Upon entering IamJoolien's etsy page, the first thing that you will notice is that her shop is bursting at the seams with creativity! Not only is she creative BUT she up-cycles her apparel, accessories, and art.
We were given the honor of interviewing the owner of IamJoolienn, Julie Cahill, where she gave wonderful business advice to aspiring Chicktrepreneurs. Check out this weeks Chicktrepreneur of the week video & see what she's giving away to one lucky winner.
In the meantime, check out her complete interview here:
When did you begin your business?
I began I am Joolienn officially in August 2010 when I put my first designs on etsy. I declared myself a company, made my shop online, and then began designing...looking back at my first items that I put up on there- I laugh, because I have grown and changed my design perspective many times, and will continue to do so. Currently I am Joolienn has an assortment of recycled one of a kind designs in the realms of accessories, apparel, and art-- my three favorite A's!
What inspired you to go into business for yourself?
It has been a dream of mine to become a fashion designer since I was a junior in high school, and applied to colleges for fashion design. Having learned everything I could at Mount Ida College -Chamberlayne School of Design, I went off into the work world with high hopes to becoming something great. I learned quickly that the dream wasn't easy, and that I'd have to sacrifice a lot of me in order to work for someone else. Not being one to compromise who I am- as an individual or a designer, I decided that I'd have to break in the business from a different angle-- by myself.
How do you get the word out about your business?
I first made an etsy shop. Being new to it all and having limited financial resources to really market myself, I learned all of the tricks of the trade (still am), on how to get noticed online and on etsy. I made a blog, opened a twitter account, and have a Facebook page for I am Joolienn. When I began to dedicate more time to designing, I then looked into selling as a vendor at different local events, craft fairs, and bazaars. For a local bazaar I was vending for- right before Christmas, I decided to find a charity to donate some of my proceeds to-- and found Groundworks Somerville- an environmental organization in the city that I live in. They were excited that an environmentally aware local designer sought them because of their shared ideals to donate to, and I was just excited. A few weeks after the bazaar, they asked me to take part in their yearly Gala fundraiser event, as an artist for their silent auction-- the biggest event I have yet to attend! As for the future- I intend to continue my trend of learning, growing as a designer, and helping out others along the way.
If you could give a piece of advice to a young aspiring female entrepreneur, what would that be?
Three things:
1) Research and make a plan before taking action and beginning your own company. The world is an ever changing place-- full of trends that could either work or not work in your favor, and the most successful people in business are aware of it all.
2) Be true to yourself, and don't compromise who you are to reach a particular audience with your company. Don't change who you are inside, or act like someone else to become successful. It will not last, if you are not yourself everyday.
3) Remember to think about others and not solely of yourself. Think about the impact you can make everyday, and how you could use your business as a platform to help others. They usually lend a hand in return.
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