Business name and address: Jacquie's Sew-and-Sew, 3427 Alma Plaza, Palo Alto, CA, 94306, 494-1935, clothing alterations.
Size of company: Seven employees.
Why the company is unique: "I'm a great fitter, so if you have a problem figure I can make your garment fit you properly, and I've got a good eye for proportion and style. The end product is quality. Also, we copy well, so if you bring in your favorite pair of pants or dress I can duplicate it for you. Basically, I consider myself a clothing engineer."
What I used to do for a living: "Before coming here I worked in a fabric store, and before that I was a student."
Why I went out on my own: "I worked for Margie (Clark, the previous owner) for 12 years, and during that time I went out on my own and helped to produce a line of silks. It was just time to fly the coop. Then Margie invited me back to bring in my own business and help her run this, and so that was further grooming me to buy the business from her."
How long the company has been in business: "Seventeen years. It's been mine for five years." She just renamed it, however, from Margie's Wick.
Annual sales: "I make a comfortable living."
How I got started: "What's interesting is how I first got my job here. I was in a ready-to-wear alterations class at Foothill, and we came here on a field trip. I was thinking about starting my own business. I heard Margie speak, and I'm saying, 'I don't have a dress form, I don't know how to set a sleeve properly,' and so I stayed after. She asked me why I would want to work here, and I said, 'to learn how to make my clothes look professionally made instead of homemade.' And so to her, that was the answer. I started the next day."
Biggest obstacle or competition: "Trying to stay competitive price-wise in a way that is sufficient to sustain Palo Alto expenses and a Palo Alto lifestyle."
Next big goal: "To have a second store, in Burlingame. It's a good area: good clientele, people that care about their clothing and what they look like. I think it's kind of following through on Margie's plan. My dream is to own this for five years, start a second one, sell them both and retire."
Important milestone: "I think five years, when you're self-employed, is when you finally get some recognition as being solid. I've just recently seen it, the closer I've gotten to five, the more respect I command in the business world and the banking world, and with the landlord."
Best piece of advice for other entrepreneurs?: "Courage, good health and faith in God."
--Nina Wasow
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