Written By: Samantha Cee

This week we sat down with the rising empire, Arthur McQueen. Arthur McQueen Inc is a black woman owned contemporary designer handbag/lifestyle brand that give women the ease of utilization, the ability to transition and the prestige of high fashion in every bag. Here’s, Fashion Gxd Magazine, exclusive interview with the fashion powerhouse.

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram - @arthurmcqueen , Twitter - @arthur_mcqueen , Facebook - arthurmcqueeninc

www.arthurmcqueen.com

Fashion Gxd Magazine : How did the idea for your business come about?

Answer: I've worked in retail for over 15 years and I always knew I wanted my own brand. Handbags are my favorite accessory because I feel like it's the statement piece to complete any look your going for. So I named the brand after my father and each different style handbag is named after each of his siblings.

Fashion Gxd Magazine : How do you find people to bring into your organization that truly care about the organization the way you do?

Answer: I haven't come across that portion of entrepreneurship yet, as I am the only employee but I do know that over time I won't be able to do it all and I will have to delegate tasks. I'll have to find people that believe in the brand as strongly as I do and maybe after the interview process, hire them with a grace period to show they genuinely care about the brand.

Fashion Gxd Magazine : What three pieces of advice would you give to other children who want to become entrepreneurs?

Answer: Three pieces of advice I would give are for one, never give up. You're going to fail a million times but keep going. Keep learning from your mistakes, learn from others and trust the process. Secondly, it's all about marketing so promote, promote, promote any way you can and as often as you can. Lastly, plan. Planning is key. Literally plan out everything. As a matter of fact make a plan for the plan if need be.

Fashion Gxd Magazine :If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?

Answer: I would definitely have a better plan in place to follow, have more money saved up, and possibly hire a business builder.

Fashion Gxd Magazine :What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur ?

Answer: The top 3 skills needed for entrepreneurship are most definitely to have patience, be very good at planning and very detailed, and most importantly be creative or have talent.

Fashion Gxd Magazine :What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

Answer: My biggest failure was not having a proper plan in place, more specifically a marketing strategy. I didn't realize it in the beginning but I was following the saying "build it and they will come" but after a while you realize they can't or won't come if they don't even know you exist. So from that I've learned to utilize trial and error and promote and network as much as possible.

Fashion Gxd Magazine : How many hours do you work a day on average?

Answer: It varies day to day, especially whether I'm working in the business or on the business. But for the most part, it depends on what projects I have to take care of. My to-do list changes daily. So some days I get lucky where I only work 3-4 hours in a day, then there are other days I get so caught up in whatever project I'm working on because I'm in the zone and it'll be like 10 hours later and I don't even realize.

Fashion Gxd Magazine :Describe/outline your typical day?

Answer: During the day is when I'll usually handle emails, create content for social media, do photography, handle the financials and process and ship out orders that come in. Then during the evenings and sometimes well into the night I'll be designing, working on marketing, editing the website and planning out the next day.

Fashion Gxd Magazine : How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?

Answer: Thankfully I come from a family of entrepreneurs so I already know that sometimes you have to sacrifice when necessary but always make sure to have a work/life balance as much as possible and always, no matter what, make time for self care and mental health if you ever become overwhelmed.

Fashion Gxd Magazine :What motivates you?

Answer: My biggest motivation is being able to prove to myself that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind too.