https://crystlinsboutiquellc.com
Business Name and what it does, Founder’s/Owner’s story and what motivated them to start the business
Crystlin’s Boutique, LLC is a Minority owned online sales Boutique, based in Texas, that sells Women’s Clothing, Jewelry and Accessories and is slowly starting to add additional clothing items such as clothing for infants and toddlers. The store was founded by me Crystal Barker who is the founder and Owner of the boutique, it was founded in 2019 because I needed to add extra money, to what I was already earning through my Corporate job due to the pandemic-2020 and now inflation, I came up with the name Crystlin because everyone has an angel that guides them and for many years that has been the name, I have been calling her, I also have a blue parakeet that I have named Crystlin as well. I was already selling online on the website Postmark, and was doing pretty good in which I am still selling there, and since selling seemed to be my niche, I decided to turn it in to an LLC, I already had the website, but to make it official and through the Boutique training I am currently still in, that was a suggestion that was given to show that my business is legit, and so that people can see that I am serious and passionate about what I am doing. I was very surprised as it did not take very long to get my LLc documents, the state of Texas is one of a few states in which you are able to turn your dream into reality, they love to see individuals thrive because that means added jobs, so I became an LLC in Apr 2022
The challenges the business/market is facing
There are a lot of challenges that come with selling online and not a brick-and-mortar store which one is getting noticed, meaning advertising, it is important to set a budget in which I do, I do have a constant flow of traffic, in which I use websites such as Upwork, to purchase them, and that is only at this point I am building my brand in order to get noticed, to get the right set of traffic on to my page. Another challenge right now is since I kind of cater to woman it is finding the right product that the right person is going to like and decide to purchase, so changing this and changing to sell to everyone, I believe will help in bringing a different set of website traffic, such as men, and also woman with children. Also, since we are coming out of a pandemic and hitting inflation not everyone is wanting to buy anything right now, unless it is for a Special Occasion, I am sure that my website has been written down for when the person is ready to purchase. Also, getting funding, when I started my LLC, I did not do my homework and thought that I could just apply for funds to help my business grow to get the inventory and to stay up and running, I was wrong, a lot of the banks and Credit Unions will only provide any funding until you are 3-6 months in business, and finding the right business credit card is hard as well, you have to read the fine print. Also, what I learned is that you need to have a business bank account to get any funding from these said banks, there are a lot of great business YouTube channels that I watched to get the help with knowing where to go to get help with funding and also if I needed help in how to get more sells online. Pricing your product- to be competitive in e-commerce your prices have to be just right, but you don’t want to price them so low that you don’t make much of profit, that is where the boutique training and classes come in because I as I have learned even though you can’t change the prices that you already have, and you shouldn’t, you can learn to set the prices for all of your future products that you add later
The opportunities the business/market is facing
There are a lot of opportunities that have came my way as of recently, which is companies wanting me to share my website to get more traffic, to manufactures/ wholesalers contacting me, for me to sell their clothing on my website, which is the infant clothing website. I never give up an opportunity to seek help in which I have gotten assistance from other boutique owners, signing up for their courses to make sure that I am doing the right thing and taking the rights steps with my boutique, like right now I have signed up for Ecom-Start Academy with the owner of Knitted Belle LLC and her courses have helped a lot she also does podcasts as well. And since my website is with Shopify I have received messages from shopify experts who have contacted me in wanting to help me with my SEO challenges, so that I can get seen more, I have been trying to do this on my own, before getting any help. I never pass up the chance to learn my craft, when there is a chance to do so, like right now I am learning how to do live sales, it’s a little nerve wrecking because I have never been on camera before but it’s a work in progress, and another thing im doing is learning how to do YouTube videos to build my brand as well, so the other opportunities that I came to be is learning new ways to advertise the business, clothing, hats, etc
Advice to others about business
My advice to others would be is that you are not alone there are a lot of individuals men and woman alike that are out there trying to open up a boutique, or some other type of online business, and with time if you have the opportunity, seek the help, do the research, it may seem tough in the beginning, take up every opportunity that comes your way only if it seems legit of course, because some may not be, I suggest googling the business first, also check where the email is coming from, if it is to good to be true don’t take it, delete the email and move on to the next. It is ok to vet who wants to do business with you, there are scammers out there, schedule appointments when you know you have the time to listen to the persons pitch, they contacted you as long as they have been vetted by you or someone else who is assisting you its ok. Another piece of advice is to be willing to take criticism about your website and other things, the individuals who are trying to help have been where you are at and had to learn just like you. also, if it’s not in your budget its just not in the budget for the month, if you have already set it up do not break the bank, in the beginning, you will be able to when you make the real money. I also learned that although advertising online is the in thing never pass up the chance to advertise the old school way, meaning direct marketing, postcard mailers, your vehicle and car decal does not hurt a thing. If you purchase a list make sure it’s a list with addresses not just emails, and it is targeted because you don’t want to get a list of individuals who in my case do not really like to shop, set goals for yourself on a calendar, of what you want to do each week, or set it up monthly, I have a big planner, that I write everything down in, I also have set a 5-10 year plan, as I drive I see where there is retail space available and I come home and look those places up, it may not be available when it is time for me to get a space, but what I am doing in the long run is planning out what I want in the future which is a brick and mortar location if you believe it then you can achieve it. Finally, in closing I will say this, your biggest supporters are the family members and friends that are close to you, for example, my S/O just came out and suggested that I needed to sell additional clothing on my website not women’s clothing buy men’s and he advised on what he thought would sell, I may not being selling men’s clothing now, why because it is not in my budget but later on In the year I will because he gave me that great suggestion, don’t be afraid to change something due to a few suggestions from anyone, you don’t have to do right then and there, but you can write it down for later and come back to it, don’t let anyone discourage you from what you want to do
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