Launching my business

It all started one evening in Spring of 2006 in my little bedroom...

That evening I was somehow disappointed by my shopping experience in San Francisco. I spent the whole day looking for a pair of nice tights with some unique design patterns. Boutique after boutique, shop after shop, I saw nothing but some plain black leggings. Perhaps, I would not be disappointed, if my previous shopping experiences in Sacramento, Davis and many other cities in California were any different. I knew I was not the only one, looking for such type of hosiery and it seemed very strange that no shop would even consider selling them. There was only one way to get what I needed, so I picked up the phone and called my mother in Italy! Two weeks later I received a gift box that was filled to the top with all sorts of beautiful tights, stockings and knee-socks! Finally, I had something nice to put with my skirts! Something interesting started happening afterwards... Once I put a pair of nice colorful tights to match my outfit and went to Sacramento downtown to do some shopping and have a dinner with some friends. That evening every passerby in Sacramento downtown was looking at my tights and a few very curious women even stopped me and asked for a place where they could buy something similar to the tights I was wearing. Later, something similar also happened in San Francisco and Las Vegas. Then I thought to myself, "Perhaps, there is a good business opportunity for me, since there is such interest in beautiful legwear in California." The idea seemed great, but I had no previous business experience and did not feel confident to enter the world of business without any understanding of how things work there. But my excitement and desire to seize a great opportunity was so strong than I wanted to start anyway. Fortunately, some close friends of mine, who have had some previous businesses experience, recommended me to write a business plan first and to attend some classes at the local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) on how to start and operate a business. It was one of the best advices I have had in my whole life. Seven months later, having completed a microenterprise training course with SBDC in Marysville, I have got a solid business plan, gathered all my savings and got a new-born company named "Valentina Fine Italian Hosiery" - a wholesale distributor and importer of fine Italian hosiery, serving women's clothing stores, sock shops and lingerie boutiques nationwide.

Advice for others

All great opportunities are hidden behind the obvious needs.