For eight years, Monika Soti has been selling children’s costumes to people around the world through her business, Monika Fashion World. A featured Amazon Picks seller, Soti is also a top-rated ebay power seller with over 3,000 reviews—all of them positive.
Coworking Can Be Ideal for Entrepreneuers
A member at NextSpace Coworking San Jose, Soti received a fashion degree in India. The spark of inspiration for Monika Fashion World was, like many great ideas, born of necessity. As she looked for costumes for her own children, she found they were either extremely expensive, clumsy, or made of low-quality materials.
Soti saw a market, started designing and selling her costumes, and now Monika Fashion World is her year-round job—with most of her sales coming primarily at Halloween. “For those three months of Halloween,” she says, “we prepare all year.”
Soti focuses all year on designing unique Halloween costumes for kids. She uses fiber optics to add features such as a light-up firefighter badge, an illuminated princess skirt, and a lighted pirate belt or skull.
Preparation for Soti means coworking with the NextSpace San Jose community. She does all the decision making for her business from NextSpace, she creates designs, communicates with manufacturers, makes business plans, and prepares for the coming year alongside NextSpace Community Manager Julie Kodama and her fellow members.
“Everything that needs attention gets done at NextSpace,” Soti says. “NextSpace is a huge relief for me. I come in and I don’t have to take care of everything like electricity, water and what’s going on.”
Coworking, Community & Creativity
A creative person running a creative business, Soti needs the freedom and flexibility to imagine and design. Running her business out of a coworking space is a good fit. Soti has also had the opportunity to attend NextSpace San Jose events where members can connect with each other as well as other professionals within their local business community.
NextSpace Member Event with Mayor Sam Liccardo (Monika Soti in background)
“I don’t do the same thing again and again,” she says. “I sit down and let the creative juices flow. I have a home office, but home is not the place to work. You have to have a place where you’re 100 percent focused on work.”
NextSpace Coworking San Jose Member Community of Professional & Creative Entrepreneurs
When it comes to making great costumes for kids, Soti has some advice for parents and guardians:
- Find out what costume the child really wants
- Make sure the materials are decent quality
- Make sure the costume fits well
- If you’re making the costume, give yourself plenty of time, as you may have to go to a number of different stores
For anyone considering starting a costume, or clothing business of their own, Soti offers the following tip:
Find your niche. Everyone is selling Halloween costumes, so what is special about you? Your costumes should be easy to get—buying them shouldn’t be a complicated process. Buyers are moms and dads and they need an easy process. Lastly, your costumes should be something special.
For more information or to order a costume, visit monikafashionworld.com.
By Cat Johnson, a content strategist, storyteller and coworking member at NextSpace Santa Cruz.
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