Typical Mel’s Founder Charting a Path that is Far from Ordinary

It is a cloudy afternoon in Milwaukee as I drive through busy roads to meet with Melody Vang, the owner and founder of the online business Typical Mels.  

Originally from Colorado, Vang spent the last seven years familiarizing herself with Milwaukee. Now, she can declare with ease that this is home. 

She appears in loose curls, denim and brown plaid layered with a green jacket. The 22-year-old greets me with a hug and beaming smile while we settle into a small library room.  

Vang is taking midterms this week. But she is not only occupied with exams and papers; she is also busy being an entrepreneur. 

“In the beginning, I thought this was going to be just a side hustle. I didn’t see it as a career or like anything that I wanted to do in 10 years,” Vang says, “But now this is my priority and something that I want to do for many years.” 

After realizing her major at the Milwaukee Area Technical College was lacking in 2020, Vang decided to take that year off from dental hygiene to get a job. She took on a babysitting position that ended when the COVID pandemic began, which led her to pursue the opening of Typical Mels.  

“I went up to my mom randomly after my nanny job closed off, and I said, ‘I really want to start a business,’ but she took me as a joke at first,” Vang says. 

During that time, Vang was assisting with her mom’s online business and had become familiar with it. Because of that, she felt like her mom’s approval would open the door for the opportunity.  

“I just kept bringing it up, and one day I told myself I was going to start,” Vang says.  

The first step was convincing herself to begin, but the next was a little more of a challenge.  

“Honestly, I didn’t have any money in my account maybe just less than $300,” Vang explains. 

Vang said her mom added $200 to get her foot in the door.  

Vang’s mom, Kaoly Lo Kiatoukaysy, has been running Moonlight Hmong Designs for about five years now with the help of her family.

“My real job is actually accounting which can be boring for me, so doing my business on the side became a creative outlet,” Kiatoukaysy says. 

Kiatoukaysy became a mentor and an inspiration for her daughter from the beginning. Vang explains that she often uses her mom’s ideas and applies them to Typical Mels.  

“Mel has done a great job of growing her business. It started as a hobby because of coronavirus, but she has done a lot of researching and growing,” Kiatoukaysy says.  

Typical Mels focuses on selling womenswear, jewelry, hats, and colored-eye contacts. Its target market is young people in the 17-25 age range.

The womenswear collection is comprised of Y2K-inspired fashion, swimwear in varieties of colorful two-pieces and evening wear. Vang assists in designing the material and looks of every piece. She tests each item herself for a few weeks to a month before she releases it.  

“I would have a design in mind and show the vendors what I like, and they would take my ideas and send me samples,” Vang explains.  

Vang stays inspired by looking through Pinterest and social media, and it provides her ideas of what she would like to launch next. Although designing from scratch has not been checked off yet, it is a future endeavor of hers. 

“The message I hope to spread by doing this is positivity and being confident in your own skin. Honestly, just women’s empowerment. I know it’s only clothes, lashes and jewelry, but I want to enhance people with it.” 

Melody Vang, owner of Typical Mels

Vang says launch days for Typical Mels are thrilling as new items get released, however, it can be the most stressful times as Vang balances her student life simultaneously. 

“They see the pretty pictures, videos, and the fun stuff that I put on social media, but sometimes, shoot days are my least favorite days,” Vang says, “In Wisconsin, you have to shoot in the cold and fight the daylight savings.” 

Preparing for a new launch can add pressure. Vang also knows that some items are not going to be successful. It is a learning process for her as she gets to understand her buyers and what they like or dislike.  

“I try to do new launches when I’m not busy. I usually launch once a week, and if I can’t do once a week, I do three times a month,” Vang explains.  

The time and planning that goes into a business require ambition and effort. As a student and individual, it has challenged her in a new way to satisfy the needs of success and working alone. 

Dr. Grace Ambrose, a professor at the UW-Milwaukee Lubar Business of School, said that more young people are exploring the advantages of being self-employed.  

“By being your own boss, you have the power, the ability, the skills and confidence to make it happen,” Ambrose says. “The satisfaction from doing so far exceeds anything that can come from working for someone else. If successful, it can be very rewarding.” 

It has been almost two years since Typical Mels made its debut. Vang says her perspective has slightly altered as her audience continues to grow.  

“Back then I didn’t really look at quality because the business was more like a hobby. I didn’t try something out for a week, whereas now I want to make sure the product is good,” Vang says, “Now, I care more about the quality and what I’m giving out to people.” 

The process of improving was something Vang learned herself as she is her own boss. It’s not easy to see the flaws from the other side, but her success in doing so reflects her personal values as an individual.  

“To work in a team of one takes tremendous hard work, discipline and never giving up. If one door closes, try another,” Ambrose says.  

When in need of support, Vang turns to her mom for advice and support. 

Kiatoukaysy describes how supporting one another in each’s work furthers their bond. Their synergy can vitalize both since managing a business is a lot of work.  

“The pros of working together is that we can help support one another and bounce ideas off of each other. I can share things from my customers and vice versa,” Kiatoukaysy says.

Vang says the name of the business grew out of a discussion with her mother.

“When I started Typical Mels, I was super into jewelry and into butterflies. I wanted to name it Simply Dainty or Jewels by Mels. My mom was like, ‘No, you’re not going to name it that because you’re in a phase, and you’re going to want to do more than that.’ I was like what do I name it?” Vang says, “It’s so silly, but my Instagram name is Typical Mels. It’s been like that since I was 11.” 

They ultimately decided on Typical Mels once Kiatoukaysy suggested the name. It’s grown onto Vang ever since.

This year, Vang went back to school to study Human Resources to help her business expand, whether it’d be to do Typical Mels on the side or full-time.  Vang laughs as she says that Typical Mels has been more important than her midterms this week. 

“I do want to expand Typical Mels and make it bigger. I hope it can come to a point where it’s my first job, and it can support my family,” Vang says.  

Typical Mels is available online through its website (https://www.typicalmels.shop). You can find it on social media at @typical.mels on Instagram and @Typicalmels on Facebook.