Walking into Mei-Mei Brown’s childhood bedroom was like putting on a pair of rose-colored glasses. Everything was shaded pink and besides Mei-Mei, “Hello Kitty” was the main occupant of the sparkle-filled room. Now 33-years-old and happily married, Mei-Mei Brown lives in a home that defines unisex. Neutral brown and beige tones have replaced the pinks of the past and “Hello Kitty” makes infrequent appearances. The same can’t be said for Mei-Mei’s boutique, Mei-Mei’s Fashionette. A close replica of her childhood bedroom, the store is Mei-Mei’s self-proclaimed personal space, an expression of her loves and tireless passion.
Enter Mei-Mei’s Fashionette, one of Dallas’ latest West Village boutiques. At a petite five feet tall (but towering about five foot three in heels) Mei-Mei is dressed in black. She is a perfect compliment to the hot pink walls that surround her. While helping a customer, Mei-Mei never fails to chat and inquire, help and accommodate. She does this all in a multi-tasking way, always showing interest and always offering suggestions.
Mei-Mei’s Fashionette was the result of a long journey, an adventure of sorts that began in Mei-Mei’s hometown of Riverside, where she grew up surrounded by the laid-back trends of Southern California. She was always interested in fashion. And while she was a self-proclaimed shop-a-holic who doodled pictures of clothes in the margins of her notes during high school, Mei-Mei opted for the traditional, parent-approved business career path. After studying undergraduate business at Arizona State University and then attending law school at the University of San Diego, Mei-Mei began her nine-to-five, corporate lifestyle working for an accounting firm. Needing a change, Mei-Mei moved to Washington D.C.
After leaving the corporate world in D.C., out of boredom and another urge for change, Mei-Mei took the vision that had been her childhood bedroom, and every apartment and condo she had after that, and created Mei-Mei’s Fashionette. Knowing the risks of opening a small business, Mei-Mei relied on her fireball personality and business knowledge and found confidence in her passion to succeed.
“I knew that I was still young enough to where if it didn’t work out I’d still have other options. I said to myself, I’d rather try this now, instead of just waiting and wondering,” said Mei-Mei.
After all, waiting has never appealed to Mei-Mei and challenges never scare her away. A frequenter of the Dallas bar/arcade Barcadia, Mei-Mei is known for her perfectionist approach to old-school ’80s-style video games. She can’t just play once. She has to play over and over until she gets it perfect. That drive for perfection is what has brought Mei-Mei’s Fashionette to Dallas.
Transporting the store from its original east coast location to Dallas was a risk. Opening a retail store in the early-summer months (May 2008) was another. According to Mei-Mei, friends warned her about the perils of opening a business, especially a retail store, at a time when many customers are on vacation.
Again, the challenge sparked strength. According to Jimmy Brown, Mei-Mei’s husband and sometimes-reluctant shopping partner, he watched the store transform, e-mail by e-mail, from an empty space to a hot-pink box. From his computer in D.C., Brown watched as the store took shape. He knew that it screamed Mei-Mei.
“She did everything she possibly could herself. She wears a pink hard hat and has a pink toolbox with pink tools. The only time I help her is when she can’t reach something. I mean, she’s only like five feet tall. Otherwise, it’s all her,” said Brown.
That do-it-herself attitude applies to more than just the décor of her store. Brown attributes the success of Mei-Mei’s business to her “innate sense of style” and ability to find things others could never find. Her ability to combine things that others would never put together is reflected in the dichotomy of clothes in her store.
“She’s the only person I know that can go from wearing a $1,000 evening gown to a T-shirt from Wal-Mart. I’ve never seen anyone do it as good as she can,” said Brown.
Whether on vacation in Belize or scanning a vintage shop in North Dallas, Mei-Mei always has her eyes open for something special to add to the store. She stops only to sleep. Distinguishing her store from others is of vital importance.
According to a survey of business owners in 2002 by the U.S. Census Bureau, 43.7 percent of all U.S. wholesale and retail trade businesses are owned by women, making it vital to stand out as a female owner of a retail business. Texas alone is listed by a 2002 U.S. Census Bureau report as having the third highest number of women-owned businesses in the country. Needless to say, Mei-Mei’s Fashionette is a fish in a densely populated pond of women-owned small retail businesses.
Competition isn’t the only challenge female business-owners face. According to a research summary conducted by the Small Business Administration regarding differences between male and female small business owners, sales growth, employment growth, income and venture survival are lower for women-led businesses. It showed that 46 percent of self-employed women had an income of less than $15,000 in 1998, compared to only 21 percent of self-employed men .
So the odds may be against women-owned businesses, and the competition, especially in retail ventures, may be thick. But with pink hardhat atop her head Mei-Mei is ready to face the challenges. Sprung from hard-working Chinese parents who have been successful in the difficult business of restaurant ownership for more than 25 years, Mei-Mei has success in her blood. And with a business that has so far survived a move from the east coast to the Lone Star State and the risks of an early summer opening, Mei-Mei says her business continues to grow.
The challenges exist, and unlike Mei-Mei’s previous jobs in the corporate world, the work, the store, the pleasures and pains of owning a business stay with her after hours while she plays with her two dogs or socializes at Dallas’ local bar scene. But for now, Mei-Mei isn’t complaining. Her childhood bedroom, her girly sensibility and freedom to be outside the corporate box, all give her hope that her pink box in the middle of Dallas will continue to succeed.
