Joyce Lucas

A true entrepreneur at heart.

My name is Joyce Lucas the founder of Cottage Collections and Make Mine Pink. From a very early age, I've been a true entrepreneur at heart. From Koolaid stands in front of my childhood home, to selling handcrafted pillows and totes on ebay. I realized early on in my business journey that presentation was almost as important as the products I offered. If my customer couldn’t actually pick up my product and see the quality of the craftsmanship, I would have to find another way to convey this information. I set off to find the perfect platform to sell and display my products online. I wanted a girly boutique that was pink and fun and made you want to come in and shop. I was unable to find any companies on the web that were able to provide me with the look and feel I wanted. Achieving my online feminine presence proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I thought it would be. After months of searching and coming up with nothing, I decided to put my creative talents to good use and design my own online boutique. Armed with my color wheels and hexadecimal charts I set out to design the "Pinkest” and the “Most Romantic" website I’d ever seen! I wanted to create something that was so warm and inviting, you would want to come inside and never leave. I completed my online boutique, stocked my e-shelves with fabulous products and launched cottagecollections.com.

It wasn't long after our online boutique opened that I was receiving numerous e-mails a day asking who had designed our website and asking how they could get in touch with the designer. I thanked them for their compliments but explained that because of the lack of feminine designs being offered, I’d had no other choice than to design it myself. Many asked if I could design one for them but unfortunately I had to decline. I was so busy in my sewing studio, I barely had time to package and ship orders. As weeks passed and interest in my web design grew, my business took a surprising and very exciting turn! After much encouragement, I agreed to design a website for another business that was also struggling to find a feminine and romantic platform for her beautiful products. Before I knew it, I had two full time businesses that demanded all of my time and attention. I filled orders and shipped by day and designed web sites by night. It wasn't long before I had to make a decision to move my studio from home to the prettiest pink 1100 SQ foot studio in town. I had to concentrate my efforts on expanding my business. I hired a full time programmer and a full time designer to help keep up with the demands of my web design business. As demanding as this part of my business was, I still felt the need to keep my hands in the retail end that I loved so much. Cottage Collections online Boutique then became CottageCollectionsToo.com. (now closed to focus on our ever growing web design company. Will this be permanent? One never knows!)

But that's not all.. somewhere along my Cottage Collections journey I found that networking with other women in business was not only fun and beneficial it was crucial to my success as a small business owner. This is how Make Mine Pink (my third business) came to be! We started with 7 members and in 4 years have grown to over three hundred. I'd have to say that of all of my accomplishments as a business woman, this is my best. I love the friendships I've made along the way and have seen blossom on MMP, the business relationships formed, not to mention the amazing networking opportunities made available to anyone struggling to get their business known on the web.

My family and friends are taking bets on what my next business venture will be. Little do they know, it’s already in the making!