REAL LIFE ROSIE

http://LuckyDuckLiving.com

I’m Thais Zoe, the Founder and Chief Joy Merchant of Lucky Duck Living™. As my titles suggest, I both started the company, and make it my business to spread happiness; one t-shirt, one article, one encouragement at a time.

I do this mostly online…

• All our t-shirts are available through our online shop.
• The Joy Blog Weekly™ is my commitment to being in your corner…every week with inspiration, humor and style.
• Our Flower Friday board on Pinterest is a great way to remember basic goodness and self-care.
• I boast that the Lucky Duck Living™ Facebook Page will be your FAVORITE page ever… and, I work hard to make that true for all our followers.

What inspires you?  Kindness, humor, just about everyone I meet, being happy independent of circumstance and being around people smarter than I am. Oh, and of course; God and made in America apparel.

Do you have a favorite quote?
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway…
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.” – Mother Teresa

What are the most pressing issues facing women today?  Hmmm… I would say, remembering how to be the lovely, anchoring, receptive, feminine creatures we are created to be.

What are the biggest keys to your success?  I am incredibly happy, therefore, I consider myself successful. This is due to keeping God in the center of all areas of my life. From there flows strength, perspective and an ease and comfort that I could never accomplish on my own. I know, because I’ve tried!

What are the biggest keys to the advancement or success of women?  I’ve always considered it a sort of sexism if I were to separate myself out from the rest of the (male) workforce. So for me the question is simply what are the biggest keys to advancement and success. For me, it’s having those in my life who have been where I’m heading and then also having those I can pass along what I’ve learned… (this could be with marriage or with business… receiving and sharing experience is tantamount to “success”) it keeps me creatively alive. Beyond that; generosity, patience, a lot of humor, don’t take yourself too seriously and a network of like minded fellows that you can pitch and catch with along the way that support, inspire and share resources. Also a massive prayer life and meditation practice is integral to my daily advancement and success.

Where did the inspiration for your business come from?  Wanting to have a business I could run on my laptop from anywhere in the world.

Where is your product sold?  Our online shop at LuckyDuckLiving.com and I’m just starting to reach out to retailers, as well. Very exciting!

What advice do you have for a woman who is considering starting a business?  I would say design a business around the lifestyle you want. I’ve been in the movie business, a photographer and an interior designer. I chose these professions based on “doing what I love.” The problem with that was the lifestyles that came a long with them were not a good fit for me. So, I spent a good deal of time feeling lost, stressed and unhappy.

What are the biggest hurdles you’ve faced in starting or growing your business? How did you overcome these?  

1. Finding an American manufacturer that was professional, consistent and available was a HUGE hurdle for me. My solution was (a lot of prayer), a lot of searches online, A LOT of samples made, and changing manufacturers when I didn’t like the samples they were producing. This required staying committed to my original vision of quality. I knew that if I didn’t absolutely LOVE my t-shirt’s fit and feel 100%, there was no way, I’d be able to go the distance in marketing and building Lucky Duck Living™ into a viable business.
2. Giving myself permission to embrace my Night Owl schedule was another hurdle. I am incredible productive late at night and in the wee hours of the morning, and then can easily sleep until late morning or mid afternoon if needed.

Despite my productivity and happiness I would regularly try to make myself fit into the “early bird” mold. And, I can force it… I did for years in past professions. But, it’s just not healthy for me. At least, not now.

I overcame this hurdle by recognizing it as an old idea and building my calendar around what worked best for me. After all it IS my company;) Not everyday, but, if I’ve worked on wholesale emails until 4 or 5 am, I may sleep until 12noon. I wake up, meditate, read a good morning text from my beau, play with the dog, make a green tea latte, check personal emails, then check business emails and voicemails, spend half an hour or so getting current with social media. Then put myself together and tidy up my place… maybe workout or run an errand or two, have some lunch around 3/4p, nap if I didn’t get enough sleep the night before (getting enough sleep is vital to my happiness and well being) see a friend at 5p, my boyfriend at 7p and then work from 11p-5a: following up on order fulfillment, creating promotional pieces, composing emails to potential retailers or magazines, writing my weekly Joy Blog, etc…

So really, it’s a basic workday, just done at times that I function best on.

Obviously, we all have different stages in our lives and different commitments to keep, so being flexible when necessary is important, too. If we’re taking a trip up north and need to leave early in the morning for a long weekend, I’ll adjust my schedule a few days prior so that I can join in. It’s part of the beauty of designing a business that allows for your desired lifestyle.