从问题少女到连续创业家

When Tran Wills found herself pregnant and homeless in high school, she couldn’t have imagined that one day she would have two successful businesses, a loving husband and four great kids.

It started with her now-husband, Josh, working nights so she could finish high school. Together, they opened their first business, Fabric Lab, which sold local designer’s wares out of the basement of a hair salon in Denver, Colo. Friends and family thought they were crazy, but the rent was just $200 per month—cheaper than daycare.

Since then the 33-year-old has opened and closed several businesses and now owns the Super Ordinary art gallery and retail store as well as the Base Coat Nail Salon, which offers non-toxic, chemical-free services. Both businesses are also in Denver. And she’s not done yet: Wills and her business partner just inked the lease for a Base Coat in Los Angeles and hope to expand further in the coming years.

Her oldest son, Noah, is now 16 wants to pursue a music career while her youngest son, Hesh, 5, is often seen accompanying his mother to meetings while his sisters, Quynh, 12, and Elliot, 10, are in school. Josh recently left his position as the creative director of Factory Design Labs, working with clients such as North Face and Oakley, to open his own design studio, Consume & Create.

Wills spoke with Fortune about how she got her start and how she maintains both her family and her professional life. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Fortune: Your parents kicked you out when you were 15. Could you imagine yourself here with two successful businesses?

Wills: When I was 15, I was just trying to survive. My parents kicked me out because I met a boy whom I loved. I house-hopped at my friends’ homes. Then, when I found out we were pregnant with Noah, Josh told his parents, and they took me in.

It was crazy to graduate with a 6-month-old—that’s for sure. Finally after Noah turned 1 we were ready to move out on our own, and then life started falling into place and here we are: married for 16 years and counting, and four kids later.

I always knew I wanted to open my own business, but I didn’t know I’d be here and giving people jobs. Base Coat has nine employees and Super Ordinary has two. That’s amazing to me.

What gave you the courage to start a business when you had young children and no financial resources?

I wanted to choose my own path. Josh was an artist, and I was making clothes at the time that we started the first store. I didn’t want to live with regret. When you’re a young mom, people look at you like you have no worth. We wanted to prove to everyone we weren’t going to be like that. I’m doing this for my kids. If it weren’t for them, I’d probably be working a job that I hate.

You often brought your children to business meetings. How did people react?

A lot of people were awesome about it, and some were questioning—like, are you a professional or not? But I said, “If you want to work with me, this is what it is.”

I don’t think I would have changed bringing the babies to the store. It showed me I could choose how I wanted to raise my kids and be a business owner.

After the boutique, you opened a cupcake and cereal bar that failed. What did you learn?

I got a business partner, and it didn’t work out. We had different ways. I think it’s really important to find the right people, people who are just as passionate as you are, who are willing to work just as hard and give up and sacrifice the same as you. That’s who you want to surround yourself with. Once I did, life was a lot easier.

But when the cupcake shop closed, it definitely humbled me. I realized not every idea I have is going to work, and it caused me so much stress. But I am glad I did it until this day. I’m still learning. Things have succeeded, and I’ve failed, and I’m okay with that. You have to accept failing because it’s going to happen. That’s what gives me even more courage. I have to face the people who maybe disappointed me or that I disappointed.

After that you opened Super Ordinary. How did that compare to opening Fabric Lab?

We opened Super Ordinary out of our house, which was a 1,500-square-foot warehouse. We wanted to fill a void for street art, the art that most people don’t want in a gallery. We had these moveable walls, and we would move them every second Saturday for a new opening. You couldn’t tell somebody was living behind there. The gallery was appointment-only, but because I was there, I would just open. We got families coming because people knew we lived there. We built this community.

But the openings started selling out, and we decided we needed to move. Now Super Ordinary is my big girl store. We had an architect come in. Before it was always DIY. We brought in two partners and did it the way we all envisioned that it would be done. We have beautifully curated one-of-a-kind pieces.

How have you financed the businesses?

It was our own money. Most of it came from Josh. His income went straight to the business. But it was still cheaper than daycare would have been.

With Super Ordinary, our two business partners put in the opening capital, and then we paid that off within a year. We have no loans; we don’t owe anybody any money. We do have an investor at Base Coat, but only because we couldn’t grow that business without taking one on.

The marriages of so many small business owners suffer. How have you and Josh kept your lives together?

Raising kids—it’s hard. It’s hard to manage being a good wife, a good mother, and being a good business partner. Some days I feel like I’m being torn three different ways.

Luckily, we love each other. We’ve fallen in love with each other many times over as we’ve grown up together. Everyone thinks we are this perfect marriage. But we fight things out. I think that’s important. We argue about how we raise our kids, how we raise our businesses. We appreciate that it’s because we’re both so passionate. We fight, and sometimes we say yes or no, but we always have to back it up with something.

How do you get it all done?

We divide and conquer, and we live day by day. Josh and I sit down each evening and say, “This kid needs to go here, and who can do it?” I don’t make appointments or schedule things more than a week in advance because invariably a kid gets sick, or something you couldn’t plan comes up. When I live day by day, I can be better prepared for when shit hits the fan. A kid will be sick, and something will go wrong at the store.

People think that being a business owner means you get to do what you want. But it’s the total opposite. If you’re not disciplined, you’re not going to get anything done, and it screws up everything.

Josh recently left his corporate job to start his own creative agency. How is it having two entrepreneurs in the family?

It’s stressful because there’s not a check coming in. When he had his job, he had a check, but he wasn’t happy there. He was supporting me for all these years so now I felt like it was his turn. It’s awesome; he’s super busy.

How do you think your kids see you?

I think they are super proud and super inspired. Noah for sure tell us he is. But we support him in the same way he supports us. He wants to be a music producer. Most parents are like, “But that won’t make any money,” and we’re like, “Well kid, there is a way to do it; you’ll figure it out.”

I think we’re being a good role model that shows you you don’t have to work a nine-to-five to be happy. Both of us are these creatives, and people assume you can’t make money, but you can. It is possible.

Any advice for other women trying to make it all work?

Always ask for help. Once I started doing that, my life got way easier. I was so used to doing it all by myself. I did it all without having a nanny or a house cleaner. Sometimes I thought about it, but then I thought, no, I can use the money to buy the kids this or put it into this business. I can clean my own house. But there are days when I wish I had help.

There will be sacrifices and days you want to quit. I probably want to quit every other week, but this allows me to see my kids.

在高中时代，当特伦·威尔斯发现自己怀孕并且无家可归时，她从未想到有一天她会拥有两家成功的公司，一位爱她的丈夫和四个可爱的孩子。

如今，威尔斯的大儿子诺亚已经16岁，一心渴望着从事音乐行业;小儿子赫希5岁，经常陪着妈妈参加会议;两个女儿，12岁的奎恩和10岁的埃利奥特，都还在上学。最近，丈夫乔希辞去了Factory Design Labs创意总监的职位，正在与乐斯菲斯和奥克利等客户合作，计划开设自己的设计工作室。

但是回想当年，亲朋好友们都认为他们疯了。最初，为了让已经怀孕的威尔斯完成高中学业，她的丈夫乔希选择晚上工作。两人还一起创建了第一家公司Fabric Lab，租用科罗拉多州丹佛市一家美发店的地下室，在那出售当地设计师的小商品。200美元的月租，能够比日托费用便宜不少。

之后，现年33岁的威尔斯有过几次或成功或失败的创业经历。她现在拥有Super Ordinary美术馆和零售店，以及为顾客提供无毒、无化学成分美甲服务的Base Coat美甲店。这两家公司也位于丹佛市。但她的志向不止于此：她已经和商业合伙人签署了在洛杉矶开设分店的合同，并希望在未来几年进一步扩大规模。

那么，威尔斯是如何从一个怀孕的“问题少女”变成连续创业家的呢?她向《财富》杂志讲述了自己的创业故事，以及维护家庭与职业生活的秘诀。

记者：15岁时，你的父母将你赶出了家门。你当时想过自己会拥有两家成功的公司吗?

威尔斯：在我15岁的时候，我只是在努力活下去。我的父母之所以将我赶出家门，是因为我爱上了一个男孩。当时我们居无定所，在许多朋友家里借住过。后来我发现我怀上了诺亚，乔希把这个消息告诉了他的父母，所幸他们接纳了我。

带着一个六个月大的孩子毕业，真的有些疯狂。诺亚一岁之后，我们决定自己搬出去住，然后生活开始走向正轨，直到今天：结婚16年，有了四个孩子。

我很早就希望能开创自己的事业，但我从没想过能有今天的成就，并且能够给其他人提供就业。Base Coat有九名员工，Super Ordinary有两名员工。这是令我感到不可思议的地方。

记者：当你有一个小孩子需要抚养，并且没有经济收入的时候，是什么给了你创业的勇气?

我想选择属于自己的道路。我丈夫乔希是一名艺术家，我们成立第一家商店的时候，我负责做衣服。我不希望活在遗憾当中。作为一名年轻的妈妈，人们看着你的表情似乎在说“你毫无价值”。我们希望向所有人证明，我们并非一无是处。我这样做也是为了孩子们。如果不是为了他们，我可能会去选择一份我讨厌的工作。

记者：你经常带着孩子参加商业会议。人们对此有什么反应?

许多人都觉得很好，但也有人会质疑。比如：你是职业人士吗?不过我会告诉他们：“如果你希望与我共事，这就是我的工作方式。”

我并不认为我应该改变带孩子去店铺的做法。因为这证明，我可以选择如何抚养自己的孩子和如何成为一名企业主。

记者：在精品店之后，你又创立过一家纸杯蛋糕和谷物柜台，但以失败告终。你从中学到了什么?

我找了一位商业合作伙伴，但并不成功。我们的做事方式不同。我认为找到合适的人非常重要，这个人要与你一样充满热情，愿意像你一样努力工作，并且同样愿意做出牺牲和付出。你希望伴你一路同行的是这样的人。只要找到合适的合作伙伴，日子会变得容易许多。

纸杯蛋糕商店的失败让我深受打击。我意识到，不可能我的每一个想法都能成功，这给我带来了许多压力。不过我很高兴自己能够坚持到今天。我仍在不断学习。有过成功，也经历过失败，但我都可以坦然接受。你必须接受失败，因为失败是难以避免的。正是这种心态让我有了更多勇气。我必须面对可能令我失望或者对我失望的人们。

记者：之后你创建了Super Ordinary。与创建Fabric Lab相比有何不同?

我们在家里创建了Super Ordinary，那是一个占地1500平方英尺的仓库。我们希望填补街头艺术的空白，因为大多数人不希望在画廊里看到街头艺术。我们有可以移动的墙壁，每过一个星期的周六移动一次，这样就有了新的空位。你看不出来有人住在墙的后面。画廊只接受预约，但因为我住在那里，所以我会让画廊一直开门营业。许多家庭也搬到了这里，因为人们知道我们住在那里。可以说我们创建了这个社区。

后来空位卖光了，我们决定搬家。现在的Super Ordinary已经走向成熟。我们聘请了一位建筑师。之前我们都是自己动手。我们找了两位合伙人，按照我们预期的方式进行布置。我们完美展出过许多独一无二的作品。

记者：你如何为公司寻找资金来源?

全部靠我们自己的投入。大多数来自乔希。他的收入直接投进了公司。不过，相比日托的费用，这笔投入要少得多。在Super Ordinary，两位商业合伙人投入了开业资金，但我们在一年以内便将这笔钱还清。我们没有贷款;也没有欠款。Base Coat确实有一位投资人，但那是因为，如果没有投资人，我们便无法发展业务。

记者：许多小企业主的婚姻都会出现问题。你和乔希如何做到相亲相爱?

抚养孩子是非常困难的事。你很难同时做一名好妻子、好母亲和好的商业合伙人。有时候我感觉自己似乎被分成了三份。

幸运的是，我们彼此相爱。在我们成长的过程中，我们的爱意丝毫未减。每个人都认为我们有美满的婚姻。但我们会通过争论解决问题。我认为这非常重要。我们会争论如何抚养孩子，如何发展事业。我们理解这是因为我们都富有激情。我们会产生争论，有时候我们会赞同或反对彼此的意见，但我们这样做的时候必须有理有据。

记者：你们如何处理好所有事情?

我们会各个击破，珍惜每一天。乔希和我每天晚上会坐在一起讨论：“这个孩子需要去这里，谁可以送他去?”我从来不会提前制定超过一周的约定或时间安排，因为总是会有一个孩子生病，或者发生计划之外的事情。只要过好每一天，当麻烦来临时，我便可以做好更充分的准备。孩子可能会生病，店里也会出现问题。

许多人认为，作为企业主意味着你可以做自己想做的事情。但事实恰恰相反。如果你做不到自律，你便不可能成功，你会将一切事情搞砸。

记者：你丈夫乔希最近辞去了在公司的工作，打算成立自己的创意机构。一个家庭有两位创业者会是怎样的情况?

压力很大，因为我们没有了固定的收入来源。他有工作的时候，可以有一笔收入，但他并不快乐。这些年里，他一直在支持我，现在我认为应该让他追求自己的梦想。真的棒极了;他忙得不可开交。

记者：你认为孩子们会如何看待你?

我认为他们会非常自豪，也会深受启发。诺亚就曾这样告诉我们。我们也支持他，就像他支持我们一样。他想成为一名音乐制作人。大多数父母会说：“那赚不到多少钱，”而我们会说：“孩子，肯定有一条途径可以实现你的梦想;你一定能成功。”

我认为我们给孩子们树立了良好的榜样，证明并非只有从事朝九晚五的工作才会快乐。我们两个都是创意工作者，人们认为你赚不到钱，但事实上你做到了。凡事皆有可能。

记者：对于希望工作家庭都能成功的其他女性，你有什么建议?

不要羞于求助。当我向别人求助时，我的生活就变得更加容易。我已经习惯了凡事靠自己。我没有请保姆或保洁。有时候我也会考虑找别人帮忙，但我会想，不，我可以将这笔钱用来给孩子买东西，或者投入到公司。我可以打扫自己的房子。但有时候我也希望有人来帮助我。

你肯定要做出牺牲，有时候你也想要放弃。我可能每隔一周便会有放弃的念头，但这可以让我多些时间陪陪孩子们。