“Microlux had confidence in my project! Their explanations of the little details you can forget were a great help to me, and the support of a volunteer means you don’t feel alone or lost! Today, entrepreneurship gives me professional and personal fulfillment and a great deal of freedom to make decisions!”
We met Isabel Pinto at the end of winter, a few weeks after the opening in Capellen of her small couture business, Bitzbel couture, “Bitz” for couture in Luxembourgish, “Bel” for Isabel. When we push open the doors of his store again, we’re greeted by the frenetic noise of the sewing machine. “I’m late, I’ve got so much to do,” smiles the 48-year-old seamstress, her smile radiant but a little tired.
“Word of mouth works very, very well”, so the seamstress doesn’t know where to turn, but it’s with sparkling eyes that she unwraps a wedding dress she’s made with her own hands. “I added tulle, tulle and more tulle,” she exclaims, adding that she even had to unstitch the bustier and reassemble everything afterwards.
“It’s wedding and communion season, and a little help wouldn’t go amiss,” explains this mother of three. She is also looking to recruit a part-time assistant, “especially to do the touch-ups”. While she waits to find the rare gem, Isabel works hard, doesn’t yet pay herself a decent wage and brings back hems to do at home, “in front of the TV”. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy at first, and I’m not complaining, I wanted it and I don’t regret my choice,” she says.
After a career in sewing and sales, she “felt it was time to take the plunge”. “I looked at my CV and realized that I was unemployed every five years because the company was closing down or making redundancies, so I said to myself ‘STOP’, I don’t want to depend on others anymore”. Today, however, she doesn’t see herself as a boss: “I’m just a worker who makes her own decisions,” she smiles.
L’essentiel article written by Marion Chevrier, as part of microlux’s MyMicrobusiness competition.
More articles on Isabel and her Bitzbel boutique:
You can’t put a price on fulfilling a childhood dream, even at 48.
Isabel and her talents as a seamstress seduced readers of L’essentiel
“Being an entrepreneur has been a way for me to develop fully and to have the freedom that I couldn’t find as an employee. Nevertheless, I have very quickly learned the need to constantly evolve and to be resilient, especially while the difficulties of the last three years. Microlux has been the helping hand that enabled me to cope with the current economic crisis with its advice but also its financial support.”
“Entrepreneurship has brought us more freedom, more responsibility and more work, but we’re proud to have come this far and we thank microlux whose support has helped us realize our dream. “
“Being entrepreneurs has given us freedom in time management, independence, lots of experiences we wouldn’t have in a normal job and lots of new relationships. And microlux is very responsive, which is great! “
Thank you so much to microlux for the support in helping me with the renovation work and website for my massage studio. The interest-free part of the loan that I don’t have to pay back right away is really nice. This allowed me to reduce my expenses for the first year.
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