Up in My Business

My journey of modeling has always been a hard thing for me to talk about because I struggle with the idea of not being humble.  Things always seem to make sense when you look back, but not always in the moment. I spent a good majority of my life hanging out and learning from my mom in her sewing room. She would often create something and then would ask me to try something on so she could see it. I always thought this was just what moms did! She always said I was perfect to try on.  Growing up one of five, my family often was told we were a very good looking family. Kind of overwhelmingly so (for me at least). The idea to do a model casting was thrown out there and next I know, I am in a casting room interviewing. At 13 I was offered my first agency signing. After a lot of contemplation and my involvement in sports, the offer was turned down. Fast forward to freshman year of college, I had decided to attended school for Fashion Design. I was incredibly involved in the after sch...

 The secret of change... is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.  When I was 21 years old I moved to Irvine, California, for an internship in fashion at OBEY Clothing. I moved across the country with an air mattress, a plastic drawer of clothes and my very small clothing company (a sewing machine and screen printer) with the intent to only be there for 2 months during the summer. My plans changed when I landed a job in skate, surf, snow and was starting to gain momentum in the industry working with large film producers and celebrities in Hollywood and I met someone. My plan was to move to Hollywood when the plan changed again and Boise, Idaho, became the new destination.  Those of you who have followed my journey know my hesitancy of moving, but my relentless dedication to make it work kept me optimistic. Boise brought a lot of good things like an opportunity to nurture and build a life and me too officially thrive and push the env...

The start to the 2023 has goal setting at the top of mind for many people to focus on being the best version of ourselves. You may have goals to save more money, get up earlier, or be healthier and Badass Habits is a fun place to start.  Badass Habits by Jen Sincero is a fun read about how to take overwhelming concepts and chunk them down into approachable actions that you can foster into healthy habits. Jen's voice as a writer is humorous and empowering as she highlights psychological barriers that could be blocking you from creating your most desired habits.  Her belief is that our habits reveal our self-perceptions, our beliefs about what's possible, and our general sense of reality. Throughout the books she interviews various successful people and ways they've strengthened their discipline backbones. Sincero then takes this information and walks you through her 21 day step-by-step habit guide to help her readers actualize these concepts.  Aware about your complainin...

Shoe Dog is a must read for business owners from all walks of life. It is the story of Phil Knight entrepreneur and founder of Nike and the empire he has built in just 80 short years of life.  Key Takeaways: Overall, Shoe Dog is a page turner! I think I read the whole book in two days! Fear does not have to stop you. During his journey Nike was a crazy idea. Blue Ribbon.. reselling Japanese shoes. Running was anything but popular. People thought you were nuts. You have to been the one to see things through.  You don't always have to have a perfect vision, but you need to be willing to figure it out! You just need to start!  If you're going through hell...keep going... you are going to be so knocked down. So tired that you can barely think strain, but you just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  The use of environmental factors as catalysts for company growth and expansion. Japan with globalization. The internet with Google!  The downside that can come ...

I guess in the end, it's natural to think about the beginning.  5 years ago today, I opened the Voxn flagship in downtown Boise. I still remember my very first customer--It was my neighbor's wife and her friend. I remember exactly what was bought. I remember what we talked about. I remember her ice cream earrings. I remember how red my face got because I was overthinking how to look natural and what to do with my hands. I was an official entrepreneur.  I remember meeting one of my first team members at a coffee shop when Voxn was chicken scratches on notebook paper and napkins inside some puppy binders. I bought the puppy binders because I thought that they were cute, they were on sale and I was ready for my idea to be taken seriously. I'm pretty sure we both thought I was crazy, but she was in. We rallied those in the community who were as excited about fashion as we were. Our first fashion show was a shot in the dark. We had no idea what we were really doing, but we survi...

"It's getting bad here. People are dying. The government is closing our doors. We have to stop all production and we are running out of medical supplies. I will let you know more as I know. Please take care of yourself, Erica. God bless."  A frantic email sent from on of my international manufacturing partners warning me of the severity of Covid-19, early January 2020.  Partners I have created great relationships with, spent years of business with. Respectable, hard working, never complaining. Then, a frantic email out of character followed by... radio silence.  Like most people, I was scared. Listening to the news and reading as much as I could, scavenging the internet. There was nothing. nothing. Thinking back to my relation to the BioTechnology field, it made sense why masks were backordered and harder to come by. What is going on with the Supply Chain? I fished out an old medical mask and took measurement on it. My intent was to send them overseas. They need help....

Love. People have a natural biological and psychological desire to feel acceptance and community through love. That’s why, even with so much independence to this day, people are still dating.  Oh, dating.  I was having a conversation with a friend the other day who loves the show the Bachelor. They were filling me in on all the details (which were juicy), but ended the conversation with a hypothetical, "Would you date the Bachelor?" Anyone that knows me well could probably agree that I am a decently laid back person. I am very go with the flow and see where life takes me. I am open to learning new things and new ideas, but I have my few things I have strong opinions that I won't wavier on. As a business owner of a growing company, finding time to switch gears from a packed schedule to slowing down and enjoying the moment with my partner is difficult. Personally, I do not like dating. I have never liked it. It takes so much to get me out on a date because I am not attracte...