Selia’s decision to go ‘bridal’: The importance of business direction and goals

This is a first installment of thoughts and takeaways from our conversations with designer and entrepreneur, Selia Yang. We are focusing on Selia as a part of our inFOCUS series and are excited for the culminating soiree at the end of the month.

During our talks with Selia Yang, several themes stuck out as not only noteworthy but as good lessons for other entrepreneurs. The first theme is the importance of Your Business Direction & Goals. (A favorite topic for us!)

Selia’s decision to go ‘bridal’:

It is so interesting that Selia Yang never had any intention of entering the bridal market. In her mind it seemed like lots of puff and little style. So naturally, like most clear-headed entrepreneurs, she resisted the suggestions and requests of her customers to lead her astray. She gave them the ‘I’m flattered but it’s not my bag’ routine.

However, as her relationships with her customers deepened and she was able to witness their own frustration with existing bridal options, she relented. One dress quickly turned into 10 and so on. After a couple years of dabbling however, she reached a nexus and felt compelled to make a final business decision on the bridal market. Was she in it? Did she want to be? What should Selia Yang be known for? What was her future? What was her company’s future?

While considering her options, Selia said that the biggest question she had to answer was not about viability or finances but “could I be happy doing bridal?” or more importantly, “Would I be content creatively to explore bridal as a designer? Could I do bridal without following tradition?” After some soul searching, Selia decided that she could and that by entering the bridal market that she could actually “evolve as a designer”. She could create a collection she was proud of, make beautiful dresses that make women feel great, and fulfill her passion, which is “to sell something that I have created”.

Now several years later, Selia remarks that she “never knew I would do genuinely fall in love with bridal”. She feels very happy to be where she is and said that “hopefully this shows in what I do”.

Take it from us…it does!!

So this conversation really got us thinking about business directions and goals. We often talk about the importance of learning to say NO as an entrepreneur. Typically, there is no dearth of opportunity or creative ideas. The trick is really knowing which opportunities are right for you, when to say yes and when to say no. It’s not easy. The risk you run is saying yes to the wrong decisions and ending up hijacked by your business and building a business that you hate.

What we love about Selia’s story is how purposeful she was about this very big business decision. Not only did she try it out first in a comfortable and low-risk way, she also based her decision on her clear understanding of what brings her satisfaction as an entrepreneur – continually creative and inspired design, not just on the economics and viability of the potential market and business. If she felt that she would have to compromise her creative instincts and abilities within the bridal market, she would have said no.

Are you clear about your own goals? What must opportunities provide in order for them to help you achieve what you want?

How can you reevaluate opportunities with your goals in mind?