Meet Cynthia Steiger | Small Business Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cynthia Steiger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cynthia, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
At this point in my life, I have been self-employed for the majority of my work life. I like the concept of creating something from scratch. In starting this business, I evaluated the market, the space, the financial commitment and came to the conclusion that I could make it successful. At 74, I am not a youngster but that also means I have lots of experience under my belt. My first job was at 15 and I have been working ever since. My husband, children and other family members were supportive, although a little surprised at first. Plus my husband is still working so it was not like we were giving up traveling the globe together. Small business is a large component of the American spirit. And, although it comes with challenges, it also provides independence and the ability to run your own show. The boutique is close to where we live so that is wonderful and it has been embraced by the surrounding community and operating profitably which we did not expect so soon. However, the physcial location is only the first stage of the business vision so there is a lot more work to be done, God willing. I am definetely a big-picture type of personality and although I think writing a business plan is an important tool, I also believe that you have to constantly evalutate and if the direction you are headed is not productive, then be flexible enough to create a new one.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have worked in several different industries and have been fortunate to have had many wonderful mentors along the way. As a tax preparer and bookkeeper, I learned how to evaluate small businesses on paper, looking at margins, inventory turnover, and other benchmarks. In the newspaper business, I was introduced to the power of advertising and marketing. I started as an advertising sales representative, then became the marketing director and eventually was promoted to publisher of the weekly division. It was a very fast-paced, rewarding career. I was very proud of my staff and our papers which won many coveted awards for excellence even stacked up against daily papers. It was challenging. At the time I had 3 small sons. I re-married and promised my new husband, I would get out of publishing and do something a little more slower paced. A year later, I got my licenses and joined a commercial real estate firm. Unfortunately, the marriage went South as well. The timing was bad as developers were going bankrupt.and commercial brokerages were closing shop. A head-hunter got me into a position as the head of private trust at a local trust company but they ended up in receivership. I had gone through all of my savings and lost my house as everyone I had worked for during that period was closing or going bankrupt. That’s when I decided I no longer wanted to work for someone else so I started my own consulting practice raising money for charities through tax-advantaged strategies and by the end of the first year had a roster of clients. I did that successfully for 25 years. I was a single mom but my sons were amazing. They had parttime jobs, fixed their own cars, and learned how to cook. During the very difficult first few months, my oldest son bought groceries. Looking back, I would not change any of that. For every negative experience there is always a positive side.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We are so lucky to live in America’s finest city. Our itinerary would definetely include some of the restaurants in Little Italy, a tour of Old Town as well as Balboa Park. When friends come to visit, they also like to experience the beaches and coastal cities with Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Coronado the top picks. Last year, we re-discovered Oceanside after signing up and taking friends to one of its restaurant sampling events. In this area, the Wild Animal Park is a favorite of young and old

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband Lloyd and my sister, Dianne. Lloyd is always a champion of my ideas no matter how out there. He is always saying, “well she came home and said what about doing this and the next day we are doing it”. We have been married 27 years and it has been the greatest 27 years of my life for sure. He is positive, thankful, and kind. – a blessing in my life.

My sister Dianne also deserves lots of credit. She can do anything and was right there every step of the way in setting up the space, installing the point of sale system, alarms systems, etc. It would have been a whole different ball game without her help. She is a retired electrical engineer so she can figure most anything out.

Website: https://franklyfabulous.net

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