Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
When Abbie Lynn Kearse, 34, was offered a chance to emerge fromher behind-the-scenes job at MTV and become an on-air reporter, sheturned the seeming dream job down. The reason? A warped body imageand personal insecurities. "I wanted to be on the air, but Iwasn't ready to deal with being under a microscope,"explains Kearse, whose full figure initially hindered her from TVstardom.
But six years later, after turning 30 and experiencing thelife-altering loss of her grandmother, Kearse decided to tossapprehension aside and ask her bosses for another shot at 15minutes of fame. The only problem? Though equipped with a newfoundconfidence, Kearse couldn't find any fun, hip clothing to fither plus-size figure. "They'd usually hand me somethingfrom Bill Bellamy's wardrobe, like an oversizedwindbreaker," says Kearse. Not wanting to dress like a rapperevery day, Kearse was determined to find clothes to reflect hergirlie, glam-rock image.
"Nothing represented what I was about," says Kearse,"and there wasn't anybody going out of their way to helpme, so it fell into my hands." Diligently studying fashionmagazines, Kearse sketched designs and had tailors whip them up. In1998, when MTV didn't renew the on-air portion of her contract,she left her salary behind and stopped working.
At home, living off of savings, Kearse read books on design,researched the Internet and schooled herself in e-commerce. Shebought fabrics and trim for a line of six dresses, hired a Webteam, registered her domain name and contracted an artist to designher logo. Eight months and $14,000 later, she launched abbie lynnusa, selling funky dress designs in sizes L, XL and XXL via her Website, http://www.abbielynn.com With nomoney for advertising, she sent out self-written press releases andbios, relying on editorial coverage to promote awareness.
Since the spring/summer collection debuted in May 1999, http://www.abbielynn.com has climbedto 2,000 hits per day. The Web site features more than just herclothing line; editorial content, with music reviews and interviewswritten by Kearse, rounds it out. At press time, she was alsoplanning negotiations with potential investors to expand herproduct line.
"I just want to make sure my vision doesn't getdistorted," says Kearse. "That's the one thing I likeabout being my own boss--I only have to answer to myself. It is socool!"
