Eleanora Grace~Fashion Boutique

What do you do when you wake up one morning to an email that reads: "Hello,   My name is Alyssa Paolillo, and I am from North Haven, CT . Ever since I came across your clothing  I have been interested in  branding  on behalf of your company. I would be happy to participate in social media activities in hopes to grow your brand." ???  Well, you can either sit there with your mouth wide open and wonder why someone would want to contact you or you can jump up and down and KNOW why someone would want to contact you!!  We knew why someone would want to contact us.  Even though we are a slow moving Boutique, a slow going brand, we know we have something here.  We know what we are doing is right.  Alyssa sees that in us too.  And that is an amazing feeling.  I love that she is a newer fashion blogger.  She's really only been at this for a couple of months.  She has an amazing following and has helped other boutiques already just by wearing their clothing. How easy is that?

How does one decide the direction that your new boutique is supposed to go in?  Do you go in the direction of every boutique? Do you choose the same types of clothing that everyone else has, just a different way of showing them? Do you offer new styles in a different atmosphere?  Grrrr, I can't even BEGIN to tell you how frustrating it is!  But, I guess I'm going to, because after all, that's what this post is all about. So, let's start out with Option 1.  Doing what everyone else is doing.  Well if you know me personally, you  know that's not who I am.  I normally don't run with the crowd.  I don't like to do what everyone else does.  However, in this situation, you kind of have to start there.  You have to start where the customers are happy. You have to give them what they know.  And in a situation like this, with so much different clothing options out there,  I HATED this option.   Option #2. Giving the customers the same old thing in a different

The money.  Now, I'm not talking about the money that we are making.  Because let me tell you, being new in this business, its literally nothing.  Yes, NOTHING.  I'm talking about getting the money to start this business.  Have you ever thought about where people got the money to start up their own business?  Whether it be a restaurant, bar, brick 'n' mortar boutique, or just an online boutique?  Well, I have.  And I can tell you, so have a lot of other people.  I can also tell you that my sister and I have come from nothing when it comes to this business.  Let me go into how my sister and I started. As I mentioned in the very first post, my sister and I were in love with LuLaRoe.  Loved everything about them.  The leggings, the Carly's the Randy's, pretty much everything.  We talked daily about it. We owned it all.  We were in LuLa heaven.  As I also stated in the very first post, we had talked about opening up our own LuLa boutique.  (That's how

What if I told you that we asked ourselves that over and over again.  Like most business owners.  Like most people who open any sort of business.  Well, actually, we didn't.  We just opened.  I just decided to do it and open.  It was a no brainer really.  Who doesn't want to sit at home and play with clothes, right?  Wrong.... I guess I personally didn't take into consideration the amount of time, energy, and money it took to open a boutique,  I KNEW how much it took but I guess I can say I didn't really KNOW .  Between buying the clothing, the materials, and then just putting in the energy itself, I don't think that anyone ever really knows what to expect until they've done it. You can research what you need.  You can ask your questions of fellow owners.  You can get your business loans (or if you're lucky, not). If you want my honest opinion, open.  If it's your dream and it's your goal, GO FOR IT.  Nothing should ever hold you back from