We recently connected with Anastasia Azaryan and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Anastasia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Honestly there was one night, I think around January 2020 at 3am where I was sleeping and then randomly came up with my brand name and I immediately woke up and purchased the domain after checking that it wasn’t taken anywhere else and that the name wasn’t trademarked. Now I always knew as a kid that I wanted something to do with fashion. As a child I always wanted to be a designer and kept an album where I used to draw pictures of outfits that I had in my head and would watch Project Runway late at night (which I wasn’t allowed to do but I would lock my door and turn the sound off and put on subtitles as well as put a pillow under my door so my parents couldn’t tell me not to watch it). I would binge it all night for as long as I could because I was just so obsessed with designing and the unique styles that were brought onto the stage.

For a very long time, even as a teenager I wanted to own my own fashion business but I would suppress it because everybody told me that it was too competitive and that I would never do well. I went to college for 2 years to get my associates degree and I think I honestly did start off with the wrong mindset initially because I was surrounded with too many people who told me it wouldn’t be possible instead of people who could convince me that I could do anything.

You know what though, there’s a point in life where talent and passion together will wash out what everybody else tells you you can’t do – I knew that I had talent and that my eye for fashion and passion for quality could put me ahead when it came to selling certain things, in my case predominantly dresses.

I knew that there were multiple problems with dresses on the market that I could solve immediately – #1, places like FashionNova and Forever21 are fast fashion stores and produce things quickly causing a sacrifice in quality and having a surplus of things which makes it easy for everybody to wear the same thing. On top of that, when you go to shop at places like these, the people working there really don’t care about you and don’t care about helping you select things that are unique to your body and your occasion. I definitely knew I had an advantage when it came to that.

#2, boutiques that did offer high quality items didn’t have things that were trendy enough and catered to a younger audience who loves clubwear, bodycon, ruched, sexy, and classy at the same time. Whenever I would go to boutiques I’d notice that things were either stitched to where they looked awkward or they would selI things that are, to be straightforward (I’m sorry I don’t think there’s a different way of saying this) tacky and way overpriced. I knew I had a good eye for fashion and I genuinely care about my customers so I saw both of these issues immediately and knew that I could solve them by selling dresses that are both high in quality as well as trendy and also use my passion of helping people to establish excellent customer service.

My unique approach to this is that I always try on exactly what I buy and put it through a quality test before I put it out on my shelves. I stretch it – does it become see through once it’s stretched? I weigh it and feel it – is the material light or heavy? Can you see outlines from your body while wearing it such as your bellybutton, nipples, etc? Does it hug your curves the right way or make you look awkward?

I would also never put something on the shelf that I would never wear myself. Everything I purchase I spend hours looking for the right supplier, going through multiple orders that result in trial and error of finding good quality clothes, and also making sure the quality is consistent because everything I have I only have it once that way nobody else can be seen wearing it.

I think overall my love and passion for the industry is another thing that makes me stand out from other stores because I truthfully and honestly care about my customers – one of the biggest compliments I get from running my pop up shops is that I have excellent customer service and that the customer truthfully feels like I pick outfits for them with the best intention of what will suit them best. I also hate overchargers so I make sure I price everything fairly and don’t charge my customers a price that I wouldn’t pay. So I think ultimately my mix of quality, trendiness, unique styles, and customer service is what sets me apart from other boutiques.

Anastasia, 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 Anastasia (pronounced like the makeup brand), I got into this industry at 19 years old when I decided to drop everyone else’s opinions and follow my heart and start a clothing brand. At first things weren’t working out for the best because I was focused in all the wrong areas of building a business, I also didn’t have very much money to fund my inventory so I ended up pausing it for a year before I did an official relaunch in 2022 and was able to stabilize myself to be able to afford my inventory. I got into the industry by watching various Youtube videos that helped me understand some of the things I needed to get started and I began by getting the necessary documents to be able to start selling clothes. At first I was trying to be a fast fashion brand but when I relaunched in 2022 I learned what the true meaning of “fast fashion” was and didn’t want anything to do with it. I then realized the importance of also having a niche and creating a clothing line that can separate me from the big retailers by having just one specific kind of product that I can be very well known for. I now mostly specialize in high quality dresses that contour your body and hug you in ways that will shape your body naturally. I want customers to feel good in their own skin and love how the clothes fits as well as have timeless pieces that they can keep for years without sacrificing quality. I am very proud of my commitment to genuinely help people and I appreciate all customers, even people who just browse because it means the world when they come by and I get to know them and understand more of the needs of the people who shop with me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’ll be honest, the first year or so I wasn’t making many sales at all. I think I was focused completely on how my brand looked and not who I marketed to or the quality of my items and I ended up closing it down for a year to really think about what I was doing and to get clarity on what steps to take next. I actually tried to sell my brand 3 times and all three times the deals fell through and I think that it was a sign from the universe that my business was not meant to be in the hands of anyone else. Also when I did my relaunch I already had a Youtube channel where I think at the time I had around 300 subscribers who I would teach how to start a clothing store to and from there that definitely helped me gain organic traffic that I didn’t have before and increase my online sessions and improve exposure. I never really had many online orders and the month before I did my very first pop up shop I started to get online orders naturally and I think that was just a sign from the universe that everything was going to be okay. I’ll be honest I still don’t have many online sales now but I get a lot of orders from my pop ups in person and I’m super grateful because I get to have that human to human connection and learn from my clients face to face about what I can do better and just uncover things about my brand overall that I didn’t know before.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I used a technique called “bootstrapping”, where you only use your own personal savings & income to start your business. The term is called bootstrapping because you’re “pulling yourself up by the boots” and pretty much going from the ground up with funding your business. I was working at Under Armour when I started it so I wasn’t making that much money, I was making around $10.25/hour and that’s all the money I had mustered up for my inventory, marketing, modeling, etc. and I was also paying my phone bill, gas, and car insurance so I had just the minimal left over every month. That’s where at one point I had to pivot my career and figure out how to make more money without going to college and using less of my time and more of my skill. That’s when I found a course that taught me an IT skillset and I was able to get my first “real” job and fund my business more efficiently as well as move out of my parents house without struggling.

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