We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Beau Ramos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Beau, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I think for a lot of people, it happens completely by accident. For me, it was a conscious journey. I personally have not had a simple life. So when talking about “my purpose” it cannot be a simple answer.
There have been many twists and turns when trying to figure out my identity in my twenties, and similar to that what I even wanted to do once I “discovered” that person. I knew, but didn’t that I was transgender from a young age and seeing all of the statistics online when you do finally come to that realization is scary.
“Will I even live long enough to make a difference?” or “Will anyone actually take me seriously?” These are constant battles when it comes to just existing as a minority in the US anyways. So, I just worked on building relationships and paying bills for a long time. I was a department manager at a Kroger and I learned a lot of leadership and I loved the guys on my team. For most of them, I was the first trans person they ever met and so I got asked a lot of questions, all in good faith. Slowly that fear I felt around my identity got smaller, and easier to ignore.
It was June of 2019 that I was in a nearly fatal car accident. I was a mere foot away from being smashed to death by a Subaru Impreza.
In the aftermath, laying on the concrete in the center of a small backroad, people came out of their homes. A woman named Rhonda who was a retired hospice nurse cradled my head and just softly spoke to me. She asked, “What do you want right now?”. In that moment all I wanted was my partner of 3 years. I spoke their name and tried to reach for my phone but couldn’t move from the pain and shock running through my body.
Needless to say, everything ended up alright.
Rhonda had actually gotten ahold of my partner through Facebook and they were soon by my side at the hospital. It was the month that followed that was my pivot towards the road I took towards purpose. Through Rhonda, I saw a level of kindness given to a stranger that could exist for any person.
From that day on, I had changed. My thoughts were no longer on fear of death, fear of not being taken seriously they were focused on whatever form of service I could give to people. In a way, I did discover what service I could do on accident. It had been completely circumstantial that I was taught to sew at a young age and had done it all throughout my life.
Once I started taking steps on exactly how I could do that, it became just as clear as my identity had. Through sewing, I would help my community. It wasn’t imminently obvious that I would start a business doing it, but it was the best way I could.
Do I do it for the money? No, because I manage to just barely break even every month. I could careless about making a profit if my basic needs are met, and the community takes care of me if they are not.
I plan to do this the rest of my life, and for me, that is the sign that you have found your purpose.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As we all know, fast fashion has been in a boom since the early 2000’s with how easy it is to find cheap fast clothing. However, with this comes loads of issues.
My business aims to address those issues on several fronts. The main one is fit. Often I have clients come to me and are frustrated that they ordered an item online, and for one reason or another it just doesn’t fit them properly. These huge companies have a very specific body in mind when patterning these clothes and because of that there will always be a need for alteration sewist like myself.
If we are taking into account people with bodies outside of beauty standards and averages, nearly everyone has issues finding clothing that fits.
Social media would have you think you need to change your body in order to have clothing that fits, but I say no.
It’s the clothing that is wrong, never your body.
I am someone who often has to alter their own clothes as well, because my ideal customer is me. I thought to myself there are more queer, plus size, marginalized bodies like me out in the world. So many of my clients have no clue there is such a need for someone like me, until they realize that my business exists.
The second issue is sustainability. Even for the few people who don’t shop fast fashion and wear their clothes to death, will need help maintaining their garments. My business offers repairs and even the option to clone garments that are beyond repair.
The final issue leans into the fact that many of us that have been forgotten when it comes to fashion, is the freedom to express ourselves regardless of our bodies.
Not only are scraps from your alterations being used to make upcycled goods that fit different bodies, but accessories too. My hope is to have several small collections put out on the website and sold at local markets by the end of 2025. There are so many people in my community that inspire me and my designs, so to use some of the material from each one seems like the best way to pay homage to them.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I have had to learn what I know the hard way. Failing is a very effective way of learning what to do.
A great quality I would say when starting a small business is to learn from your failures or set backs. Every little leap I made towards where I am, was a step to see if tripped or kept walking. I would also say, with this you should avoid running… It’s a lot easier to fall on your face.
Another quality I think you can develop while starting out on any endeavor is finding resources and asking for help. Once you know what you need to learn, you are off to the races! If building a community behind you is your goal, having one that can share and pass around knowledge and resources is huge.
I would say a final note of advice I would give, especially if you have found your purpose or you have figured stuff out enough to start running, is to rest. I have been flirting with burn out for months and it has shown me that maybe running wasn’t the best idea. Perhaps a jog would have been better. So please, even if you are ready to go full speed, maybe take a break between each task. Because you can absolutely burn out doing something you love.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The number one obstacle I have had to face so far in my career has been obtaining enough capital to grow the shop enough to be a community pillar.
I started this business with all of the sewing tools, machines and experience I had and as I have grown exponentially in the last 2 years, it is close to the point where I will need to hire.
However, the funds are just not there for me to take on an apprentice. I told myself were I do create a business, it would align with my values. Which include a livable wage and benefits. I have worked for lots of different companies over the years and many of them barely managed to cover those things.
Since hiring requires lots of additional costs, finding the funding even from a micro-grants level has been extremely difficult.
So if you or someone may be willing to invest in a small trans- owned tailor shop in Portland Oregon, send me an email!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beauregardlessco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beau_regardless
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeauRegardlessCo
Image Credits
Image 4- Client name Jordan Hernandez in tailored Vivienne Westwood corset top.
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