We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Morgan Phillips a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Morgan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Growing up in Central Pennsylvania, western fashion was hard to find, but mid to plus size western fashion was even harder. The closest western store was over an hour away and it was more made for horse or farm girls, not for girls who love experimenting with trendy western. I knew that if I wanted to dress that way, I would either have to buy online or get it myself. So..that’s what I did. I saw a need in the market and I had the knowledge and skills after attending college for business to fulfill it. With some Google and Youtube searches, 2 weeks after making the decision, The Backroad Babe was up and running. After posting a few Tiktoks I started to gain some traction and really create a community of girls that struggled to find cute, mid to plus size, trendy western clothing. 6 months later and we made over 6-figures. With growing support, we’ve been able to be in business almost 3 years now.
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 Morgan Phillips and I’m 26 years old. I grew up in Central Pennsylvania, right near Hershey. I was raised on 10 acres with horses and goats. Growing up, I went to line dancing bars since I was a baby in a basket, rodeos, etc. I was a part of the western industry before I could talk. Growing up, I got as far away from it as possible, ended up going to a college in a major city (Philadelphia), and realized I was so homesick. I got home and started getting back into what I was raised around. A few months later, I started The Backroad Babe, an online western fashion store catering to mid and plus size women. It took off and grew to 6 figures in 6 months. Now, 2 and a half years later, I’m living in Texas and married to my husband, living on an 11 acre ranch with horses, cattle, pigs, dogs, chickens, etc. It’s crazy how life comes full circle!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Going through Covid times, we saw unexpected growth and people were ready to buy! On the backside of covid now, with the expectation we’re going into a recession, things have changed. People are starting to be more conscious what their hard earned dollars are going to and less care-free with their money. It’s important to find WHAT people will still spend money on. As a women’s focused boutique, I’ve found that one thing they will spend their money on is their kids. It only made sense that I create a sister brand, The Backroad Baby, to make up for the money women stopped spending on themselves. We will see how this pans out and which category really takes off when we are post-recession.
How did you build your audience on social media?
There are two ways I’ve found to be successful in growing my social media platforms. The first part of this is being yourself and attracting a natural audience drawl to people who connect with you and feel like ya’ll would be friends in real life. The second part is to not be afraid to post things that draw a reaction out of people. When you study the algorithm’s, the more likes, comments, saves, etc you get on a post, the better it will do. You need something that makes your audience engage to get on the for you pages or explore pages, depending which platform. From there, you can grow organically, without spending money. The other option is paid ads, but I feel like there’s way more ROI in organic growth. 
Contact Info:
- Website: thebackroadbabe.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/thebackroadbabe
- Facebook: facebook.com/thebackroadbabe
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJIk93B14pylr6YsXTow3Pw
Image Credits
Tea Ceresini Photography