Name: Jacqueline, Allison, and Elaine Taylor
Job Title and Description: Founders of Le Prunier
College Name/Major: Jacqueline – UCLA/entered as a Biopsychology major. Allison – University of Southern California/Communications and Sociology. Elaine – University of San Francisco/Business Administration
Website: www.leprunier.com
Twitter Handle: @leprunierUSA
Instagram Handle: @leprunier
What does your current job entail? Is there such a thing as a typical day?
LP: No day is the same. Lately, it’s been a lot of travel for in-store customer education and training, sales and R/D for future products for Le Prunier.
What is the best part of your job?
LP: The freedom to create our own schedules, be our own boss, innovate, wake up with a purpose working toward something we’re passionate about and working with the people we love and trust the most.
What was your first entry-level job in your field and how did you get it?
LP: Growing up, our father farmed peaches, cherries and melons, so our first entry-level job as entrepreneurs was selling fruit at Davis, Chico, Sacramento and Yuba City farmer’s market throughout grammar and high school. At the time, we were too young to drive so we would have our friend’s older sibling drive us to each farmer’s market, assist with setting up and selling product using the profits left over from the day’s earnings. It taught us the value of a dollar, hard work, independence, and how to establish and negotiate pricing at a very early age.
What words of wisdom do you find most valuable?
LP: We’ve been fortunate to have had very successful and savvy business mentors along the way which we’ve found is crucial to have. Some advice that always rings true: never be afraid to take risks, learn to be patient and just because someone older or superior challenges you or tells you no, doesn’t mean they’re accurate. Also, always make sure to surround yourself with others who push you to be your best self and believe in you.
What is one mistake you made along the way and what did you learn from it?
LP: Not listening to our intuition. Often times, we always have the answers within ourselves. There is a silver lining to each mistake we make because we grow from it.
What has been the most surreal moment of your career thus far?
LP: During Christmas at our first onboarding event with Neiman Marcus, having Le Prunier housed among brands we grew up admiring and always thought were larger than life seemed surreal. However, we know we’re a young brand and there’s a long road ahead with a lot of hard work for it to be a continued success.
What do you look for when considering hiring someone?
LP: Grit, passion, hunger, a positive attitude, the ability to set your ego aside for team success and being kind to others is important.
What advice would you give to a 20-something with similar aspirations?
LP: Don’t be afraid to think differently and deviate from the norm. Your uniqueness will set you apart. We’ve always taken the road less traveled and that’s made all of the difference.
What’s the one thing that’s stood out to you the most in a resume?
LP: Education and a strong network are important to get your foot in the door of a great job. However, the ability to think outside of the box, adapt and thrive in spite of setbacks and change is more telling of success than having multiple degrees. To date, most of our biggest life lessons have been outside of school and through real-world experiences.