Ms. Flax is part-owner of Foot Candy.

She said business has been good.

Ms. Flax in the popular store, Foot Candy. Photo: Reuben Stoby/VINO

These special business characteristics are embedded in our featured Young Professional this week. She is 23-year-old Daniella Flax, a resident of Virgin Gorda and part-owner of Foot Candy, a very familiar name among the ladies not only on Virgin Gorda but across the Territory and even further afield.

Foot Candy, located in Little Dix Road, North Valley in Virgin Gorda, specializes in the sale of ladies shoes, clothing and bags. Foot Candy has been in business since 2008 and was given the name because the main objective of the entity was to allow women the opportunity “to treat their feet to something sweet”.

Ms. Flax, who enjoys social networking and exercising in her spare time, is in business with her mother, and her job includes identifying products, assisting with sales, and advertisements such as television ads, posters and spreading the word on the popular social network Facebook, where she said has been able to get the business out to a number of persons in the Caribbean and the United States.

This Young Professional disclosed that most of the items are sourced from the United States. “Choosing the styles is not very difficult because we already have in mind exactly what styles we want. There are lots to choose from but there are always those unique ones that we tend to pick out for our customers. The most popular products would be the high heel shoes, flat sandals, dresses and tops.”

Uniqueness is key for the business as Foot Candy strives for a variety of stylish products that are also not easily available everywhere. “One of our goals is to make sure we sell things in a small quantity so that everyone would not be wearing the same thing, so normally what we would do is bring in one, the most two of the same product. We might have it in different colours but just one or two.”

Ms. Flax says she enjoys being in business as it is also her passion just as it is her mom’s. She said she loves to see smiling and satisfied customers and it gives her much self gratification. “We like to see people looking beautiful and stylish. We also aspire to be courteous and fair to the customers and we also have a good relationship with our clients. Good customer service is definitely a plus at Foot Candy. Feedbacks have been positive. They love the styles of shoes and the variety. A lot of the customers do love the fact that a particular style would be limited as when they buy something they want to feel unique.” She also said Foot Candy tries as much as possible to involve them in promos or advertisements. This she says fosters strong relationships between customers and the business.

Meeting people and being able to express her creativity in business especially since it is family owned and she has the opportunity to voice her opinions on anything regarding it, are other reasons Ms. Flax enjoys being in business.

And despite the global economic downturn and businesses folding and complaining, our Young Professional has chosen to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty. “Business has been good. I can say that I have been grateful for how it has been so far and I look forward for it to become bigger and better in the future.”

The only challenge for Ms Flax is not being able to please everyone as it is always a heartbreaker when a customer comes in and is disappointed to not get what they were looking for. “But in business I have learned that you have to set a certain market for those you want to reach out to and of course this will not include everyone.”

She said they would always want to keep Foot Candy and its concept but may consider opening another department for men and children.

Asked what other ambitions she has, Ms. Flax humbly said she would like the opportunity to serve her country as a civil servant or work in the tourism industry in an executive position since she would like something that would challenge her knowledge and academic studies since she possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration. “So anything that would help me to show or challenge what I have learned and to add experience to it.”

Our Young Professional is a proud Virgin Gordian who attended the Bregado Flax Educational Centre - Primary and Secondary Divisions before being awarded a scholarship to attend the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College where she acquired an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration and then attained her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of the Virgin Islands. She now hopes to later pursue her Masters in Business Advertising and to also fulfill one of her desires, which is to travel around the world.

Her drive, she says is wanting to be an inspiration for other people. “I want to set a good example so that others could follow and do positive things with themselves. I feel that way because I have younger siblings and family members that I would love to see come up doing the right things. I would also like to be a role model for young people around the community.”

Ms. Flax thanks family members of her household, who she says, are always supportive and encourage her to develop herself, her wonderful friends that keep her on the right track and also a number of family members that she looks up to since they have also set an example for her and others to follow.

Our Young Professional encourages youths to be themselves and not follow the crowd. “Set something decent for your life and go after it. It is not always about what other people think about you or what is the trend. You don’t have to follow the crowd. And if you do, surround yourself with positive people because if you want to go somewhere most likely you would surround yourself with people who are doing the same things that you would like for yourself. And of course, always have faith and trust in God.”