Britton Murdock, a fifth generation Nevadan, played softball and earned a masters degree from her hometown college, The University of Nevada. She went on to play professionally in Belgium, where she also coached The Belgium National Team. Her successful softball career earned her a spot in the University of Nevada’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
Britton's passion for fashion and entrepreneurial drive led to her vision and creation of The Biggest Little Fashion Truck, a mobile boutique with a mission to deliver confidence through clothing. This retail business evolved with a following that centered around shopping, networking, and community. After a successful 7 years, her signature style and love for styling wide brimmed hats led to the expansion of her business into Murdock’s Hats and Apparel.
Britton was also the co-host of the podcast Britt on Blast, a forum for open discussion with local entrepreneurs. Britton is a serial entrepreneur and is always looking to find a niche in the market as long as it aligns with her purpose to genuinely lift others and equip them with confidence.
Share the moment or experience that ignited your passion and set you on your current path.
I had finished my softball career, and I was working in athletics, and I started to do some thinking about what the next chapter of my life would like. It was hard for me to find something that would fulfill me the way competing on the softball field did. I started to think about what my passions and talents were, and after a lot of research, saving and planning, I took the leap and opened my first business. It is hard to break it down to one defining moment, but it would have to be the day I left my job to pursue entrepreneurship full time.
We'd love to hear about a significant challenge you've overcome, and the lessons learned along the way.
One of the reasons I am drawn to running my own business is because it is the closest thing to competing on the field. There are many parallels, for example when running a business, you are faced many variables you have to consider and also be prepared for. These variables include the economy, customer needs, competitors, inflation, and too many others to list. This is just like playing. You have to consider variables, such as fatigue, past performance, how your body feels, weather, coaches, other teams' strengths and weaknesses, and your own teammates. Learning to be prepared for these variables and more importantly learning how to ADAPT has been the key to overcoming challenges and continuing to be successful. One example of this was in year 4 of business, we were growing rapidly, and we were doing most of our sales at our pop-up shop events.
When Covid hit and everything was shut down, we were forced to shut down our mainstream of revenue, events. We didn’t let that stop us, we hustled and found ways to keep our customers engaged and purchasing by putting new arrivals on our social media daily and offering same day shipping, and even same day doorstep drop offs in the Reno area. Not only did this allow us to continue our sales, but it also helped lift the spirits of many people who could look forward to the packages being delivered. It was so successful we ended up implementing some of these services even after covid restrictions were lifted. Looking back on that time, I remember the stress and fear of what was going to happen to our business, but we didn’t let it cripple us, we got creative we adapted, and we weren’t afraid to try new things. This is something I carry with me, as I navigate business and life.
Discuss the impact you aim to have through your work and the legacy you wish to leave
When I was playing, I would help my teammates and my friends get dressed, and I noticed a drastic change in their body language like posture, and their overall confidence when they were wearing an outfit that flattered them. I fell in love with this feeling of guiding women to finds simple changes for major gains. This is where I got the motivation to start a fashion business centered around helping
women find confidence through clothing. As I have evolved in business and life, I still have that same love for helping women feel their best. If I could narrow it down to one thing, it would be to have people remember the way I made them feel. I want to genuinely help as many people as I can so they can feel better about themselves and go into the world and be more confident and better people. Because let’s face it, if you feel good about yourself you are more likely to be a better person, achieve more, and you’re more likely to help someone else. It is the ripple effect, something as small as a good outfit can make a big change in your life and also in the lives of others.
What motivates you to challenge the status quo and push boundaries in your industry?
Most industries are saturated, and retail was no different. I knew the only way to be successful was to be different. To deliver a product or experience that our customers couldn’t find elsewhere. I have a very competitive spirit that translates from being an athlete. I want to be successful in whatever I am doing, and I think that drive has helped guide me to try new thing and explore alternate ways of doing business. I have also learned that the one way to always be different than everyone else to be your authentic self. I believe that God created us all with individual gifts and talents, we don’t need to be like anyone else, we just need to step into our greatness and put the hard work behind it. Once I realized this it helped me tremendously in business, it stopped comparison and allowed me to stay in touch with my intuition and implement the creative ideas to always give me an edge in business.
What's one piece of advice you'd give to young women aiming to make their mark?
Take Action - If you have a dream, step back and come up with a plan to get started. Once you have a plan, it can be easy to become paralyzed with fear. It is important to prepare and be strategic, but once you have put in the time, take action and just get started. You never know what the journey will bring and for me the fear of being full of regret is bigger than the fear of failure.
How do you define success for yourself, and do you feel you've achieved it?
The definition of success has changed and evolved for me over time. As I have grown in all the areas of my life, not only as a business owner, but as a wife, daughter, sister and friend I have learned so much more about what success truly means. I used to believe it was all about winning and losing, but now I know that it is about winning and learning. Success to me at this point in my life is being a good person, believing in something bigger than myself, having solid relationships with the people that mean most to me, and being a light to others. I believe I have achieved success in some areas, but I am always looking to grow and stretch myself to be a better entrepreneur and person.
