Business Women We Love: Rebecca of Something White

Impeccably styled, a megawatt smile, and a bubbly personality to boot—that’s how I always think about Rebecca Somnitz. The 38 year-old Independence, Ohio native is the owner and stylist of Something White, a mom of 3, and a wife to her very lucky husband. I first met Rebecca two years ago when I was engaged and looking for my wedding dress. I knew time I stepped into Something White that I had found one of the most gorgeous shops I’d ever been to, but also that I’d met one of the most precious souls I’d ever encounter. Sometimes you meet people and instantly know they that they are exactly where they are meant to be, and Rebecca is certainly meant to be where she is! Something White carries simplistic, elegant, and timeless bridal gowns meant to enhance who you are on your special day, not bog you down with beads and things. She totes designers like Romona Keveza, Lela Rose, Pronovias, and Carol Hannah just to name a few, and her shop is located in a sweet two store building reminiscent of a home. Fresh off of the store’s 10-year anniversary, I sat down with Rebecca to talk her journey as a woman in business, how she manages all of her roles, and why she’s still looking for a mentor. The following interview has been edited for brevity and length.

You didn’t always start off in the bridal/fashion industry—talk me through your story.

I went to The Ohio State University and majored in Communications and Business, and always thought I wanted to be in events. I moved to Chicago and got a job planning medical educational events, and then I transitioned into more consulting. During that time I got engaged, and I would come home to go dress shopping but I just wasn’t finding anything I loved, and I also went shopping in Chicago and not finding anything. Everything was heavily beaded, and just had a lot of stuff [on it], I wanted something that was little more simple, a little more elegant and little more timeless. Me and my friend at the time would say we should open up our own bridal shop, and over brunch one day we said we were serious about it, and we did our business plan, and researched for about a year. She even moved in with me and my husband when we were newlyweds so we could save money.

What made you take the leap to operating your own bridal salon?

Pretty scary when I look back at it! I think planning played a role, when I think about it more, I will take calculated risks, I don’t know that I’m a big outright risk taker. So the idea that we saved our money, we had a plan in place, we knew what we were going to do, that made it a little less scary.

Why do it in Cleveland?

There was a need. And that is something you really have to pay attention to when opening a business. You have to make sure that people want the business. We had a gut feeling, because I couldn’t find anything I liked, and my friend couldn’t find anything she liked, and so we felt like something was missing. When we were living in Chicago, they were a little bit ahead of us in the new way of weddings. In the way that weddings were becoming a little more personal and fun, and not just the typical wedding that a bride planned with her mom. So when we did our research, we really saw there was a need in Cleveland.

What was it like in those early days, how did you educate yourself on being a business owner?

So neither me or my business partner at the time worked in bridal, but we just figured we could do it. She liked to sew, and I like to style people in general. And when I say we did research, I mean she lived with me and we lived and breathed this. We would do our business plan every Saturday morning, and then we would go out to all of these places and see fabrics and silhouettes. And we actually met a Chicago designer whose designs we loved, and we’d go hang out at her shop and give her a helping hand, like cutting out lace for the dresses she was making. And if she ever had any brides come in we’d watch and see how they interacted.

Do you remember your opening/first bridal appointment? What was it like?

The first bride that came to us is from Independence, she actually lives down the street, she wore a one-shoulder sheath dress, she’s so sweet. And the girl who bought our first pair of earrings, we actually named the earrings after her—not because we wanted to, but we just kept calling them the “Ellen” earrings.

You used to be co-owner of Something White, now you’re running the store alone, what was that transition like?

Scary at first. She got pregnant, and was like I just can’t do both, but it was scary for me because I didn’t think I was ready to give it up. I really enjoyed it still and loved everything about it, and so If I wasn’t ready to give it up I was going to have to do it alone. Throughout the years we were both like, we’re not going to die doing this so hopefully we’ll both stop the shop together. But, I think everything works out the way its supposed to right? I think it was a lot scarier in thought, than the action of doing it because it’s all good.

Most business owners, women specifically, say that they can’t do it alone—but it seems like you are, how?

Well I think it’s a variety of factors. One, when Karen and I built this business we both came from corporate backgrounds so we both had that corporate mentality and we put processes in place and we really had it to where it was a well oiled machine. And we got to that point mostly because we had to because we were having babies. I was the first one to get pregnant, and before that we worked together all the time and took appointments together, but when I got pregnant, I went on maternity leave and she was alone for six weeks. Then she got pregnant seven months later, and I was alone, so we learned that we could tag team this. So I just think having processes in place so you can do it, but also time management, for instance I schedule my appointments, and living right by the shop is totally amazing.

You’re a wife, mom of 3, and a business owner—how do you manage it all?

Honestly that was my biggest anxiety with Karen leaving because I love the lifestyle this has allowed me to have, being able to have my kids and having a career. I was like how am I going to keep doing this, and have the same lifestyle. But I think it’s that I had to set limits for myself, and I think the other thing helpful in my world is that I don’t mind working nights and weekends. I grew up with my mom being a nurse, and my dad an electrician, so we never had that 9-5 life. So working on the weekends or nights isn’t weird to me, and I think for a lot of people in this industry, that is something that they don’t like. But I’m definitely not doing it all as anyone would tell you!

Does wife/mom guilt ever kick in?

Yes and no. I will genuinely say that I rarely have guilt about doing things that I’m doing. If I’m doing something and I can’t give my kids my entire attention for a time being, I'm like—thats life! I am able to do so much for them, that the things I’m not able to do for them, I’m ok with not being able to do everything. I try really hard to not get upset about missing—but at the same time I don’t have to miss that much. Occasionally I’ll miss my sons baseball or soccer games sometimes, but I’m ok with that because on the flip side I’m playing Lego with him. [Laughs] I feel like my kids and my husband get enough of me. Maybe, my business needs more of me cause with a business you can always be doing more.

With all that you’ve got going on, what’s a typical day like for you?

I do like routine, but at the same time it does change. A typical day, I either like to run or workout. And if I have things to do I’ll come to the store, and process orders, or things are coming in, I’ll answer emails. And thats the other nice thing, I can do so much from home when my kids are eating lunch or taking a nap. Then I’ll take appointments, plan some stuff, my mind is always going.

Was there anyone who mentored you in your journey to becoming a business owner?

If anybody there was Karen’s aunt, and she was a great resource for us. Whenever we had a business question she would help us, she was fantastic and I think she’d still be like that today. Sadly, she passed away two years into our business, so I don’t think she really saw how successful it became which makes me kind of sad, but she does have a daughter who just bought her dress from us this past year! Totally full circle and made me cry. So I would say her, but I actually wish I had somebody to be honest with you! I’ve been on the hunt, as much as you can be on the hunt for a mentor.

Is there anything you wish you would’ve known about running a business before you jumped into it?

Maybe more of a vision. Like, in five years we want to be here, and ten years we want to do that. But then life happened for us, and I think it’s fine, but I think I’m at the point now where I’m done having babies, and I’m like what do I want my business to look like in five years?

Do you have any advice, encouragement, or words of wisdom for women who’re dreaming about owning their own business?

There is a book that Karen and I read called, The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. The whole idea is that you have a dream, but how do you get there? It breaks it down and forces you to do something, and have a dream manager that keeps you accountable of all the things you need in place to make that dream happen. If you have a dream you have to do something about it! You need to be patient, and worry about the pretty later. We didn’t even have a name or logo for our business in the early days because we were more interested in getting the data and the research and figuring everything out. The pretty doesn’t actually mean anything at that point. But I feel like a lot of times people do this backwards.

What does it mean to you being a woman in business?

I think ultimately I’m proud. It makes me proud and happy that I can do something like this. And maybe it makes me really proud because I did not come from an entrepreneurial family, and it also makes me happy that I’ve been able to make this connection, like this resonates with other people.