We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dorey Jacobs. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dorey below.
Dorey , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
For me, my optimism comes from a place of gratitude and perseverance. At a young age nothing ever came easy for me. Picture this, a young girl in middle school who loved fashion, but had to wear a back brace, glasses, and braces. Even when it came to my schoolwork, I would study for hours, do all the extra credit I could, but still struggled to get past a C. Instead of giving up, I knew there had to be a better way. I did a lot of testing to ultimately find out my brain did not learn optimally with the ways my teachers taught. To give you an example, in 9th grade I was reading at a 3rd grade level. I knew this had to change, so I sought after teachers and teaching styles that worked with my style of learning. This perseverance gave me the confidence and support I needed to help excel in my schooling and showed me that in many cases a negative can be made into a positive.
I chose to find a way to make it work for me, instead of giving up, or throwing in the towel I did what I had to, to be successful. I find ways to make it work by looking at it from different angles. That’s where my optimism comes from, knowing that if I put in the work and add a dash of my style, good things will happen. It’s also realizing that this is how life is. There will be obstacles and shit along the way but knowing that I have a choice of how I react to it and find a way to make it work from my past experiences is where my optimism shows up.
I know that it is easy, at times, to see things through “rose colored glasses,” and don’t get me wrong, one bad thing and 10 good things can happen at the same time, but instead of focusing on the one bad thing (which is so easy to do) I have trained myself to concentrate on the good, even if they are small wins/blessings. Not having that one negative feeling or action affect the many positives allows for the scales to be tipped to the positive side. Looking back, I’m thankful that not everything has come easy for me, because I wouldn’t have the strength I have today nor the creativity or the aspirations I lean on to grow in all parts of my life.
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?
I am the owner of Curator & Co, a mobile & online boutique. I left the corporate world 6 months ago where I led over 100 stores across the US. I loved developing and teaching people to run their business, however I want that to be on a larger scale. So, I bought and upgraded a boutique trailer and hit the road. If I was going to do it large scale, I had to take the leap and prove that I could do it on my own from the ground up. My first goal has been creating a space that becomes one of your favorite stops on your girl’s day. You can’t have a bad day when you visit a pink trailer with a disco ball hanging outside. I have been working to build a community and brand with my social network that helps women feel and look confident while also having fun. I want them to feel inspired when shopping with me. One of the joys of inspiring that I didn’t know I would have is when you see little girl’s faces light up when they visit the pink trailer. They play dress up with their barbies driving around in pink cars but seeing a large-scale version of a pink trailer full of all the frills, pink and sparkle a girl needs, this shows them their imagination can be real life.
Since launching my business, I have had the opportunity to help consult other women starting their businesses. This is something I will be expanding on in the new year. The first step towards this is launching a podcast where I can share the many skills I learned through the years in life and business. Curator & Co is not just a shopping experience it is a lifestyle; about inspiring women to curate a life they love on their own terms while having fun.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities I have that have impacted my journey so far are.
Being kind. Everyone is trying in life. No one wakes up and says I want to do my worst today. By having kindness be at the forefront of my mind I know I can help others if they are having a down day or if they need help in their development.
Being a planner. A phrase I use often and have hanging in my office is Do It For Your Future Self. This reminds me not to take shortcuts and to make sure I am actively setting myself up for success by the actions I take each day.
Being an active learner. I have been blessed by the many teachings of the mentor’s I sought after. I consistently listen to podcasts for development and just observe the world around me. When I see someone doing it better or a task I don’t know how to do, I actively learn it and elevate it.
I would advise someone early in their journey to go into a room by themselves, look in a mirror and shout out that audacious goal that they have been too scared to utter. Once you do it’s not so scary. Then you take that goal and road map the heck out of it. You know where you’re at and you know where you want to end. So, make the map. Show up for your future self and do it. You will be surprised how quickly you’re able to reach the goal once you break it down and know where you are going. If you don’t know something, reach out to someone that does. People are willing to share how if you just ask.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
To me collaboration is essential to expanding the Curator & Co mission. This mission is for women to develop and learn ways to curate a lifestyle they love and have fun doing it. This is done through acquiring knowledge, daily practices of development, and finding items that make them feel confident and bring them joy. I want to expand on the products I offer, highlight women owned businesses, and to share skills and stories they have on my podcast. I would love to collaborate with people and elevate together. I’m active on social media and is the best way for someone to connect with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://curator-co.com/
- Instagram: @curator_and_co
Image Credits
Sean Ennis
