Full name?: Maria Oliveira
Position / Job title?: Co-owner of Passport Vintage, a vintage boutique located in East Austin.
Fast-forward several years/decades. How did you land (or create) your current position?
I worked for American Apparel as a district manager for seven years. There I learned everything I could about running a business. I then took my passion and knowledge of vintage and combined that with my retailing skills to build the business I have today.
Tell us what a typical work day looks like for you. What is your job REALLY like, both the glamorous and not-so-glamorous parts?
Since I have a new business my days are pretty long. On a typical day I wake up and pack online orders, get ready for work and head to the shop. I work at the shop until 7pm, then head home, have dinner and probably tinker online doing marketing or adding pieces to the website.
The fun days are when I get to have photo sessions or go on buying trips with my boyfriend.
What is the biggest career mistake you’ve ever made?
My biggest mistake was not starting my vintage shop sooner. I now realize that I could’ve had my online shop for a long time and have built up a clientele slowly while I still worked full time.
What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to other career-minded women?
Do what works, abandon what doesn’t and keep going.
Let’s talk about work/life balance. What does that mean to you? Is it important?
I do believe that rest and relaxation is important, but I feel like the perfect balance is an illusion. I work every day, and a couple of times a month I will take a ‘me’ day to relax, do some shopping and grab a nice lunch somewhere. Hopefully in the future I will be able to take more time off.
On that note, do you think women can have it all? Both the baller career, and the happy family?
I don’t know…Maybe, just not all at once. I am 29 and am really focused on my business and can’t imagine having anything else going on in my life, for me it would be too hard.
Do you have any career role models? Who are they?
Yes, I love Yael Aflalo, the owner of Reformation. I really appreciate her commitment to making fashion forward clothing that are environmentally friendly. I love this talk she gave at Yale Business School. Click here to watch it.
Should you work for the money, or do what you love?
Personally I believe you should work for the money until you can find your way into making money doing something you love!
What is the single most important factor of a job?
I think the most important thing is to actually be interested in what you’re doing. Even if you’re not at your dream job you must find something that engages you, or you should move on. If nothing interests you then you’re not learning.
If you had an unlimited amount of money, would you still work? (Be honest.)
If I had unlimited money I would devote my time to causes I care about.
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