Career change: Lanette Orduna

CAREER CHANGE OVER 50: Lanette Orduna

By JENNY BAKER The Winchester Star

Lanette Orduna had quite the jet-setting first career. As an executive in the toy industry, she worked with several major companies designing and marketing electronic toys, a job that took her all over the world. She then became a consultant, working with companies like Hasbro, Mattel, Fisher-Price, TOMY Europe and Japan, Disney, Universal Studios and Microsoft.

“I would meet with companies, help them design product lines and obtain manufacturing of the products in China or Japan and also help them create their marketing launch programs. This included package design, marketing collateral and point of sale merchandising, even training their international sales teams on how to sell it,” she explained.

After 30 years of being constantly on the go, she decided to shift gears.

“By the time I moved to the Winchester area, I was so tired of international travel, being gone all the time, no family time and it was also affecting my health, traveling with a bad back was no fun,” Orduna said. “I decided I needed to take a step back, look at what was important in life and do something I loved but allowed me to have a life.”

That idea of her new business was inspired by her love of animals, and a pet shop she owned for two years while living in California that became a sanctuary to her when she wasn’t traveling.

In August of 2011, when she was 57 years old, she made the big leap and opened Posh Pets Boutique on the Loudoun Street Mall in Winchester.

“I chose Winchester as it was so pet friendly and I loved the Old Town family environment,” she said.

“I modeled Posh Pets after it (the California pet shop), carrying things for pet lovers and high quality foods, treats, supplements and hard to find items for animals. Winchester and this seemed like the perfect fit.”

Starting a new bricks-and-mortar retail shop presents many challenges, said Orduna.

“The most challenging part was getting the funding available to start the business, figuring out the right product mix that allowed me to compete with the big box stores with less inventory and finding my niche,” she explained.

“Running a small business still requires lots of hours and dedication to make it work. I had the background in accounting, marketing and products for children easily translates to products for people’s pets as today these are many families’ children! So finding what I wanted to carry wasn’t too hard but did require constantly watching for new trends.”

In today’s retail environment, one of the biggest challenges is staying competitive with online retailers.

“I guess the biggest surprise still is how much is needed in funding to maintain the inventories needed to compete, and also trying to get people to not just buy everything online because it’s convenient, and understand that we try to also provide sound healthy advice for your pets that you won’t get online.”

Orduna explained that locally-owned stores like Posh Pets can provide services not offered by online stores, like fitting pets for harnesses or collars, and even clothing.

While her new career doesn’t involve trips to exName: Lanette Orduna Career-change age: 57 Previous career: Toy executive New career: Owner of Posh Pets Boutique See Orduna, Page 13

JEFF TAYLOR/THEWINCHESTER STAR

Lanette Orduna’s tips for changing careers:

“I think when you find yourself dissatisfied with how you are feeling with your life, you are worn out and you have something you really love to do you should research it and make the jump, take a leap of faith that you can make a change and it will improve your life.”