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Owner Ebonie Ward of Fly Kix ATL Talks Success and The Sexiest Sneakers For Men

Owner Ebonie Ward of Fly Kix ATL Talks Success and The Sexiest Sneakers For Men

Ebonie Ward, Co-owner of Fly Kix ATL

Talking Pretty caught up with entrepreneur and co-owner of Fly Kix ATL, Ebonie Ward, to talk about what it takes to be a female entrepreneur, her love for sneakers, and what she’s learned along the way running one of Atlanta’s most popular male sneaker boutiques.

Check out excerpts from our interview below.

Tell us a little about Fly Kix for those who don’t know.

Fly Kix is a male boutique, but it’s also more of a lifestyle boutique. We cater to a man’s lifestyle with a little bit of street, urban, some couture, and also for the businessman. The whole theme or concept was just to have a boutique that catered to every type of male.

What does it take to be a female entrepreneur?

A lot of patience! Like with anything with entrepreneurship, you definitely have to have a lot of patience and a lot of hard work. It’s also a lot of sacrifice. Being a female entrepreneur is kind of difficult when you own a male shoe store because at first, guys don’t know if I work there or if I own the store. It really doesn’t bother me at all, because the only way they’ll really know is if they know me or they’ve been following the store. After someone really gets to know me, they see how serious I am and how cut throat I am and traditionally they respect me.

Where did your love for sneakers come from?

Actually my brother inspired me. I’m the co-owner of the store along with my brother, and he’s always had a strong passion for shoes. I’ve always been more of the fashionista girl and I have just as many heels as I do sneakers. But he had such a strong passion for shoes and wanted to open up a store, and it was a way for us to go into business together.

Do you plan on expanding?

Of course! Our hopes are to eventually go international with building the brand and eventually open up “Fly Chicks”. It’s going to be the complete opposite … of course heels, bags, and accessories. Basically the female version of Fly Kix, so I’ll have sneakers in there too.

What are your top four sneakers of all time?

My top four sneakers of all time are of course the Space Jams, The LeBron South Beaches, Air Max 95’s, and the shell toe Adidas because they’re casual and can go with everything.

What are three kicks that make a man sexy?

I love Space Jams on a guy, they look so clean and you can dress them up or down. I love a nice casual boot … we have a Sebago boot in here and it’s super clean and looks really good on a man’s foot. I’m just trying to stay away from the cliche  Jordan’s because I really want guys to pick up on other brands. So another clean shoe a guy can wear is the WeSC’s.

Finally, what values and lessons have you taken away that you want to share with our readers?

Never give up! There’s so many obstacles and challenges … I’m 26-years-old, and just from me being young and black it can be hard and overwhelming. There’s so many rules and I just thank God for having a good education. It helped me in my level of communication, being able to speak with people on a different level, and in business meetings. One of the things I love about our generation is that we follow our hearts … I just want to encourage and push people who are in my age group to do the same thing because money will always come. Just follow your heart and your passion and everything will fall into place.

–mckenzie harris

 

 

 

 

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