Entrepreneurs of the Week: Kijafa Vick and Blair Sandlain, Owners of PNK Elephant

Was it the same set of challenges for you?

Vick: I’m learning to communicate better and trust the people who are helping the business grow. My challenges were different because of my personal life as a wife and mother (trying to find balance between work and life). I have two daughters. My children are still young and need me. Some days I would stay at PNK Elephant all day, and my family would need me home to make dinner.

How have you grown PNK Elephant’s customer base through social media?

Sandlain: Social media is the new age and way of advertising; but even with social media you still have to be honest and true. People can smell a fake from a mile away. We post at least five to seven times a day whether it’s clothes or pictures of our personal lives.

What are your plans to grow and expand the business?

Vick: We started off with Blair selling things from her car. She stuck with her vision and now we have a beautiful 2,500 sq. ft. store in Philadelphia and a booming, e-commerce business. We are moving into a new warehouse for online because we out grew our old location, and we are also opening a new retail store by the end of 2014.