Claire Lankford, a sophomore business major, is the owner of With love, Lank LLC. Her business began in high school as a thrift business and has evolved into a handmade clothing brand inspired by the message of love in Colossians 3:14.

With love, Lank LLC began as a thrift and resell business during my junior year of high school. It went by the name Lank Avenue Thrifts, and I thrifted and resold clothing. It grew on social media and became a little more successful than originally expected! At the end of 2023, I decided to transform the thrift business into a handmade and upcycled clothing brand. From here, With love, Lank was born and has since evolved, but it originated from a high school dream.

Because the Samford Startup Program offers several resources and mentors for entrepreneurs, I decided to apply for the program. Owning a business in college is quite the undertaking and can be isolating at times. I knew I could find students in the same boat through the Startup program. More than that, I hoped to gain wisdom from successful business owners and guest speakers. Moreover, Dr. Mazzei leads the program with such intentionality and care! Having a professor who cares so deeply about their students and their businesses spoke volumes and further encouraged me to join the program.

As a new member of the program, I have already experienced great help through the program. The community of students that I’ve found through the program is unlike any other. They are driven, uplifting and extremely talented. This alone has pushed me in my business endeavors. I look forward to this upcoming year and the knowledge I’ll gain through the Startup!

Maintaining consistent sales was one of the most challenging parts of launching my business. Starting out, it’s hard to gauge which products customers will love so it was a lot of trial and error in the beginning. I haven’t fully solved the problem yet, but I learned that my customers like a variety of designs. I now release more designs per collection which has helped with sales tremendously.

Learning to be concise and effective has been a huge takeaway so far. Once I joined the program, I realized very quickly that I need to develop my communication skills when discussing my business. Originally, I would give long explanations of what my business was, but I learned that the more direct and concise I am, the more effective. This has grown my professional skills tremendously!

This may be a lofty goal, but I aspire to grow With love, Lank into a worldwide clothing brand. My company’s ethos is inspired by Colossians 3:14 — “Put on love.” With that said, I would love to grow my business in order to encourage more and more people to “put on love” because it is the greatest garment we can wear! More than that, I hope to spread the Gospel through the meaningful messages on my pieces.

At the heart of With love, Lank is the verse Colossians 3:14 — “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” With that said, I hope to remind each customer to put on love just as they put on clothes. The most important garment we can wear is love. Furthermore, the hand-drawn designs often feature Scripture based phrases or encouragements; I aim to spread God’s Word through the clothing! Customer service also plays a huge role in With love, Lank. Treating customers with kindness and understanding is another way that my business reflects Christian values.

This may be repetitive, but through With love, Lank, I hope to encourage the Samford and Birmingham communities to PUT ON LOVE! Fashion has become so saturated, and often meaningless — I want to change that. That’s why every piece I sew or draw has an underlying meaning grounded in the truth of God’s Word. I hope to transform Samford, Birmingham and the world with God’s truth!

Having a community of students who are going through a similar unique experience makes such an impact on you as a person and you as a business owner. More than that, having a community of mentors, whether that be Dr. Mazzei, the guest speakers, or older students, can make all the difference in your success. As a newer member, I can relate to students who might be nervous to apply — but I encourage you to DO IT! I personally would love to pass on the mentorship that I’ve received to YOU!