To celebrating your wins!

It’s my anniversary! It’s been 16 years since I opened my store. This was my first dollar. Bright eyed and fresh out of high school, I put up the only money I had to leave a deposit and fill up a small vacant spot in the shopping center where I was currently working. I used my connection with my boss and the landlord to present them with my idea and also to negotiate the space where I knew they needed something new and fresh. I brought my mom in to help with the day to day operations and even though we both knew nothing about how to run a store she believed in me, I believed in myself, and we jumped in head first. 

The funny thing is, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I had had several business ventures by that point (more on that later) but it does mark the first time I really put my money where my mouth was and took a major, potentially devastating risk. I never had plans to open a store. I only knew what I enjoyed, that a lot of people (friends and strangers) came to me wanting advice about clothes or where to shop, and my mom was looking for work, but most importantly I saw an opportunity. There was no guarantee and surely enough, I closed the store after 3 years. 

Even funnier is that having a boutique started my journey into my fashion stylist career. My customers enjoyed their time with me so much they wanted to be able to “put me in their pocket and take me home so I could dress them every day.” Photographers saw my clothes and wanted to borrow them for shoots. (I would let them but only if I accompanied and styled them.) Mind you this was before Instagram and blogger days. This was my very own way of “influencing”. Even though it no longer exists I make it a point now to celebrate my wins. Keeping that dollar close reminds me of the fact that it’s ok to start with nothing. One day it just might lead to everything.