Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tammy Phan, founder and CEO of Luxe Du Jour, located in Calgary, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Luxe Du Jour is an online luxury destination where you can shop, sell, rent, and restore preowned designer handbags. Think Airbnb and amazon of bags! With a mission to play a huge role in the circular fashion industry. Recirculating bags and making luxury more affordable and accessible. Our customers all have the same passion for authentic designer luxury. We have built a strong community of handbag addicts.

Tell us about yourself

I come from an immigrant family that grew up very poor and was expected to go to school, study hard and become a lawyer, doctor, or engineer as per my parent's vision. However, I ended up being a high school dropout to support myself and help out my family with no intention to be an entrepreneur. Still, I had a fiery passion for beautiful expensive things I wish I had. I started collecting designer handbags at a young age. Eventually, my best friend and I amassed a collection of bags that we ultimately wanted to sell. We tried selling some of our bags on popular selling platforms such as eBay and Kijiji at the time, but there were no serious buyers and a lot of scammers, time-wasters, and fraudulent payments.

We searched for a local consignment to sell our bags hassle-free, but these consignment stores were taking 40% of the selling price, to our surprise! We couldn't swallow the fact that we would be losing almost 50% of the price value just from fees, so we decided to try to sell it on our own on a social media platform that was just peaking at the time called...Instagram. Our company started on Instagram with no debt, just using our own free resources that were already out there. No storefront. No professional cameras and lighting. Nothing fancy. We ended up building up a community with the same interests and what started as a hobby to sell off our own bags turned into a consignment business with fair commission rates! We only took a 10% commission on high-end designers, which we felt was fairer for both parties. That's what kick-started the business. I am motivated every day because it never feels like work.

I worked 16 hour days for years and years, and I love what I do because I'm doing something I'm so passionate about, and it fuels my own interests. Another motivation for me was to make my parents proud and prove my haters wrong. Although, I was the family's black sheep because my brothers and my cousins are all in high-paid sectors such as doctors or engineers.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is being able to scale a to a 7 figure business without a degree.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing that comes from being a business owner is transitioning from working alone in my basement for the last five years to leading and growing a team. I used to focus on the customers, and now I focus on my people because if I take care of my people, they will take care of the customers.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Don't do business with a friend just because they are your friend. Take a look at their work ethic and what they can bring to the table first because most companies mixed with friends end up in broken friendships.
  2. Focus on the value you can bring to your customers, and the money will come after.
  3. Pay attention to the trends in the market and upcoming new technology and apps that might benefit your company because we are given all these great free social media apps that we should be learning and seeing how your business can be present in them.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Understand the difference between a lifestyle business and a scaling business. The sooner you know which one you want, the better because a lifestyle business looks for the least amount of expenses and max amount of profits to fuel that lifestyle which determines its success to the business owner. A scaling business requires money to fuel growth and constantly maximize spending to grow and potentially exit with a high valuation.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://luxedujour.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LUXEDUJOUR/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luxedujour/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/luxe-du-jour/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.