by Mary Worrell
Candra Palmer’s story of successful entrepreneurship isn’t the typical one peppered with anecdotes about jumping in feet first, making lots of mistakes, and struggling toward stability. Her business started out as a carefully, meticulously-planned venture that involved a number of calculated decisions including working for free, selling clothing in a mall, and making products at home for a number of years before growing into a brick-and-mortar store.
Artyce Custom Footwear, a L.A.-based special occasion foot wear designer, wasn’t even a twinkle in this founder’s eye when she graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. “I went to work for Intel in Oregon after I graduated,” said Palmer, 33. “My major was computer information systems and I wanted to work in the IT world.”
The Chicago native got a big break in her young career when she was selected for a special program with Intel. “I got a chance to travel with vice presidents of the company and we changed jobs every six months,” she said. “It was a great opportunity for new, bright ideas and to see what it takes to sell great products.”
She may have come out of college with computers on the brain, but her work with Intel helped her uncover a love for sales and marketing. The company relocated Palmer to Los Angeles in 2001 where she was able to make her own schedule. She used the new flexibility to explore her love of fashion in one of the world’s design hubs. As she was exposed more and more to the fashion industry, Palmer started to get a whiff of where her true passion lied.
“I wanted to learn more about the business side of fashion, so I started interning with fashion companies,” Palmer said. Networking her way around L.A., Palmer was able to connect with designers and she wasn’t afraid to offer to work for free. For Palmer, these were learning opportunities that would help lay a successful foundation for her business. She interned with both fashion stylists and consultants to learn about key marketing strategies like product placement and launching successful product lines, and she did it all while still working her full-time job.
“I was still earning income and learning on the side, so I didn’t feel the financial impact at that moment,” she said. Palmer learned the art of multitasking from her mother who worked as a teacher and later as a school principal while still managing a small business as a seamstress on the side. But the time came for Palmer, as it does for all entrepreneurs, to leave her job with Intel to focus all of her time and energy on her new venture. She left the corporation in 2004.
“I went to work for a manufacturing company to learn more about production,” Palmer said. “A lot of people just see the end result, but you need to see the business from every aspect. I did sales for the company and learned about their process and business model, but I was still lacking the knowledge of retail stores.”
So Palmer did something you wouldn’t expect from a computer information systems graduate and former Intel employee – she went to work for Ann Taylor as a retail associate. Yes, she was selling clothes in a mall and she did it for two and a half years. It was all part of her self-designed education in the fashion industry.
“I chose Ann Taylor because I understood they had a dedicated client base and had their own private-branded products. I wanted to learn about all components and put the final touch on learning the fashion world,” she said. “I got a chance to do a lot of sales and became the number one sales person in the store. I bonded with clients.”
In the evenings Palmer was still working and using her creative skills to create fashion accessories she loved, mainly footwear. That’s where Artyce was conceived – in Palmer’s home where she created ornate shoes for herself and friends.
But then more and more friends started asking her to make shoes for them. And then one day Palmer was shopping in Nieman Marcus with a friend and a young woman asked where in the store Palmer had purchased those shoes. That’s when the spark was lit and Palmer realized she had something bigger than a hobby on her hands – she had her product.
Palmer continued to create custom shoes for clients from her home, but if she wanted to take her business to the next level she knew she would have to move into a more professional space to give her business validation. With much of her money saved up and a few gifts from family, she moved into a brick-and-mortar space in Los Angeles in 2006. The move grew revenues to $200,000 that year – nearly five times what they had been previously.
The business has been steadily growing since then, Palmer said, even despite the economic downturn. They missed their projected $700,000 for 2009 slightly, but are on track to meet that in 2010.
“The economic downturn allowed us to refocus our direction,” she said. “We decided to focus on the bridal segment. We could do boots, but we don’t.”
The company initially worked with special occasion shoes, boots, flats, and sandals, but Palmer made a decision to take her company into an even more niche market and only focus on special occasion footwear.
Palmer’s market isn’t the average woman shopping for a special occasion shoe to wear once. Her clients, she said, are people looking to invest in a beautiful shoe that fits them well and is something they can wear again and again. The shoes start at $250 and special custom shoes start at $500. Palmer works with clients around the world, utilizing technology like Skype to add personal touches to her interactions with them.
The team at Artyce is still a small group of four people, but the extra help allows Palmer to take advantage of professional development and marketing opportunities. Many entrepreneurs may skimp on trade shows and conferences to save money, but Palmer doesn’t. In fact, it was at a trade show where she made one of the biggest strategic partnerships for the company with Swarovski Crystal. The company has also been featured on “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera,” a bridal show on We TV.
“We see opportunity for larger growth, but you have to be practical in taking it to the next level,” Palmer said. “Our clients aren’t just in the U.S., so I can see a global expansion.”
But given Palmer’s track record for calculated decision making in her business, the expansion will be carefully planned.
“I live my passion every day. As an entrepreneur you get to do what you want,” she said. “A few years is a small cost for living your dream.”
