real risk is not
(19:16):
Taking the risk. In my early twenties, I worked as a speech writer and I for a CEO I wrote speeches for
her. She was one of the first kind of female CEOs I’d ever met. And I was like, oh, she had some issues.
But she was a good mentor in that she made me think of things a little bit differently. So as I was writing
her speeches, I got to know her and her business really well. And it reminded me because at her
company, all these people hated their jobs. And so I’d be talking to people to get information for the
backstory of what I was writing for her and they’d be like, oh yeah, I’ve worked here for 30 years. I have
10 months left till retirement, or I’ve worked here for 10 years. I have 10 years more to go, but I’m not
leaving.
(20:02):
Cause the benefits are good. And I just remember thinking, oh, I was maybe 22 at the time. Please, if I
ever hear the words, I’m just stuck here. I’m staying because the benefits are good or I’m here for the
money or whatever. May bolts of lightning strike me dead because this doesn’t seem fulfilling. These
people are zombies like they are walking in here. And again, I think we think of risk as literally jumping
from a plane, but the risk in those daily lives was just dying a slow and miserable existence where there
was no excitement, no risk, no challenge. They drove the same to work, they brought the same lunch,
they went home the same way. They watched the same TV show, they fell asleep because they were too
excited to do anything else. It was just not That’s risky. And to a true spirit, to someone who’s in touch
with who they are, that life is risky.

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Laura Thomson (21:02):
And the biggest risk can often be not taking a risk at all. Right? If at the end of the day, if you’re
reminding yourself that, I don’t know, there’s magic in it. And as entrepreneurs, we know what it’s like
to stay up until four o’clock in the morning working on your latest drop, your latest graphics, whatever it
is. But you still wake up in the morning and there’s this fire in you to do it all over again
Danielle Redner (21:26):
And it’s yours.
Laura Thomson (21:27):
It’s pretty special. It’s
Danielle Redner (21:28):
Yours there. There is no original content in the world. It’s all been done. Yeah. Okay. My husband’s a
musician. It’s all been done. But what you can do is put your authentic spin on it. Unique. That’s what
makes it special. That’s what I would say. If you light yourself on fire, people will gather to watch you
burn. That’s what lights you on fire. When you match something you’re passionate about, maybe it goes
back to something in your childhood that let you up with your authentic personality. And I think when
people hear that, they think, when they hear me say that, they’re like, well, yeah, but you have a loud,
brash personality that, but I don’t mean our personality, I mean your personality. So whoever you are,
whatever your unique story is, whatever your personal twists and turns are, when you marry that with
something you are passionate about, that’s when people will gather.
(22:29):
That’s when your business will succeed. That’s when you’ll feel fulfillment. And it might take a while, it
always takes a while. Every overnight success takes a long time. But from you showing up consistently as
who you are, and when I say I eat risk for breakfast, that’s what I mean because every day I say to myself
today, I will show up in my own business now or when I was working in corporately, I’m going to show
up to the tasks at hand in my own authentic way. And if I do that and I marry my energy, my personality,
my skillset with something I’m excited about, that in itself is a risk. That is a risk that will pay off though.
And it’s a risk I can own. I have a picture in my, or a portrait in my office of Lucille Ball, who is one of my
heroes are Lucille
Laura Thomson (23:21):
Ball. You don’t say I love Lu,
Danielle Redner (23:23):
You don’t. I love Gwen Stefani and I love Katherine Hepburn. Those are my three favorite badass
women. But my favorite Lucille Ball is quote is I’m not funny. What I am is brave. And that’s because
what she did. Every day when you make a joke, when you do something, you put yourself out there for it
not to be funny. For it to be, it’s never going to hit all the people. So when you are authentically you,
that is the biggest risk any of us will ever take. But it’s also linked to the most massive possible reward.
Laura Thomson (24:02):

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Well, let’s talk about that risk and that reward because you did take a big risk when you stepped away
from this massive company that you started from the ground up. So how did you know something was
missing?
Danielle Redner (24:15):
So Covid hit back to the what were you doing three years ago question. So it’s a long and winding road
to talk to me.
Laura Thomson (24:25):
I wouldn’t have it any other way. So
Danielle Redner (24:27):
Three years ago, COVID hits. I’m very happy in my corporate job. I never want to misconstrue that. I
wasn’t, it was a challenge. Well, obviously Covid brought unique challenges upon most companies and
most industries. It was fantastic. But when that hit, it’s a whole lot of things. Suddenly I was still, so I was
home for more than a week for the first time in about 15 years. So I was like, okay, number one, I like
being home when everybody else was like, we are stuck at home. I was like, oh my God, I home is lovely.
So I like being home. My suitcase actually got some dust on it and I was like, what? What’s happening?
So I like being home. Two, my children are in their late twenties and I have loved time with them. And I
feel like I have done a great, if I can pat myself on the back for one thing, it’s that I think I balanced being
a mom and being a career woman.
(25:28):
Well, I was not at every event, nobody said I ever had to be including me in including my kids. I did not. I
hate sports. Rarely went to a sporting event. I don’t want to go. You do it. I’m sure you’ll be great. Show
me the ribbon, take a picture. Awesome. I wasn’t at every theater. My daughter was in some plays. I got
to the ones I could obviously when she was Miss Hannigan and Annie, I prioritize that. That’s a good one.
But they knew what would why I wasn’t there. It wasn’t that I was laying on the sofa having a c I was out
leading a company. So if you were to ask my kids now at 26 and 28, tell me about your mom. They
would say, we have the best mom in the world. And if you dug deeper, was she on all of your I don’t
believe in parent guilt.
(26:18):
I just don’t. I think we put it on ourself. Guilt is the most wasted emotion. Yeah, you do. And they would
if you said, were they, was she on everything? They’d be like, well, I guess I guarantee you they would
not even have an acute answer to that. Yeah. Is that they aren’t counting. You are. The guilt is not about
if you want to be about your kids, be about your kids, but they’re not the ones that are guilting. You are
guilting yourself. And I mean, honestly, I’m a better mom when I am in my place of genius, which is not
sitting on the sidelines at a sporting event. Lots of people love that. I hate it. I would just be on my
phone anyway. So what’s the point of that?
Laura Thomson (27:02):
And that’s okay.
Danielle Redner (27:03):

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That’s okay. I know who I am. And that is a risk. Not being at every sporting event is a risk. I just want to
keep coming back to the theme because I know there were many moms who were like that. She’s never
here. Yeah.
Laura Thomson (27:19):
Oh sure there is. Oh yeah. They’re going to judge you a hundred percent. Women are
Danielle Redner (27:22):
Hard on other women.
Laura Thomson (27:24):
So awful sometimes. So
Danielle Redner (27:25):
Awful. And I guarantee you there, and I’ve had women say that to me, you’re never at things. I’m like,
yeah, you know what I do? I write a check. That’s what I do. I will give a check to the school and if they
need me, because I don’t care if you think I’m there. I care if my kids want me there. And my kids are
like, no mom, it’s more important you go do that. We’ll see you on Thursday. Come to that one. That’s
what matters. So for years, I felt like I balanced that really well. So if suddenly in Covid, I’m home. My
kids are now both we’re empty, empty nesters, hashtag all naked all the time. Not really, not really.
When my son moved out, I was telling everyone, oh, now we’re empty nesters. That was my new
hashtag. It’s not really true, but it’s a good idea.
Laura Thomson (28:12):
It’s a great story. It’s
Danielle Redner (28:12):
A great story. Anyways, you have that to look forward to when you’re empty nesters. But they were on,
they’re both. My goal was always get them university educated without a criminal record, without an
addiction, and without a baby. Done.
Laura Thomson (28:26):
Amen. Amen. Check.
Danielle Redner (28:28):
Okay, success. So they’re doing great. But my parents who are in their late seventies now, I felt like it
was time to give them some time. And being home, suddenly I could, people who I used to literally my
mom and dad would call me once a month and be like, where are you? And my parents live less than 10
minutes away, but I was very busy. They would literally be like, where are you? And I’d be like, oh, I’m in
San Francisco or I’m in London, or I’m in Dallas, or wherever I would be. And they’d be like, oh, can you
swing over for coffee this weekend? And I would try to find an hour to go for coffee now and then.
That’s the guilt that started to pack away at me. No longer. Being a woman is just a big freaking guilt
trip, isn’t
Laura Thomson (29:14):

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It? It’s a big time. You
Danielle Redner (29:16):
Can’t give into it. I was like, you know what? I didn’t give into the parent guilt. I navigated my way
through that. But I will. And I would’ve regretted it if I hadn’t, when I was with, my motto is heart and
feet in the same place. So if I’m sitting on the sideline and I’m on my phone, I might as well be working.
And if I’m working and I’m thinking about being at home, I might as well be at home. So just be where I
am. And that helped me. So now I find myself thinking about my parents that way. So I started thinking,
okay, well I think it’s time. 16 years in the same place. It’s time for me to do something new. I want to
spend more time with them. Covid is changing the world. I like being at home. My kids don’t need me as
much anymore.
(30:00):
My husband’s very independent. What does the next era of my life look like? I was coming up on 50,
what’s it going to look like? And so I just literally started brainstorming and I went back to that inner
child, which loved fashion. And I was like, okay, I’m not going to become a fashion designer at this point.
I do still want to pay the bills, but do you know what I know? I know sales. I know women. I know what
they like. I worked on QVC for a period of time as part of my, with the company I was with for very long.
I repped our product on qvc. I loved that experience. A lot of people hated. I loved it. I loved having two
earpieces and one person telling me there are 17 left, 14, 13. Move on. And then it was fun. Nancy’s on
the phone.
(30:48):
Hey Nancy, what? Oh, I love it. Ok, ok. It was just crazy. And I loved, because my brain is 19 things going
on at once. I really enjoyed that. So I thought, what if we could, and I like being Canadian. I’m very
patriotic and over. I feel like that ramped up. And because I always worked for American companies, I
often wore Canadian designers. And people would say to me, oh, who’s this guy? And I would, yeah,
who is that? Where? Where’d you get that? Yeah, where’d you get that? And I would tell them and
they’d be like, oh, there are Canadian brands we don’t know. They’re Canadian brands. They’re Canadian
designers. We dunno. Stop the presses. I’d be like, yes. I feel very proud of Canada and Canada’s design
world. And I had some friends in the industry and I started saying to them, what’s happening with
Covid?
(31:36):
And they were like, we’re shutting our doors. No one’s buying designer clothes. I have one store. I might
live above it. I’m screwed. We’re shutting everything down. So I was like, alright, how do I take all these
things I’m feeling and congeal them into one risk, which is actually one freaking solution. How do I find
that? And that kept me awake at night. I would work my day job, which is actually a 16 hour a day job.
And then I would lay in bed and think, how do I take all those things and make, there’s got to be a way
because my perfect day would be combining all those things. Yeah. How do I do that? Because this
company will be fine without me. I feel like we can figure that out because I feel fiduciary responsibility
to that. But it’s time for me to do my next thing.
(32:29):
How do I do it? So I just came, started coming up with the idea, what if we talked to Canadian designers,
we aggregated their products into one store, which really is not done. We do it online because I don’t
want brick and mortar. No, I worked retail in high school. I’m not going to a store every Saturday
morning. Forget it. So we do it online because I think that’s, that’s how people are shopping. That’s
where things are going. We bring it to life like QVC with three weekly style drops that have a live that

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show you how to style it, how to wear it, how it fits, what to pair it with, how to look cool at 50. Cause
you don’t have to start wearing only lilac. There’s a lot of,
Laura Thomson (33:10):
You are the coolest woman ever. You
Danielle Redner (33:13):
Have to. Cool. Okay,
Laura Thomson (33:18):
Okay,
Danielle Redner (33:19):
That’s a goal. We’re going to die. Cool. We all are like God, our the just say no era is over people. Okay,
you don’t have to die looking like an old lady. It’s not going to happen.
Laura Thomson (33:32):
We call it we Woman Up, Daniel Woman Up,
Danielle Redner (33:36):
The heck up, up till you’re 99 and you die. Okay? It doesn’t ruin a certain spot. So how do we do that?
Brought it all together. Basically said to my parents, Hey, I have a job for you. You’re going to ship our
orders. So my parents are both retired executives. My dad, they have overseen like operations for many
companies, both of them. They’re both retired, retire. So they thought I meant couple things a week.
They have now shipped almost 10,000 orders from their basement. Oh my
Laura Thomson (34:06):
God. Oh
Danielle Redner (34:07):
My goodness. With a handwritten note in everyone that my dad writes and my mom wraps every
purchase. It’s your birthday present. So it’s just, was it a risk? Is it still a risk every day? Yes. I don’t have
the paycheck I used to have. I don’t have the quote, job security I used to have. I don’t have maybe the
CV that I used to have. I don’t have the title. I used to have all the things that you work your whole life
for because that’s what you’re supposed to do. But I will tell you that I’ve never been happier. The
biggest risk has turned into the greatest source of joy. And I believe that all those other things, they’ll
come. And if they don’t, it’s okay because I’m not chasing those things anymore. I’m chasing soul. And
when you get aligned with who you are and you line it up with the appropriate risk, there’s going to be
no greater reward. The mic drop
Laura Thomson (35:16):
The end. Danielle, you’re coming up on your two year anniversary of Taylor, Danielle. Taylor, Danielle
also named after you and your daughter. I should mention that we love Taylor and exciting changes
coming.

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Danielle Redner (35:30):
That’s where the sister brand comes in. So we’re coming up on our two year anniversary. We’re like,
okay, how do we mark this? First of all, I didn’t know if we’d last two years. It was a big experiment. It’s
going strong and ramping up, continuing to do that. And our biggest challenge over the next year will be
scaling, which is a great problem to have. And I’m going to eat that one for breakfast too. Not even
breakfast. We are, that’s like, that’s like the AM moose bush before breakfast, the espresso shot. This is
just a shot of espresso. Oh
Laura Thomson (36:01):
Yeah, yeah. We learned that.
Danielle Redner (36:02):
Yeah. But a few things, it’s time to, it is time to start leveling up a little. But the challenge is I want to
level up, but maintain the soul. Maintain who we are. I never want you to not get a note from Jack in
your order. People love, my dad is the most popular human on earth. Second, maybe only to my
mother. He really is. So everybody wants the note from Jack, the wrapping by Myrna. Those things are
not negotiable by them. Being involved is not negotiable. All of our friends and family being models is
not negotiable. We will scale that up because those are real women wearing the clothes. I am not. I am
five one and I’m 51 and I’m kind of busty. I’m not a perfect body, but that’s okay. None of us are.
Laura Thomson (36:48):
Yeah. I love mean Laura and I, the moment we met you, that was one of the things that really stood out
to us. The fact that you were using real women real bodies and it was clothes for real women with real
bodies.
Danielle Redner (36:59):
Yes. We try to find, literally our models are my friends and family, and we make sure we have everybody
from six feet to four 11 and size two to size 16 and every possible body shape in there. And we celebrate
that. That’s what we’re here to help you do. Find great Canadian fashion that makes you feel good. And I
will quote a great customer of ours from Edmonton. All roads lead to Edmonton, all roads. Heather is
her name. All roads to Heather tagging you. Heather said when she bought her first thing from us, she’s
in her mid forties. Turns out it wasn’t my body. I was just wearing crappy clothes.
Laura Thomson (37:36):
It was the clothes. Oh.
Danielle Redner (37:38):
And I’m like, yes, girl.
Laura Thomson (37:39):
The biggest compliment
Danielle Redner (37:41):
Ever. The biggest compliment ever. Not to us, to the designer. We’re just the aggregator.

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Laura Thomson (37:46):
You’re the catalyst. You’re the catalyst.
Danielle Redner (37:47):
We’re the catalyst. I was able to get it out to her. She wouldn’t know about it. So I own our role, but yes,
because when you were 19 or maybe 13, you could buy a 9 99 h and m swimsuit and probably look
okay. Yeah, okay. I don’t know about you, but that is not happening now for most of us. No. So you
actually need clothes that are cut and have fabric that is meant to flatter a boob. It’s got to look good. So
all of that is not negotiable. But we decided, okay, well let’s think about our brand. How do we, because
our website is our store, how do we level up our website a little bit? How do we level up our branding a
little bit without losing, we made our website. Okay, we’re not Ta Taylor.
Laura Thomson (38:34):
Amazing. And that speaks to true entrepreneurial spirit, right? I mean, how many listeners right now
have made their own websites? No money? That’s
Danielle Redner (38:44):
Far. We spend nothing. The only thing we spend money on is product because we want and shipping.
But we, as far as backend, we figure we watch a YouTube video and figure out how to do it. We make
our own website, we do our own stuff. But it’s time maybe to bring in a pro to help us a little bit. So
that’s where Lana and Laura come in. You’re going to see on our anniversary, which is May 8th, two
years, things will look a little bit different. And I’m so excited about it. I think I might have dreamt about
it last night.
Laura Thomson (39:15):
Oh, I love that. A new look. We’re so excited about it too. But same family run, amazing business,
Danielle Redner (39:22):
Same family, same energy, same all. That’s very important to me because that’s the last thing I’ll say.
The biggest risk you can take in life is put more energy into the world. Then you suck from it. And I think
often we have that backwards because we think we’re just here as a participant. And you’re not. You’re
here as a leader. So don’t just suck all the energy from the world, your family, your friends, your
neighborhood, your industry, your job, whatever. If you’ll take the risk to give the energy, and that is a
risk because it’s tiring it. Revi requires innovation, it requires leadership. And that is being a leader is
putting yourself out there. But if you will take that little micro risk on a daily basis, you just leave the
world better than you found it. You leave that conversation better than you found it.
(40:18):
You leave that business better than you found it. I don’t care if someone buys this shirt from us or not.
Although this is a freaking awesome shirt and you should what I care. It’s awesome is that you were
inspired in some way by what we’re doing around this shirt. The designer inspired you, our family
inspired you. Somebody taking risks inspired you. If you’re inspired, check the box. You want to buy the
shirt? Yeah, that’s the cherry on top. So if the listener can think about whatever you’re doing in your life,
my one piece of advice would be authentically you, be a leader. Take a risk and think back to your
childhood. There’s probably a nugget in there that you can use.

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Laura Thomson (41:00):
Now. Tinkerbell goes across the screen. Mic drop.
Danielle Redner (41:04):
Thanks guys.
Laura Thomson (41:07):
If you would love to check out Danielle, and we really encourage you to do so, head to Taylor
danielle.com, curated Canadian style. People freaking love these collections. And the fact that she is
Canadian, she has Canadian clothing for Canadian women is just amazing. And if you enjoy the podcast
today, please head over and send us a review. Like send it to a friend. You know what? That’s the best
thing that you can do is send this to a friend, share the love. And we do have more podcasts that you
can find on all major podcast platforms. And of course, thank you to Doug with stories and strategies for
always putting this together and making us sound good!