We were lucky to catch up with Gloriana Thompson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gloriana, thanks for joining us today. Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed

Owning a business comes with a million failures, that later on turn into lessons. When I launched Shop Dulce I wanted to make sure EVERY woman could shop here and get something to make them feel beautiful. This sounds great – right? Well, turns out I am not pizza, and I cannot make every woman happy (lol). One of the failures I dealt with at the beginning was learning who my customers were. I remember ordering a little bit of every style I could think of, with the thought that everyone could shop here. This lead to a lot of styles I personally would not wear, and neither did most of my customers. I was shocked because in my head, this was a great idea and it was a failure. This is when I learned the importance of truly knowing WHO you are catering to, and what your ideal customer is.

It was super disappointing in the beginning, but I quickly recovered and learned what my chicas wanted to wear from Shop Dulce! Once I reached this point, it turned out to be one of best failures that could have happened to me.

Gloriana, 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?

My name is Gloriana and I am the owner of Shop Dulce. I am a latina, wife, mother, full time corporate worker and proud small business owner.

I have always loved to shop and LOVE a good outfit! During the lockdown, I was feeling uninspired and needed something to cheer me & others up. It was with this passion in mind, that I decided to launch Shop Dulce out of our home in the Dallas area. One of the problems that I saw in this industry was the high price tags for items I knew could be a lot more affordable. I decided then that Shop Dulce would provide quality items, at affordable prices and free shipping, always! And so far, it has worked out better than I could have dreamed of.

All of the pieces at Shop Dulce are items you can wear multiple times, and make a few outfits out of. Sustainable fashion is important to me, I hate it when you buy 1 item and can only wear it 1 way. I want women to feel empowered, feel beautiful without the remorse of spending too much and be able to treat themselves more often than not ;)

I want all my chicas to know that we do a little dance (literally) every time an order comes in! We love packing your orders with love, and my son (8) is SO proud to pack some of them. It is the best feeling and makes the sacrifices and hard work all worth it!

I cant wait to see you in your Shop Dulce!

XO- Glo

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

The best customer, is a repeat customer! I knew from the start I wanted to ensure I had multiple ways to connect with my customer. One of my favorite methods is through SMS alerts. We all get excited when we get a text or a notification, so I knew I needed to have a text service for my customer.

I made the sign up enticing with a code for their first purchase. They are also my VIPs and I let them know of any sales, new arrivals and specials first before posting on any social media. It has worked out great and the best part, is that they know when they receive a text from Shop Dulce, its always something worth looking at.

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

People don’t know your business exists, until you talk about your business. I used to be very shy about it and would rarely share that I owned a boutique. Once I started to share that I owned a boutique, people started to shop online and sharing the website with their friends! I now carry business cards with QR codes at all times, and share them with everyone I can!

It has been one of the best sources for new clients, besides social media. 10/10 recommend!

Contact Info:

• Website: shopdulce.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopdulce.tx/
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/shopdulce.tx
• Other: SMS sign up https://pscr.pt/2Gkq14