My name is Andrea Alder, I am an Editorial Stylist and Art Director in the Seattle area. As a small child, I always had an appreciation for art. I would spend all day drawing or painting if I could. My parents noticing my tendencies towards the creative arts helped ignite my passion by providing me with fine art books. Both my parents have been small business owners their whole life. My mom as a seamstress and my dad as an engineer. Following my mother's footsteps I graduated with my degree in Apparel Design and Development and entered a career in fashion.
During one of my first jobs as a footwear designer I was introduced to the world of Fashion Styling and felt right at home. This is when I decided to create a small business of my own seeing that there was a need for freelance stylists in the Seattle area. My company is a one woman show. It was funded by me and it is a freelance styling company. I personally style fashion wardrobe, set design, food styling and prop styling.Now, I am employed full-time doing what I love while I continue to run my own business on the side.
I would advice those who want to become entrepreneurs to take risks, do research and seek help! While you might be someone that wants to take ownership of your project, know when to seek help and take a break, you don't want to burn out! Always take a risk, if it scares you then it is worth it! I have countless times of being scared to leap into a project and every time I have been so happy that I did.
If I had to start over again, what I would do differently is I would create a fund. It is important to have the finances before starting a business!
A successful entrepreneur needs to have the ability of terrific time management, communication and creativity! Without all three it is hard to succeed.
