Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in fashion but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Misty-dawn Paulson, founder of Mstydon Group Inc., a wholesale fashion agency that promotes sustainable & ethical brands located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Mstydon Group Inc. is a collective of creators mindful of the earth's health. More than just a wholesale fashion agency, the aim is to promote slow fashion and sustainable & ethical brands to help decrease the fashion industry's footprint on the earth.

I work with boutique retail stores across western Canada to act as a middle man for them to access slow fashion, eco brands and answer questions for those who want to know more about the eco side of the fashion industry.

Tell us about yourself

I started the agency in 2018 after working in the fashion industry for a few years and seeing a need to help grow smaller, more mindful brands. At first, I worked with only Made in Canada brands such as @prelovedtoronto & @duffield_design, but then the agency started branching out.

I truly believe every human in every country deserves a well-paying, enjoyable job that they are fairly treated at, and so the brands I work with from overseas must have this as their top priority.

From eco textiles to B-Corp certification to 100% ocean waste plastic, there is something at the agency for everyone. Every brand’s story is worth telling, and telling the story is what keeps me going every day!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

It sounds crazy, but my biggest accomplishment thus far has been thriving through the COVID-19 pandemic! It was almost like people started paying more attention to these slow fashion brands and choosing quality over quantity. I am busier now than I was pre-COVID, and I am so grateful for the platform I have been able to build!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The books. The numbers. They are daunting! Whether you are up or down, analyzing the numbers makes everything seems so much more stressful! If you are starting up and reading this, just know that we all go through it. Does it get easier? I don't know yet! Haha! I am my own biggest competitor, so I am constantly trying to top everything for myself, which is great... but it keeps me awake at night too!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Take some classes, especially accounting! If you don't understand your own books, you might as well throw in the towel now! (sorry, not sorry) I have a Bachelor's of Business Admin Degree in Enterprise Management, and I appreciate it every day. I am not saying you need a full degree - but you do need to understand the business side of the business where no emotion is involved, and classes help with that.
  2. Find someone going through the same thing you are and hold onto them. They may not be in the exact same field as you, but it doesn't matter. Just having "business-owner friends" is the most joyous feeling because no one else understands what you are going through unless they have been there. I am very blessed because my parents were business owners, so I 100% would not be where I am in my business today without them! But they also had a business in the Oil & Gas industry from the '80s to the early 2000s when they retired - it's a different world now (love you, mom & dad!). So having a best friend who runs her own business as well as a safe space to vent, bounce ideas off of, and just feel like I am not alone.
  3. Make sure you are doing what you are doing for the right reasons. Call me crazy (again), but going into business with the sole driving factor to make buckets of money isn't enough. Without a passion for what you're doing, you might as well just work a 9-5 because being a business owner is a long, exhausting, grueling, rewarding, exciting, crazy adventure that is not for the faint of heart! You have to be able to handle the lows as well as the highs, and without passion, you can't do that. And don't confuse passion with emotion.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Lots! But I won't because this article will end up being way too long! The point is to love what you do, invest in education in what you do, and most of all: DO IT! Try, fail, get back up, keep going, get knocked down, fight, succeed, learn, live, and breathe!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.mstydon.com/
Instagram: @mstydon
Facebook: @mstydongroup


If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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