What started out as a Cape Town-based initiative to help The Haven night shelter has turned into a global charity drive. We stat down to chat with Kayli Levitan, co-founder of The Street Store, about what inspires her to make a difference:
GLAMOUR: What inspires you to succeed?
Kayli: Knowing that every day is an opportunity to do something new – and maybe, just maybe, that thing will be amazing. And if it’s not, that’s OK, because there’s always tomorrow.
GLAMOUR: What makes you feel like a strong, GLAMOURous woman in your day-to-day life?
Kayli: I don’t feel like a strong, glamorous woman every day. It’s impossible, unattainable, and puts pressure on you. But the moments when I do feel strong are what get me through the days that I don’t.
GLAMOUR: Who is your woman of the year? Why?
Kayli: It sounds like a cliché, but definitely my mom. In the past three years she has lost her mom, two brothers-in-law, and her husband – but she is still going strong.
GLAMOUR: What’s the best career advice that you’ve ever received?
Kayli: The career version of “never go to sleep at night angry” –”Never sign off/approve anything that you aren’t 100% happy with.” Not even 99.5% will do, because you’ll always look back on that 0,5% and wonder why you let it happen.
GLAMOUR: What was the defining moment in your career?
Kayli: The Street Store has been the defining project of my career. But the defining moment was far earlier. After completing my degree at UCT, I applied to study marketing at Red & Yellow. They called me one day and said, “You have been accepted for marketing, but if you’d like, we’ll also accept you to study copywriting.” I had no idea what it was, or what I was getting myself into, but my gut told me that I needed to switch to copywriting – it was the best thing that I’ve ever done.
For more on Kayli, get your hands on our September issue on shelf now. Want to know who else made our list? Meet the rest of our fabulous 2015 GLAMOUR Women of the Year, here.
