Career Change: Nuclear Medicine to Fashionable Footwear
After going through this drama, I knew immediately I had to work for myself. . . I didn’t want anyone to tell me when I could take vacation time or a sick day.
Sotiria Krikelis, Owner, One Life, Live-It, Inc.,
What was your previous Career?
I still currently work as a Nuclear Medicine Tech in a Cardiology office. While in college, I was going the medical route and all my undergraduate classes consisted of science.
How did you know it was time to Change Careers?
It was during my senior year at Stony Brook University while I was doing clinical rounds at a hospital (which shall remain nameless) when I realized that I had to be my own boss. My hospital experience was terrible, but yet I credit this experience to my leap of change. The camaraderie among the employees in the department I was in was horrible. They all hated each other and they were out to get one another, literally. It was so bad that a supervisor was afraid that another employee was more qualified for her job so she set him up to be fired, and guess what, he was. None of the employees stood up for each other, instead, everyone was out for themselves and did everything they could to place the blame on their fellow coworkers. They complained, hated their jobs, hated their home lives, and were treated poorly by their own supervisors.
After going through this drama, I knew immediately I had to work for myself. I could not allow anyone to treat me like that nor would I treat anyone like that. I didn’t want anyone to tell me when I could take vacation time or a sick day. Even though my clinical schooling experience not what I wanted, I am grateful I went through it because I wouldn’t have ever made my career change.
What was an average day like?
My day consisted of waking up at 7am and being at work by 8am. I would work straight through lunch taking care of patients. My work day ended between 2pm – 3pm. While at work, I acted like a robot repeating the same things over and over again for every patient. There wasn’t anything challenging in my job unless we had an emergency. The best part was having a shorter workday than a 9-5pm.
What is your new career?
My new career is being owner of my very own fashion lifestyle business. I created One Life, Live-It, Inc., to be a fashion and accessory minded solutions company catering to the fashionista frustrations. With many products in the pipeline, I am launching with my first product called Relax Missy which is a foldable ballet flat providing double duty fashion for multi-tasking mavens.
What is an average day like now?
I wake up at 6:30am to check emails and communicate with my factory in China. Being that China works with a 12hr ahead time difference; I wake up early to discuss shipping times, design issues, price quotes, new materials for production, etc. After emails, I make my way on over to my full time job. I still currently work in Nuclear Medicine because I have bills to pay and student loans won’t pay themselves. Working during the day is non stop and I try to get a few breaks in between where I can use the computer to continue to respond to emails and to do some research. If I have to get folders printed for my press kits, or call my attorney or discuss my web development with my designer – I make time to do that during the workday. After 3pm I do more research on the computer. I look up boutiques and stores and take down contact information to send samples and press kits to as well as adding names to my media list for press. I research major retailers such as Bloomingdales and Macys and see their requirements for becoming a vendor. Anything else I need with paperwork, whether it is purchase orders or sales agreements or shipping, I take note on the proper way it should be done. Working for me continues until midnight because again, I am in contact with China. I consider my life as two full time jobs.
Why change?
The main reason why I decided to make a change was because I couldn’t see myself working the same job for someone else for the rest of my life. I needed to have control of when I wanted to take vacation, or if I wasn’t feeling well, I could just work from home. I also didn’t want to depend on someone else for a paycheck. If a recession happens again in twenty years, then I don’t have to worry about losing my job. After dealing with my hospital experience in college, I refuse to ever be in such an outrageous workplace where supervisors are corrupt and employees place blame on others.
I believe the mind needs to be mentally stimulated and the only way to accomplish that is to do something new. So, I needed something challenging and life-fulfilling. Working as a robot everyday just going through repetitive motions is not exactly stimulating.
Was the recession a factor in your decision for a career change?
Not at all. I was fortunate enough to be in an environment where we weren’t affected by the recession. My entrepreneurial venture began before the economic downturn when I had already decided to incorporate my own business and start sample manufacturing. However, I do see the importance now in controlling your own destiny.
How did you make the leap?
This is another story I love talking about. I was in Borders bookstore near the Stony Brook campus and I was walking by the business section. I see a bright green, pink and white colored book with a woman on the cover. My eye is attracted to bright colors so I naturally picked up the book and read the title: Mommy Millionaire- How I Turned My Kitchen Table Idea into a Million Dollars and How You Can, Too! I took this as a sign and started reading the book. This book was different than any other success-story book because the author actually told you step by step how she created her own business. She mentioned websites, manufacturers, forums, attorneys, business plans, investors, and other information that I never knew about. Reading this book was my very beginning and helped me get a head start on my very own venture. Then there was research, research, and more research, almost eight hours a day.
How did you fund your business?
Three words. Me. Myself. And I. I did not receive any type of assistance whatsoever. I am completely 100% self funded. I was always good with money and saving it for this very reason. I knew the more money I had, the better I would be so I saved as much as I could and cut costs by putting ads on craigslist and doing the legwork on my own. As a new entrepreneur, I had to get creative.
Silliest thing about your former occupation?
Some medical professionals you would think are competent are actually just the opposite, and lazy.
Misconceptions about what you do now?
That I’m wasting my time and money. People also think I spend way too many hours on the computer and that I am just doing this for fun.
How do you stay motivated?
I love what I do now. The fact that I’m always learning something new and each day is different is what keeps me going. I also know that nothing will ever happen unless I keep pushing forward. The minute I stop is the day everything else stops in my business. That stays in the back of my head, so, I keep it moving.
How do you deal with jealousy?
Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with jealousy as of yet but I’m sure that will change with time. If I do come across jealous people I will just ignore them and continue focusing on furthering my brand.
Any moments of Desperation?
Yes! I had extensive trouble finding a shoe manufacturer. I originally wanted to bring back manufacturing to the US. So, I researched footwear manufactures in the 50 states only to find one factory left in the Midwest that was closing. Almost 99% of shoes are made overseas and it took me around 5 months to figure this out. I then turned to manufacturing in China, the production capital of the world. I didn’t have any experience in communicating with China let alone finding a factory. I started consulting with sourcing agents only to find out that their workday ends at 5pm and sending one email a day over to China gets you nowhere fast. Even though I knew manufacturing web portals existed, I never utilized them because I didn’t think they were effective. I called trade shows and other shoe companies to find out if they had anyone to recommend. It was always no luck topped off without any progress. After months of never giving up and researching everyday, I finally find an email through a web portal called GlobalSources.com and sent them information about my product. I quickly sent more emails and discovered this is how business is done overseas.
Surprises?
How much I have learned in just a short time of researching. I went from being clueless about business to manufacturing overseas and learning about public relations.
Warnings?
There are plenty of bumps along the way. Just be prepared and have a game plan.
Would you say to those who believe they need a formal education to change careers?
Well, of course it depends on the individual and the situation. Let’s say you want to switch careers into medicine or law, obviously you would need an education. However, if you have a goal and maintain the dedication to achieve that goal, then you will do whatever it takes to make sure it becomes a reality. I am a firm believer that if you want something bad enough, then you will find a way to make it happen. I had no idea how to start a product based business and here I am running one. With passion and determination anything is possible. It’s feasible a formal education will give you a head start but nothing will ever beat the passion. All it takes is research and thinking out of the box. Anyone can learn to write a business plan through a book at Borders and then perfect it with students that are obligated to assist entrepreneurs as part of their curriculum. While students are working on business plans for an entire semester, you finished your plan and now putting it into action. Your education outside the classroom is key.
If you could share 1 brief nugget of wisdom, what would it be?
“I rather have tried and failed than to never have tried at all.” That is a very good quote that I live by. Also, perseverance and passion will get you through the hard times.
Any resources or links that you think would be helpful to others looking to change careers?
There are plenty of books and websites I recommend.
1. Mommy Millionaire book and website. The website is great because it has a forum where you can ask questions and participate in conversation. It’s extremely helpful.
2. Ladies who Launch book and website
3. The Mom Inventors Handbook and website
4. Donald Trump Think Big and Kick Ass (great for motivation!)
5. Toilet Paper Entrepreneur website
6. Entrepreneur or Inc. magazines
How can we learn more about your business?
You can go to my website, www.RelaxMissy.com and follow me on twitter @RelaxMissy.
Well that’s a good start! goodluck to your new career.