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Name: Pamela Roskin

Business: Nineteen Seventy-Four, Inc.  

Industry: Clothing & Accessories 

Location: New York, New York, U.S.

Reason for starting: I had run a jewelry company for several years with my now ex-husband. We had inherited the company from his mother. For years, I designed jewelry under his family’s name, handled the sales, managed the logistics, etc. And then POOF! In one day it was all gone–my marriage, my business, gone. It took me a year to realize that I really missed . . . the business. And now, I get to run the show, in exactly the way I want and under my name. And it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. 

Related: Read about another female entrepreneur who turned a struggle into a success. 

How do you define success? I will consider this business a success the day I am able to pay off my mortgage with the money I make from Nineteen Seventy-Four.  Also in terms of my divorce, I think I turned tragedy into something really positive. I decided that I could either waste all that I had learned in my old company or use it to do exactly what I wanted to do. I realized that my past experiences were just stepping stones to where I am and where I should be right now. 

Biggest Success: So far my biggest success has been seeing one of my pieces on QVC.com. 

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? Opening up new accounts. I realized that if this is going to work I have to keep plugging away, every day and that if I don’t close a sale that day, I just try to light another fire somewhere else. Eventually I’ll make heat. 

Related: It’s Not a Setback. It’s an Opportunity for Growth

Who is your most important role model? Coco Chanel, Lilly Dache, Martha Stewart, Hanae Mori, Norma Kamali, and the Grateful Dead, because they kept on truckin’ no matter what.

[box_light]Website   www.nineteenseventy-four.com
Facebook   www.facebook.com/nineteenseventyfourjewelry[/box_light]

 

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Edited by The Story Exchange