We were lucky to catch up with Alice Hernandez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alice, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

When I started Happy Girl Shop it was really a place I wanted to use to create items that would bring people joy and spread a message of positivity. I truly believe that every day can be a failure or success, but it’s all up to you and how you keep your mindset.

My mission at Happy Girl is to create jewelry that is meaningful and that reminds people to be joyful, mindful and spread good vibes to others.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started Happy Girl Shop in 2019 with a completely different product, it was a very slow start for me, so I decided to add a new product to see if it would expand my business a little more. That product was my bracelets. I really put a lot of thought into our first line of gemstone bracelets. I really curated stones and charms that customers would want to wear every day and that were meaningful to them. I started wearing gemstones at a very young age so I already had a passion for my gemstone jewelry. I decided to work with semi precious stones because I myself loved to own jewelry pieces that had meaning, and I could share that meaning with others. I love making a connection with my customers when they’re buying their jewelry, it’s what drives me to continue doing what I do.

After, that first line of bracelets sold out, I knew I wanted to continue in this direction. My passion for meaningful jewelry really drove me to continue creating small batch pieces for my customers and offer custom pieces as well. I now get to create special pieces, trendier pieces and I get to connect with different types of clients. Jewelry is personal for some and just pure fun for others and I love that I can create for both types of customers.

I specialize in my gemstone bracelets, they are my favorite pieces to create, but I have done custom jewelry for Bridal parties, bachelorette parties, wedding parties, first communion celebrations, etc… that include bracelets, necklaces, and earrings as well.

As of January of this year I also chose some select pieces from the shop to be offered to retailers for wholesale. When it comes to jewelry I think what has been most successful is maintaining quality and consistency, creating and maintaining connections with people in the jewelry industry and the small business community.

Have you ever had to pivot?

At the start of my business I had already experienced a couple life changes such as: having a child, and losing my job withing the same year. Those were things that really shaped me and made me think carefully what I wanted my next step to be in life. I knew I always wanted to start my own business. I have my bachelors in business administration/management so for me this was the obvious next step.

When I started, I had one product and it was taking forever to take off, and I thought the solution was to add more products. I didn’t ever think to switch and niche down, but when I switched to jewelry, I decided to stay in that lane and not try to do too many things at once.

To pivot early on in my business to a new product was difficult, but time really showed that its better to niche down and maintain consistency.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

When I first started my business I had already lost my job, so I really didnt have the capital to start something big. I took a certain amount that I had, and I bought supplies and built from there. The hardest part for me was the pricing…once I learned that I felt like I hadn’t wasted my money and my time. I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pricing is a delicate process, but if you can get it right, then you’re doing good.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thehappygirlshop.com/
• Instagram: @happy.girl_shop
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happygirlapparel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-hernandez-4796a217b/
• Twitter: @happygirl_shop
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLg3MKm7JJbt3oXUi25jiFA