Profile of a Designer-Entrepreneur

I'm sure everyone has a different opinion about what it takes to be an independent designer-entrepreneur. We designer-entrepreneurs probably all think, "you have to be like me!"

I know I started out feeling extremely under-qualified. With no current connections in the industry and no fashion education, where was I to start?

At that time I failed to recognize the strengths I had inherited from my family. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, who can never be happy in an ordinary job. They are always starting something. Since they are both in the non-profit world, I didn't make the connection at first between their careers and what I was trying to do.

But there are very close connections in what was needed: extreme persistence, a mysteriously unshakable confidence in their eventual success, problem-solving skills, and an inabililty to stop thinking of new ideas!

I also didn't put two and two together, at first, about the previous generation. My paternal grandfather was a knitter in New York City, who owned a factory and designed his own sweater line. My maternal grandmother was a dressmaker out of her home. Why was I so surprised to discover, at age 30, that I had a passion for design and a need to sew my designs into existence??

And then there's my situation in life. At first glance, being a middle-class stay-at-home mom doesn't seem ideal for starting a new career in fashion design. But there were some hidden strengths there as well. I found I had married (surprise, surprise!) an entrepreneurial husband, who enjoys taking risks and thrives on new business ideas. And I found myself in the position of not needing a salary to support myself right away. That has given me the time to get started, without the financial pressure of mounting debt.

These may not be the characteristics you would list if asked to describe a well-qualified designer-entrepreneur. But I think there's one universal qualification we can all agree on -- slight to moderate insanity. :)

Also posted at Pixyworld Blog

Puppy Love

My little girls have never been super into dolls, but they LOVE stuffed animals. (They love real animals too, only we can't have cats or dogs because of allergies.) So it seemed natural to do a Pixyworld collection with a pet animal theme, which I had to call Puppy Love.

The color combination really pops on this one. I did a design with these colors when I was selling customs on eBay, after a customer asked me to do something with puppies and kittens. I got a lot of enthusiastic comments on the colors, so I decided to make it one of Pixyworld's launching collections.

It has turned out to be a favorite with my girls. They pet the animals and even talk to them! It's nice to remember, in the midst of trying to run a viable business with good profits, etc., that it's really about making little girls happy.

Confessions of a Linkoholic

OK, so I may be just a little bit obsessed with Page Rank -- not that I use checkpagerank.net to check my google page rank, link popularity, and those of all the stores around me on every google search. I mean, just some searches -- the important ones!

Pixyworld doesn't exactly have a huge advertising budget these days. It's basically sweat-it-out, knock on zillions of e-doors, and hope somebody puts up my link somewhere.

I do have a very nice reciprocal link directory, by the way, in case you're interested.

Now, someone came up with a clever idea when they invented linkmarket.com. What better way for a starving designer to feel like she is shopping, when she's actually working?? You get a shopping cart and everything -- it almost brings a tear to the eye.

You don't have to understand... just nod and smile. I'll be OK. (Especially when I make it to a 4!!)

Two Entrepreneurs in One Family??

My husband and I never applied the word "entrepreneur" to ourselves until recently, when we both found ourselves waist-deep in new businesses! We've always liked adventure (two years in Fiji, then 4 kids...!) but never pictured starting an online business as one more adventure we'd take.

Are men's discount watches and boutique clothing for toddler girls an unlikely pair? Well, viva la diference, in our case! The two business seem to have different fast and slow seasons, different business models, and different difficulties to navigate -- which keeps our family somewhat sane!

On the other hand, we have enough in common to understand, commiserate, and celebrate....

So check them both out sometime: Jon's Watches and Pixyworld Boutique!