Left a Good Job in the City… to Build a Multi-million Dollar Business With Dad ft. Anna Brakefield of Red Land Cotton
Thank you to our sponsors!
Join The Branding Business School waitlist here!
Links mentioned in today’s show:
Join us for another inspiring episode as Anna Brakefield, the co-founder of Red Land Cotton, reveals her remarkable American success story alongside her father, Mark Yeager. At Red Land Cotton, the three truths at the core of everything they do are: being family owned, American made, and focused on heirloom quality. Their direct-to-consumer company offers quality cotton products that were made with the cotton grown directly from Mark’s farm and manufactured exclusively within the United States.
In this episode, Anna shares how both her and her father took the idea of Red Land Cotton and turned it into an impressive $11 million scaling company. Gain deep insights into the larger mission behind their company and immerse yourself into the experience of a truly All-American manufacturing company. Tune into the full episode to draw inspiration from Anna’s journey, and witness the unfolding of an exceptional American success story.
From life on the farm to Co-founder [2:40]
Growing up on a cotton farm, Anna, youngest of 3, enjoyed every bit of her childhood playing outside and jumping in bales of cotton. As she grew up, she desired life in New York city. With a degree in graphic design, Anna gained experience from working at a marketing firm in the city. After her engagement to her now husband, they decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee and this is when the beginning ideas of Red Land Cotton started.
The truth of how Red Land Cotton started [6:22]
Anna’s dad, Mark, posted a video of the cotton gin running with a bale coming out, and his sister commented on the post, “Sure would love to have some sheets made out of that good, North Alabama cotton”. Between that and Mark’s thought of how much cotton a bed sheet would require, it led Mark and Anna to starting Red Land Cotton.
Red Land Cotton’s brand story [10:01]
There are three truths to Red Land Cotton: They are family owned, American made, and focused on creating heirloom quality. All three of these truths contributed directly to creating the American made supply chain and lifting up towns that have seen better days. When manufacturing left, towns that held those plants became overlooked. Vertically integrated plants were not rare back in the 80’s but now they are, and Red Land Cotton is bringing awareness to that. It’s more than just making a product for Anna and Mark, it’s about the story behind it. The larger mission of not only telling the story of their family and farm, but also bringing awareness and increasing jobs in the textile manufacturing sector.
Challenges for being American made [12:09]
By keeping it within the United States, the obvious challenge is cost. But beyond that, Anna shares that a challenge has been the options. Red Land Cotton continues to push the barriers to the options they have right now, options like color and texture, but it’s not as simple to get those options while keeping the manufacturing within the United States.
Creating jobs and making a difference [14:23]
In 2020, Red Land Cotton dealt with supply chain issues, like many others, but Mark sought out to find a better solution. He found Tylertown, Mississippi, an old hub for textile manufacturing. Within the town, there was an abandoned building that had all the resources they needed to create their own cut and sew facility. They purchased the building, the machinery, and opened their own facility that now allows them to provide jobs to more than 30 people directly and more than 1,000 Americans indirectly by continuing to expand their supply chain.
How a Cotton Farmer and his daughter scaled their business to $11million [17:40]
Anna attributed their success to having a good idea and great execution. She also speaks highly of continuing education as that has helped her stay up to date with technology that is constantly evolving and changing. Diversification and meeting their customers where they are at has been the other factor that has helped them find growth and success.
Maintaining quality for repeat customers [21:18]
Anna states that to ensure quality, they focus on their supply chain, they visit every mill that they work with. Even when there are quality errors, the thing that sets them apart is their customer service. They have great customer service that will answer your call, with their Southern accent, and make it right for the customer. It’s about doing the best that you can to ensure that the product is good, but also acknowledging that we’re all human and knowing that those errors will occur but making it right for the customer.
A peek into their partnership between father and daughter [27:50]
It’s no secret that Anna is grateful for her father’s guidance at the beginning of their business, but as they continue to scale Red Land Cotton they’ve had to face challenges and have had differing opinions. Ultimately, when they each focus on what they’re good at, it’s been a good partnership. They continue to learn through every step of business, together and apart.
Meeting the demands of a growing business while also meeting the demands of motherhood [30:10]
Prioritizing family and making time for them is how Anna rejuvenates. Having a schedule is extremely important to Anna and her family. She is completely present when with her children and keeps her work time separate from her family time. Additionally, Anna gives respect and acknowledgment to her husband as he has been a constant supporter and helps make it possible.
Last thoughts and advice from Anna [35:21]
Execute. Think, but not too much. Continue to educate yourselves. Use the resources that are out there to build your business. We’re not in this by ourselves, there are resources available to grow out there and support you.
Key Quotes
“It was more than just making a product for us, it was the story behind it. And not only the story of our farm and our family but that we had a larger mission in at least bringing awareness if not increasing jobs here in the United States in that textile manufacturing sector.”
Anna Brakefield
Stay connected!
Follow The Branding Business School on Instagram and Facebook.
Follow BrandWell Designs on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
LEAVE A REVIEW + and SHARE this episode with someone who wants to build a go to brand in this online era. You can listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
