Today we’d like to introduce you to Karnecia Hall
Hi Karnecia , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started K Monae’s in 2020. I wanted to do something that I loved and only was for me. At the time I was a stay-at-home mom, my husband was just starting truck driving school, and all my time was spent with the kids. I didn’t have an outlet to myself. One night talking to my best friend she told me to consider doing something that I loved to do. I told her I loved shoes and accessories. I started researching everything about a boutique owner and began a game plan. Shopify gave a 30-day trial. I came up with a name blazzin-heelz-boutique. After telling my best friend we considered changing the name to my name K (Karnecia) Monae’s (Mone’t). I didn’t like the way my actual name looked on a logo, so I changed the spelling. After that I started building a website. Not knowing what to do I spent long days and nights creating something which I thought was perfect. I didn’t have any money to start so I began researching drop shipping. I liked the idea but as them went on all of my packages were delayed. This was the same time as COVID so it took my customers months to get their items. Luckly, they were most from people I knew so they were very understanding. I started joining pop-up shops but noticed that I didn’t have enough product on hand, so I had to come up with another game plan. in July of 2020, I started reaching out to vendors and began purchasing items little by little. Now I currently own a small boutique in Birmingham AL.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course nothing is easy to say the least. My journey with the business is just like anything else, it has it’s up and downs but K Monae’s is my baby. I have struggled with finding my target audience, purchasing items of what I like vs what the people want and scaling. Sometimes trying to find your target audience is hard in the boutique industry because the styles are always changing. You have keep up with the newest trends. When I first started, I thought everyone liked the same thing as me but in reality, they didn’t. I learned that one fast. When purchasing inventory, I had to take myself out of the equation and remember what was trending. Scaling is still hard because you don’t want to be too expensive but want to make some profit off the items. As a business owner you have to buy quality products to keep your customers coming back.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
K Monae’s is a luxury shoe boutique. We take pride in in everything we do. We value our customers and their feedback. We are known for having exclusive items that the other shoe places in Birmingham don’t have. We are most proud of the relationship we have with our customers. We listen, take constructive feedback, and make every shopping experience personable. This season we will be looking for designers to collaborate with for prom, weddings and possible wholesale to other small businesses that want a vendor close to them. We have also extended to fashion shows and designer events. Which have been a lot of help for brand awareness and letting people know we are here right in their city
What’s next?
Our newest advancement will be looking for an actual store front location. It’s currently still in the works. With God’s grace it’s coming soon. Stay tuned for any updates in regard to the new location and grand opening. By the beginning of 2025 we will have a new location giving a luxury shoe experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kmonaes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kmonaes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopkmonaes
