In 2002, Kim Phan moved to New York City with nothing much else than a dream to make it happen in the world of fashion. Today her brand, Yumi Kim can be found in high-end department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s and spotted on celebrities and fashionistas all over the world.

Without a fashion degree or any prior experience in the fashion industry, Kim dove head first into the scene, figuring out the details on her own and soaking up all the knowledge she could while her fashion line was developing.

Yumi Kim is more than just another trendy label. Kim Phan shares her closet with the mission to make women everywhere feel beautiful and confident — effortlessly in her hip, fun, and flirty designs. Click here to read more about Yumi Kim: Founder of Yumi Kim Launches Her Fashion Line and Life Online

IntimateMath sits down with Kim Phan to learn about the sacrifices she’s made, the opportunities she’s seized, the dream she never lost sight of, and how she persevered to build her own brand from the ground up.

A Short Clip of My Conversation with Kim Phan from YumiKim
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PROFILE

Companies Founded:
1. Yumi Kim, Founded in 2005
Funding: $50,000
Investors: Self-funded

Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Currently Resides: New York City, New York
Education: San Diego State University, Economics, 2001
Hobbies/Interests: Traveling and eating.
Quality Most Remembered for: Being real and honest. I’m a straight shooter.
In 10 Years…: I see myself doing what I do now. I’m very passionate about what I do. And I would love to see Yumi Kim grow bigger as a lifestyle brand.
Proudest Moment: When I received my first big order from Nordstrom.
I’m Motivated by…: My parents’ sacrifice. They came here from Vietnam with virtually nothing, all so that I had a chance at a better life. I want to make them proud and let them know that their sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.
Favorite Quote: “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” — Confucius
Role Models: My Mom, Hunynh.

Kim Phan’s: Yumi Kim | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

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THE MORE PERSONAL INTERVIEW – (Full Interview Transcription)

Kim Ngo: Hi Kim. Thanks for meeting with IntimateMath. Tell us about Yumi Kim. What’s the mission, and how did you get started?

Kim Phan: I started Yumi Kim in 2005 while playing with the idea of starting a line. While conceptualizing Yumi Kim, I found part of myself and realized I had a fascination with colors and prints. I started working with silk fabrics. And in the last five years, Yumi Kim went from a line with cute t-shirts with little embellishments to a full-fledged collection of dresses, jumpers, shirts, jackets, and skirts, constructed with beautiful silk fabrics and prints.

I hope that Yumi Kim makes women aware that they can be fashionable and beautiful, all while being comfortable in any situation they may encounter. My line encompasses pieces perfect for dates, work, special events and everyday wear.

I use a lot of bright prints and bold colors in my designs. When you’re wearing Yumi Kim, you’re wearing a statement piece. I want women to feel sophisticated and pretty, like all eyes are on them when they enter a room.

Kim Ngo: Did you get outside funding to start Yumi Kim? How much money did you have when you started and how did you get it?

Kim Phan: I had no outside funding. I started with fifty thousand dollars. I was very lucky in getting this money. In 2005, I bought an apartment in the Upper West Side. At that time, New York real estate was hot, and I was able to get a line of credit against my mortgage. I was also approved for a small business loan.

Kim Ngo: So one day you just woke up and said, I’m going to start a fashion line with no degree or training in fashion? How does someone create a line without going to a fashion design school?

Kim Phan: I’ve been making my own clothes since I was very young, and once I realized that fashion was my true calling, I decided that I would design a very small line with only a few prints and bodies to get a feel for the industry. The response was extraordinary, and I gradually built up my line to where I am at today. It’s an ongoing learning process for me.

In 2002, I moved to New York with a dream to go into fashion, but I didn’t know what I was going to exactly do. I just knew I wanted to work in fashion. I thought I was going to work in marketing or be a publicist for a fashion company.

I interviewed with many companies and received a number of job offers, but I realized that I couldn’t be fashionable with a salary of $20,000 a year. So my objective changed from wanting to work in fashion to needing to pay the bills.

One day, I was eating dinner by myself, and I sat next to this guy who happened to work for the president of a big music company. We instantly clicked, and he told me, “You know what? You seem like a really cool girl. My boss is looking for another assistant. Come in for an interview.” I came into the company’s office, and the president gave me the job.

I didn’t want to go into the music industry, but the opportunity was just too great to pass up. I went home that night saying to myself, “If you don’t take this opportunity, you’re always going to live the rest of your life wondering what could have been.” So, I accepted the position.

I still wanted to work in fashion, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. If an opportunity presents itself, you should run with it because you might develop a passion for whatever you stumble upon. But if you don’t find your passion, the experience, itself, is always great, and hopefully, you will learn something valuable.

In my case, I learned something valuable working two years at that music company. Although I made a lot of money at the young age of 22, I didn’t love my job. I woke up every day not looking forward to going to work. I learned that no matter how much money I make, if I wake up not loving what I do then nothing really matters.

I’m glad I learned the lesson that money was not more important than my passion at a young age. I put in two years of my time in the music industry, and now, I am back into fashion. Fashion is why I originally moved to New York City with confidence regardless of my financial situation.

Kim Ngo: Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?

Kim Phan: I like to travel a lot and visit the local vendors at flea markets to see the fabric textures and different colors they use.

One of my favorite places to go is Asia. When you go to flea market in Asia, you’ll find a variety of things such as artwork, fabric, and even, cute little souvenirs. I get inspired by what I see at these markets. When I visited Thailand, the rich colors combinations amazed me. I also went to Malaysia recently and fell in love with Indonesian embroidering.

I use what I see in my travels to help inspire me in putting together a collection.

Kim Ngo: What would you say was your toughest experience in building Yumi Kim?

Kim Phan: Figuring things out on my own was the toughest. There is no manual that can teach you everything about managing your own line.

For example, to become a real brand, you have to move into mass chain retailers like department stores: Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, and etc.

When you play with the big guys, there are thick contracts and lots of rules. I’m not a big company, and I didn’t have someone to guide me along the way. If one tiny rule is broken, the retail company will send a chargeback. If you, as a vendor, don’t tag a shirt right, don’t box your items correctly, and don’t ship the package in the right way, the retail company will charge you for every single item. You can lose thousands of dollars for the tiniest mistakes. The lesson I learned is do your homework well. Read everything.

Kim Ngo: Can you break it down step-by-step of what a new designer needs to work successfully with a big department store?

Kim Phan:
1. Get a showroom and a sales team that represents your line to buyers. You’re a designer who needs to be out there designing and being creative. You have to have a sales rep that has relationships with key people in the fashion industry. Networking is very important.

2. Know a production company that is able to produce on a mass level.

3. Get funding. You might have a factory and access to manufacturers, but how are you going to finance 2,000 pieces of apparel?

4. Get the team to make sure that when the goods are ready, they are tagged and all the buyers’ guidelines and rules are followed.

5. Know your customers. Department store customers are different from specialty shop customers. Understand what those types of customers are and cater to each one.

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THE INTERVIEW – (Full Interview Transcription)

Kim Ngo: Where do you think the contemporary fashion industry is going right now?

Kim Phan: With the recession, the industry has changed a lot. The recession has made everybody in contemporary and luxury fashion and anyone that’s selling apparel over $20 sit back and think: “How am I going to get someone to buy this dress?” Right now, anyone who is producing a product better make a darn good product — something that convinces consumers that it is worth spending their money.

Kim Ngo: Fashion designers usually hit a trend peak then slowly decline in popularity. Do you feel that applies to Yumi Kim?

Kim Phan: Well, right now I’m more of a downtown New York brand. I am still small and figuring out where I want to take Yumi Kim. Do I want to keep it small? I never know what’s going to happen. Tomorrow, I may get a ton of press. Then I may get approached by some big garment company, like Jones of New York or Liz Claiborne, that says, “Hey, we want to make you bigger.”

That’s part of business; you just have to go with the flow and figure out what’s right along the way. You never know. Life is crazy. I might fall in love tomorrow and say I don’t want to be in the fashion industry anymore. You just take life one day at a time. As long as I’m happy doing what I do, then I want to continue Yumi Kim.

Kim Ngo: I understand that you also leverage the internet really well to get your brand out there. Can you tell us about that?

Kim Phan: My brother works in the web industry. For years, he’s been telling me that I need to get an online shop, start a blog, push Twitter, and do more to establish an online presence.

Most designers are very private about their lives, but I realized that people not only want to know you as a designer but also as a person. When they’re buying a shirt or dress, these customers are curious about who the designer is. What is she all about? Where does she find her inspiration? I started my blog to answer these questions. I wanted to open my world to my customers. I wanted them to get a glimpse of the life of Kim Phan, the designer of Yumi Kim. My blog is real; I’m a regular person. I want to share my passion and the details of living in one of the most amazing cities in the world.

Kim Ngo: Do you get a lot of traffic on your blog?

Kim Phan: There’s a decent amount of traffic, but most visitors are part of my loyal fanbase. I don’t want a million users who don’t care about me; I’d rather have a hundred visitors who say, “I love this girl. I love her designs. I love her life.”

Kim Ngo: How does your blog, which features your exciting New York life and traveling experiences, communicate Yumi Kim as a lifestyle brand?

Kim Phan: I love keeping my loyal customers up to date on what I’m up to! A lot of my blog entries show the process I go through to design my collection, such as my visits to our warehouse and factory in Asia, our shows, and my inspiration. Also, I think the blog helps my readers relate to me and motivates them to follow their dreams and take a chance like I did.

Kim Ngo: Tell us about the online shop, Yumi Kim.

Kim Phan: This past year I launched YumiKim.com; it took about a year. I was a little hesitant at first because you can’t click a button and instantly create an online shop.

An online shop requires you to build a backend process. You also have to have a team that manages and monitors the online shop. That’s like having another store. At first, I didn’t know if I was ready to build it because I didn’t know if I was ready to manage a fast growing business in addition to the offline business.

Also, I had to invest more time and money into opening an online shop. I wasn’t sure how good the ROI was going to be. However, I launched the site along with a big promotion with DailyCandy, and I was amazed by the power of the Internet. I remember that on the first day we received 5,200 orders.

Kim Ngo: Tell us about how you use Twitter.

Kim Phan: I signed up with Twitter and started building followers. I imagine my followers to be a loyal group of Yumi Kim fans who want to know when Yumi Kim has a sale, what’s going on, news about sample sales, and when there are new arrivals in the stores.

I noticed that when I announced a sample sale or an online sale, I could automatically see the results.

Kim Ngo: Between www.YumiKimShop.com and the Yumi Kim flagship store in New York City, which one do you think will be the most successful?

Kim Phan: I think the biggest will be my online shop which has been in operation for six months. Every time someone shops, we know exactly where he/she is from. I was like, “How did this girl from Alaska hear about Yumi Kim?” The cool thing is that I started to recognize names of returning loyal customers.

Kim Ngo: If you had to give one piece of advice to aspiring founders, what would be?

Kim Phan: My one advice is to not give up. And fight the fight.

Kim Ngo: Thanks Kim of Yumi Kim.