Trailblazer: Jigme Nehring August 07, 2015 06:00

Founder, Mine & Yours

I’m the Founder of Mine & Yours, a designer resale clothing store and e-commerce business. We buy, sell, and trade on-trend, “almost new” contemporary women’s clothing and luxury handbags and accessories.

I started Mine & Yours for a number of reasons:

1)    I saw a market need for a “consignment” store in the city that paid cash up-front or offered trades for clothes. It was something I wanted as a consumer in Vancouver – but it didn’t exist. I immediately saw an opportunity, and decided to create one myself.

2)    It’s an incredibly fun, “good-feeling” business. We focus heavily on community – building communities around fashion, sustainability, and giving back. By recycling fashion, we are helping women replenish their wardrobes without hurting the environment or their pocketbooks. We offer clothing donation services to the Battered Women’s Support Services (through My Sister’s Closet), and are frequently involved with Dress For Success, which offers clothing and support for women who face barriers entering or re-entering the workforce.

3)    It’s a smart way to gain access to a luxury product I desire. I once was privy to two smart businessmen discussing how they wanted to own private jets. Instead of buying them, they started a private jet rental company that gave them access to private jets whenever they wanted. When I started Mine & Yours, I basically wanted to own CHANEL purses. So I started a company that deals in CHANEL bags.

My side business is running the Vancouver Chapter of Sexy and Wealthy in Heels, which is an international community of local networks that aim to inspire, educate, and bring together female entrepreneurs and support them along their paths of launching and growing their businesses. I took that on because I love being an entrepreneur, and it’s an honour to be able to help or inspire any woman to take that scary leap into entrepreneurship in any way I can.

Most meaningful achievement: My most meaningful achievement is an achievement I share with my business partner Courtney Watkins and my Team – which is creating a little fashion gem in the city that delights and unites people on a daily basis. An achievement that you share with others and one which creates value in your community is, in my opinion, the sweetest kind.

Lessons learned: Success is entirely an inner game. You must learn how to master yourself and take care of yourself mentally, spiritually, and health-wise, before you can achieve any form of outer success. And “inner success” isn’t something you achieve once and are done with. It’s something you have to work on every moment of every day. It requires constant vigilance and recalibration.

Best advice: Feel the fear and do it anyways.

The future is: the direct result of the dreams you have and the actions you take today.

Photo by Vairdy Photography; Jewelry by Stephanie Ann Studios