Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Pham.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Theresa. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Do you believe everything happens for a reason? I was an immigrant. Came to the US when I was eight years old.
I’ve always loved fashion or some form of creativity and had started crafting together doll clothes since the tender age of four or five.
Being immigrants, my parents thought it was best to pursue a good education which would lead to a good paying stable career, and fashion design just wasn’t going to cut it. That was their American dream. Not so much mine, but I obliged anyway.
I pursued a career in Finance & Accounting with Masters degrees in both (that were sponsored by the company) while I climbed the corporate ladder in the Oil & Gas industry. My career was promising, but I wasn’t feeling fulfilled, so I continued to dabble in my creativity on the side.
Wasn’t until six years ago that I mustered enough courage to launch Theresa Pham Designs – back then it was a womenswear label. I had nothing to lose… my career was “stable,” and I didn’t have any major responsibilities because I didn’t have any kids… the hubby and I were just living for ourselves. We had been married about three years at that point, and both had solid jobs.
We had hopes and dreams of starting a family right after marriage, but things didn’t go according to plan. We struggled with infertility for a couple of years and was on the verge of giving up. Accepting that children were not in our fate, my husband encouraged me to seize this opportunity to live out my dream. So I did!
As I planned for my start-up, my husband and I decided on one final attempt at conception – IVF! We went thru TONS of tests and procedures and spent ridiculous amounts of money, but it didn’t phase us because we were determined – mind of over matter, right??!
Meanwhile, after months of preparation, I finally wrapped up my very first collection, and It felt aaaamazing! Mind you, I didn’t have any formal education or background in Fashion design nor work experience in fashion houses. I was clueless, learning and figuring things out as I went, but I finally did it! Only to discover a couple of weeks later that I was finally pregnant – IVF worked! Timing was terrible, or was it?! My pregnancy was HELL, and yet it was the best experience EVER!
I carried on with my designing business throughout the pregnancy and produced a second women’s ready to wear collection, just weeks before giving birth to my first baby girl, Loghan. I actually quit my Corporate job at my 3rd trimester of pregnancy to devote my time to the business and my child. However, nine months postpartum, I felt financially strained and wasn’t able to maintain the “stay at home Mom” status and run a business successfully.
My husband and I wanted more children (I know, greedy right?!) and I wasn’t getting any younger. Something told me I needed to devote this time to grow my family. I went back to working Corporate America… only to save every nickel and dime to spend on IVF for the next three more years!!!! During this time, Loghan was growing up and imitating my every move – she wanted to dress like me and be like me.
One day, I walked out in a dress I had designed to wear to a family wedding, and she said she wanted one too… a matching one, that is! Didn’t think anything of it, I made her one, and then another and another one. Then it donned on me… the two of us in matching dresses is really fun and meaningful, not to mention we got tons of looks and compliments.
So while still struggling to conceive a second child, I decided to switch gear from womenswear to designing a mommy and me collection. Needless to say, shortly after that collection completed, I was pregnant was my second child, Ava! After Ava, we were crazy enough to go for baby #3, but it didn’t pan out. We counted our blessings and moved on with life. That’s when TP Mini Me was born.
Having my girls was one of the biggest blessings in my life. They inspired me to create this line – it just made sense. In retrospect, I think everything happens for a reason. My struggle with infertility pushed me to pursue my passion. My fertility success led me to delay my passion in pursuit of a larger family, which in turn inspired the birth of TP Mini Me.
One year after the launch of my mommy and me clothing line and 13 years in the Finance/Accounting arena, I said au revoir to Corporate America and I couldn’t be happier! I’m grateful for the opportunity that my corporate career afforded me, but I’m more ecstatic to see where my passion leads me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth road? No way! As I mentioned before I didn’t have any formal training or work experiences in the fashion industry nor do I have any background in sales and marketing or even how to run a business, so all of this is new to me. I’ve had to figure everything out as I go, mainly through trial and error. I even read somewhere that I should learn to embrace failure… and to fail quickly then get back up… THAT TERRIFIES ME!
I walked away from a solid, good paying career to running my own business so naturally, there are going to be some setbacks and growing pains. I struggled with learning to let go… to find good and trustworthy help to assist with day to day operations with minimal supervision, so I can focus more on the design aspect along with growing my business. I’m still learning how to better manage my marketing segment by continuing to understand how social media works and they change their policies so often!
As they say in fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out, so I’m constantly pushing myself to evolve – to stay true to my aesthetics all the while pushing boundaries, and that sometimes can be a struggle. Overall, I’m definitely seeing progress as I move along and although there are pain points they serve their meaningful purpose. I wouldn’t trade this opportunity and experience for the world!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with TP Mini Me (Theresa Pham Designs) – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Theresa Pham Designs is home to a unique and one of a kind mother-daughter coordinated collection — TP MiniMe. Our focus is on special occasion-wear with a strong emphasis on quality & craftsmanship, and fit & flattery.
Thus, our garments are designed to look like it was custom made just for you! Fine silks and laces are our specialty, and we’re especially known for our tutu dresses, Mothers and daughters alike.
I think what sets us apart from others is the combination of uniqueness in our designs, particularly the coordinated looks, the care and quality that goes into every piece we produce but more importantly the affordability or price points for the aforementioned aspects.
Many times in retail and I’m sure a lot of us have seen this, you’ll either see a really chic design, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg, or you’ll find one that’s affordable, but it’s poorly made, or the design just doesn’t cut it. That’s where I think we [TP Mini Me] bridge the gap by providing a balance of style and quality at an affordable price so you and your mini-me can enjoy the special bond in twinning attires!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In the near future, I am looking forward to becoming less involved in the day to day operations and be more involved in the designing aspect and just growing the business.
This doesn’t mean that I won’t still have input on that end, but I’ll just supervise it from a bird’s-eye view. One of the toughest changes or adjustments for me is to delegate my work because it’s “my baby.”
But I also understand that in order to grow my business I would need more help, which means that I would have to learn to trust others to care for it. It’s time to put my big girl undies on. Lol.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.tpminime.com
- Email: theresa@tpminime.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresaphamdesigns/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/theresaphamdesigns
Image Credit:
Karen Sharpless McConaughey, Yasmine Kateb, Megan Ousset, Shaw Nguyen
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