We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amy Gonzalez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy , thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

How do you define success? Success is different, depending on the person. Your reason for starting a business may differ from someone else’s. I know I always go back to what motivated me to take the entrepreneur leap. I feel I have successfully faced challenges and as a result, I have found skills and strengths I didn’t think I had, these are definitely aspects of personal success to me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, I am the proud founder, owner, and certified sex educator at Love Shack Boutique in San Antonio, Texas. I have been living the entrepreneur dream for 20 years. I was attending college at The University of Texas-San Antonio and working a full-time job, when I decided to help supplement my income by doing fun home parties. These parties were like Mary Kay/Pampered Chef home parties. I would educate and sell products, except instead of selling makeup or kitchen supplies. I would sell romantic bedroom accessories. I really enjoyed doing the home parties, while selling fun and exciting products and earning good pay at the same time. When I did the home parties I would always hear the same thing from my customers- If I had a retail store here in San Antonio? Because the way I presented it made it so comfortable to shop for these intimate products. I went to every store that was located in San Antonio and didn’t get that warm, welcoming, friendly vibe (lol). I knew I could do better and create a nice upscale shopping experience unlike anything else in San Antonio. So after doing home parties part-time and working a full-time job for 11 years, I decided to take the leap and literally quit my day job. I opened up Love Shack Boutique in 2012, and has been the best decision I ever made! Love Shack Boutique has won numerous awards: Winning both The San Antonio Express-News & The SA Flavor Best Fiesta Medal for 2015 and 2016. We were honored by The University of Texas-San Antonio Business Development Center, as a Small Business Leader in the areas of job creation and business development. We have received Gold Certification from ReWorks SA for our recycling efforts. I was honored by receiving the Inspiration Award from The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at their Annual Women’s Awards Luncheon “Making a Mark on the World” – Women who Inspire, Innovate and Impact the World Around Us. The most exciting award we have received is being voted as the # 1 Adult Store by The San Antonio Current’s Best of San Antonio, for the past nine years in a row. This high honor is thrilling and humbling because it was made possible by my great employees, and especially, our fantastic and supportive customers. Without our customers, my business would NOT exist.
In 2018, I expanded my store and build an event center. In our event center, we offer monthly educational classes and workshops taught by licensed sex therapists and certified sex educators, we also host events and private parties. Just like the home parties but now we are a one-stop shop where individuals can have fun, learn and shop in a comfortable and upscale location.
In 2022, I took another leap and opened a second location. It is located in the far northwest side of San Antonio-10038 Potranco Road. I am opened the Summer of 2022, we are now sharing our sex-positive, classy ambiance and excellent customer service with everyone at two locations. We are serving both communities with a wide variety of unique, enriching and exclusive merchandise.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The struggle is real. I think any business owner can relate to having to deal with obstacles and challenges, It’s all in how you handle them, I have been told no countless times. No, we cannot lend you money, no, we do not want your business in our shopping center. No, we do not want to accept your donation for our non-profit organization. Yes, believe it or not, I have been told no by a couple of local non-profit organizations that they do NOT want my donation because of the kind of business I have. There is still a stigma associated with discussing sexuality. But on the flip side, I and my store are all about promoting sex positivity. Every day we get new customers that fall in love with our store and our mission. I have always stayed positive, I have been told a lot of no’s, but I have had several yeses’ too! And my small business survived 2020! So bottom line I think I can overcome any obstacle.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The Love Shack Boutique is a woman-owned and locally operated erotic boutique. We are a premier intimacy enhancing retailer committed to offering unique, enriching, and exclusive merchandise to our guests. We encourage exploration of sexual health and wellness. Here at Love Shack Boutique, you will have the confidence to shop in a safe and comfortable environment. Our store offers couples and individuals a fun, upscale, and courteous atmosphere in which to shop, inquire and learn. Your experience in our retail boutique is different than that of a typical adult novelty shop or sex toy store. We offer workshops taught by Certified Sex Educators and demos of our carefully-selected toy collection for you to touch and explore. Our boutique offers the highest quality, body-safe products for enhancing your sexual experience. Lubricants and body treats have testers as well, so you can compare texture, tastes, and scents. The Love Shack Boutique features quality lingerie and corsets ranging in sizes from small – 4x, bachelorette party supplies, novelties, and more.
The classy ambiance that greets our guests is enhanced by the excellent customer service provided by knowledgeable and friendly expert staff. Whether our customers are browsing through our assortment of bath and body products, considering an intimacy enhancing purchase, or making an apparel selection, we are confident that their experience will be pleasant and rewarding.
We are a small locally owned business trying to do our part to help the community that we call home. In addition to hosting an annual holiday food drive to benefit the San Antonio Food Bank, we also host an annual children’s toy drive to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. We have proudly sponsored and/or made charitable donations to benefit theses local charities: The San Antonio Aids Foundation (SAAF), Alamo Area Resource Center (AARC), Period UTSA, Susan G. Komen, San Antonio Food Bank, Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF), Women’s Survivorship Summit, Alpha Home, Daisy Cares, San Antonio Battered Women’s Shelter, Thrive Youth Center, Fabooblicious, Tour De Cure, Miracle League of San Antonio, San Antonio Roses, St. Mary’s University Women’s Law, God’s Dogs, Fetch Foster and Rescue, Trinity University, San Antonio Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Thrive Youth Center, Animal Defense League, The Rape Crisis Center in San Antonio, Pan American League of San Antonio, San Antonio Pride Center, The Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio and San Antonio Pet’s Alive (SAPA!).
Our Mission- Is to promote healthy & safe sexuality by offering quality products & educational workshops in a fun & comfortable environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theloveshackboutique.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theloveshackboutique
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theloveshackboutique
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-gonzalez-acs-54981567/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoveShackBoutiq
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/loveshackboutique
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/love-shack-boutique-san-antonio

Image Credits
I took the pictures