Madalyn Manzeck, founder, owner, and creative director of Madalyn Joy Designs, poses with model and muse, Nicole Petrie, for photographer Moriah Ziman in Madison, WI in 2018.
Today is a very exciting day as Madalyn Joy Designs celebrates one year of officially being in business! We are so very thankful for everyone's love and support over the course of the last year. We absolutely could not have done it without all of you!
It never was my plan to start my own business. I always thought I would end up working for a design company after college but that clearly was not the path I was meant to pursue. Upon college graduation almost two years ago, I was working on custom designs as a hobby to make money while I was applying for design jobs. It got to the point that the orders were enough work for a full time job and my hobby slowly evolved into my career.
I contemplate if starting my own business was the right thing to every single day. There are days when it is incredibly frustrating to be an entrepreneur and all I want to do is give up and throw in the towel, but there always is a little voice that tells me to push on and not to give up. When I am frustrated and confused about my career path, I turn to God and ask if this is what I am supposed to be doing with my career. I've never had any blatant signs when I pray about my business but I do always get a rock solid gut feeling/instinct that pursuing Madalyn Joy Designs is what I should be doing. God instills a sense of guidance and strength in me when I am feeling discouraged and uninspired.
I have started to doubt the risks of starting my business less and have been seeking out resources and opportunities for my business to succeed instead. I think making it one year really helped me prove to myself that I can do this and I will do this. There is a need for bespoke lingerie and I want to be the one to fulfill it.
There will be one main change going into year two of business that I would like to announce at this time. Madalyn Joy Designs will no longer accept alterations and apparel custom designs. The business definitely needed as many orders as possible in year one in order to generate revenue; however, the alterations and apparel custom designs have begun to take away from the time spent on the lingerie orders which is the primary focus of the business. I don't feel like I am putting my best foot forward both design and business wise because I am spreading myself too thin with projects that aren't pertinent to the company's goals. Madalyn Joy Designs plans to solely work on ready to wear and bespoke lingerie going forward this year.
I simply could not have started my own business without my incredibly loving and supportive parents. My dad started his own business in his early 20s so I grew up seeing him run his own business. I guess you could say the entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family because exactly 20 years later, I started my own business. My parents support me in all I do and really are the ones who pushed me to take the leap of faith and pursue my own business. They knew I would be miserable working at a company for someone else and knew I needed to start my own business instead. Thank you, Mom + Dad, for pushing me to chase my dreams and pursue a fulfilling career path. I love you both so much and don't know how I will ever repay you both!
I also could not be pursing my own business without the love and support from my incredible boyfriend, Ben. He is the left brain to my right brain and brings me back down to Earth when I go soaring too high towards the sun with some of my crazy ideas. He is always there to provide me with support and insight and take me to dinner when he knows its a problem only food can help solve. ;) Thank you, Ben, for being the absolute best! I love you!
Thank you to all of the incredible women I got to work with this past year (and still continue to work with!). You all are such an inspiration to me and you help keep me motivated to pursue my dreams each and every day. Thank you to all of the incredible models who bring my designs to life, the photographers who capture my garments, the hair stylists and makeup artists who ensure the models are looking their best, the florists who help bring my visions to life, the boutique owners who feature my work, the publications who write about my journey, and the other designers who help create such a unique fashion experience here in Milwaukee. I am so humbled, honored, and blessed to work with every single one of you.
I could be here all day thanking people and reminiscing on the past year of business but to be completely honest, I have a lot of work that needs to get done in order to make year two even more successful than the first!! I am just getting started and am ready to take on whatever this year throws my way! Here's to year 2!
xoxo
Madalyn Joy