We had the good fortune of connecting with Anneliese Aeria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anneliese, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
One of my all time favorite sayings is, “Kai Zen”… this is a Japanese philosophy and way of life that my mother shared with me, and truly resonated with me. Essentially, Kai Zen means “gradual improvement”. I admittedly am quite type A, and for me it is incredibly easy to want things to just happen over night, and get impatient when I am working on something… especially like building a business. This saying gives me a friendly reminder, that nothing happens over night, and no body is a one hit wonder! It takes gradual improvement to become successful, and I like the philosophy of Kai Zen as it makes me ask myself, what can I do now, today, in this moment- to take a step to where I want to be? I think we could all use a little more Kai Zen in our lives!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business, is AAPETPEOPLE. I founded AAPETPEOPLE and officially “launched” in January of 2020, after many months of formulation and planning. Essentially, my mission is to create a diverse and inclusive community of animal lovers, all while creating awareness for animal rescue and normalizing pet adoption over purchasing or breeding… AAPETPEOPLE creates and sells products for pets and their people to implement into their lives together, and to make life that much more special!

What sets AAPETPEOPLE apart is the emphasis on the person AND the pet. We see pets as an indescribably impactful part of so many lives, and they deserve the little luxuries in life we so easily give ourselves. AAPETPEOPLE is pretty much the uniting of my two world, my two passions, Fashion & Pets… Obviously the pet part came from being raised with two parents as veterinarians, and the fashion part has been inspired by all the amazingly talented and kind creatives I have met all over the globe.

I still feel so new with AAPETPEOPLE, and have got a long ways to go. I have so many ideas that I am dying to start on, and want to work hard to grow so that I can make even more special pieces for pets and their people.

If you told me starting an e-commerce based business would be this hard, I may have never done it. But I wouldn’t go back for even a second! There have been so many “blind spots” along the way in growing AAPETPEOPLE in the first year, but that is a fundamental part of being an entrepreneur in my opinion.

At the moment I am so excited about our new ceramics collection… mugs and bowl for you and your pet!

A few lessons I have learned is that when working with artists or vendors for specific custom products, ALWAYS ask for a sample first. Don’t go off of just pictures even though that may be more time efficient. Also, if someone says “oh that’s not really a thing” or “no one will do that/make that” then you are doing something RIGHT. I have found that many will not want to go to the effort to create something original or custom, because it’s not already on the market and would require extra effort. To me this is a good sign, as you are creating something no one else will have.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Most of the time I am in NYC, yet when home here are my top spots- For breakfast, we’d get smoothie bowls from Nekter or The Juice Bar in Highland Park Village then grab coffee from Royal Blue grocery.

Then we’d go window shopping, and antique shopping! The Forest Wood antique mall is pretty adorable, and you can have tea at the back of the mall in their tea room.

Lot’s of shopping basically! Deep Ellum has some really fun thrift stores, and cute boutiques.

For dinner we’d pick up Flower Child or True Food Kitchen (may be both since its a week long trip!) and then watch a good moving at home …

**side note- dogs would be accompanying all our adventures

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Hands down my mom. My mom, Karen Fling, has always taught me what hard work can do, and that if you want something in life- to go after it! She’s encouraged my love of dance and music from 3 years old, and allowed me the privilege to explore. She even supported my decision to pursue acting and modeling at 10 years old… she never thought it would stick with me, and just wanted me to be happy and “get it out of my system”, haha! But, here we are almost 10 years later, and I just wrapped a project for Vice and Sony… She has followed me to the ends of the earth, quite literally, and has always undoubtedly been my biggest cheerleader, mentor, and has gotten me through some of my toughest times. Also, it would be incredibly amiss not to give credit to my amazing mother agency, The Campbell Agency, and Campbell-Wagner Runway. Nancy Campbell and Kate Wagner, are the two super women who have given me the development and courage to keep going in the fashion and acting industry. After my mom, I feel like they’re my “other moms” haha!

Website: aapetpeople.com

Instagram: @aapetpeople and @anneliese_aeria (personal)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneliese-aeria-8b57931a6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anneliese.aeria.31/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiq6XIqY2zEUzYfxUBhQXWw

Image Credits
Luis Martinez Anthony Chiang

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