150: Starting a Business in a Perfect Storm | Finding the "More" Through the Power of Entrepreneurship with Elizabeth Ward Creel

Knowing what you want to do with your life from a young age is a rare gift, but when it happens, you’re absolutely unstoppable. Elizabeth Ward Creel, the owner of high-end fashion boutique Elizabeth W, joins me to talk about following your passion, excelling in your career, and opening your own store.

Elizabeth tells us about how she started in retail and worked her way up to working in the buying department of Walmart. Sure, it wasn’t exactly where she wanted to be, but she got so much experience that she was able to use when she decided to build her own store.

For Elizabeth, it was a lack of high-end fashion in her city that led her to ultimately decide to open Elizabeth W. By taking advantage of a gap in the marketplace, she has built a successful business with a large, national customer base.

However, despite knowing so much about how to run a fashion business, Elizabeth didn’t know how to get started running her own store. She turned to business books for guidance, especially regarding a business plan, and her friends for support and advice where she lacked mentorship.

Elizabeth shares some of the first hurdles she came across in her first year of business. Sometimes, these hurdles are in totally unexpected areas, such as hiring! But Elizabeth learned from these experiences and has used them to grow as a woman in business.

Finally, we discuss how to strike that work/life balance that entrepreneurs are always talking about. Because it can definitely be a challenge to not be glued to your new business baby at all hours. Elizabeth gives some excellent advice about how she set herself a physical challenge to stick to during her first year in business.

Are you ready to transition from your career to owning your own business? How are you striking the balance between work and life? Let me know in the comments on the episode page!

 

In This Episode:

How you go from having a career to opening your own store Why you should take advantage of gaps in the marketplace What the advantage of investing in business books is Who can take the place of a mentor when you don’t have one What some of the unexpected hurdles are in the first year of business What you can do to help strike that balance between business and life

 

Quotes:

“There are things when you start a business that you can never anticipate.” (16:40)

“It’s difficult to strike that balance between home and social life and owning a business. It’s never perfect. I think it’s always a journey and an evolution.” (19:11)

“Be flexible. Have your plan but figure out what changes you need to make as you go along.” (25:02)

 

Links

Find Elizabeth Ward Creel & Elizabeth W Online

Find Elizabeth W on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Find Dr. Cortney Baker Online

Follow Dr. Cortney Baker on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

Join From Side Hustle to CEO on Facebook

Subscribe to Women in Business on Apple Podcasts

 

Are you a female millennial entrepreneur who wants to start or scale your service-based business but not sure where to start? Go to https://www.drcortneybaker.com/roadmap to get a copy of my business roadmap. Stop duct-taping ideas together for starting your business. Snag my FREE roadmap to get starting on building a real business today.

About Dr. Cortney Baker... She is an award-winning entrepreneur, researcher, author, speaker, and advocate for gender equality. As a leadership expert and mother of three, she is passionate about inspiring and empowering women to lead with greatness.

Dr. Baker is the author of the best-selling books: The Ten Do's and Don'ts for Business Leadership: Lessons to Lead Effectively and Unlimited: Conquering the Myth of the Glass Ceiling. She is passionate about helping ambitious female entrepreneurs go from side-hustle to CEOs!

Feedback? Questions? Comments? For more information or to reserve Dr. Cortney Baker to speak at an upcoming event, please contact her at [email protected] or 1-469-708-8840.