Interview - GoosieGirlBoutique - A story of Success!

I’m very excited today to present this interview with Heather McKenzie of GoosieGirlBoutique or Lestissusbows on Etsy.  Heather is a long time member of the Boutique Custom Community and has always been a bit of a mover and shaker - today she continues to forge her own path, embracing new technologies and social media avenues and continuing to build the strong customer relationships she is so well known and loved for.  Lets see if we can learn a bit more about GoosieGirlBoutique and the woman behind the success story. You can find out where you can shop for GoosieGirlBoutique at the end of the article - Heather is also currently aiming for 1000 members of her Facebook Fan Page - click here to go and join up now - wouldn’t it be great to help her get there!

1. What kinds of products can we find at Goosiegirlboutique?
Goosie Girl Boutique specializes in handmade couture costumes,
tutus, flip flops, and hair bows. We are the designer of theunique and
completely original Raggie Hair Bow; and we now sell instructions on
how to make them too!

2. How long have you been selling your handmade tutus and bows?
I’ve been in business for over 4 years.

3. You are known as a real mover in shaker in the boutique world - striving
to offer unique and exciting products, embracing new technology and social networking opportunities - can you tell give us a little insider scoop into the world of Goosiegirlboutique - what drives you, what are your aims?
Well, first of all, thank you for the compliments, that means a lot
coming from you. I love what I do, seeing little girls HAPPY in my
tutus or costumes, bows or flip flops give me such a couture high!
LOL!
I have a little personal saying, “a chicken in every pot and a tutu
on every girl” LOL…what I mean by that is, I want to share my
products with the WORLD. I not only want to support myself but if I
can grow the Goosie Girl label and have some of my creative and
talented friends and family members join me in this journey, I sooo
want to be able to do this!
We just added the crochet bodice tutu dresses this year and it’s been
very well received, I want to keep designing forever and stretching my
creative muscles. I thoroughly enjoy the people I have met (customers
as well as other designers) and if I can bring joy to more people in
this world with my tutus and costumes, then, so be it

4. You are one of the many well known brands that have made the shift from
Ebay to Etsy and your own website - can you tell us what prompted this move.
The fees ebay were charging were becoming ridiculous, and it made it
nearly impossible to be a profitable business. I loved the “community”
feel of Etsy. It’s an eclectic, artsy community with buyers that
truly appreciate and support the handmade movement. Buyers on Etsy
understand what goes into a one-of-a-kind, or unique product and they
appreciate the time , sweat and sometimes tears that go into each
creation. I put my whole heart and soul into my products, and I think
buyers have appreciated that more in the Etsy and non-Ebay realm. To
be honest, the majority of buyers on ebay (in my personal experiences)
were looking for a bargain, and it just wasn’t profitable any longer
to stay. I wanted to be the master of my own destiny, and it was a
very pro-active solution to leave ebay. I’m not totally opposed to
doing an occasional guest launch however.

5. How about a bit of boutique history - can you remember the first thing
you ever sold? When you first started on Ebay who were the big names, the big groups?
Yes, the first handmade item I ever made was a raggie hair bow for a
pop warner football cheer squad (red, white, blue and silver!) when
people saw them I was FLOODED with requests for more, and it all
blossomed from there. I remember being wow-ed at that time by
VintageDuck and Winipoo, as well as Debbie of Bridget and Company and
Patrice of Mama Patrice, both of whom are my dear friends now! The
exclusive groups at that time were LilyPlum and GalleryBay. That was
right around the time that 2 friends and I founded Adagio Bleu Studios
(which is still going strong on Etsy to this day!) we’re a
collective of very talented indie designers.

6. How has the world of boutique custom changed do you think?
In my opinion, group “status” and involvement is definitely now what
it once was. Back in the “hey day” of custom boutique, it was all
about WHO you knew, and what GROUP you were in. The prices you
commanded were based largely on your affiliations, nowadays, this is
not as true as it once was. I think buyers are more savvy these days
as well, they know what to look for as far as quality and workmanship
goes~they won’t just assume you are a quality designer if you’re in a
recognizable group.

A huge paradigm shift in the area of boutique which I have embraced is
that many designers, while trying to improve the appearance of their
design listings on ebay & etsy, with better quality photographs have
discovered their love of photography and the lucrative market that is
available for this type of service and product. Many of my clients now
are designers-turned-photographers whom I have known over the years.

7. This must be a peak tutu season with Halloween just around the corner -
how many tutus and other things would you make a week?
Oh boy, it is absolutely CRAZY right now (no complaints whatsoever!) A
friend of mine has just started helping me make tutus and costumes
during the busy season, and we’ve been making up to 30 tutus and
costumes a week! We are also gearing up for a local Halloween Trunk
Show (chicagoland) so we’re trying to design and make as many costumes
and tutus as we can so they will be available for purchase at the
show. (we’ll also offer specials online for those who aren’t local)

8. How do you organize your day being a work at home mom?
I’m very blessed in the way of having a mom who helps me A LOT with my
kids. Last year, I had three kids in three different schools and it
was very hard, this year it’s a little easier as one child is now
taking the bus to and from school. My GOLDEN tip for work at home moms
is this……GET A CROCK POT! My crock pot is my very best friend, if
I waited until 5:00 everyday to make dinner, we’d NEVER eat! I’d also
reccomend getting your own dedicated work space/office/studio away
from all the hustle and bustle of the daily household activity. Try
and make it as much like a “real” job as you can, set business hours
and don’t let yourself get distracted or interrupted.

9. You have a very active and successful Facebook Fan page - I remember
that you didn’t start it all that long ago - have you got any tips for
building up your Facebook Page? Do you recommend Facebook Fan pages as a
marketing tool for other boutique sellers.
Yes, I’d highly recommend it. My facebook fan page is one of the BEST
things I have ever done for my business. It’s the most awesome way to
stay in touch with people who like my work. I give sneak peeks of
items I’m working on, tidbits of news about Goosie Girl and even have
special contests and promotions just for fans/followers. I think my
fan page is the reason we are SO busy this Halloween!

10 . You are currently aiming for 1000 fans and are almost there.  This is Boutique readers - pop on over now and join up Heather’s Facebook Fan Page - its not only a great page but you can share in a tonne of special offers like Free shipping for facebook fans thru 9/16.  Click here to join.

To snag one of GoosieGirlBoutique’s fab tutus you can visit GoosieGirlboutique on Etsy, selling as Lestissusbows , the GoosieGirlBoutique Website and of course dont’ forget the Goosiegirlboutique Fan Page.

 Powered by Max Banner Ads