Born to Shine by Kendra Scott

 

Born to Shine by Kendra Scott is a mix of an autobiography and a business book. Part of this book tells Scott's story and how she grew up in the Midwest. Then she also talks about how she created her jewelry business carrying her Kendra Scott name. I honestly wasn't familiar with her jewelry but I found the book to be interesting and enjoyed reading it.

Scott talks about her Midwestern roots and growing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. As a Midwestern gal myself, I could understand the family values and hard work ethic that was a thread woven through her family. Her parents divorced and when she was in high school, her mom moved to Texas when she re-married. Not long after, Kendra moved to Texas to live with her mom and ended up staying there for many years. She started her business there and continues to run it from Texas. While her personal life was interesting, I also found how she created her business to be interesting. I have a background in fashion and a mother who worked in that industry for years so I could follow the business part easily. 

In Born to Shine, I liked how Scott integrated family life with her business and made family a priority, not just her, but also all of her employees. I liked how she shared her failures, challenges and her successes. She seems to be down-to-earth and straightforward in how she deals with her business and people. I really like that. She offers some good advice for figuring out what is important to you and starting a business in the book. There are a handful of mild cuss words which may bother some people. However, for the most part, this is an uplifting read, especially for someone interested in business but it isn't necessarily a Christian book. I like how she cared for her family and friends with cancer and how she supports breast cancer patients but some of those parts were difficult for me to read as someone who has received a cancer diagnosis. 

From a visual standpoint, I liked the yellow cover on Born to Shine as yellow is a significant color for Scott's business, but I found the white print on the yellow to be difficult to read. I wish it were black on yellow, but that doesn't reflect my rating. 

As a whole, Born to Shine was an enjoyable read. Scott writes well and her book was a quick and interesting read for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.