Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneurs are sister duo Cristina and Gina Servello of Montreal, who created The Detailed Diva when they saw a gap in the market for personalized gifts in the event industry. We caught up with them to find out about their biggest milestone to date and what advice they would share with other young professionals…
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WORK
1. Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
We personalize gifts and accessories for every occasion.
2. What was the inspiration for your career route?
Our parents have had a promotional company for over 30 years, so you could say this business is in our blood. We saw that there was a market for personalized gifts, especially in the events industry, when we were planning Gina’s wedding. We jumped on the idea and haven’t looked back, expanding our business with every milestone that we reach.
3. What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
We have several memorable milestones. From actually taking a chance with our business to receiving our very first order, the past three years have been memorable.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
In the next few years we see ourselves doing exactly what we’re doing but on a larger scale. We’re hoping to open a boutique where people can pop in to buy personalized items as well as non-personalized gift items and fun accessories. We would love to have an even stronger internet presence, shipping our items around the world as well as being able to manufacture our own line of clothing and gifts in-house.
5. Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
We’re going to start with the cliché of “follow your dreams.” We both had different career paths but when we decided to start The Detailed Diva we just took a chance, and now we couldn’t be happier. Life is short, so don’t dwell on the small things. Take the leap and see where it leads you. And above all, have patience! Things take time, and success, however you define it, does not happen overnight like many people think. Everyone struggles in the beginning but once you gain the experience it gets a lot better.
6. Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
We support the NDG food bank. Every year at Christmas we donate a turkey. It’s important to help the people in your community in whichever way you can.
7. What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
As newbies in the business community, learning how to effectively and properly run a business has been quite challenging. So has truly understanding what it means to put your heart and soul into your own company; taking one day at a time, asking for help and not taking things so personally. We made a lot of mistakes but we’ve learned so much from them and have become better business women because of them.
8. What does the word notable mean to you?
Notable means hard working, respectable and having that one thing that makes you stand out both professionally and personally.
PLAY
1. Where is your favourite place to wine/ dine in your city and why?
There are so many delicious options in Montreal, but Ristorante Beatrice is our favourite place in the city. The food is superb and the atmosphere is relaxing, especially their patio.
2. What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
Google, Pinterest, Facebook and of course our website are always open on our browsers.
Gina: most played song on my phone is Hello by Adele. My daughter won’t stop listening to it
Cristina: most played song on my phone is Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots.
3. Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
Girl With No Job is hilarious! Bossbabe Inc has some pretty great motivational quotes for women business leaders.
4. What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
Cristina: I love travelling to the States. I know it’s not exotic but it constantly excites me! I spent six months in Los Angeles and fell in love with everything about it – the food, the weather, how everyone is striving for their big break in the entertainment industry. I would love to go to Hawaii or Turks and Caicos. Europe is on my bucket list too!
Gina: Greece. The food is amazing, the beaches are crystal clear. The people are happy, the islands are breathtaking. The next country I would like to visit is France, especially Paris.
5. What gives you the greatest FOMO?
No idea. We didn’t even know this was an acronym.
6. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
We’re both guilty of enjoying too many Netflix marathons and reality TV, especially The Real Housewives series.
7. What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
We wish we didn’t spend so much money on food but we love going out to eat, especially on the weekend! Instead of clubbing, we go to restaurants.
Getting pampered; massages, manicures, pedicures, etc. We can never find the time to have spa days.
8. And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
Cristina: Success means making my dreams a reality both professionally and personally. Achieving all the goals I set for my business and being able to go home to a happy, healthy family at night.
Gina: Success is being happy to go to work in the morning and happy to be home with my daughter.
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