Everyday Struggles of Being Your Own Boss

With more and more inspiring stories coming up, such as our favorite Girls girl Lena Dunham, almost everyone dreams of being their own #GirlBoss. As appealing and exciting as it sounds to owning and running your own business, there are some pitfalls and lessons we have learnt over the years to keep our sanity! 

Does your to-do list seem toe grow exponentially? Yes? That is a good sign! It means you are innovating and growing, and don't you just want to complete everything on that list as soon as possible? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you are only one person! It is okay to ask for help. Prioritize your tasks, and use your resources as best as possible. If you are a rockstar at doing something, and your partner/staff can handle the other task, then feel free to delegate those extra tasks to others! Stretching yourself too thin is dangerous territory.

When do you stop working? Finding some time to yourself to 100% relax and take your mind off the business is almost impossible. This is the trade-off you are making by pursuing a passion since the passion becomes your life. We have to constantly remind ourselves that we are also human and humans need unadulterated, uninterrupted leisure from time to time! So whether you enjoy curling up with a good book, doing the latest Zumba fitness workout, or cuddling your dogs while binge-watching Netflix, find a vice that will help you relax. Don't feel guilty about it! Alone time is A-OK! 

Who are your biggest supporters? Family, friends, mentors - believe it or not - are interested in hearing about your well-being just as much as they are interested in your business! Forgetting to stay in touch with your nearest and dearest is a pitfall to avoid; we know ours definitely keep us grounded. Everyone has a friend that basically disappears when they start a new relationship, and don't reappear until the inevitable break-up. Don't be the friend that is in an unhealthy relationship with their business! 

What motivates you the most? We make it a mission to discuss in our Winky Family what keeps each individual going every morning. What about for yourself? Sometimes it is easy to be so entrenched with the short-term goals and achievements, that you forget the big picture and why you started this all in the first place! Find out what makes you happy every day and remind yourself of that feeling. Keep your eye on the prize! 

It took a lot of commendable courage for you to jump in to explore your own passions. Managing and multi-tasking has become second nature to you, so try to keep that stress at bay with our handy tips! If all else fails, our foolproof Feel Good Solution is to have a Taylor Swift dance party. That always does the trick! #WinkyJoy

Winky hard at work: sleeves rolled up, power tools in hand, building out the Container Park Store

"Running your own business is sometimes not unlike riding a rollercoaster.  There are these high-highs, low-lows, sometimes you do loops and you're back where you started, and sometimes you just want to throw up.  After doing this for so many years, I have really learned that the entrepreneur who make it are the ones who are able to weather through the tough times.  There are going to be days where you just feel extremely down and hopeless, and you think everything is failing.   And, if you don't believe in your business, yourself, or don't have the strength to make it through, most entrepreneurs will just close up shop.  I've had a lot of these moments myself, and it's ONLY because of my encouraging support system that I hang in there, and I can tell you - it is ALWAYS worth it. We have grown tremendously over the last 4-5 years, and we've had more wins than losses overall, it's just about keeping your eye on the long-term game." - Winky Wu

5 Tips For Opening a Successful Store

Opening a retail store can be a great way to sell your own designs (say, bracelet wrap watches and cool fashion accessories?), fashions from other designers, or a combination of both. We had the amazeballs opportunity to open our first retail location in Las Vegas, Nevada in December 2013. Mostly focusing on our wholesale and online channels, we wanted a store front what would allow our business to promote brand recognition and brand exposure. Most people that have worked for a big box retailer know that when you open a new store, you just deal with moving product in and training staff. Most do not realize the amount of planning and little details that go into opening a new store. As a small business owner, opening your own store can set forth several challenges such as construction, product delays, or even lack of planning. It takes a lot of work to open your own retail store and make it a success! The following tips can help your store opening process be a successful one.

The Winky Designs flagship store!

1. PICK A THEME

First and foremost, pick a theme for your store. Take your business partner or your team to a local mall to generate and create ideas. There are sometimes hundreds of different stores in a mall; however, to help you narrow down some of the stores, look at stores that carry similar products that you’ll be carrying. Pay close attention to staging products from a visual standpoint: How are their windows set up? What type of fixtures do they have? What type of props and visual displays does every store use? What type of counter will your register be on? While on this journey at the mall, keep your phone charged so that you are able to take pictures, not to copy, but to remember the ideas that you did like. Take notes of stores that you may want to revisit. This team exercise should inspire you to gather ideas, thoughts, and paint a picture on what your future store can look like.

Pick and theme and communicate it throughout the store

2. HAVE A DETAILED FLOOR PLAN & TIMELINE

As soon as you know what unit or space your business will be occupying, come up with a detailed floor plan. Have a mock floor plan drawn out with spacing, the types of fixtures you have in mind, and a timeline to get these actions done. Give yourself time to compare prices locally and online for fixtures, displays, and hardware. Smaller businesses usually have smaller budgets and look to minimize cost as much as possible. For a small start-up business, a detailed floor plan is very important from a branding perspective. It is important to convey to the customer exactly what your business is about and what you are selling. It may be the only shot to win a customer for life. With no set vision of what your store will look like, it could be confusing to the customer what you are trying to sell in your store and therefore could hinder your potential sales. Having a detailed plan and timeline in place will allow you to be able to react to any other changes that will come up.

Plan your space efficiently to maximize selling

3. ADDING TO YOUR SPACE: MIRRORS

Simple things can add to your space like adding mirrors in your store. If you are working with a small space there are plenty of ways to make a small room appear larger than it really is. Through creative use of mirrors, you can trick the eye into thinking a room is larger, eradicating the claustrophobic or cluttered feel that many small rooms carry. Strategically placed mirrors can brighten a room and brighter rooms are often viewed by the eye as being larger than they really are. Mirrors, especially larger ones, add a sense of depth to a small space, making it appear larger; however, larger or customized mirrors can be quite expensive and can vary anywhere between $300-$900. Using a series of smaller mirrors combined can create the same effect you would get from a larger mirror and will save you a lot of money. Home Depot and Lowe’s have standard size mirrors at great prices, which will allow set up costs to be as minimal as possible.

Adding mirrors opens up the a small space and adds depth

4. ADDING TO YOUR SPACE: SIGNAGE

Another way to utilize your wall space is by adding life style photos and posters of the products that you carry in your store. Life style posters are a great way to showcase to the customers how your product will look on a live person. These posters would make a good substitute for a store that doesn't have mannequins.

Most small businesses will only have one person working in the store at a time. Have pricing around the store that can be easily seen and that is type written. Typing out a sign is much more professional than a hand-written one because it is easier to read and has a neater appearance. This will help with indirect customer service when you are busy helping someone else at the moment. 

Signage should match the theme of the store

5. POS SYSTEM

Buy a cash register to hold money and a merchant account to accept credit card payments at your store. The register should be electronic and able to capture and report a history of your cash sales. Having credit card capability will make it easier for your customers to pay and will keep you from losing sales if you are a cash-only store. There are many pos systems out there; however, Square is one of the more commonly used systems. Square will take credit card transactions through an iPhone, iPad, or Android. Smaller businesses are using Square because it’s cost efficient, simple and easy to use. Square advertises a transaction fee per transaction of 2.75%, however it’s negotiable! Just ask them. Square helps you eliminate receipt clutter and saves you money with printing and receipt paper. Most of all we are doing a good deed saving the environment. Most customers will be ok with “going green” with no tangible receipt printed out, however, there will be “that customer…” (haha), that will demand it. In this circumstance, have a receipt pad available just in case. They are available at Staples or an Office Depot type supply store.

iPads are portable and much less expensive than a traditional POS system

Taking a little bit of time and thinking your plan through before the opening process starts will save you a lot of hassles in the future. Advice for anyone thinking about opening their own store or going to start the process soon, the Winky Designs Team would say, “It’s time…to be prepared and make this store opening a successful one!”

The hard work pays off !

Catching Up With Chef Stacey of Simply Pure

We confess, we love our meat but every now and again our bodies feel sluggish and that’s when we know it’s time to do some detoxing. Thank goodness there’s a great little spot in Vegas that meets our clean eating needs that not only is incredibly healthy but yum yum yummy in our tummies. Simply Pure serves up completely raw foods in an imaginative way and is the brainchild of local Chef Stacey Dougan. We caught up with her to get the scoop on her interesting background (from music artist development to Wynn Las Vegas chef to small business owner!) and the roller coaster ride of opening a business from scratch. Pull up a seat, break out the kale salad, and enjoy as we get to know Chef Stacey a little better.

 

Winky Designs: How did your love of raw food come about?

Stacey Dougan: My background is actually in music and entertainment. About 12 years ago I was working as the director of artist development for Universal Music Group in Atlanta, GA. I was making lots of money, young, not married and no children so I was open to new opportunities. I've always been a go-getter and entrepreneur. Some friends, at the time, approached me about opening a raw vegan cafe and needed me as an investor. I decided it would be a great idea considering there were no vegan raw restaurants in Atlanta at the time. I ended up working in my investment/cafe and that is how I grew to love raw vegan food. It was all trial and error. I never went to culinary school. I just kinda figured it out. I also healed myself of Candida and a terrible case of eczema/psoriasis by adopting a raw food diet.

W.D.: What made you decide to leave your position at Wynn Hotel and open up your own restaurant?

S.D.: I'm just not a very good employee. Never have been, never will be. Lol. Wynn was temporary for me and I knew that from the first day I started working there. Don't get me wrong, I learned a ton! I am extremely grateful to my executive chef at the Wynn because he taught me how to cater large and small parties with excellence. They spare no expense at Wynn so it “upped” my game so to speak. But I've always wanted to open another restaurant. I actually have a vision board and my goals written. It states that “I will open my own chain of upscale vegan/raw food restaurants all over the world”. I guess Simply Pure is the first one of the vision!

Raw Chili Cheeze Fries

W.D.: How has your faith played a role in the decisions you've made?
S.D.: That is a great question...My faith has everything to do with the decisions that I've made. My decision to become vegan came from my faith in God and the fact that I did not want something to bleed and die in order for me to live. One of the 10 commandments is “Thou shalt not kill”. I don't think God was just referring to killing people because He never stated just people. But let me get off of my soap box. Let's just say that I do everything in my power to make good decisions based on doing what is right, even if it hurts. I always do my best to do what I know is right. Not just because other people are looking, but because God is looking and I believe in karma to the fullest.

W.D.: What were some unexpected lessons/outcomes you've learned during the process of opening your store at The Container Park?
S.D.: I know one thing that I didn't expect was the amount of money it would take to open up this place!  Good lord! Lol...But it's all good. We raised the money and we are doing very well. Now moving forward, I really didn't expect people to be so open and receptive to our food. I mean it's vegan and we don't cook a darn thing! But people love it and for that, I am thankful. I also didn't expect to do as well (financially) as we have been doing. At least not so early. I've actually had to hire 3 new employees..well I like to call them teammates because we are a team. The biggest lesson I've learned is to have faith and trust the process.  Trust in God. Ask Him for what you want and then look for the opportunities and the gifts. They are always there, sometimes as a disguise, but there nevertheless.

Raw Pad Thai

W.D.: What advice would you give to future entrepreneurs, women in particular?
S.D.: The best advice I can give is to move forward in spite of fear. I find that so many people are held back by fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of what others may think or say fear, fear, fear...It's ok to fail.  You just gotta get back up, learn from the failure and keep moving forward. To the women I would say, know and learn your power. We have so much power it's unbelievable. Often times, women have to balance and juggle a lot more than men i.e. children, work, managing the home etc. But we do it, we are master multitaskers. Know your power and move in spite of fear.

W.D.: What are some personal goals and aspirations you have for 2014?
S.D.: a) To expand Simply Pure into a recognized brand in Las Vegas and to begin working on our chain of restaurants. b) To complete and publish my raw and vegan cookbooks. c) To expand our catering and private chef division (with Baby I Like It Raw – my other company with co-founder Shane Stuart) so that we are the number one caterers for vegan and raw cuisine in the city of Las Vegas. d) To help all of my team mates achieve their goals and aspirations for 2014. I have a lot more, but those will do for now...more to come. Stay tuned ; )

Thank you Chef Stacey for being so warm and open with us! Now that we're thoroughly hungry, we'll be stopping by soon to get some of your fabulous vegan chocolate ganache (it's to DIE for!). Only if all desserts were as guilt free as yours...*sigh* Make sure to stay in touch with Chef Stacey and the team at Simply Pure on their Facebook and visit them at their Las Vegas, NV location!

• 
  
• Downtown Container Park 
• 707 Fremont Street Suite 2310
• Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
•  

Reflecting Back to the Beginning

Hey guys! My name’s Vanessa and I am a part of the 7 person team here at Winky Designs. We’re a very close knit group of young women (and 1 guy!) who believe passionately in our brand and products. Our fearless leader, Winky Wu, is the founder and designer for Winky Designs and came to create the brand in a very unconventional manner. So pull up a seat and grab some popcorn, I’d like to re-introduce you to Winky Designs and its founder Winky…And yes. That really is her name.

Winky doesn’t have a degree in designing nor is she a big follower of the luxury fashion houses dominating the editorial spreads and red carpets. She loves honest, accessible, and affordable style and this proved to be a catalyst for Winky Designs. In 2011, Winky worked as an accountant for Mattel, Inc. in Hong Kong and it was here that she found the importance of bringing joyful designs to people across the globe. Also during this time, she fell in love with Ray, an American gentleman, and was determined to make their long distance relationship work, so she decided to leave the corporate world and start her own business! You see, she needed the flexibility that owning your own business affords in order to uproot her life to move to the US so she could finally be with the man of her dreams. But “Why watches?!” you ask. Although she wasn’t a high-fashion kinda lady, Winky loved accessories and it was while conducting some research, she discovered a huge gap in the wristwatch industry. She noticed watches were either very high end Swiss movement timepieces you cherish forever or no-name cheaply made watches you can find on sale 2 for $10. Winky wanted to fill that gap with her own high quality brand of affordable stylish watches that would bring a smile to whoever would wear it. She got in touch with some factories, tried her hand at designing….and the rest (as they say) is history. Thus, Winky Designs was born!

Since our inception in 2012, Winky Designs has grown leaps and bounds by promising to create products that inspire self-expression through the design of joyful, functional fashion at affordable prices. After only 2 years of being in business, we already sell our watches and accessories in over 200 retail stores and an online store which has shipped to customers in over 25 different countries. It’s evident we love what we do. You can tell from the playful collection names and colorful designs that we simply cannot live without the small pleasures in life like dessert before dinner, fruity cocktails after dinner, and kind words. We realize it is these small joys in life that inspires us to tell our store through our products and brand. We don’t want to be another mass market brand (although they’re great!). As we head into 2014, we aim to tell our cheerful story to whoever will listen and to those who listen and love us, we are forever in your debt. It is for you whom we design for. *Bear hugs*

Downtown Container Park Grand Opening

Today we celebrated the grand opening of the Container Park in Downtown Las Vegas and it was absolutely Ah-mazing! Even though the morning was cold enough to make a Chicagoan feel at home, the love from the locals at the new mixed use space was enough to warm this Las Vegan’s (cold cold) heart.

There was everything from a juggling mime to awesome performances and speeches to kick off the ribbon cutting ceremony.

 

 

It has been a long arduous road to open up our first retail store, but nonetheless satisfying. We are thrilled to be able to offer all locals and visitors to Vegas a little taste of what we at Winky Designs are about: joy, laughter, and beautiful fashion watches and accessories.

Winky Designs is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!! Visit us on your next trip to Vegas and snag yourself some lovely bracelet watches (you can schedule us inbetween the clubbing and pub crawls ;) )

707 Fremont St. #2070 Las Vegas, NV 89101

New York's Newest!

The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) is the show that started it all for us. Winky Designs first publicly launched at the winter NYIGF market in the “New York’s Newest” section back in January 28, 2012.  When we got our first wholesale order I almost yelped in joy!   As a small emerging business starting out in New York, I had no clue what expect from the first show.  I read the NYIGF manual 3 times from cover to cover, and spent weeks in preparation.  I was also the only person manning the booth (which is completely exhausting!) but my family was kind enough to help me set up and disassemble after the show.

7 months later, as we’re preparing for the Summer NYIGF starting August 18, I reflect back on how much things have changed!  We now have over 80 wholesale customers around the USA, and sales reps in over 30 states.  This time around, we’ll have a kick-ass corner booth, manned by a team of 4 trained and smart “Winky Designs” girls.  I could not be more excited!

Check out our NYIGF catalog, or if you’ll be attending the show, be sure to stop by to say hello to us!   We’ll be at New York’s Newest Booth #5632 (NYIGF Javits Center) from Aug 18 – 21.