243: Failure or Fashion? How Mikaela Pabon’s Setback Propelled Her to Start Dressed In Joy

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For Mikaela Pabon, she is living a dream that would make her 8-year-old self ecstatic! She is the founder of the statement-making athleisure brand, Dressed in Joy. It’s interesting to think that she never thought she would be able to live out her fashion dreams, but here she is, today, doing just that as a full-time entrepreneur.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her initial career path, although she didn’t like it, was in information technology (IT). Eventually, Mikaela found something in that line of work that she did enjoy in working with databases, which she did for about 15 years. But in 2015, the fashion enthusiast took her first dive into entrepreneurship and decided to call it quits after four years, and no profits made. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After some time away, her dreams started to come back to her, and she was reminded of her days of watching fashion shows and “House of Style” on MTV, and it led her to design. Not for profit, but for herself. And if you ask Mikaela, she did not intend for the business she has now to be a business. For her, she was just designing something she wanted and didn’t see in the market. And to her surprise, people loved what she had to offer. After learning from her past mistakes, facing her limiting beliefs, and responding to customers, she built a successful and expanding brand and business.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode, you’ll hear:</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">☞ How Mikaela went from closing one business to opening another wildly successful one</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">☞ How she was able to leave her full-time job to focus on Dressed in Joy full time</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">☞ How Instagram Reels helped her to boost her audience in a short amount of time</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">☞ And why she believes that no matter the obstacle when it’s meant to be yours, it will be</span></p> <p><span s