Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Sherman de Arenas.
Hi Sydney, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My parents are entrepreneurs, so the start of my journey to have my own business was a smooth transition. I know a lot of people struggle to strike off on their own, or maybe put more thought into it than I did. For me, it was as easy as the fact that I didn’t like my job, saw an opportunity with a side job I had, and started my first successful business called Admin Boutique. The company services small businesses and non-profits with hourly administrative support so it didn’t require any capital and because I was 23, I had barely anything to be responsible for other than my food and dog food so it felt relatively low risk. I built the company one client at a time, hiring my little brother’s girlfriend as the first assistant under me part-time, eventually building a full team. Admin Boutique was where I learned the most about hiring and what I needed to do to structure a sound organization. I made a lot of little mistakes that would prepare me for the companies I would create later. After a few years, I went back to school to get my Master’s in Business and started The Etho which was a marketplace for ethically produced products. During the pandemic, a bad business partner brought that company down and I started Montie & Joie, Jabel Juyu, and Moon & Sun, with various family members. Losing The Etho was a big blow and my biggest life lesson to date. At this time, I also started to invest in female-founded companies through The Helm wanting to diversify my income but also support something I believed in that I could no longer do through The Etho. Today I focus my time heavily on both Admin Boutique which I rebuilt in the pandemic and Montie & Joie which is my passion. I am also working on another family project that is yet to begin construction, a condominium called The Astrid in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I live in both Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and San Pedro la Laguna Guatemala with my husband, two kids, and as many pets as they will allow me to have.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Having a business is often creating a life of challenges as there is no clocking out of your own business. I remember a professor during my MBA said that having a business is more serious than heart surgery which I thought ridiculous until I understood what he meant. I am responsible for people’s livelihoods and any mistake I make can have severe consequences for the people I am employing––many people at once, unlike the single person under the knife in heart surgery. The biggest challenge I had was with The Etho. Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back there were many red flags with the business partner I invited into my business than I was even close to seeing at the time. Once we signed the merger, the problems started immediately. In the end, the biggest problems were financial, leaving the business at risk for serious issues and also with more debts than we could service. Although many of the decisions were hers, and many more I was unaware of, I was left in charge to clean up the mess and explain to my investors what had happened. Unfortunately, she made it impossible to continue to run the business so there was also no way for me to recover any of what we had lost. It was excruciating to go through at the time and there were a lot of details that I am obviously leaving out, but what is important is what we learn from our mistakes. First of all, I over-invested in the company losing almost everything personally that I had built which meant I had nothing to give to fix the issues when no one else would invest. This left us without any options at all and I am still paying the consequences (literally). Second of all, there was no rush for us to merge and if I could do it again, I would have simply partnered in some capacity to test the relationship and flesh out our strengths and ability to work together. I would structure it over a 12-18 month period so that the merger was slow and I would have milestones that we would have to hit before merging so that I could be sure that it was a good fit. Third of all, both of us were in need of more capital and I think both of us thought the other person was the solution to that. That is no way to start a relationship and therefore I would have ensured we both had money in the bank to float us while we were learning how to be good partners. That way if one of us was going to sink, we wouldn’t take the other down with us.
There are many more lessons from that experience and my other businesses but overall the biggest learning I have had is about myself. Somehow companies are a direct reflection of who we are and therefore it is so important to learn to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of other people whether employees or clients. The challenges really never stop and in order to make great decisions, we have to have a strong inner compass that knows our own values and has a clear vision of the future we want to create.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Montie & Joie is an ethical home goods and clothing brand located in Houston, TX that focuses on financially empowering women around the world. We pay fair wages, support traditional crafts, and use environmentally sustainable materials believing that fashion for the body and home can and should be positive for the world we live in.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the diverse culture of Houston. It was where I was born and raised, my family still lives there, and my business still operates there as my mom, Terrell is my business partner so I find myself there frequently. I love discovering the new restaurants, museums, parks, and other unique experiences the city has to offer. It still has my favorite food in the world, Tex Mex, and there is never a shortage of things to do or interesting people to meet. I think Houston is much more interesting than most people who haven’t lived there will guess. It has some of the best quality of life I have experienced as well. I have lived for short periods of time in L.A., New York City, London, and Paris and Houston has many of the things the other cities I have lived in offer, at a much lower price. People are always surprised to find out how diverse the population is and although it still has its obvious issues, I find that the different cultures mix more here than in other places I have lived besides New York. For me, the politics are a problem and that is what I like least about the city, but it’s not something I experience day-to-day making most of my time in Houston extremely pleasant. For anyone traveling there, I would suggest eating out as much as possible (we have AMAZING food) and visiting our museums and new parks!
Contact Info:
- Website: montie-joie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montie_and_joie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/montieandjoie/
- Other: https://www.sydneydearenas.com/
