Meet Yanique P.

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yanique P.. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yanique below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Yanique with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I got my work ethic from my mom. My dad passed away when I was very young and she hustled HARD to ensure that my siblings and I had a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. It may not have been tomahawk steaks and mashed potatoes every night, but she did what she had to do whether it was doing hair or driving taxi cabs.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I customize graduation stoles for all grades. The most exciting part of my creations is illustrating one’s educational journey. Each stole is fully customized so the graduate has full creative control over what is displayed on their stole and it can be as detailed as they want. I have seen all sorts of organizations, different memorial tributes, and many other things that speak to what is most important to everyone at that stage in their life. My favorite part is seeing the pictures with their families and seeing everything come back full circle. I hope to touch all 50 states and countries outside of the U.S. in the future. In the meantime, I am enjoying the journey of having a customization business.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I will touch on three qualities. One quality that has been the most impactful is not being afraid to fail. The first product will be terrible. The first negative review will be daunting. The first lost package will be stressful. But you will survive 100% of your worst days and you will always learn from your mistakes to be better for next time. Another quality is the concept of “community over competition”. There is an analogy basically about how a market can seem oversaturated, but it references several brands of bread and that everyone has a preference but that doesn’t stop all those different companies from selling their products. I enjoy communicating candidly with my colleagues and candidly sharing our experiences and same pains. I also love that there is always love and we always support each other’s wins. One last quality that I have learned is not to be afraid to be different. While the product that I am selling is becoming more popular and there is more demand for it, I try to keep my individual footprint so that my work doesn’t get lost.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I am feeling overwhelmed, I slow down and breathe. Sometimes, that means taking off a few days from looking at emails and not creating stoles. Sometimes, that means going to one of my favorite restaurants and indulging in a dish I haven’t tried yet. Sometimes, that means losing myself in my favorite Disney movies. I take that time to really live in the moment and recenter myself.

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