Gain respect

Alexandra Dillard says retail has always been a part of her life. Her grandparents founded the Dillard's department store in 1938.

She remembers going to ribbon cutting ceremonies with her grandpa for new stores, gift wrapping during the holidays and attending meetings with vendors with her father when she was a teenager. Vendors probably thought “taking advice from a 13-year-old was a little questionable,” she laughs. But it was quite the insight into the family business.

Today, all of her grandparents' children and a number of their grandchildren (including Alexandra and both of her sisters) work for the company. Growing up next door to her grandparents with a number of other relatives in the neighborhood meant they spent many nights talking about the business as a family.