Over the past year, I've been asked countless times about how Bliss was started and about any advice I could give about starting an online/traveling boutique. So, I thought I'd start out the New year with a blog about my business, Bliss. :)
Bliss is a part-time "hobby" for me. I work full-time at the University of Hawaii Center on the Family's Learning to Grow project as a Project Specialist working in Early Childhood. I am also a very busy mom to two amazing boys. So, I need to constantly find the balance between all of my competing interests and need to know where my priorities must be on any given day.
I still remember the day in 2009 when I purchased my domain name and web hosting service. I felt nauseous the whole day! The new challenge of diving into this business even with an already demanding schedule exhilirated me in the months (yes, only months) prior, but suddenly I was sick to my stomach with fear and doubt, and even a little guilt. I couldn't believe that I was taking on this huge, kinda crazy venture. :)
I am so grateful that I didn't turn back on that day. Bliss has been one of the most amazing journeys of my life. I've met and worked with some of the most talented and beautiful women on this island. I've experienced and overcome huge, seemingly insurmountable challenges and seen Bliss do things I never dreamt we would do. I've seen what can happen when you chase your dreams.
The business of Bliss consists of a buying department, a sales and marketing department, and a receiving and shipping warehouse. ALL run out of a room in my home...more accurately from one hugely multi-tasking desk! :) Ha ha.
The most time consuming process is the buying. Everyone thinks this is the easiest and most fun part, but really it's the hardest. In the beginning, I bought only things that I liked. Thankfully, many of my customers and I do share very similar tastes (as this is still primarily what I do), but I have also learned about my customer throughout the years. I've learned what type of styles and fabrics they like and what type of colors they DO NOT like. Obviously, every boutique has a different customer so this will need to be learned only through experience. But, the interesting thing is as much as Bliss has evolved, our "customer" has stayed fairly consistent.
I also try to research the current season online and through countless fashion magazines. I love looking through fashion magazines for inspiration. Every season, I tear out inspiration pieces and tack it to my "inspiration board" (seen in the photo below.) But as you can see, I have no inspiration now. lol! (Actually, I just cleared out the board to ready it for the next expo collection.)
I am very lucky to have a volunteer fashion advisory board consisting of 5 fashionable women; Angela Choy, Lori Furoyama, Lana Nakamura, Tina Koike, and Leah Fukuyama. They guide most of the purchase decisions for the seasonal collections that Bliss carries.
Here is about a third of my multi-tasking desk. (Hey, I'm a huge multi-tasker, so my desk has to be too!) When the clothing arrives to my doorstep, I unload, unwrap, and inspect the clothes before hanging and tagging. Finally, I upload the items to my website, write descriptions, input inventory, and calculate a retail price.
When an order is placed, pieces are pulled, folded, and packaged for delivery. I try really hard to get every order out to the post office as soon as possible, most times it leaves the day after the order is placed (sometimes the same day) and because I only use priority mail, it usually arrives to my customer's doorstep the day after it is mailed. It's not pretty, but here's my shipping department (under my desk).
The remainder of my time is spent in developing sales and promotions, updating social media and sending out e-blasts, strategizing PR with my PR guru (and sister) Denise Park, working with photographers, models, and make up artists for an upcoming photo shoot or fashion show, and planning and prepping for the next expo. It's an exciting, fast paced, and always dynamic world and if you have dreamed about owning a boutique, having an online/traveling one is a great way to start. If you are passionate about fashion and are willing to work really hard, take some scary risks, and be patient about the money making part (lol!), I encourge you to do it!
Good luck to each of you as you chase your dreams this year!
