1. iPhone 4S 2. Aldo wallet 3. Gigee Marie Black Woven Mini 4. umbrella 5. T baby wipes 6. Assortment of lipgloss & make up 7. lotion 8.Body mist 9. Dove deodorant10. Clinique Matte Foundation
What’s your biggest accomplishment? Just launching my business is an accomplishment to me. I’m proud of the fact that I stopped talking about it and actually went for it. The positive feedback and publicity that I’ve received is more than what I expected in just the short amount of time that I’ve been in business. I definitely didn’t expect to be featured on Refinery 29, the Washington Post Express, Fox 5 DC, and a bunch of other fashion blogs in less than a year.
What are three books you would recommend to our readers? I should be ashamed of myself for not taking out more time to read. :-/ I have a habit of starting books but never finishing them. So, how about I give you 3 books that are currently on my list (or that I’ve recently made an attempt to read).
1) The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
2) The $100 Start Up by Chris Guillebeau
3) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
What’s the biggest lesson you have learned since launching? I’ve learned the importance of prioritizing my time and my work so that I can maximize productivity. A lot of times, this means literally writing down that from this time to that time, I’m going to do X…and stick to it. It also means putting restrictions on the time that I spend on social media. I used to think that I had to be on Twitter allllll the time in order to get my brand out there (and because I feared that I’d miss out on something…especially the hilarious commentary that consumes your timeline when everyone is watching the same ridiculous show lol). As much as I’ve benefited from social media, it’s easy to get lost in it; before you know it, 3 hours have gone by and you haven’t accomplished anything that is of real importance to your business. So I’m working on doing a better job of prioritizing my tasks and structuring my time to make sure I accomplish what I need to in a given day.
What’s your advice to someone interested in starting their own business? Make sure it’s something that you REALLY want to do. Being an entrepreneur is fun, exciting, and rewarding, but it’s also a lot of work. If you don’t have the money to hire anyone to help out then you’ll obviously be responsible for everything, and that can be overwhelming at times. Also, in many cases it will be a long time before you see a profit. You’ll get frustrated; you’ll have meltdowns and want to give up. But, if you’re committed to your company and to its potential, then my advice is to go for it. Take that leap and just do it!
Where do you receive inspiration? I’ll pull inspiration from anywhere…fashion, art, nature, my surroundings, etc. I read a lot of fashion blogs, websites, and magazines and I pull inspiration from there as well.
Steve Madden Bneptune Satchel
If you could have one famous entrepreneur as your mentor who would it be? I’d have to say Lisa Price (founder of Carol’s Daughter). I feel like I identify with her, in that, she started hand-making her own products in her own home and built her company from the bottom up. I think that’s something to be proud of and it definitely makes the story behind your company unique. I hope that Gigee Marie turns into the successful business that Carol’s Daughter has become.
Do you feel your life is balanced between work life + personal life? Somewhat. I still work a regular 9-5, but the fact that I mostly work from home has given me more of a work/life balance (and given me more time to put towards Gigee Marie). However, when you own your own business, you find yourself constantly thinking about what needs to be done for your business so sometimes it’s hard to shut that off when it’s time to focus on things in your personal life. It goes along with the whole “prioritizing your time” thing though. Sometimes you have to set aside time specifically for yourself and stick to it.
Soundbytes:
What is your indispensable gadget: Definitely my iPhone.
What’s your favorite app? I probably don’t download as many apps as most people. Of course the social media apps like Echofon (for Twitter) and Instagram are at the top of my list…out of all my apps, those are the 2 that I use the most. Also, Pandora for music. I also recently downloaded an app called Remember the Milk, which helps me stay organized with my lists of things to do (these apps aren’t very exciting huh? lol).
What’s your favorite account to follow on Twitter: @SmallBizLady (Melinda Emerson) and @Under30CEO tweet out great articles/resources for small businesses….and @Bossip’s tweets are always entertaining lol.
What’s your favorite item in your closet: My blazers. I’m pretty sure I have one in every color. I love them because they’re appropriate for any occasion, they can pretty much be worn all year round, and they’ll probably never go out of style.
To learn more about Angela owner of Gigee Marie, follow her on twitter and of course shop Gigee Marie.
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