We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Camille Ware. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Camille below.
Camille, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Where do I begin…? I have experienced so much in my life and I love sharing my story because I get inspired every time I share it! I moved to Atlanta in September 1999, to attend fashion design school, where I began chasing my dreams. I always had an entrepreneurial spirit starting as a child. I attended Metro Technical School of Kansas City, where I learned to sew. My instructor, Stephanie Mercomes, saw talent in me and ignited the flame by encouraging me to further my education. Fashion is a part of my DNA, I’ve been passionate about it ever since I was 13 years of age. I knew I was going to become this famous designer and have my clothing shown all over the world. Reality has a way of kicking you in the butt. Attending school was not easy for me, I worked two jobs while attending school full-time and even had to sit out a semester or two due to financial burden. I had an aunt who always talked negatively, asking my mom when I was going to finish school and don’t let her children graduate before I do. It’s hard enough for the world to judge you but even harder when your own family doesn’t believe in you or want to see you win. After I obtained my B.A. in Fashion Design & Marketing. I learned life is a marathon, not a sprint, and becoming successful has become personal to me.
Over the years I struggle with deciding what to do with my talent because of all the financial trials. At one point I had fallen out of love with designing and wasn’t certain what to do. All I knew was I wanted to work in fashion and didn’t care what I did as long as it pertains to fashion. For six years I worked for a popular fast-fashion company. Although I learned a lot from this company I felt unappreciated and underpaid which caused my financial burden even more. I wasn’t happy with the way my life was going, causing me to be stressed and depressed for being overworked. I had the vision to attempt to make some extra money and start a boutique. Now I had no clue what I was doing but I just had the vision without the funds. Lol, While working retail for many years struggling financially, it seemed impossible to fund my dreams. I attempted three separate times to collaborate to start a boutique with friends. Unfortunately , it never worked out and I felt defeated because I thought the only way I could start a business was with other people. I learned that when people don’t believe in the vision, it will never work.
Years later in 2018 the idea of having a boutique never faded no matter how hard I tried to neglect it. So after praying I gave it another shot to pursue the dream. I worked over eighty hours of overtime in my corporate job, and guess what? Yep, I left retail. I felt like I was ready and I had money!!! Friday, March 30, 2018, when payday came I received a call advising that an outstanding bill was due. I had no clue about this old bill that resurfaced, I started crying, and all the negative self-talk started to enter my head things like… give up, you’re not good enough, and dreams don’t come true for people like you. So that day I vow to never speak about fashion again, nevertheless think about it.
I attended church that following Sunday and my Pastor preached a word that stuck with me. He said, “A dream delayed is not a dream denied so have faith and stand on God’s promise.” The thought of having a boutique had entered my mind again, only this time it was positive. I prayed and fasted for thirty days allowing me to research my business and rebuild my confidence spiritually. Everything seemed to be falling into place and doors were opening with resources to help get my business up and running.
I had a friend who kept telling me she was going to assist me with setting up my business license and tax ID for two weeks. This friend kept telling me she was going to stop by to help but never showed. But one Friday afternoon I had just got off work, I stopped by the ATM and the machine told me to go inside. One thing about Atlanta there’s going to be some traffic on Fridays!! So I decided to go to the branch by my home. When I got there, I was greeted by the nicest woman I ever met named Tiffany Anderson. She assisted me with getting my debit card unblocked and turned to me and said if you know anyone with a business please give them my card.
I looked at her and just stood there staring, and she asked what’s wrong? I said, well I wanted to start a business but my friend was supposed to help me set up my business license and tax id because I wasn’t sure how to do that. She said honey sit down I’m going to help you set up now. Butterflies ran through my stomach, Fear starting to kick in and self-doubt all at the same time., I’m saying to myself this is happening. Tiffany assisted me with setting up my business license, tax id, and my business bank account all in one day. I didn’t leave that branch until 6 pm when they closed. That day I learned that sometimes God will inconvenience you to bless you! Or as my pastor says he will cause things to pause so that you can prosper. I will always say my resilience comes from having faith because, although my family and friends may not always believe in me. I have the confidence to believe in myself and the gifts GOD has blessed me with.
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 a Boutique owner coming from a background in fashion and retail, I’m able to study trend forecasting, select the right pieces for our store, and keep our customers in the loop on what’s trending every season. We host “Fashion Fridays” where we show new arrivals and answer questions about the price and sizing of each item shown. We also have other fashionprenueurs as guests to showcase their businesses. We love networking baby!! Continue to follow our journey by connecting with us on all social outlets or signup for our email list for upcoming events, new arrivals, and more.
The Style Plug is the ultimate destination for effortless wardrobe pieces. We specialize in unique, quality women’s clothing, accessories and shoes. We’re known to create an online semi-luxury experience without breaking the bank. I’m most proud that we’re helping women around the world by putting the art back into dressing. By having a collection, women can transition from the office to after-work attire. Rather she’s a woman in Corporate America, Real-estate, Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur, or just a Fly Auntie that loves to dress. We strive to help women look their best. What sets us apart from other boutiques is we pride ourselves on the quality and the craftsmanship of every garment. We stand by our name The Style Plug. It’s not only plugging you with the latest trends, we’re changing conversation through style.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My trials never seemed rewarding until now, three qualities I learned are that you can’t be fruitful without being faithful. I also learned that success is something you work for and sometimes you have limitations on some things to elevate yourself. Last but not least I learned that life teaches you everyday and when roadblocks arise you keep pushing no matter what. There is no testimony without a test.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
One issue I’m having is rebuilding my brand awareness after my social media pages were hacked twice in one year. It has been hard to rebuild my audience and come across my target market. I was ready to throw in towel and call it quits! But I went back to the drawing board coming up with creative ways to market my business outside of social media. Right now I’m focusing hard on marketing via email, and networking at social events as well as pop-up shops. Since I have an online-based business, I can’t rely solely on social media to drive traffic to my site. I realize using social media is extra but not the meat of your business, especially with the algorithm constantly changing. I plan to be more consistent with my online presence hoping to cross paths with women that have interest in my brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopthestyleplug.com
- Instagram: @shop.thestyleplug
- Facebook: @shopthestyleplug
- Twitter: @shopthestylepl1
- Youtube: @shopthestyleplug
Image Credits
Photographer: Ben McBee MUA: Zili Mallin
