We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Violet Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Violet, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero is Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx.

I was fortunate to have been influenced by my parents to have a strong work ethic, and Sara constantly reminds me that is one of the most important assets. You have to learn to hustle and work hard to make your dreams come true!

I first heard her speak in an interview with Tony Robbins and what she said that really stuck with me is that a lot of people have good ideas, but not a lot of people are willing to take action and figure out how to make their ideas become reality. When she got started, she just showed up at department stores to tell their customers about her product and convince them to buy it. I listened to that and thought, this lady is wacky and I love her! She believed in her product and was willing to do whatever it took to make it successful. She reminds me that we don’t need to ask others permission. If we want to make our business or idea happen, then we need to take action and show up. YOU have to run your business, you can’t just expect to come up with a good idea and then pay someone else to do it. YOU have to show up everyday. You have to learn from your failures, make changes, and persevere.

Our business The Wedding DeTailor provides a unique service and at first it was challenging for me to explain to our clients why they need us— because they don’t fully understand how beneficial our service is until we are there doing the work.

I learned to focus my energy on what I know and what I believe in. I know that our clients hire us because we go the extra mile: we take care of every bridesmaid, groomsman and family member and treat them like friends. We do everything we possibly can, and more, to give the clients and the team of vendors we work with peace of mind on the wedding day. That is what gives me the confidence to believe in myself and to sell our service, and at the end of the day almost every client we have tells me we were the best money they spent. When I hear that I am fueled to keep going and figure out how I can be even better the next time.

Violet, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in my mom Heidi’s sewing studio and have worked alongside my mother as long as I can remember. After many years in retail and customer service, I decided to put my sewing and fashion skills to use and join Heidi to expand her business into what is now The Wedding DeTailor.

We are based in the Napa Valley, and provide an on-side pressing and dressing service for clientele at weddings, photo shoots, and events all over the world.

For over 30 years my mother Heidi has been designing and creating custom gowns and performing expert fittings and alterations.

In 2018, we moved into a spacious building in downtown Napa’s Historic District where Heidi designs, consults, performs fittings and alterations, teaches workshops and classes, and hosts bridal events.

My mom and I have created our service from our genuine love for making women feel amazing in their clothing, and that has allowed us to grow the business to serve not just the bride and groom but everyone in the wedding party. We believe that when you feel good, you look good, and everyone deserves to feel good, especially on their wedding day. Every friend and family member wants to look their best and have fun on a wedding day, and we help make that happen.

As a mother-daughter team we bring a unique flare; my mom is the sweet and I am the spicy. We genuinely enjoy working together, we work hard and have fun in the process and remind each other not to take ourselves too seriously.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The best advice I can give for managing a team is to lead by example, to always treat your team with respect and be fair. Happy workers work hard, so if there is someone who is not enjoying the work, they will definitely bring down the morale. When putting together teams, it is important to match the right personalities with each other and with your clients.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Always giving 100%, no matter what. You will get clients from your clients, so make sure you are always bringing your A-game. Also, being loyal and helpful to not only your clients but the other vendors you work with. When I started working weddings I decided to introduce myself to everyone I saw, the makeup artist, the caterers, the lighting guys, the florists, the valets. The more you become part of the community you are working in, the more you will enjoy your work and the more people will notice the work that you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: weddingdetailor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theweddingdetailor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theweddingdetailor/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wedding-de-tailor-napa-2

Image Credits
1. Carlie Statsky 2. James Schulze 3. iphone pic 4. iphone pic 5. iphone pic 6. James Schulze 7. David Ethridge