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A Puerto Rico-born entrepreneur, Aisha Ortiz has turned her lifelong love of history and fashion into a thriving business: The Babygirl Vintage. Today, she works on her own terms, curating and selling unique vintage pieces at pop-up events and conferences.
Before relocating to the U.S. in search of a fresh start following Hurricane Maria, Ortiz wrote for a fashion segment in a Puerto Rican magazine. After earning degrees in history and media studies and building a successful career as a makeup artist and store manager for Estée Lauder, she decided to pursue her true passion full-time. Ortiz’s journey proves that with preparation, determination, and heart, it is possible to build a career around what you love.
Ortiz recently spoke with Youthcast Media Group about her career path and shared advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: How did you realize you wanted to work for yourself?
A: I knew that I wanted to do something that was either creative or artsy, and I truly believe that my path was carved a certain way, because in college, I paid for college by doing makeup at 20. I knew for sure that that was my thing. I just had to find a way and think to myself, “How can I as a creative turn this into something that can create revenue for me?”
Q: How did you afford to quit your job?
A: There’s two ways to afford quitting your job. You have to be physically able to quit your job, as in liquidity wise, which is money, but it’s also a mental situation. Are you able to say, “It’s time for me to jump the gun?” A lot of people may quit a job not having liquidity, and they’ll figure it out afterwards because they’re very determined. Some people need to have maybe a little bit security and say, “Well before I leave this job, I want to have certain things in case it doesn’t work out,” because you don’t want to compromise what you want to do.
Q: How did you prepare financially before starting your business?
A: In my case, I was able to say, “I want to be able to at least have enough saved for a year to be able to pursue what I’m doing.” The difference as a business owner is that you don’t have anybody banking you. You have to bank yourself. So that means that you have to stay really focused and determined and not take a loss as a loss either.
Q: What makes your vintage pop up experience different from other vendors?
A: When you go into my booth, I’m scanning my clothes like a real boutique, because I want my customers to have that experience. I’m carrying a dressing room with me, because I want to be set. I want to look different from my fellow vendors. I want my customers to come in there and say, “Wow, something’s different about this business… Oh, I can try on my vintage here. This has a boutique experience… This is different.”
I knew that I wanted that, but I knew I had to invest in something to make it look a certain way, to have that aesthetic. I’m very much about aesthetics. So when you come into my booth, it’s going to give off an aesthetic vibe. It has music during the summer, and I have fans there. It feels like there’s actual people walking in there and then being like, oh my god, what is going on in here? Like you’re living in the future. That’s the experience I wanted for my customers.
Q: How have your previous jobs helped develop your own brand?
A: Each job that I had in some way or form influenced me with the people that I had around me. I knew for sure things that I wanted to continue on as a habit as a professional, and things that I really knew were definitely things that I was never going to be. Every experience that I’ve had in life has allowed me to be able to connect with customers, be able to sell my product, know how I want to sell my product and understand that not all business is your business, and that is okay.
Q: What advice would you give to young people that want to start their own business?
A: I would say to do what you love and do it with love. Whatever you envision yourself doing, something that you might want to do, I would say, go forth and do that and trust your gut. Sometimes you’ll find people in your way that may say that that’s not a good idea. You may want to try doing something else, but your heart is going to be somewhere else too, you know. So whatever it is that you want to do, do it with love and with grace, and that’s going to give you the opportunity to open so many doors.
Gabriela Mejia Tejada is a junior at Annandale High School, one of Youthcast Media Group’s journalism class partners.
