We were lucky to catch up with Dorey Jacobs recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dorey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I wanted a name that highlighted who I was and the mission I had for the brand. A name that showcased a lifestyle that could evolve into multiple branches of the brand which aligns with the vision for the company.

My fiancé and I where on a road trip when I came up with the name. Talking shop is one of our favorite things to do as a couple. So, as we were bouncing ideas off of each other and discussing the brand Curator & Co. was born. It seems fitting that the name was thought of during a road trip because being on the road is how Curator & Co interacts with our customers as they visit our 1980 Shasta Trailer which was converted into a women’s boutique. Curator & Co. is a brand that helps you curate a life you love through experiences, development and finding items that bring you joy. A boutique that not only shares fabulous style but builds a community where all women can find something that makes them truly shine like the Queen they are. At Curator we stand for confidence through unique expression for you to have the audacity to believe and showcase your true self.

Dorey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am the owner of Curator & Co, a mobile & online boutique. I left the corporate world 8 months ago where I led over 100 stores across the US. I loved developing and teaching people how to run their business, however I want that to be on a larger scale. So, I bought and upgraded a boutique trailer and hit the road. If I was going to do it large scale, I had to take the leap and prove that I could do it on my own from the ground up.

My favorite part about what I do is having a place where ladies find us as the perfect girl’s day stop. Things that set me apart from other boutiques is how I showcase my brand. From the pretty pink trailer to the disco ball hanging outside, I don’t just have these things because they make it a trendy place to shop. There is a purpose around everything I do. Example of one of those things is the disco ball. It represents a magical ball of light. Made of hundreds of pieces of broken glass. I want my customers to know they are not broken they are a Disco Ball.

I am most proud of how my brand has inspired others. Its special seeing little girl’s faces light up when they visit the pink trailer. They play dress up with their barbies driving around in pink cars but seeing a large-scale version of a pink trailer full of all the frills, pink and sparkle a girl needs; this shows them their imagination can be real life. I have also made it a point to help other women start their businesses by coaching and teaching them from my experiences. Curator & Co is more than just a shop it is a lifestyle. I am proud that in just a short amount of time my brand is being recognized as a brand where women can have fun, connect and grow.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

To me the most effective way to expand my reach to new customers is truly valuing the ones I currently have. People love brands that they can resonate and feel connected with. I have made it a point of letting my customers truly know me because I am my brand.

I have many stories of how my connection with a customer connected me too more. One of my favorites is a customer who recently opened her own cupcake business and wants to have a trailer like mine one day for her own mobile bakery. I truly love seeing her each time she visits me at a market. She had a friend that lived near one of the markets I was going to be attending. She told her about me and my brand and how she had to come shop with me. Well, her friend was a producer for a major news station here in Houston. Once she looked up my website, she reached out to me and told me once she saw my brand, she had to have me do a live segment for the holidays. So, a few days before Christmas I had a whole segment where I showed last minute gift ideas and was able to talk about my brand. Before I even finished the segment, I had so many new orders and gained a large new group of followers. It truly was an amazing moment.

My advice to other business owners is to be your authentic best self and cherish each connection with your customers. Because those moments open doors to so many opportunities and give you the ability to meet so many amazing people.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Consistency of how I show up for my brand. Since the majority of my interactions are at markets where the trailer is set up for my customers to shop. It starts with the coordination with the vendors who put on the markets. I always establish a great relationship with my fellow colleagues putting these events on through my communications of understanding how they set up events and working with them to ensure my brand enhances their event. These events can be very time consuming and involve tons of moving parts and I make sure the host of the event finds us easy and fun to work with.

From there I set up and sometime its less than 3 hrs. However, I do not take shortcuts and make sure that the store is 100% set for the perfect girl’s day stop. To me if you’re at an event you better be prepared to showcase your best self. You will never find me on my phone sitting behind the counter when guests arrive in my shop. I have been at events with over 20,000 people and some with just 450 and I show up the exact same way no matter who or how many people there are.

Funny story. One event I went to had hardly anyone at it, however it was one of my best events. It was raining and we had a cold front come in. The location of the event was not the best for rainy weather. Let’s just say I mopped the trailer so much during that event I went through a whole box of wet Swiffer’s because the mud. I had several vendors come up to me and ask me how I was doing it. This was because they kept seeing everyone with my shopping bags. They said we watch you; you never stop moving. Tell us your secret. So, I told them I don’t half ass anything. If the customer is in the store, I make user they get the best experience, if the store has a moment of emptiness, I am fixing it for the next customer to have the same fabulous time. Yeah, the weather may be bad and maybe there are not thousands of people, but that does not matter. What matters is not letting that effect your outcome and showing up as if there is a line waiting out the door for people to shop with you.

Each person that visited me that day came back a few times because they had so much fun in the trailer. Which is why my first goal has been creating a space that becomes one of your favorite stops on your girl’s day. I tell people you can’t have a bad day when you visit a pink trailer with a disco ball hanging outside. I want everyone to feel inspired when shopping with me. The joy that it brings me to now have regular customers that follow me to different events is indescribable. I truly am having a blast and that is what has built my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://curator-co.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curator_and_co/

Image Credits
Sean Ennis