June 6, 2022 • 33 mins
When Stefanie was laid off from her job during the pandemic she was able to pivot quickly into building up the side hustle she'd primarily been using as a creative outlet. From there she was able to branch out into more profitable areas of her business using the skills she's learned from other jobs over the years. Her story is super approachable and I can't wait to get into it!
We chat about:
- Having a creative outlet and how that gave her a place to start
- The power in taking action and then pivoting as needed
- Your real transferrable skills
- The importance of support from like minded people
- Long term potential
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jamie Stephens (00:04):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of
Breaking up with corporatetoday. I have Stephanie for
jewelley here, and she is theowner of original jeans. Sorry.
Oh, got that paws out. SoStephanie is the owner of
original jeans. And Stephanie,welcome to the show.
Unknown (00:25):
Thank you so much, Jamie. So nice to be here.
Jamie Stephens (00:27):
Yes. So why don't you tell us a little bit
about what you are doing today?
Stefanie Furgiuele (00:33):
Yeah, so as of today, I am running my own
business full time calledoriginal jeans. So I hand paint
on denim jackets. That's kind ofhow I started a couple years
ago, started as a side hobby.
And now I'm doing a full time.
And along with that, due to thepandemic, I also pivoted into
teaching a lot of online and nowin person workshops. So the
(00:56):
company has kind of pivoted fromnot only just my selling my
painted denim artwork, but alsointo teaching, teaching
workshops for everyone who wantsto paint for themselves.
Jamie Stephens (01:07):
Cool. How did you get started with that?
Unknown (01:10):
It's a funny story I was working in corporate
actually, and I guess is thetopic of the conversation. But I
wasn't, I wasn't loving my jobat the time. And it wasn't as
creative as I as I imagined oras I hoped. Or maybe I just
didn't even realize. And so Iwould go home and I would just
start painting for fun. I didn'tgo to art school, I went to
business school. But you know, Ijust felt like there was
(01:32):
something missing in my day today. And so when I was home on
my own time, I started painting.
And I was living at home at thetime. And my mom was the one who
saw me paint a denim jacket oneday, and she encouraged me to
kind of take it and make abusiness out of it. And I
thought she was not because itwas doing for fun. But you
signed me up for a market andpeople actually wanted to buy my
jackets. And I was so sosurprised. So from there, it
(01:54):
just kind of grew into this nicelittle hobby, slash kind of side
business. That was just fun. Andit stayed like that for a couple
years until the pandemic where Ihad lost my full time job. And
there was nowhere else to reallyturn but focusing on my
business.
Jamie Stephens (02:12):
Yeah, so would you say that that was really
kind of a blessing in disguise,have you been able to really
accelerate that pivot and moveinto that
Unknown (02:21):
100% I was a blessing in disguise. At the time, when I
had lost my job, it wasn't eventhis big kind of crazy loss. I
feel like it was something thatI think I always dreamed of
doing full time. But I wouldhave never taken that leap on my
own. So blessing in disguise forsure. It pushed me in the
direction that I wanted. Andthen it was kind of the perfect,
(02:43):
you know, perfect storm becauseI wouldn't have I would never
want to get fired, I would neverhave quit. But during the
pandemic when I had lost my job,you know, you couldn't even
really turn to get another job.
So there was no pressure fromanyone to say, Oh, what are you
going to do? Because no one washiring. Right? So it was like a
perfect scenario for me to justfocus on my business. And at
that time as well. People werebeing super supportive of
(03:05):
supporting local, so I reallysaw that influx right away. And
then that gave me enoughconfidence to kind of just keep
going with it.
Jamie Stephens (03:14):
That's cool. And tell people where is local for
you?
Unknown (03:18):
Oh, in Toronto, I'm from Toronto.
Jamie Stephens (03:20):
That's cool. So what do you remember what the
first thing that you painted?
was on your denim jacket? Whatwas that?
Unknown (03:28):
Um, it was a heart with eat my shorts in it. Yeah, I
Jamie Stephens (03:35):
love it. It's so did you keep that one for
yourself? Or did you end upselling it?
Unknown (03:41):
Um, I ended up selling that one to one of my best
friends. She was supportive forme from the beginning. And we
actually spent a summer tryingto figure out our own businesses
and we've we've gone our ownway. But she wanted to support
and she like remembers it how itkept significance from who
bought it for me. So andhobbyist stayed kind of in the
family.
Jamie Stephens (04:01):
So whenever people come to you, like are
they buying what you'repainting? Or are you painting
specific to what they'rerequesting a little bit
Unknown (04:10):
of both. During the pandemic, it kind of went more
custom because I wasn't doingany in person, like markets and
stuff like that. So before thepandemic I was selling a lot at
local fairs and like littlelocal pop ups and so I would
just have a whole bunch ofjackets pre painted and people
would buy them. But because Ididn't have a storefront and it
(04:33):
just kind of naturally went thatway during the pandemic that a
lot of the businesses nowcustom, but I see it see it
slowly starting to get back aswell. So 5050 BOTH
Jamie Stephens (04:43):
Yeah, so I saw on your Instagram that you also
do shoes like custom paintedshoes, which I think is really
neat. How did you get started inthat just like adding
Unknown (04:54):
also a pandemic. I mean, there was lots of time so
I had never done shoes before,but I was like, we might as well
try them now. It wasn't reallytoo different from jacket
painting, although I do likepainting jackets more, I would
say. But I decided to just kindof experiment and see the
reaction. And I ended up gettinga huge positive reaction from my
(05:16):
followers on Instagram. So Ijust decided to keep going with
it. And I get a quite a bit ofshoe requests as well.
Jamie Stephens (05:23):
And people like send you the shoes are you going
by on and then
Unknown (05:27):
with the shoes, people send them to me, I don't carry
inventory and sizes just becausethere's so so much to carry.
Yeah. So people will send metheir shoes, or they're like
order it to my house. That's theeasiest way if they're online
anyways, where the jackets, Ihave a ton of jackets in stock.
And they're a lot easier tosource.
Jamie Stephens (05:45):
Gotcha. So how, like I've done in my past
ventures, I've my sister and Ihad a business where we did like
screen printed T shirts. So howso and I know that like
inventory is crazy, like withsizing and all the different
things that you have toconsider? How have you kind of
(06:06):
learned that skill of what tokeep on hand? And what to kind
of maybe special requests? Likehow did you navigate all of
that?
Unknown (06:15):
That is a really good question. Because I completely
agree with you, it's sodifficult, oh, how much to have
on hand, I'm just conservativein nature, especially after like
losing my job I, I never wantto, you know, put too much money
into inventory. So a lot of thetimes I kind of keep like maybe
five to 10 jackets on hand, nota ton, maybe not even 10, I
(06:39):
would say like Max seven. And Ikind of go through those and I
rotate. So if someone comes tome and says, Oh, I want a
jacket, this is my size, Iusually have like one or two in
their size. And I'll show them apicture. And they can choose of
the ones I have at that time.
Which is working out for me. Andthen if they don't like those
particular jackets, I'll be likeno worries, I'll just go see
(06:59):
one. So it's it's actually quitenice that it's a little bit more
of a reactionary, you know,inventory by versus having to
carry way too much on hand. Whenit comes to the paint kits and
all the stuff I do for thecorporate parties, that's where
it definitely gets difficultbecause I found at one point,
you know, I was doing the samething where every time I got an
an event or you know an order, Iwould just go buy the inventory
(07:22):
for that specific event. Butthat was a lot of driving to my
supplier driving all the time,it took up so much time. So over
time, it was just practice andhaving a little bit of faith in
myself that the business willkeep coming and just buying
larger quantities at a time. Somaybe instead of going once a
like once a week, literally, Iwas going, you know, once every
two months. And that's yes. Thatseems to work now, too.
Jamie Stephens (07:47):
Yeah. So I've got two questions that came up.
And you said that the first. I'mcurious, do you also do like, is
it all new inventory? Or is itdo you have like vintage pieces
that you're applying are
Unknown (07:58):
all actually they're all pre loved? That's a great
question. I forgot to mentionthat. They're all pre loved
pieces, or I try to do them atleast like if I don't have a
size online, then that's when Iwould like to wear a size on
hand. That's when I might say,Okay, well, here's a link to one
that I think would fit you maybein that particular case,
especially if they're like in arush, we'll just offer it. But
for the most part, I do lovekeeping everything free love.
(08:20):
There's just so many vintagejackets, so there that need to
be sold before we buy new. Soyeah, I try to keep them I try
to keep them free for
Jamie Stephens (08:29):
us. That's great. I really liked that.
Alright, I'm curious how muchtime that takes? Like, are you
buying those things online fromlike? Or like, are you going to
Goodwill or whatever the Canadaversion of goodwill is or
Unknown (08:45):
no, no goodwill, village, same thing. Um, you
know, I actually don't find toomuch luck in those types of
stores. It's it's very hit ormiss. And to your point that it
takes a lot of time to keeppopping in. Those are those
places where you have to be likean avid Thrifter. And you're
pulling in like, you know, oncea week. What I've been doing is,
you know, going on Facebookmarketplace a lot, or Poshmark
(09:08):
is really helpful because itgets sent directly to me. But
over time, like now that I'vebeen getting busier, I actually
found wholesalers in the city soI can do like one big stop. And
sometimes like right before thesummer I'll do one big purchase
and know that in the next fewmonths, I'll get through them.
So that's
Jamie Stephens (09:26):
fun. Yeah. Cool.
Um, the other thing that youbrought up that I'm aware of
because I was creeping on yourInstagram, but my guests may not
know, tell me about thesecorporate painting parties. How
did you get started and what didthey do and all of your
connections?
Unknown (09:44):
Yeah, so same thing.
Again, it was a as a product,the pandemic but while I was
painting these denim jackets,there was just a huge need for
people to be connected online.
And it started with a paintparty that I hosted with my gym.
So was a really small, intimategym and everyone was friends.
And you know, we saw each otherevery day, we love working out
(10:05):
together, and we weren't hangingout anymore because we couldn't
see each other. So the owner wasnice enough to kind of co host
an event with me where I droppedeveryone off some paint
supplies, and then we just allhopped on the Zoom and painted
together. And it was a reallynice way that wasn't just like
sitting in kind of silence orawkward silence on Zoom, where
we actually were doingsomething. From there, I was
(10:25):
like, Okay, there's a huge needfor this. And I started reaching
out to some groups, I startedwith some charities thinking
that they might, you know, theymight need some fundraising done
for them. So I started with alocal charity and asked them if
they wanted to offer it to theirmembers. And they said yes, and
lucky for me, I ended up gettinga lot of corporate clients,
(10:46):
because somehow on my website, Inailed the SEO. And after
posting a few things onInstagram, posting some pictures
on my site, I ended up getting alot of hits. Again, I still
don't know how I rank in Google,but I do but people find me and
the first holiday season and2020 There was a lot of
corporate people who asked mefor the paint parties, and it
(11:07):
just kind of started from there.
Jamie Stephens (11:10):
That's great.
That very first one, did youcharge for it? Or was it just
since it was your friends justkind of practice?
Unknown (11:17):
Oh, the very first one?
No, well, I charged for thesupplies. But it was it was very
much a practice. I didn't evenreally know what I was
expecting. Right? It was justkind of like, Let's just all
hang out and do something. Andso they charged me for the
supplies. But that was it. Nowit's like I charge for my actual
time and time making the kidsand all that.
Jamie Stephens (11:35):
Yeah. So out of the things that you have pivoted
to during the pandemic, is therelike one thing that has stuck
out more than the other or likea direction that is more
profitable than the others are?
One that Yeah, I mean, like,tell me kind of what you've
tried and what stick? What has
Unknown (11:57):
given one second? So no, that's a great question.
During the pandemic, like Isaid, I've been trying so many
different things, I still lovepainting jackets, like that's
kind of truly my passion. That'show I started in terms of what's
more profitable, and what, whereI see the company going the
eventing is something that I'mloving and something that
(12:20):
definitely gives me most of myrevenue and like a lot. But you
know, I don't want to give, Iwould never give up the painting
jacket. So that kind of gives methat cool factor that edge. You
know, people see my Instagram,they're like, oh, wow, she can
actually paint and it's not justall those canvases, you always
see it those nights. So I feellike it really gives me my edge
will always continue to, topaint denim. But definitely the
(12:43):
after these two years havepassed, I can see there's such a
need for people wanting tocreate, I think what will change
and like the whole eventindustry is you know, we went
from maybe attending a lunch orlike a big fancy dinner, to
having to pivot to thesecreative workshops. And I think
that's going to stick justbecause people have been liking
them so much. And so goingforward, whether it's in person,
(13:05):
or some people are seeingvirtual, the eventing is kind of
going to be the main focus.
Jamie Stephens (13:12):
That's really neat. So I'm sorry, I got so
involved in that, that just,like totally forgot what I was
gonna say. Give me just a secondhere. I'll take a drink, it'll
come back.
(13:33):
Oh, I was gonna talk about kindof where you were before. If,
like your work, quit duringCOVID Was it laid off is that
what happened? I was
Unknown (13:45):
laid off, I actually got the job back. So I've had
many jobs since I graduated andwent to the industry. But my
most recent job before I hadlost, it was actually an event
planner. Cole was kind of insales and events where I would
have clients and I would, theywould come to me with their
needs. And then I would makeevents for them. So I was
(14:06):
working for an agency. And itwas it was really short period
of time that I had been workingthere before the pandemic hit.
But obviously that industry gothit. The hardest and fastest was
eventing. But in my short timethere, I had learned a lot about
how to run my own events. Andthat's kind of what also gave me
the confidence to pivot intothese events once the pandemic
(14:27):
did hit.
Jamie Stephens (14:28):
Yeah, so I'm curious about that. So like you
said, you nailed the SEO, whichis search engine optimization,
if y'all don't know that yet. Inwhat medium like were you on
LinkedIn, or was it on yourwebsite? Or I'm just kind of
Unknown (14:45):
yeah, um, you know, I got a couple connections from
posting on LinkedIn, but most ofthe hits came from from my
personal website.
Jamie Stephens (14:52):
Nice. That's really I mean, like, You say
that like, it's not any bigdeal, but that's like a really
big deal too. Be
Unknown (15:02):
acknowledge the SEO hill that first season that
first holiday season, I waslike, how are these people
finding me? Like, what is goingon? Why is my phone ringing? So?
Yeah, trust me. I know, I know,it was very crazy that that
happened.
Jamie Stephens (15:18):
That's really cool. Because I mean to be I
mean, with your words in theindustry, the event part of it
for such a small period of time,and then to be able to take that
and really pivot, like you havewith that. I mean, it just shows
how I think maybe tenacious isthe word I'm looking for, where
(15:38):
it's just like, okay, whateverit is, like, I'm gonna figure it
out, I'm gonna pivot, I'm gonnado these things. Like, how,
where did you get that? Have youalways been like that? Or is it
like a learned skill that you've
Unknown (15:51):
got? Maybe? I'm always been like that. But, you know,
it's funny that you said, Ithink that I wouldn't have been
able to kind of pivot so quicklyif I didn't have so many jobs.
And I didn't really have thatexperience beforehand. Like if I
just graduated and decided to goout and decided to just start a
business, I don't think that Iwould have been able to, like,
(16:12):
have the street smarts and youknow, know how to do all these
things. But having all thoseexperiences before I went into
running a business, I thinkhelped me and is what made me so
experienced in knowing what todo next. And you know, it's
funny that you say, like, ifyou're not really fulfilled from
your job, you can learn and likeyou, you learn a lot more than I
think you might realize, at yourday to day when as soon as you
(16:34):
leave it, and you have to usethose skills. Yeah.
Jamie Stephens (16:38):
Yeah. So tell me about some of your job. multiple
jobs. Yeah. Cuz I mean, like,I'm the same as far as like, I
mean, and they haven't all beenin corporate. But just like,
since I was old enough to work,like I've always had a job,
various jobs, and I think, alldifferent industries. And it's
given me such a differentperspective, whenever I go in
somewhere, just just like,there's all these different
(16:59):
boxes you can access to whereit's like, oh, well, in this
industry, they did it this way.
But I can see how if I take thispiece, it'll work over here. And
I think that that's somethingthat people don't necessarily
value on paper, you know,because it's like, not the
linear path that everybody talks
Unknown (17:20):
about, promoted. It's like, no, no, but I tried all
these different things. Andthese are all things I learned,
right? If we're talking to jobsfrom like, my very first job,
I'm with you, I've had so many Iwas always working since I was
able to do mostly in retail orserving, which, honestly, those
jobs give you the customerfacing, you know, personality
(17:40):
the most. And it kind of buildsyou up to be competent, you have
to talk to people and like puton put on a show type of thing.
So since I was able to work,I've been working those jobs.
But when I graduated businessschool, I went into fashion. And
I started at the corporateoffice at Hudson's Bay, in the
Bible, in the buying teams. Soif you're not familiar, I was
(18:01):
working with a buyer. Butessentially, our jobs was to use
our budget to purchase theclothes and the items that you
see in the store. That's alwayswhat I wanted to do. When I got
like, when I went intouniversity, you know, I wanted
that job. I got it when I when Igraduated, and it was a great
job. But I didn't know as soonas I was in the real world, I
guess I never had like a realoffice job. And it was not for
(18:24):
me. It was it just wasn't. So Iwas there for about two and a
half, three years. And that'swhen I started painting was when
I would you know, I was on Excelall day, or I was doing these
like insane, tedious tasks on mycomputer. I'm staring at my
screen all day long. When I wenthome, I didn't want to be on my
screen anymore. So I startedpainting. And I've always been a
(18:46):
creative person. But if you lookat my first few jackets, I mean,
I'm shocked people bought them.
But thank you for doing that.
But yeah, it started from there.
So I was working his job, dude.
And then that's when I startedbuilding this little business
for fun on the side.
Jamie Stephens (19:03):
So whenever that came whenever you did lose your
job, like what size was yourbusiness? Was it like supporting
you financially, like outside ofyour corporate job, or it was
still
Unknown (19:14):
not at all. Um, I think I was selling maybe like, two
jackets a month. Just really,really side hobby. So when I had
lost my job, definitely not fulltime at all. But it kind of
just, I was able to grow itthere in the last year.
Jamie Stephens (19:33):
That's incredible. And then just trying
all of the different things andhow it all kind of connects and
can work cohesively together.
So, yeah, I mean,
Unknown (19:43):
I think I can definitely clean it up a little
bit. There's there's kind of twosides of the business now, which
is like my personal art andeventing. So sometimes it gets a
little bit confusing because I'mlike, I can offer all these
things. And customers don'treally like that too much like
you don't immediately sometimesyour choice is not a good thing.
I'm so definitely working on howto really refine it. But yeah,
(20:04):
it was definitely because of theeventing that I've been able to
to grow it.
Jamie Stephens (20:08):
Yeah. So are you selling? Are your jackets
available like on Etsy? Or is itjust all through your own
private like website?
Unknown (20:16):
I started on Etsy and then I pivoted to my own private
website. And they also have nowbeen selling it in a couple of
retailers, which is nice.
Primarily, the big one isHudson's Bay. So I'm on their
marketplace.
Jamie Stephens (20:31):
Which comes full circle, right?
Unknown (20:33):
I know. Yeah. It really does. Um, so it's nice. And my
best friend works there. Now,Phil. So they want to kind of
get me up on the site, which isnice. And so yeah, I'm telling
it a couple of retailers, butprimarily through my own
website, and honestly, still tothis day, so many customers just
come through Instagram.
Jamie Stephens (20:53):
Yeah. So did you have a very, like active
Instagram before this started?
Or was it just kind of like acasual thing that you
Unknown (21:02):
did? It was, it was pretty active, to be honest with
you. Like, when I was done, likewhat I liked to do was just on
my weekend, take photos, I wouldask my friends pictures for me.
And it was just something fun.
So I did keep it pretty active.
I was I mean, I think I hadunder maybe 2000 followers when
the pandemic hit. Not that Ihave that much now. But still,
there's a difference. But yeah,it was it was always fun. I love
(21:25):
doing photo shoots, my friendlove doing photo shoots, so I
would have quite a bit ofcontent to keep pushing it out.
But like I said, it was likemaybe a couple of orders here
and there. But nothing crazy.
Jamie Stephens (21:34):
Yeah. So I'm curious, what are you doing? I
mean, like, what are yourfriends doing like that you used
to be working with? Are theyhave they pivoted and to their
own thing? Or is it like peopleare finding jobs? Again? I'm
just kind of curious, like,
Unknown (21:51):
no, no, it's a good question. A lot of them are
doing the same job. Maybethey're not necessarily at the
bay with me that I started. Buta lot of them have got their job
and either pivoted to a similarrole in another company. I'm the
only one of my friends who, whohas doing my own thing.
Jamie Stephens (22:08):
Yeah. And so how are you? Like, I don't want to
say supporting yourself. I don'tmean like financially, but like
that emotional support that. Imean, I didn't realize how much
I would never you don't havethat built in. It's like, oh,
like, I have to actively seekthis out. If that's something
that I want.
Unknown (22:29):
One thing that I would say like when people ask me
like, what it's like running myown business, my mind doesn't
even go financially. Like,that's not, I mean, obviously,
it stresses me out. But it'slike, the up and down just
mentally. And if I can actuallydo it, can I personally make it
you don't? I mean, it wasdefinitely a lot. I would say
when I first started, I waslike, What am I doing? Because
to your point, none of myfriends lost their jobs and
(22:51):
pandemic, I was the only one.
And I'm like, Am I doingsomething wrong like that I just
picked the wrong path in life,like what is going on? And you
start getting really in yourhead? And then, you know, I was
focusing on my business. I'mlike, is this the right thing?
Your mind goes up and down allthe time. Yeah, I think just now
that I have like a full yearunder my belt, that has helped a
lot, because I can really take amoment every time I feel that
way and be like, Okay, I didthis much in a year. Like,
(23:13):
imagine where I'll be in fiveyears. You know what I mean?
Yeah, so taking that time tobreathe and really reflect. I'm
lucky enough, my boyfriend, hesaid, had started some business
last year, too. And he's themost mentally tough person that
I know. And so he keeps megrounded all the time. When I'm
feeling that way. I can likecall him and he'll definitely
call me down and just like, justkeep going like, you know,
(23:35):
you're doing great. Because it'shard when someone doesn't have
that experience, who are justworking in a corporate job. And
you're you're calling yourfriend being like, oh my god,
what am I doing? You're like,they don't have that same
support that someone who's goingthrough the same thing does,
Jamie Stephens (23:51):
right? Yeah, it's a total just mine twist,
biggest therapy session all thetime. I mean, like everything
that you've ever worried aboutcomes up.
Unknown (24:03):
It's so funny that you say that, because yes, that's
exactly what it is. I'm like, Ifeel like I'm having a
breakdown. Everyone's like, notnot as often anymore. But at the
beginning, it was like, everytwo days, it was hard and low
highs and lows, something goodwould happen. I'd be riding that
wave for like a day, and thenthe next day I'd be in tears
again. I definitely haveregulated, so I don't feel like
(24:24):
that anymore.
Jamie Stephens (24:25):
That's good. So it's been about a year since you
have left there. How would yousay things have been like
financially? Are you on a pathnow to replace your income or
have you or
Unknown (24:38):
I've matched my income, which is nice. But you know,
things are just getting it'smore expensive every day. I
wasn't really making that thatcrazy the income beforehand. So
you know, some days I'm like,Oh, I think it would be nice to
just kind of get a job and don'thave to worry. But no, I mean
financially. I'm Totally findingAPR. It's just all those really
(25:02):
like, extra really fancy crazyvacations. I would love to go
on. I'm still not there. Yeah.
Jamie Stephens (25:09):
And it is, I mean, it's such a slow build.
And I think that that's can bemisconstrued sometimes online
whenever? Well, I mean, andmaybe not like, any fault of
like, the creator or anythinglike that. But whenever you
finally start to noticesomebody, and you look at their
Instagram, or whatever, and it'sjust like, oh, gosh, they've got
it all together. And this wasjust, you know, however long
(25:30):
ago, and it's doesn't seem thatlong. But then it's just like,
it's so hard to, obviously, youcan't compare yourself to that,
because all of the iterationsthat that came before that, so
but yeah, like you look at that,where am I going to be in five
years? I mean, that's where thebig differences because it's
like, okay, I'm matching mysalary now. And that's great.
(25:54):
But like, your salary at a jobversus your earning potential
here in five years. I mean,there's just, I mean, there's no
contest.
Unknown (26:03):
I know. And sometimes, you know, like, like we've
talked about you have thosedays, where you think like, oh,
would just be easier to get asalary. And I think that, you
know, that does cross my mindevery once in awhile, but I'm
like, but no, it's not. Becausewho's to say that you've been
financially stable, you could be20 years into your career, and
then lose it? And then what areyou going to do? We're enemies.
So there's pros and cons toeither one, I don't think one is
(26:24):
more necessarily secure than theother because anything can
happen. So I always kind ofremind myself that you actually
are probably more secure doingyour own thing and pivoting when
something goes wrong, versusjust kind of being left with
nothing. If anything were tohappen in your like, corporate
job that's giving you a salary.
Jamie Stephens (26:43):
Yeah. Was there anything in any of like your
pivots or your parties oranything like that, that you've
done? That was just kind oflike, oh, shit moment, like,
what have I done? Or not like,what have I done? But like, what
seemed like a mistake orsomething like that? And kind of
how did you pivot from that? Imean, not necessarily pivot, but
(27:04):
like, recover like,
Unknown (27:05):
yeah. There's so many things I've been learning along
the way. I think the biggeststruggle if you talk to anyone
who ships products, though, isshipping is so expensive, and so
hard, like, so right now I'musing shipping services, but you
still have to manually trackeverything. And so when I first
started when I first started,there was one particular event
(27:30):
where I just kind of, you know,I'm using the system was my
first time using the system andI uploaded all the addresses and
things I thought they would allget to their spots in two days.
I don't know why I thought thatI thought they would everything
was shipping so fast as I can,I'll be fine. But it was like,
the day of the event, andnothing was there. And oh, what
happened here? Or stuff? And Iwas like, Oh, that was bad. So I
(27:54):
don't know what I was thinking.
But thinking you were Amazon. Idon't know what was going on. I
just didn't even check. I waslike, oh, everything else has
been going so smooth. I justassumed that it was gonna get
there. But there was a hugeorder that just didn't get there
are huge part of this event.
Yeah. And that was like, like,I'm laughing. That was lots of
tears. I was figure out what todo. My dad was so smart. And he
(28:19):
was like, why don't you findsomeone in their cities? Because
it wasn't that wasn't the localones that didn't make it. It was
all the random ones in the USand stuff. And so he's like, why
don't you find the local artstore and see if they'll
deliver. And that's what I foundout that Michaels, the craft
store will actually same daydelivery service. And that saved
me now in so many situationsscore. Yeah, so I was able to do
(28:44):
same day deliveries for allthose people. So they got double
the kids, but it was a learningbecause now I've used that as an
emergency service. Like all thetime, I'm gonna get there
because of like the weather orgot lost. That's always been a
backup. So it was a nightmare atthe time, I was super apologetic
to the client. And that's fine.
That was a big one that stuckout because that was like my
(29:05):
first first panic.
Jamie Stephens (29:08):
Yeah, I could I could see that. I mean, that is
just like, oh, gosh, I mean, IYeah, that's really hard place
to be where you're like, Well,good thing for your dad. Is he?
Like an entrepreneur as well?
Yeah, he's like, experiencedwith all this. He's like, Okay,
you could try this, this orthat? You know?
Unknown (29:31):
Yeah, yeah. No, he's definitely a critical thinker.
So yeah, he was very helpful.
He's been so helpful talkingabout emotional support. He he
has been too.
Jamie Stephens (29:40):
That's great that you have that. I mean,
that's like half the battleright there. It's just having
that support and having thatsounding board whenever your
brain like, it's telling you howstupid you are for doing all the
things.
Unknown (29:54):
It's true. And you know, there's a lot of people
that it's not that didn't meanto not be supportive, but like
my grandmother, for example, Ilove her. But she's old school.
She's old. She isn't. She has noidea. She's like, why? Are you
not getting your job back?
Please? She's so confused. She'slike, Okay, so are you gonna go
get a job now? Like, no, I havea job. This is what I do. And
(30:15):
it's taken a while for us to getin a place where she understand
now, but that it's not to herfault. She just doesn't
understand. But those littlethings can really trigger you.
Because, you know, you need thatsupport constantly. And like, I
personally need to be nurturedalmost like every minute. Oh,
when she says stuff like that itreally brings those feelings
(30:37):
back. But and there's otherpeople in your life who might
say the same thing. But it'sabout kind of being mentally
strong and figuring out how tonot give in to those triggers.
Yeah. You can't you can't stopthem. No, they'll happen
without, like, not on purpose.
But they're there.
Jamie Stephens (30:53):
Yeah. And, you know, it's so true. Because
people mean, well, I mean,they're just looking out for
you, because they love you andare, you know, but yeah,
somewhat those questionings itcan really just feel like, you
know, especially if you're inthose beginning stages, where
everything is just messy, andyou're unconfident. And you
know, it's like all of thosethings. It's just like,
Unknown (31:13):
Uncle being like, Oh, so you're gonna keep doing this?
And I'm like, yeah.
Jamie Stephens (31:19):
Shut up. That's funny. So your support system,
and just kind of your tenacity,is there anything else that you
would say just really kind ofwas something that really just
helped you push forward througheverything to kind of get where
you are today?
Unknown (31:39):
Um, yeah, like I said, every, I've been able to take
something from all of my jobsand apply it. And one of the
biggest things is my, myprevious job in sales, so in
between my event job and myHudson's Bay job, I had another
corporate job where I was insales for digital marketing
(32:00):
services. And I didn't reallyknow what I was getting into
when I accepted the job or likewhat sales really entail. But
that is, I think, what made metenacious and what builds up my
thick skin, like, sitting there,emailing cold calling, is a job
I think everyone should have.
And everyone will learn from andso no skills, you're laughing,
because like, you know, if youknow how hard it is. And so
(32:24):
those skills of like picking upa phone and not being shy, has
helped me a lot. And that's kindof where I get my tenacity from,
from that one sales role that Idid have. Because a lot of that
a lot of my business, not all ofit, but you know, some of my
web, some of the businesscustomer site, which is great.
But a lot of it is me calling upbusinesses are finding their
(32:44):
LinkedIn email and be like, Hey,I think my services would help
you and then getting on a callwith them. So that's definitely
helped me pivot and propel aswell.
Jamie Stephens (32:54):
That's great.
Not Yes, yes. I mean, that'ssomething that I've had to
really just kind of break out ofmy shell because I'm an
introvert by nature, and it'snot. It's not well, it's getting
better. But like, it's it wasn'tmy comfort zone to
Unknown (33:12):
it's weird. You. Listen to me pay attention to me. Like,
you're like, when you're in acorporate job. You have a
marketing department for that,or you have not right but when
you're it's just you you'redoing all of it.
Jamie Stephens (33:23):
All the hats, huh? Yeah. All right. Well, why
don't you tell people where theycan find you how to spell your
company, all that stuff becauseit's jeans as in? Not in blue
jeans, but genetics.
Unknown (33:40):
No, my company is original jeans but it's Jean
spelled genetic. So a littleplay on Word. So original, g e n
e s.ca is where you can find mywebsite if you want to reach out
to me or CD, my currentinventory. And then my Instagram
is original jeans underscore to
Jamie Stephens (33:59):
Awesome. All right, thank you, Stephanie. So
much.
Unknown (34:03):
Thank you so much, Jamie.
Jamie Stephens (34:05):
Okay, I'm gonna stop recording
Hello, and welcome to another episode of
Breaking up with corporatetoday. I have Stephanie for
jewelley here, and she is theowner of original jeans. Sorry.
Oh, got that paws out. SoStephanie is the owner of
original jeans. And Stephanie,welcome to the show.
Unknown (00:25):
Thank you so much, Jamie. So nice to be here.
Jamie Stephens (00:27):
Yes. So why don't you tell us a little bit
about what you are doing today?
Stefanie Furgiuele (00:33):
Yeah, so as of today, I am running my own
business full time calledoriginal jeans. So I hand paint
on denim jackets. That's kind ofhow I started a couple years
ago, started as a side hobby.
And now I'm doing a full time.
And along with that, due to thepandemic, I also pivoted into
teaching a lot of online and nowin person workshops. So the
(00:56):
company has kind of pivoted fromnot only just my selling my
painted denim artwork, but alsointo teaching, teaching
workshops for everyone who wantsto paint for themselves.
Jamie Stephens (01:07):
Cool. How did you get started with that?
Unknown (01:10):
It's a funny story I was working in corporate
actually, and I guess is thetopic of the conversation. But I
wasn't, I wasn't loving my jobat the time. And it wasn't as
creative as I as I imagined oras I hoped. Or maybe I just
didn't even realize. And so Iwould go home and I would just
start painting for fun. I didn'tgo to art school, I went to
business school. But you know, Ijust felt like there was
(01:32):
something missing in my day today. And so when I was home on
my own time, I started painting.
And I was living at home at thetime. And my mom was the one who
saw me paint a denim jacket oneday, and she encouraged me to
kind of take it and make abusiness out of it. And I
thought she was not because itwas doing for fun. But you
signed me up for a market andpeople actually wanted to buy my
jackets. And I was so sosurprised. So from there, it
(01:54):
just kind of grew into this nicelittle hobby, slash kind of side
business. That was just fun. Andit stayed like that for a couple
years until the pandemic where Ihad lost my full time job. And
there was nowhere else to reallyturn but focusing on my
business.
Jamie Stephens (02:12):
Yeah, so would you say that that was really
kind of a blessing in disguise,have you been able to really
accelerate that pivot and moveinto that
Unknown (02:21):
100% I was a blessing in disguise. At the time, when I
had lost my job, it wasn't eventhis big kind of crazy loss. I
feel like it was something thatI think I always dreamed of
doing full time. But I wouldhave never taken that leap on my
own. So blessing in disguise forsure. It pushed me in the
direction that I wanted. Andthen it was kind of the perfect,
(02:43):
you know, perfect storm becauseI wouldn't have I would never
want to get fired, I would neverhave quit. But during the
pandemic when I had lost my job,you know, you couldn't even
really turn to get another job.
So there was no pressure fromanyone to say, Oh, what are you
going to do? Because no one washiring. Right? So it was like a
perfect scenario for me to justfocus on my business. And at
that time as well. People werebeing super supportive of
(03:05):
supporting local, so I reallysaw that influx right away. And
then that gave me enoughconfidence to kind of just keep
going with it.
Jamie Stephens (03:14):
That's cool. And tell people where is local for
you?
Unknown (03:18):
Oh, in Toronto, I'm from Toronto.
Jamie Stephens (03:20):
That's cool. So what do you remember what the
first thing that you painted?
was on your denim jacket? Whatwas that?
Unknown (03:28):
Um, it was a heart with eat my shorts in it. Yeah, I
Jamie Stephens (03:35):
love it. It's so did you keep that one for
yourself? Or did you end upselling it?
Unknown (03:41):
Um, I ended up selling that one to one of my best
friends. She was supportive forme from the beginning. And we
actually spent a summer tryingto figure out our own businesses
and we've we've gone our ownway. But she wanted to support
and she like remembers it how itkept significance from who
bought it for me. So andhobbyist stayed kind of in the
family.
Jamie Stephens (04:01):
So whenever people come to you, like are
they buying what you'repainting? Or are you painting
specific to what they'rerequesting a little bit
Unknown (04:10):
of both. During the pandemic, it kind of went more
custom because I wasn't doingany in person, like markets and
stuff like that. So before thepandemic I was selling a lot at
local fairs and like littlelocal pop ups and so I would
just have a whole bunch ofjackets pre painted and people
would buy them. But because Ididn't have a storefront and it
(04:33):
just kind of naturally went thatway during the pandemic that a
lot of the businesses nowcustom, but I see it see it
slowly starting to get back aswell. So 5050 BOTH
Jamie Stephens (04:43):
Yeah, so I saw on your Instagram that you also
do shoes like custom paintedshoes, which I think is really
neat. How did you get started inthat just like adding
Unknown (04:54):
also a pandemic. I mean, there was lots of time so
I had never done shoes before,but I was like, we might as well
try them now. It wasn't reallytoo different from jacket
painting, although I do likepainting jackets more, I would
say. But I decided to just kindof experiment and see the
reaction. And I ended up gettinga huge positive reaction from my
(05:16):
followers on Instagram. So Ijust decided to keep going with
it. And I get a quite a bit ofshoe requests as well.
Jamie Stephens (05:23):
And people like send you the shoes are you going
by on and then
Unknown (05:27):
with the shoes, people send them to me, I don't carry
inventory and sizes just becausethere's so so much to carry.
Yeah. So people will send metheir shoes, or they're like
order it to my house. That's theeasiest way if they're online
anyways, where the jackets, Ihave a ton of jackets in stock.
And they're a lot easier tosource.
Jamie Stephens (05:45):
Gotcha. So how, like I've done in my past
ventures, I've my sister and Ihad a business where we did like
screen printed T shirts. So howso and I know that like
inventory is crazy, like withsizing and all the different
things that you have toconsider? How have you kind of
(06:06):
learned that skill of what tokeep on hand? And what to kind
of maybe special requests? Likehow did you navigate all of
that?
Unknown (06:15):
That is a really good question. Because I completely
agree with you, it's sodifficult, oh, how much to have
on hand, I'm just conservativein nature, especially after like
losing my job I, I never wantto, you know, put too much money
into inventory. So a lot of thetimes I kind of keep like maybe
five to 10 jackets on hand, nota ton, maybe not even 10, I
(06:39):
would say like Max seven. And Ikind of go through those and I
rotate. So if someone comes tome and says, Oh, I want a
jacket, this is my size, Iusually have like one or two in
their size. And I'll show them apicture. And they can choose of
the ones I have at that time.
Which is working out for me. Andthen if they don't like those
particular jackets, I'll be likeno worries, I'll just go see
(06:59):
one. So it's it's actually quitenice that it's a little bit more
of a reactionary, you know,inventory by versus having to
carry way too much on hand. Whenit comes to the paint kits and
all the stuff I do for thecorporate parties, that's where
it definitely gets difficultbecause I found at one point,
you know, I was doing the samething where every time I got an
an event or you know an order, Iwould just go buy the inventory
(07:22):
for that specific event. Butthat was a lot of driving to my
supplier driving all the time,it took up so much time. So over
time, it was just practice andhaving a little bit of faith in
myself that the business willkeep coming and just buying
larger quantities at a time. Somaybe instead of going once a
like once a week, literally, Iwas going, you know, once every
two months. And that's yes. Thatseems to work now, too.
Jamie Stephens (07:47):
Yeah. So I've got two questions that came up.
And you said that the first. I'mcurious, do you also do like, is
it all new inventory? Or is itdo you have like vintage pieces
that you're applying are
Unknown (07:58):
all actually they're all pre loved? That's a great
question. I forgot to mentionthat. They're all pre loved
pieces, or I try to do them atleast like if I don't have a
size online, then that's when Iwould like to wear a size on
hand. That's when I might say,Okay, well, here's a link to one
that I think would fit you maybein that particular case,
especially if they're like in arush, we'll just offer it. But
for the most part, I do lovekeeping everything free love.
(08:20):
There's just so many vintagejackets, so there that need to
be sold before we buy new. Soyeah, I try to keep them I try
to keep them free for
Jamie Stephens (08:29):
us. That's great. I really liked that.
Alright, I'm curious how muchtime that takes? Like, are you
buying those things online fromlike? Or like, are you going to
Goodwill or whatever the Canadaversion of goodwill is or
Unknown (08:45):
no, no goodwill, village, same thing. Um, you
know, I actually don't find toomuch luck in those types of
stores. It's it's very hit ormiss. And to your point that it
takes a lot of time to keeppopping in. Those are those
places where you have to be likean avid Thrifter. And you're
pulling in like, you know, oncea week. What I've been doing is,
you know, going on Facebookmarketplace a lot, or Poshmark
(09:08):
is really helpful because itgets sent directly to me. But
over time, like now that I'vebeen getting busier, I actually
found wholesalers in the city soI can do like one big stop. And
sometimes like right before thesummer I'll do one big purchase
and know that in the next fewmonths, I'll get through them.
So that's
Jamie Stephens (09:26):
fun. Yeah. Cool.
Um, the other thing that youbrought up that I'm aware of
because I was creeping on yourInstagram, but my guests may not
know, tell me about thesecorporate painting parties. How
did you get started and what didthey do and all of your
connections?
Unknown (09:44):
Yeah, so same thing.
Again, it was a as a product,the pandemic but while I was
painting these denim jackets,there was just a huge need for
people to be connected online.
And it started with a paintparty that I hosted with my gym.
So was a really small, intimategym and everyone was friends.
And you know, we saw each otherevery day, we love working out
(10:05):
together, and we weren't hangingout anymore because we couldn't
see each other. So the owner wasnice enough to kind of co host
an event with me where I droppedeveryone off some paint
supplies, and then we just allhopped on the Zoom and painted
together. And it was a reallynice way that wasn't just like
sitting in kind of silence orawkward silence on Zoom, where
we actually were doingsomething. From there, I was
(10:25):
like, Okay, there's a huge needfor this. And I started reaching
out to some groups, I startedwith some charities thinking
that they might, you know, theymight need some fundraising done
for them. So I started with alocal charity and asked them if
they wanted to offer it to theirmembers. And they said yes, and
lucky for me, I ended up gettinga lot of corporate clients,
(10:46):
because somehow on my website, Inailed the SEO. And after
posting a few things onInstagram, posting some pictures
on my site, I ended up getting alot of hits. Again, I still
don't know how I rank in Google,but I do but people find me and
the first holiday season and2020 There was a lot of
corporate people who asked mefor the paint parties, and it
(11:07):
just kind of started from there.
Jamie Stephens (11:10):
That's great.
That very first one, did youcharge for it? Or was it just
since it was your friends justkind of practice?
Unknown (11:17):
Oh, the very first one?
No, well, I charged for thesupplies. But it was it was very
much a practice. I didn't evenreally know what I was
expecting. Right? It was justkind of like, Let's just all
hang out and do something. Andso they charged me for the
supplies. But that was it. Nowit's like I charge for my actual
time and time making the kidsand all that.
Jamie Stephens (11:35):
Yeah. So out of the things that you have pivoted
to during the pandemic, is therelike one thing that has stuck
out more than the other or likea direction that is more
profitable than the others are?
One that Yeah, I mean, like,tell me kind of what you've
tried and what stick? What has
Unknown (11:57):
given one second? So no, that's a great question.
During the pandemic, like Isaid, I've been trying so many
different things, I still lovepainting jackets, like that's
kind of truly my passion. That'show I started in terms of what's
more profitable, and what, whereI see the company going the
eventing is something that I'mloving and something that
(12:20):
definitely gives me most of myrevenue and like a lot. But you
know, I don't want to give, Iwould never give up the painting
jacket. So that kind of gives methat cool factor that edge. You
know, people see my Instagram,they're like, oh, wow, she can
actually paint and it's not justall those canvases, you always
see it those nights. So I feellike it really gives me my edge
will always continue to, topaint denim. But definitely the
(12:43):
after these two years havepassed, I can see there's such a
need for people wanting tocreate, I think what will change
and like the whole eventindustry is you know, we went
from maybe attending a lunch orlike a big fancy dinner, to
having to pivot to thesecreative workshops. And I think
that's going to stick justbecause people have been liking
them so much. And so goingforward, whether it's in person,
(13:05):
or some people are seeingvirtual, the eventing is kind of
going to be the main focus.
Jamie Stephens (13:12):
That's really neat. So I'm sorry, I got so
involved in that, that just,like totally forgot what I was
gonna say. Give me just a secondhere. I'll take a drink, it'll
come back.
(13:33):
Oh, I was gonna talk about kindof where you were before. If,
like your work, quit duringCOVID Was it laid off is that
what happened? I was
Unknown (13:45):
laid off, I actually got the job back. So I've had
many jobs since I graduated andwent to the industry. But my
most recent job before I hadlost, it was actually an event
planner. Cole was kind of insales and events where I would
have clients and I would, theywould come to me with their
needs. And then I would makeevents for them. So I was
(14:06):
working for an agency. And itwas it was really short period
of time that I had been workingthere before the pandemic hit.
But obviously that industry gothit. The hardest and fastest was
eventing. But in my short timethere, I had learned a lot about
how to run my own events. Andthat's kind of what also gave me
the confidence to pivot intothese events once the pandemic
(14:27):
did hit.
Jamie Stephens (14:28):
Yeah, so I'm curious about that. So like you
said, you nailed the SEO, whichis search engine optimization,
if y'all don't know that yet. Inwhat medium like were you on
LinkedIn, or was it on yourwebsite? Or I'm just kind of
Unknown (14:45):
yeah, um, you know, I got a couple connections from
posting on LinkedIn, but most ofthe hits came from from my
personal website.
Jamie Stephens (14:52):
Nice. That's really I mean, like, You say
that like, it's not any bigdeal, but that's like a really
big deal too. Be
Unknown (15:02):
acknowledge the SEO hill that first season that
first holiday season, I waslike, how are these people
finding me? Like, what is goingon? Why is my phone ringing? So?
Yeah, trust me. I know, I know,it was very crazy that that
happened.
Jamie Stephens (15:18):
That's really cool. Because I mean to be I
mean, with your words in theindustry, the event part of it
for such a small period of time,and then to be able to take that
and really pivot, like you havewith that. I mean, it just shows
how I think maybe tenacious isthe word I'm looking for, where
(15:38):
it's just like, okay, whateverit is, like, I'm gonna figure it
out, I'm gonna pivot, I'm gonnado these things. Like, how,
where did you get that? Have youalways been like that? Or is it
like a learned skill that you've
Unknown (15:51):
got? Maybe? I'm always been like that. But, you know,
it's funny that you said, Ithink that I wouldn't have been
able to kind of pivot so quicklyif I didn't have so many jobs.
And I didn't really have thatexperience beforehand. Like if I
just graduated and decided to goout and decided to just start a
business, I don't think that Iwould have been able to, like,
(16:12):
have the street smarts and youknow, know how to do all these
things. But having all thoseexperiences before I went into
running a business, I thinkhelped me and is what made me so
experienced in knowing what todo next. And you know, it's
funny that you say, like, ifyou're not really fulfilled from
your job, you can learn and likeyou, you learn a lot more than I
think you might realize, at yourday to day when as soon as you
(16:34):
leave it, and you have to usethose skills. Yeah.
Jamie Stephens (16:38):
Yeah. So tell me about some of your job. multiple
jobs. Yeah. Cuz I mean, like,I'm the same as far as like, I
mean, and they haven't all beenin corporate. But just like,
since I was old enough to work,like I've always had a job,
various jobs, and I think, alldifferent industries. And it's
given me such a differentperspective, whenever I go in
somewhere, just just like,there's all these different
(16:59):
boxes you can access to whereit's like, oh, well, in this
industry, they did it this way.
But I can see how if I take thispiece, it'll work over here. And
I think that that's somethingthat people don't necessarily
value on paper, you know,because it's like, not the
linear path that everybody talks
Unknown (17:20):
about, promoted. It's like, no, no, but I tried all
these different things. Andthese are all things I learned,
right? If we're talking to jobsfrom like, my very first job,
I'm with you, I've had so many Iwas always working since I was
able to do mostly in retail orserving, which, honestly, those
jobs give you the customerfacing, you know, personality
(17:40):
the most. And it kind of buildsyou up to be competent, you have
to talk to people and like puton put on a show type of thing.
So since I was able to work,I've been working those jobs.
But when I graduated businessschool, I went into fashion. And
I started at the corporateoffice at Hudson's Bay, in the
Bible, in the buying teams. Soif you're not familiar, I was
(18:01):
working with a buyer. Butessentially, our jobs was to use
our budget to purchase theclothes and the items that you
see in the store. That's alwayswhat I wanted to do. When I got
like, when I went intouniversity, you know, I wanted
that job. I got it when I when Igraduated, and it was a great
job. But I didn't know as soonas I was in the real world, I
guess I never had like a realoffice job. And it was not for
(18:24):
me. It was it just wasn't. So Iwas there for about two and a
half, three years. And that'swhen I started painting was when
I would you know, I was on Excelall day, or I was doing these
like insane, tedious tasks on mycomputer. I'm staring at my
screen all day long. When I wenthome, I didn't want to be on my
screen anymore. So I startedpainting. And I've always been a
(18:46):
creative person. But if you lookat my first few jackets, I mean,
I'm shocked people bought them.
But thank you for doing that.
But yeah, it started from there.
So I was working his job, dude.
And then that's when I startedbuilding this little business
for fun on the side.
Jamie Stephens (19:03):
So whenever that came whenever you did lose your
job, like what size was yourbusiness? Was it like supporting
you financially, like outside ofyour corporate job, or it was
still
Unknown (19:14):
not at all. Um, I think I was selling maybe like, two
jackets a month. Just really,really side hobby. So when I had
lost my job, definitely not fulltime at all. But it kind of
just, I was able to grow itthere in the last year.
Jamie Stephens (19:33):
That's incredible. And then just trying
all of the different things andhow it all kind of connects and
can work cohesively together.
So, yeah, I mean,
Unknown (19:43):
I think I can definitely clean it up a little
bit. There's there's kind of twosides of the business now, which
is like my personal art andeventing. So sometimes it gets a
little bit confusing because I'mlike, I can offer all these
things. And customers don'treally like that too much like
you don't immediately sometimesyour choice is not a good thing.
I'm so definitely working on howto really refine it. But yeah,
(20:04):
it was definitely because of theeventing that I've been able to
to grow it.
Jamie Stephens (20:08):
Yeah. So are you selling? Are your jackets
available like on Etsy? Or is itjust all through your own
private like website?
Unknown (20:16):
I started on Etsy and then I pivoted to my own private
website. And they also have nowbeen selling it in a couple of
retailers, which is nice.
Primarily, the big one isHudson's Bay. So I'm on their
marketplace.
Jamie Stephens (20:31):
Which comes full circle, right?
Unknown (20:33):
I know. Yeah. It really does. Um, so it's nice. And my
best friend works there. Now,Phil. So they want to kind of
get me up on the site, which isnice. And so yeah, I'm telling
it a couple of retailers, butprimarily through my own
website, and honestly, still tothis day, so many customers just
come through Instagram.
Jamie Stephens (20:53):
Yeah. So did you have a very, like active
Instagram before this started?
Or was it just kind of like acasual thing that you
Unknown (21:02):
did? It was, it was pretty active, to be honest with
you. Like, when I was done, likewhat I liked to do was just on
my weekend, take photos, I wouldask my friends pictures for me.
And it was just something fun.
So I did keep it pretty active.
I was I mean, I think I hadunder maybe 2000 followers when
the pandemic hit. Not that Ihave that much now. But still,
there's a difference. But yeah,it was it was always fun. I love
(21:25):
doing photo shoots, my friendlove doing photo shoots, so I
would have quite a bit ofcontent to keep pushing it out.
But like I said, it was likemaybe a couple of orders here
and there. But nothing crazy.
Jamie Stephens (21:34):
Yeah. So I'm curious, what are you doing? I
mean, like, what are yourfriends doing like that you used
to be working with? Are theyhave they pivoted and to their
own thing? Or is it like peopleare finding jobs? Again? I'm
just kind of curious, like,
Unknown (21:51):
no, no, it's a good question. A lot of them are
doing the same job. Maybethey're not necessarily at the
bay with me that I started. Buta lot of them have got their job
and either pivoted to a similarrole in another company. I'm the
only one of my friends who, whohas doing my own thing.
Jamie Stephens (22:08):
Yeah. And so how are you? Like, I don't want to
say supporting yourself. I don'tmean like financially, but like
that emotional support that. Imean, I didn't realize how much
I would never you don't havethat built in. It's like, oh,
like, I have to actively seekthis out. If that's something
that I want.
Unknown (22:29):
One thing that I would say like when people ask me
like, what it's like running myown business, my mind doesn't
even go financially. Like,that's not, I mean, obviously,
it stresses me out. But it'slike, the up and down just
mentally. And if I can actuallydo it, can I personally make it
you don't? I mean, it wasdefinitely a lot. I would say
when I first started, I waslike, What am I doing? Because
to your point, none of myfriends lost their jobs and
(22:51):
pandemic, I was the only one.
And I'm like, Am I doingsomething wrong like that I just
picked the wrong path in life,like what is going on? And you
start getting really in yourhead? And then, you know, I was
focusing on my business. I'mlike, is this the right thing?
Your mind goes up and down allthe time. Yeah, I think just now
that I have like a full yearunder my belt, that has helped a
lot, because I can really take amoment every time I feel that
way and be like, Okay, I didthis much in a year. Like,
(23:13):
imagine where I'll be in fiveyears. You know what I mean?
Yeah, so taking that time tobreathe and really reflect. I'm
lucky enough, my boyfriend, hesaid, had started some business
last year, too. And he's themost mentally tough person that
I know. And so he keeps megrounded all the time. When I'm
feeling that way. I can likecall him and he'll definitely
call me down and just like, justkeep going like, you know,
(23:35):
you're doing great. Because it'shard when someone doesn't have
that experience, who are justworking in a corporate job. And
you're you're calling yourfriend being like, oh my god,
what am I doing? You're like,they don't have that same
support that someone who's goingthrough the same thing does,
Jamie Stephens (23:51):
right? Yeah, it's a total just mine twist,
biggest therapy session all thetime. I mean, like everything
that you've ever worried aboutcomes up.
Unknown (24:03):
It's so funny that you say that, because yes, that's
exactly what it is. I'm like, Ifeel like I'm having a
breakdown. Everyone's like, notnot as often anymore. But at the
beginning, it was like, everytwo days, it was hard and low
highs and lows, something goodwould happen. I'd be riding that
wave for like a day, and thenthe next day I'd be in tears
again. I definitely haveregulated, so I don't feel like
(24:24):
that anymore.
Jamie Stephens (24:25):
That's good. So it's been about a year since you
have left there. How would yousay things have been like
financially? Are you on a pathnow to replace your income or
have you or
Unknown (24:38):
I've matched my income, which is nice. But you know,
things are just getting it'smore expensive every day. I
wasn't really making that thatcrazy the income beforehand. So
you know, some days I'm like,Oh, I think it would be nice to
just kind of get a job and don'thave to worry. But no, I mean
financially. I'm Totally findingAPR. It's just all those really
(25:02):
like, extra really fancy crazyvacations. I would love to go
on. I'm still not there. Yeah.
Jamie Stephens (25:09):
And it is, I mean, it's such a slow build.
And I think that that's can bemisconstrued sometimes online
whenever? Well, I mean, andmaybe not like, any fault of
like, the creator or anythinglike that. But whenever you
finally start to noticesomebody, and you look at their
Instagram, or whatever, and it'sjust like, oh, gosh, they've got
it all together. And this wasjust, you know, however long
(25:30):
ago, and it's doesn't seem thatlong. But then it's just like,
it's so hard to, obviously, youcan't compare yourself to that,
because all of the iterationsthat that came before that, so
but yeah, like you look at that,where am I going to be in five
years? I mean, that's where thebig differences because it's
like, okay, I'm matching mysalary now. And that's great.
(25:54):
But like, your salary at a jobversus your earning potential
here in five years. I mean,there's just, I mean, there's no
contest.
Unknown (26:03):
I know. And sometimes, you know, like, like we've
talked about you have thosedays, where you think like, oh,
would just be easier to get asalary. And I think that, you
know, that does cross my mindevery once in awhile, but I'm
like, but no, it's not. Becausewho's to say that you've been
financially stable, you could be20 years into your career, and
then lose it? And then what areyou going to do? We're enemies.
So there's pros and cons toeither one, I don't think one is
(26:24):
more necessarily secure than theother because anything can
happen. So I always kind ofremind myself that you actually
are probably more secure doingyour own thing and pivoting when
something goes wrong, versusjust kind of being left with
nothing. If anything were tohappen in your like, corporate
job that's giving you a salary.
Jamie Stephens (26:43):
Yeah. Was there anything in any of like your
pivots or your parties oranything like that, that you've
done? That was just kind oflike, oh, shit moment, like,
what have I done? Or not like,what have I done? But like, what
seemed like a mistake orsomething like that? And kind of
how did you pivot from that? Imean, not necessarily pivot, but
(27:04):
like, recover like,
Unknown (27:05):
yeah. There's so many things I've been learning along
the way. I think the biggeststruggle if you talk to anyone
who ships products, though, isshipping is so expensive, and so
hard, like, so right now I'musing shipping services, but you
still have to manually trackeverything. And so when I first
started when I first started,there was one particular event
(27:30):
where I just kind of, you know,I'm using the system was my
first time using the system andI uploaded all the addresses and
things I thought they would allget to their spots in two days.
I don't know why I thought thatI thought they would everything
was shipping so fast as I can,I'll be fine. But it was like,
the day of the event, andnothing was there. And oh, what
happened here? Or stuff? And Iwas like, Oh, that was bad. So I
(27:54):
don't know what I was thinking.
But thinking you were Amazon. Idon't know what was going on. I
just didn't even check. I waslike, oh, everything else has
been going so smooth. I justassumed that it was gonna get
there. But there was a hugeorder that just didn't get there
are huge part of this event.
Yeah. And that was like, like,I'm laughing. That was lots of
tears. I was figure out what todo. My dad was so smart. And he
(28:19):
was like, why don't you findsomeone in their cities? Because
it wasn't that wasn't the localones that didn't make it. It was
all the random ones in the USand stuff. And so he's like, why
don't you find the local artstore and see if they'll
deliver. And that's what I foundout that Michaels, the craft
store will actually same daydelivery service. And that saved
me now in so many situationsscore. Yeah, so I was able to do
(28:44):
same day deliveries for allthose people. So they got double
the kids, but it was a learningbecause now I've used that as an
emergency service. Like all thetime, I'm gonna get there
because of like the weather orgot lost. That's always been a
backup. So it was a nightmare atthe time, I was super apologetic
to the client. And that's fine.
That was a big one that stuckout because that was like my
(29:05):
first first panic.
Jamie Stephens (29:08):
Yeah, I could I could see that. I mean, that is
just like, oh, gosh, I mean, IYeah, that's really hard place
to be where you're like, Well,good thing for your dad. Is he?
Like an entrepreneur as well?
Yeah, he's like, experiencedwith all this. He's like, Okay,
you could try this, this orthat? You know?
Unknown (29:31):
Yeah, yeah. No, he's definitely a critical thinker.
So yeah, he was very helpful.
He's been so helpful talkingabout emotional support. He he
has been too.
Jamie Stephens (29:40):
That's great that you have that. I mean,
that's like half the battleright there. It's just having
that support and having thatsounding board whenever your
brain like, it's telling you howstupid you are for doing all the
things.
Unknown (29:54):
It's true. And you know, there's a lot of people
that it's not that didn't meanto not be supportive, but like
my grandmother, for example, Ilove her. But she's old school.
She's old. She isn't. She has noidea. She's like, why? Are you
not getting your job back?
Please? She's so confused. She'slike, Okay, so are you gonna go
get a job now? Like, no, I havea job. This is what I do. And
(30:15):
it's taken a while for us to getin a place where she understand
now, but that it's not to herfault. She just doesn't
understand. But those littlethings can really trigger you.
Because, you know, you need thatsupport constantly. And like, I
personally need to be nurturedalmost like every minute. Oh,
when she says stuff like that itreally brings those feelings
(30:37):
back. But and there's otherpeople in your life who might
say the same thing. But it'sabout kind of being mentally
strong and figuring out how tonot give in to those triggers.
Yeah. You can't you can't stopthem. No, they'll happen
without, like, not on purpose.
But they're there.
Jamie Stephens (30:53):
Yeah. And, you know, it's so true. Because
people mean, well, I mean,they're just looking out for
you, because they love you andare, you know, but yeah,
somewhat those questionings itcan really just feel like, you
know, especially if you're inthose beginning stages, where
everything is just messy, andyou're unconfident. And you
know, it's like all of thosethings. It's just like,
Unknown (31:13):
Uncle being like, Oh, so you're gonna keep doing this?
And I'm like, yeah.
Jamie Stephens (31:19):
Shut up. That's funny. So your support system,
and just kind of your tenacity,is there anything else that you
would say just really kind ofwas something that really just
helped you push forward througheverything to kind of get where
you are today?
Unknown (31:39):
Um, yeah, like I said, every, I've been able to take
something from all of my jobsand apply it. And one of the
biggest things is my, myprevious job in sales, so in
between my event job and myHudson's Bay job, I had another
corporate job where I was insales for digital marketing
(32:00):
services. And I didn't reallyknow what I was getting into
when I accepted the job or likewhat sales really entail. But
that is, I think, what made metenacious and what builds up my
thick skin, like, sitting there,emailing cold calling, is a job
I think everyone should have.
And everyone will learn from andso no skills, you're laughing,
because like, you know, if youknow how hard it is. And so
(32:24):
those skills of like picking upa phone and not being shy, has
helped me a lot. And that's kindof where I get my tenacity from,
from that one sales role that Idid have. Because a lot of that
a lot of my business, not all ofit, but you know, some of my
web, some of the businesscustomer site, which is great.
But a lot of it is me calling upbusinesses are finding their
(32:44):
LinkedIn email and be like, Hey,I think my services would help
you and then getting on a callwith them. So that's definitely
helped me pivot and propel aswell.
Jamie Stephens (32:54):
That's great.
Not Yes, yes. I mean, that'ssomething that I've had to
really just kind of break out ofmy shell because I'm an
introvert by nature, and it'snot. It's not well, it's getting
better. But like, it's it wasn'tmy comfort zone to
Unknown (33:12):
it's weird. You. Listen to me pay attention to me. Like,
you're like, when you're in acorporate job. You have a
marketing department for that,or you have not right but when
you're it's just you you'redoing all of it.
Jamie Stephens (33:23):
All the hats, huh? Yeah. All right. Well, why
don't you tell people where theycan find you how to spell your
company, all that stuff becauseit's jeans as in? Not in blue
jeans, but genetics.
Unknown (33:40):
No, my company is original jeans but it's Jean
spelled genetic. So a littleplay on Word. So original, g e n
e s.ca is where you can find mywebsite if you want to reach out
to me or CD, my currentinventory. And then my Instagram
is original jeans underscore to
Jamie Stephens (33:59):
Awesome. All right, thank you, Stephanie. So
much.
Unknown (34:03):
Thank you so much, Jamie.
Jamie Stephens (34:05):
Okay, I'm gonna stop recording
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