We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sheila Abigail a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sheila, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Since I was 10 years old I knew my purpose in life was to create & sew. I taught myself how to make bags & dresses out of curtains and would throw fashion shows for my family to model the garments that were stitched together by hand. People, especially family, just want the best for you and want you to be successful, so when I was ready to move to LA after getting accepted to FIDM in 2015 at 18 years old, my parents were SO against it! They convinced me to get a degree in a field where I can for sure make a living instead…. so I did. Fast forward to 2020 & I get laid off as a Probation Officer for the Victoria County Adult Supervision and Corrections Department. I have a 4 year degree in psychology, COVID is happening & I have no job! But thanks to unemployment & the extra money we were getting due to COVID, I was able to buy equipment & tools to launch my service business offering garment repairs, alterations & custom work to include embroidery. I worked from home for the first year, and would pick up contract jobs for the government to help me stay afloat and save some money. When I had about $14,000 saved up I decided to open up a sewing shop in the small town of Port Lavaca, and go full force on learning how to operate a business. I learned so much! After the second year of my business I started to run out of money to feed my self, and was reinvesting any profits back into the business. My credit was great, so I started to rely solely on my credit cards to take care of my necessities, I would NOT recommend anyone do this. In 2023, I ended up having to move to another city, with about $30,000 in debt. I never gave up on my dreams, or my goals. Even through having to find jobs with my Psychology degree and having to put my business on hold, in the back of my mind was always the desire to become a successful seamstress, fashion designer & entrepreneur. I decided to pick up a job at an embroidery shop where the owner treated everyone like CRAP! Thank God she did, I only lasted one month there until I had my boyfriend call cleaners around town to see if they needed seamstresses to do their alterations. Down the road where I worked, there was a cleaners so I went to introduce myself to the owner. The owner of Culpepper Cleaners informed me that they were not in need of a seamstress but their was a well-known and very well talented seamstress down the road with her own shop that may need some help. I drive down the street to introduce myself to Wah Tee Tailoring & Alterations and they are just so shocked that I walked in looking for work because they were so overwhelmed & about ready to retire. Now, I am currently getting trained to run their 40 plus year business & manage a 20,000-30,000 clientle base. I feel like I risked a lot, made a lot of silly decisions with my money. But I never lost the vision. This is just the beginning. I plan to build an empire with the skills that I have learned and I am enjoying every part of the journey.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am currently 27 years old. I am a self-taught seamstress. I started teaching myself to sew when I was about 10 years old. I started taking it serious in the business sense after I graduated college. My plan was to create a business on the side of my 9-5. I began by offering custom pillows & face masks then moved to offering more services such as alterations & embroidery. While I was offering services I would also do a drop of clothes every month or so where people can pre-order designs. I now currently have a gift shop, tailoring shop, and a couture clothing brand. Gift A Memory is a gift shop where you can purchase personalized gifts & memorabilia. Customers can send in clothes, and personal messages to put on their custom made bear, pillow, sweater or blanket. Wah Tee Tailoring is the tailoring shop where we offer garment alterations, mending & repairing. Lastly I also own Sheila Abigail, LLC which is a Fashion Design service where we offer custom garment construction; jobs include custom looks for wardrobe, costume design, appearances, and events.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I rely on other people’s knowledge SO MUCH! The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes (podcast), Napoleon Hill (author, philosopher), Earl Nightingale(philosopher) , Wayne Dyer(philosopher) , Joe Dispenza(neuroscientist), Kevin Tredue(speaker), Jim Rohn(philosopher), The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, Ask and it is Given (book)… There are SO much out there that has reprogrammed my mind into a go-getter.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Being consistent, pushing out products, being relevant, building a portfolio, going to events, networking, making yourself known. People don’t know what they don’t know! Take advantage of that and inform them of who you are and what you do!
Contact Info:
- Website: sheilaabigail.com
- Instagram: sheilaaaabigail
- Facebook: sheilaaaabigail
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheila-solis-5522a7175?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: sheilaaaabigail
- Youtube: billionaireseamstress
Image Credits
@ciscosstudio for the Fire Collection all other photos were taken on my phone