We recently connected with Rasheka Lue Foung and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rasheka, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I remember freshman year of undergrad I sat in my room watching movies all day, and I remember one scene in ‘Finding Nemo’ when Dory and Marlin are staring into an abyss, and when they enter they’re completely taken over by the darkness. The name ‘Abyss’ kind of stuck with me and over time the meaning of it slowly changed based on things I’ve learned about myself, my past and my future.

I’ve personally battled depression since I was a kid, and growing up a masculine presenting lesbian woman in a Caribbean household was hell, to say the very least. I didn’t have the opportunity to explore my identity, or even figure out what I wanted to do in my life, and as a result I put on the costume of whatever identity my family gave me. I was forced to wear clothes that made me uncomfortable and the only escape I found was when I played basketball in high school. As I got older, I began to break free and I could see they realized there was no holding me back. However, I was a college student who was still trying to find the core of themself.

So “Abyss” to me is the non-stop fight to get of the darkness of depression that is an abyss, but also to create a welcoming aesthetic that promotes all body types and genders and is inclusive of all sizes.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Rae, I’m currently a graduate student studying forensic accounting and I entered into the fashion industry my sophomore year of college when the Pandemic first started and the country went into lock down. I sell streetwear which leans more towards athleisure. I provide clothing that is inclusive of all genders, shapes, and sizes, and my goal is to provide fashionable clothing that anyone can feel confident and comfortable in. I’m most proud of how far I’ve come with what little I’ve started with, I remember when the only people who shopped with me and knew about my brand was family and friends, and now I get orders from all over the world and my customers almost always reach out to me about how they appreciated the wide selection of sizes as well as the quality of their purchased products.

I’d like my future followers/customers to know that my brand is different from others when it comes to quality. Many brands make the mistake of over-charging for the laziest designs, I want my brand to be accessible to all and still have a great quality and even better designs for a fraction of what others charge. Many of customers have told me I’m underselling myself, but I never planned on overcharging for anything, because my business is more than just money/profit, I’d like to build a strong community and maintain our values.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building my followers has probably been my most difficult challenge, and it takes a lot of strategy to become successful on certain platforms. Now prior to 2022, gaining attention and followers via TikTok was easy, however they’ve since made creators have to work harder for each and every view. When it comes to TikTok, it’s important that you build a community around your brand, talk to your viewers about anything, show them your day to day, how you pack orders, etc. Think of it as building a relationship. Create content that is highly interactive, or even controversial, topics that will drive viewers to go straight to the comment section. Compared to Instagram, I’ve built my TikTok following much faster than I have on Instagram.

Instagram is trickier because they in a sense force you to pay for ads. Reels definitely aid you in building your views and followers but it still won’t have a big impact especially if your content is not highly engaging. When it comes to Instagram if you’re trying to avoid paying for ads, be sure that your profile is aesthetically pleasing, has a common color scheme/layout, and provides plenty of information and pictures for your business. One of the biggest things is UGC (User generated content), post pictures/videos of your customers using your product/service or their review on it. Lastly, Brand Ambassadors can help your business grow as well, if you find a small influencer that caters to your target audience it can help expose your business even more. My brand ambassadors have definitely aided me in helping my brand grow.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell on my own site via Shopify, and I personally like Shopify because it has a plethora of tools and resources to aid your business and help you grow. First off, it has many free/paid templates to help you design your website and personalize it. It provides different add-ins such as SMS marketing, Email marketing, advertisements, and so much more. You even have ‘Shopify Capital’ and this is where Shopify will loan you money for your business based on it’s performance and when it’s time to pay them back it will just take a % of sales until it is paid off. The platform even provides resources on growing clientele, funding your business, and much more. Lastly, one of my favorite things about Shopify is that you can even get a business card for free, and all sales will automatically be transferred over to it so that you can separate your business/personal accounts.

I can’t think of many cons for this platform because I personally believe it’s one of the best platforms for small business owners.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.abyssthebrand.com
• Instagram: @abyssthebrand
• Facebook: @abyssthebrand
• Twitter: @abyssthebrand
• Youtube: Abyss the Brand

Image Credits
Jaha Knight :@Heshimavisions @Heshimaxjk Londa Crafton: @Prepossessing Mia Trapp: @authentic_trapp