Sandy Lisa Rouse
CEO/Founder of ECO STYLE and Sandy Lisa
What inspired you to start your business?
I was the top selling sales rep at an organization. I had my first child and worked through it all with no days off outside of delivering my first born but as I had my second child, I decided to take maternity leave as I owed that to myself and my family. My employer called me when I brought my son home who was 3 days old and told me that I no longer had a job. I had 2 choices, stay in bed and become depressed or get on a plane to China with my breast pump and start my own business. I chose the later and have never looked back.
What advice would you give to other women entrepreneurs?
Never give up. Believe in yourself. I was not going to let someone hire me to build their dreams, I persevered and built my own.
What three traits define you?
Confident, Determined, Efficient.
As a business owner, what keeps you up at night?
Thinking of the next best thing to develop, communicating with factories that are across the globe, ensuring business continues to grow and succeed regardless of the day to day obstacles that present themselves.
What are the biggest obstacles you see for young female entrepreneurs?
Corporate is still very much dominated by males. As females, we have to work extra hard to prove our worth, to get recognized and treated equally.
What do you love about being a business owner?
Setting goals every day and crushing them.
What’s the hardest part about being a business owner?
Juggling a growing empire while remaining a hands-on present Mom to my 3 children, as well as a devoted wife to my husband.
How do you define success?
Enjoying what you do, providing solutions to customers while exceeding their expectations and being able to pave the way for the younger generations while creating a business that I will be able to leave behind for my family to take over.
What’s your favorite career moment?
Being a keynote speaker for $60 billion dollar company in front of a huge room filled with women in business and receiving high praise how I have motivated them to start their own businesses.
If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
I love interior design, hosting parties and creating beautiful spaces.
What’s the best way to start your day?
With a cup of coffee in silence before waking up the 3 kids to get them ready for school along with the 3 dogs too .
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always loved working and dreamed of owing my own business and being successful. After buying my first home at the age of 22, I knew that anything was possible if you set your mind to it.
How do you unwind after a long workday?
I love cooking for my family and spending quality time with them and, if I can get into the gym for 45 minutes, that is a bonus.
What do you like about your workspace?
I have designed my work space to look like a beautiful showroom even though the majority of my meetings are outside of the office. It is important to walk into your office and feel 100% satisfied in the surroundings. I was fortunate enough to create that for myself as well as my colleagues.
Fill in the blank:
When I face a challenge, I... take a deep breath and tell myself that everything will work itself out in the end. If it doesn’t, it is not yet the end.
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself… it is ok to fail as long as you get back up and when you do you will be stronger than before.
The one thing I couldn’t live without is… my family.
By this time next year, I will be… excited about the growth of expanding into several more countries proving to myself that hard work and immense dedication always pays off even during trying times.
To get my creative juices flowing, I… love traveling with newly designed samples to test and make any changes as I look forward to releasing new products that will make a woman feel powerful, confident and organized while on the go!
ECO STYLE
ECO STYLE's premium laptop and tablet cases are innovative in design and the case standard in a growing list of Fortune 500 Corporations. ECO STYLE has a strong presence with the largest e-tailers in the world and has been recognized by many news outlets across the globe. They are committed to excellence, guaranteed to exceed customer's satisfaction with their superior products and competitive price points while offering 100% lifetime warranty.
