By Hayat Mohamed, BlackVoices.com

Every business begins with an idea, but entrepreneur Donna Harvey-Newman knew it would take more than just an idea to get her online business off the ground. Donna is the founder and CEO of the 'cheap chic' online shoe store FlyJane.net.

FlyJane.net was created for the fashion forward woman on a budget. "Who says that you have to be a celebrity or have a lot of money to be able to just be fabulous?" asks Harvey-Newman.

FlyJane.net offers designer inspired shoes, handbags and accessories all at a reasonable price. The website has been flourishing since its launch in May of 2004 and shows no signs of stopping. Donna Harvey-Newman recently took a moment to speak with Black Voices about the future plans for FlyJane.net and offered some advice to those who are aspiring to create a business of their own.

How did the idea for FlyJane.net come about?

I think in a lot of respects, I was FlyJane. I was that young girl coming out of college with very little money. I aspired to own $900 Christian Louboutins but I just wasn't there financially. Rather than maxing out my credit cards to purchase $3000 handbags I said, "Why can't I just be fly on a budget?" I mean who says that you have to be a celebrity or have a lot of money to be able to just be fabulous? And at the time I thought there was a huge void in the marketplace particularly on the internet, where young women could find unique stylish items at affordable prices. Through a year and a half, two years of research and really trying to understand my audience, I knew that I stood for people around the world and knew I had to make it happen and do this for myself and that's how FlyJane got started. We're going into our 18th month.

Why the name FlyJane?

Jane you know is synonymous with woman. When you think about Jane you think about her being plain. Well, Fly Jane is that inner hottie that I think every woman possesses. When they look in the mirror and they have their favorite jeans on or they look in the mirror and they just got their hair done, they feel fabulous, they feel great. That's the feeling I wanted my customers to have when they opened up that box from the mail and pulled out a pair of shoes, hand bag or accessory item from my company; I wanted them to feel fly. Fly Jane is really synonymous with every woman, young or old.

What steps did you take before you launched FlyJane.net?

I had to do lots and lots of research. My background was in online marketing so I knew a lot about the internet and really what it took for people to respond to things and I just needed to find out who my demographic was, how I was going to find them and what service I would be providing to them. So it was really about the research, the development of the website and putting together that plan to really make it all come together. I also spent months creating a business plan and two years researching before FlyJane.net even came to life.


Is the website global or just in the United States?

We have been a global business from day one. We have surpassed all expectations that we ever had for this company to go global. Probably 35% of our business today is global business. From Australia, to New Zealand to the UK to Singapore, we've done business with Fly Janes all over the world and continue to; we welcome them. If you log on to our site we offer a currency converter for customers to see pricing in their country and we service customers all over the world.

Where is your inventory distributed from?

Well we have distribution here out of Atlanta, Georgia. We also have distribution out on the west coast out in Los Angeles, California. Depending on where you're located, your item will be shipped from. Usually it ships within 48 hours. We have options from ground delivery all the way to overnight service. We have our own facility and our own warehouse where we have people who actually provision the orders and ship them out on a daily basis.

What would you like FlyJane to become in the future?

We want to contribute to the notion of having a fabulous lifestyle within your means, FlyJane falls into the category of cheap chic which is similar to H&M, Forever 21 and Target; companies that fall into that high fashion, high quality, low price category. Our goal is to expand into men's clothing, men's footwear and as well as creating opportunities where communities of like minded people can congregate online and talk about fashion on a budget, talk about footwear and living this lifestyle. We're actually in the development of FlyJoe which is our men's footwear brand. We're also developing distribution for our FlyJane brand of shoes.

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to start their own business?

Important to this whole thing, you've got to have a plan, you've got to do the research and know exactly what you want to do whether you're writing it down on paper and looking at it every day and putting that in your head you've got to know what you're doing before you do it. That's probably the most important advice I've got to give. I think with the outcome of this election, the sky's the limit for anyone who is truly passionate about something in life. I sat on this concept for 2 1/2 years, I had a baby, I had gotten married and ignorantly I thought well I can't do this anymore, I have a family so I can no longer pursue this dream and I sat on it. I had gotten so frustrated with what I was doing and not really feeling fulfilled and not really feeling my true passion was being played out that one day I said I'm going to make it happen, and I have not looked back ever since.

To learn more or to shop on FlyJane visit the website at www.flyjane.net