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Nina Frye and Cindi Schmitzer traded in their day jobs as an account executive and corporate finance analyst to stay home and raise their children. Little did they know they would come together and launch their own apparel company for moms, LTDchix which stands for Living the Dream. Here's how their dream came true.
Please tell us more about the business and when you started it.
We started 2 years ago this June. Cindi and I created a signature mom that shows her a little frazzled, overwhelmed, yet smiling in various daily chores: vacuuming, carting the kids to various activities, grocery shopping, etc., with the slightly sarcastic tagline... "Living the Dream." We had a friend illustrate her and bring her to life and we screen-print these designs on stylish t-shirts.
How do you define Hybrid?
A full-time mother is trying to juggle being the best mom to her kids which means working at a part-time job as a group fitness instructor and trying to get her own business off the ground.
Tell us how your "What Next" moment occurred and what did it mean to you.
When Cindi and I thought about our idea - we really were just talking..."What do you think, should we try to create our artwork and market it?" Then we attended a S.C.O.R.E. meeting - (who are semi-retired successful executives who help small businesses get off the ground); it was after that meeting that we decided to just go for it. They were very inspiring and encouraged everyone to not hold back - put your plan together and get started!
The closest time frame that your 'What Next' moment occurred was...
After subsequent children
What are your biggest challenges?
To plan out our week. We work smart so that everything we need to complete you is done before the kids get off the bus at 4:00. We’re ready to help them with their homework and start cooking dinner, not be on the phone, sending emails out and still finishing up. It becomes very stressful.
What are your aspirations?
To make LTDchix successful! It is definitely on its way. But we mean successful! Cindi and I both want LTDchix to contribute as a secondary income. We want that so very much. We want to be able to put our earnings toward the kids’ college funds. What a great feeling that would be!
What are your interests?
Exercising at the gym, skiing, reading a good book
What inspires you?
We like to hear other people's success stories. That challenges us and pushes us forward to work harder and smarter.
Feel free to tell us anything else you'd like...
Cindi and I would love to tell our whole story more in detail about how we got started, what paths we took, how we work together as a team and remain good friends. I am sure there are moms who read your magazine that want to start a business by themselves or with someone else but are afraid of failing and taking that initial first step. We have two years under our belt and we have learned so much in that timeframe.
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