Interview of Ms Ivy for Inspiring Women in Business & Mumpreneurs

We are truly honoured to be have Ms Ivy to be interviewed for the topic of Inspiring Women in Business & Mumpreneurs by Ms Aurora, an online community whom bring great information to women & Mumpreneurs.

We understand that being a mum is already a tough job but being a business COO at the same time, it is indeed an even tougher balance in work and life!

Do kindly let us share the story with you on the interview from Ms Aurora with Ms Ivy

Ms. Aurora knows her as someone who is highly driven and focus-oriented without losing the warmth with people!

The Interview

“It all begins with a girl who wish to become a princess on her Wedding day. She took three years to prepare for her Dream Wedding. On her wedding day, she realized one main problem. She is the bride; the star of the celebration and it was near impossible for her to enjoy the wedding event if she has to run her own wedding so as to keep all details perfect. She has a bunch of good friends who volunteer to help her with anything she asks for, but what she needs is someone whom can understand her needs and run the whole wedding for her. Although the wedding still carries on as a very joyous and happy event, but it was not even near to perfect of what she had envisioned it to be.”

We read the story of Dream Wedding Boutique and your passion for helping every couple realised their dream wedding. Could you give us more insights about your daily work routine?

The best part about my job is that I will always be facing different challenges along the way. Every couple is uniquely different, hence, it excites me to go to work every day. For weekdays, it is considered our off peak timing, you will find me doing desk-bound work such as preparing for upcoming promotions/new items, skyping with designers on upcoming design trends, and, of course, those administrative work such as replying emails.

For weekends, it is the peak period for us, my team and I will be assisting customers with their wedding needs. Be it pre-wedding photography services, wedding dresses rental or wedding day planning, you name it, we have it.

When Dream Wedding Boutique was set up, what’s your role and the biggest hurdle you have encountered and how do you overcome the stress and challenges?

My first role is definitely sales, as you know, sales are the most important factor in a company. As I was not previously from the wedding industry, I need to master all wedding related knowledge in the shortest possible time for me to advise my customers on the items they need. Before the setting up of the Dream Wedding Boutique, I undergo a course to be a certified wedding planner. The course has helped me delve deeper into the wedding industry and gained knowledge on methods to equip myself to help my future customers.

The biggest hurdle I have faced so far and am still facing will be sharing our firm belief and vision to all customers. We understand that a wedding is a once in a lifetime event, and it is every bride’s wish to have the perfect wedding gown, the perfect venue, the perfect pre-wedding photography, etc. I feel that it is difficult to let our potential customers know the excellent and premium quality our products and services are.

My team and I started out this bridal company because we felt that the services and products standards don’t match up to the value of what the customers’ are paying. I was asked to top up $1,200 for a princess ballgown (my wedding theme was fairytale when I get married) on top of my bridal package, and till now I don’t think is it worth it as it was a rented gown. From that incident on, I wish I will be able to help clients, especially the brides-to-be to be able to wear their dream gown without having to pay for any top ups, hence Dream Wedding Boutique was born. I have a bigger vision, I wish to change the whole wedding industry and make it better for everyone.

Stress and challenges are nothing new to an entrepreneur, I believe all entrepreneurs agree to this. Without stress and challenges, we will not be able to improve ourselves concerning providing better products or services. My belief is every challenge we encounter will enable ourselves or the firm to be a better entity, and this belief keeps me going.

What is most rewarding moment about what your profession?

The most rewarding moment would be when our customers thank us for the services and product we have provided. It means a lot to us. It may be a simple thank you from the client’s point of view but it creates a butterfly effect on us, and that gives us assurance that we are doing the right thing!

Besides being a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Planner and Lecturer at ICWP, how did you manage to juggle the roles and balance your family life?

When you love what you do, you will automatically know how to manage your time and schedule. I have only one rest day in a week that is also my bridal boutique rest day too. I will do what I love on my rest day such as having meals with my family and watching my kids’ favourite show with them.
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When you faced with challenges, fears, or even mistake, who is your greatest pillar of support?

My greatest pillar of support, no doubts, is my husband who is also my partner in work. We hold different roles in the company while he is more on business development and marketing, I’m more on to sales oriented and customer related work. We discuss, brainstorm, quarrel and invent new ideas together, this not only strengthens our relationship but also helps us to keep in focus of our aim towards our future goals together.

Do you have any advice for women that wants to step out of their comfort zone to set up a business?

Starting a business is easy but maintaining a business is hard. First, you must have passion in whatever that you are going to do because when you are passionate, you are 30% towards success. The rest of the 70% will be determined by your hard work and perseverance. Success does not happen overnight, and the rewards will only come to those who believe in themselves without giving up. Of course, sometimes we will feel like taking a break from what we do or feel that our work won’t be able to make it, but as long as we don’t give up, we will be successful one day!

How would you like people to remember you and Dream Wedding Boutique?

I would like everyone to think that Quality Gowns + Affordable Price = Dream Wedding Boutique.

I still believe that every lady deserves to be beautiful and have their dream wedding come true without breaking the bank. For us to do that, we setup our own gown production house in Taiwan and get premium gowns from US and UK labels directly from the designer. Thanks to all our customers’ support, we can negotiate with the designers for a better price as we have the customer volume.