Community Highlights: Meet Carla Outlaw of Boldacious Scrubz and More, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Outlaw.

Hi Carla, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I always knew since I was in high school that I wanted to become an entrepreneur. I have been in a management role in every job I have had since then, but I always wanted to expand in those leadership positions as I wanted more. After High School, I majored in Business Management at WSSU to open my hair salon. After attending Winston-Salem State University for a year, completing cosmetology school, and becoming a single mother shortly afterward, I knew that hair was not the only thing I wanted to do as I love the geriatric population. I decided to change my major to Health Care Administration/Long Term Care (University of Phoenix) to own Family Care Homes. After working in the healthcare field for several years & my experiences, especially as an Assisted Living Administrator, I decided not to pursue family care homes but to take other routes to open other businesses in the healthcare field. From a small town in Roxboro, after working in positions that required me to wear scrub apparel, we only had access to Walmart or Roses, which did not provide many options to choose from to fit the needs of my size with no stretch, comfort, or style. I started feeling uncomfortable at work because my pants were not fitting properly. No matter if I sized up as I was performing the task, I would wear my scrub jacket around my waist to make me feel secure. In 2021 after following a successful & inspiring Scrub wholesale division for months, I decided to venture into Medical Apparel, where I can help beauty and healthcare professionals be bold in comfort and style at their convenience without the hassle of going store to store for professional wear. I thank my parents, Della & Carl Outlaw, for their knowledge, experience, and support over the years, which led to making entrepreneurship decisions. I give thanks to Esther Spencer(6th Grade Teacher) and Geraldine Yancey( Owner of 2 Family Care Homes in Roxboro, N.C. & Executive Director of Assisted Living), who paved the way with their perseverance, passion & caring in their years of experience which helped guide and molded me just to name a few who put an impact in my life.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Being an entrepreneur is a challenge. Especially when it comes to opening your first business and wanting to make sure everything runs smoothly but remember, it only works like that sometimes. Opening a business in the middle of the pandemic was a blessing and overwhelming, especially while running someone else multi-million-dollar business during the pandemic; having to work multiple shifts due to staffing shortages caused me to be able to lose focus on my goals and dreams for years. I was able to attend some vendor events & in some instances, lost money due to scheduling events in the area I could not attend due to my obligations as an Administrator. It is always easy to market someone else business, but not being able to get out in the field and market other than social media & understand how to market as I wanted to be in the presence of others physically was an obstacle—not being to ensure work/life-home balance as I am a wife and mother as well. One day I took a risk to change my lifestyle, including peace & happiness, investing in furthering my knowledge of marketing and self-empowerment, which helped lead to checking off some of my goals/dreams.

Another challenge was renaming my business (Sophisticated Scrubs & More), as I just learned from investing in myself about trademarking, as I was never taught that in school. All I knew was to ensure you have an LLC and wasn’t aware to check anywhere else. Having to take a step back to re-brand that resonates with the individual I am was a little devastating at first. Still, I won’t complain because it has allowed me to walk in God’s purpose for my life to help others in more ways than one to strengthen my growth and commitments, help others to identify with my brand, and promote self-empowerment.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Boldacious Scrubz & More believes that you are the master of your life. You are the navigator of your destiny and the captain of your soul. You should start from a position of self-empowerment to unlock your inner potential and live a happy and fulfilled life. We are committed to leading the way to provide value to our customers with quality customer service and products that will help you manifest your dreams. With a Positive Message, we take pride in providing cute scrub apparel. One of them is theCscrubscollection (summer 2023), Medcouture & other that include different sizes and colors to empowerment t-shirts, outerwear & more to keep you fashion-forward, Bold, and Comfortable. We provide immediate courteous service to the professionals who choose us for their medical & uniform needs. Schedule a call/email for us to set up on-site for your staff’s convenience to order scrubs apparel offering scrub now & pay later options with Afterpay, Sezzle & Klarna. Over our time in business, we are proud to be recognized as a Woman-owned business in N.C. by Urban One Media in 2022. Please continue to support organizations such as Carolina Nurses League in identifying and showing appreciation for Nurses for their constant dedication and hard work in the medical field. Also, I can step out of my comfort zone and connect with other entrepreneurs.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check?

• Fiverr.com
• Canva
• Sister Circle International
• Boss to Boss Leadership
• Ellie Talks Money (IG)
• Buy Black Guide(IG) & More

Contact Info:

• Website: www.boldaciousscrubzandmore.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/boldaciousscrubzandmore
• Facebook: facebook.com/boldaciousscrubzandmore
• Other: tiktok.com/boldaciousscrubzandmore

Image Credits
Kei’s Point of View Photography Shavonz Paylor