“A Stuk Designs Career Woman is a entrepreneurial woman of strength and balance who on a daily basis; focuses on what she loves in the form of [her] career. She simultaneously inspires others to reach for their own creative career goals.”

Name: Ashley Martinez
Career: STUK DESIGNS Marketing Manager/Creative Producer X justfab E-Catologue Assistant Manager
City: Los Angeles
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Please describe for us what it is that you do?
As part of the Merchandising Dept at JustFab.com I’m always surrounded by shoes and handbags. Either running a photoshoot, uploading images onto the site, or in meetings about what the latest trends are for the upcoming season.

What lead you to your current position?
I’ve always known I wanted to work in the fashion industry so after high school I always tried to get jobs within the industry. So I worked at Diane’s Beachwear Corporate offices as a buyers assistant. Then at Ed Hardy’s corporate office. And now at JustFab.com. I like fashion, but not just the creative part of it, but the business part of it too. Even though at the end of the day it’s still the corporate world, its different than your regular 9-5 corporate world. Most corporate offices don’t have a fully stocked bar, but we do. lol It’s a creative and ever changing atmosphere. Working in the fashion industry you end up being around cool creative interesting people, which is probably why we are currently shooting a reality show at my job that will be airing on the Style network soon. It will showcase our day to day duties like our photoshoots, buying trips, brainstorms, and random shit that happens at the office.

Had you ever been a boss before? Is it hard to be the head of something? Before transferring over to the Merchandising dept I was a Team Lead for a group of 15 Fashion Consultants and it was not easy. Not only do you have to make sure you’re doing everything you’re suppose to be doing, but you are also responsible for all 15 people on your team. That was my first time being in a lead position. I learned to deal with people and everyone’s different personalities. It was a struggle for me at first. I even contemplated quitting at one point because it was frustrating. But I didn’t. Once I actually got the hang of it and succeeded at being a team lead it was the best feeling. I’m not sure if it was because I felt accomplished or because I got a promotion and was no longer responsible for 15 other people anymore! lol

Would you consider your current job, your dream job? I wouldn’t consider my current job my dream job because I still want to move up and do so much more. But at least I know I’m in the industry I want to be in. Gaining knowledge and experience to be able to move up and that will help me accomplish more in this industry.

“A Stuk Designs Career Woman is a entrepreneurial woman of strength and balance who on a daily basis; focuses on what she loves in the form of [her] career. She simultaneously inspires others to reach for their own creative career goals.”

Name: Numa Perrier
Career: Business owner: Miss Numa, Actress: The Couple and all around Artist: Glove designer, filmmaker, photographer
City: Los Angeles
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Please describe for us what it is that you do?
I’m an artist, an actress, a business woman and a creative working mom.

What lead you to your current position? I think it’s unavoidable when you’re a child and you already have those artistic inclinations. Since I was very young (7 or 8) I’ve always been writing. I was writing before I did anything else. I wrote little books and novels. I wrote poetry. I love poetry. I always wanted to act as well. When I was 10 I remember asking my mom, “can I be an actress?” and she said “yea, sure.”

How does it feel being your own boss? How do you motivate yourself? It’s not hard in the beginning. I get inspired very easily, because I always have a ton of ideas, and as ideas come to me I get excited. The challenging part is; how do you keep following through with things as time progresses, and how do you reignite that inspiration? For example, right now I’ve put my woman’s Glove Company on hiatus to pursue other things. You always have to remind yourself why you wanted to do each artistic pursuit in the first place, if it is still giving you a good feeling when you think about it, then you can keep going, but if you can’t remember why you wanted to do it in the first place… then maybe it’s time to move on.

What’s your business philosophy?
Relax and stay excited! It’s a bit of a juxtaposition, but I think if you can do both of those things you can have a successful business. As soon as you start stressing that kills your business, you can’t come up with new ideas, and you ruin any good that’s coming to you. So you have to relax, but also remember to stay excited about your work!

Interview by: Brette Sims

Name: Denise Waling
[Her] Career: Owns her own yoga studio, The Yoga Place LA. (my yoga instructor!)
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How would you describe what it is that you do?
As a whole… I help people, to put it simply.

How did your journey to creating your own business begin? Yoga has been in my life for about 13 years. About 7 years ago I decided teaching yoga was something I would love to do. I had lead a very hard life, a life to where I didn’t think I would make it to 30. I didn’t think I had a real future. I didn’t understand myself… which caused a lot of depression and anxiety. I had to allow myself to get help. I took time away from my 9 – 5 to heal. Going through that healing process, my goal evolved to teach yoga. I ended up getting laid off my 9-5 job in commercial property management. It was really stressful, so it was ok. So then, I entered into teacher training. It was the hardest thing I’ve experienced, because it was the only thing I ever really wanted.

And then… I finally became a teacher, and my whole life just changed!

How did you decide to open your own Yoga Studio? I wanted to find somewhere where yoga wasn’t as prevalent. A friend of mine worked in the California Market building downtown, which lead me to rent space there. Downtown doesn’t have a huge number of yoga places, so it was a great opportunity for growth. I started by renting the space and charging out. But I had a lot of no shows and it wasn’t successful. Then, it came down to the wire. I could either move back home to North Carolina or say screw it and open my own studio. So, I took the risk, and if I didn’t I would have wondered forever. I opened The Yoga Place LA to the community in 2010 and up until last Spring it was just me teaching all the classes. I recently started hiring other teachers. Its really evolved and grown.

How did you acquire start up money? My savings, unemployment, and severance. I just said… I have to do this. And now, I make enough to live on and pay my teachers. That’s all that’s important.

What is your spending style? I never spend money I don’t have. I never took out a loan. I don’t believe in building big. I wanted to start small. I wasn’t going to put myself into debt building a huge space and not be able to pay the bills. So one by one I added classes and teachers. It’s a process.

Would you consider this your dream job? Yes. It is my dream job. You know how you make a list of goals? It was on there. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

What is you business (life) philosophy? Be kind to yourself. Take care of yourself. This is your one life.