We recently connected with Tracey Mertens and have shared our conversation below.

Tracey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

By nature I am not a risk taker and have lived my life very conservatively. Looking back I wish I would have taken more risks and not been afraid to fail. The biggest risk I have taken is the opening of my storefront boutique during Covid of all times. What made me decide to be such a risk taker? My age! I have always wanted to own my own boutique and after being in direct sales and owning an online boutique for over 25 years my direct sales experience actually gave me the confidence to take the leap of faith. I did this at 58! One advantage of this is that I have no children at home. However, I still work my full time job remotely in addition to owning my boutique which is exhausting. Why you ask? I have not been able to replace my salary yet and I need the health insurance and benefits. So I will do this as long as I can and enjoy it having fulfilled a dream on my bucket list.

Tracey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I live in St. Louis, Missouri, am married with a son and daughter both grown. I have been in direct sales for over 25 years while I work full time at the local university full time. I figured out recently that this is how I’ve been satisfying my creative side all this time as I have a very analytical job. We love to travel, visit wineries, and get together with friends. In my current business I provide personal and styling services to customers and to help them look their best and to help them step out of their comfort zones and try fashions that flatter their individual shape and style. I offer sip’n shops after hours so customers can have an exclusive shopping night with their friends as well as other events throughout the year.
I also offer The Body Shop at Home products and offer events such as facials, holiday gifting parties, etc…
I am most proud of being willing to take a risk and trying something new instead of always playing it safe and wondering what could have been.
I offer sizes and on trend styles for women of all ages and sizes and I will give you that personal attention you need so you find just the perfect styles to make you feel and look beautiful!

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

I am the first to admit that I am not the most savvy at social media. I am more comfortable with facebook than Instagram. Early on when I opened my storefront I realized #1 I didn’t have the time to keep up with social media and managing the store so I hired someone to manage my Instagram as it wasn’t growing anyway with what little I was able to do and with limited knowledge. I have learned that it becomes necessary to delegate even if you need to pay someone for those things you aren’t as good at or don’t have time to do well. She has grown my IG following over three-fold since she started almost a year ago. The key is consistency and even tho I have someone managing my IG I try to go live myself periodically so people know that it is a real business and I am the owner and a real person they can connect to.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

My storefront is in a great location which is very walkable and with many coffee shops and restaurants. I am also the ONLY boutique in the area. We have alot of foot traffic which is needed for a new business. Also people do come in saying they saw my posts on IG.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fmnboutique.com
• Instagram: @forgetmenotboutiquestl
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/fmnclothingboutique/