We were lucky to catch up with Ashton Arboleda recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashton , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

From being a teenager in high school, I have always been the individual to stand out and be unique. From wearing loud colorful clothing, to dressing up in different pieces, many of my associates wanting to wear the same pieces I had on or dress somewhat like my attire, I always knew that fashion was apart of me and my image. When I became a young woman, I always dreamed of owning and having a boutique of my own, a fashionable store. I watched my dad start his business from selling doors off the front porch, to owning his own successful furniture business. Coming from an entrepreneur background I figured this would be easy for me to do. I went through many 9 to 5 jobs, from fast foods, retail, corporate, and I just knew that I would land a great executive office position. I went to having some of the best jobs, to some of the worst jobs. Then, back on top to getting more of the best corporate positions. Fast forward, running my own business never left my mind, and one day I was going to have that boutique that I always dreamed of. I started to shop around in different retail stores, shopping on clearance racks and purchasing different pieces. I always posted on my social media pages, my personal Facebook page and the Marketplace. I sold to my coworkers, but I wanted something much bigger and legit. I then came up with a catchy name for my business, Glam A Kouture. I went to the courthouse to make sure that name wasn’t taken, I got that business name stamped, which made me legit. I applied for my DBA and was able to get a tax id. I found a young lady to create my logo and create my business cards. At that moment, I started to search for clothing vendors. That process was a breeze for me. My excitement level was through the roof, building my brand and knowing that I have a name of my own, at this time, I wasn’t big at all. I was promoting and advertising my business on social media. It didn’t move like I wanted it to. Having all the new inventory, I just felt like I was stuck without many online sells coming through. I was very disappointed, hard on myself thinking “what did I do wrong”? I thought maybe if I had a store front, I could get more business and recognized more. I stepped out on faith and started my journey to look for a location for my business. I came across a small, country location that I thought would be the perfect location for my boutique. My next thing to do was apply for this building, with God all things are possible. I was approved for my very 1st location for my boutique, and I thought it was all a dream. I begin to start shopping for boutique furniture, fixtures, all things that’s needed for a boutique store. I turned a small empty building into the baby of my dreams, my very own fashion boutique for men and women to shop all the trendy apparel. From clothing, fragrances, handbags, accessories, etc. I started promoting the store location, and eventually had my soft opening. I feel great going to a store of my own, and I am still striving on new ways to build my brand. Being a business owner, I self-taught myself on how to advertise my own brand daily, creating my own business cards, creating flyers, coming up with new ideas daily to gain more traffic through my store. Putting my business on Google has really gained more business and more engagement, my business is growing daily. I am now working on branding my business name and building my empire.

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

I have always been a fashionable person. I slavishly follow fashion, it is my passion. My biggest accomplishment is owning my boutique and building my brand, I sell Women and Men apparel, fragrances, trendy sunglasses, handbags, jewelry, body decor and etc. When you walk into my establishment, I want my customers to feel welcomed and be able to relax and unwind. I like to offer my customers wine while they shop and have a private and great shopping experience. When you purchase from my boutique, I make sure I give ‘thank you” post cards, discount flyers for your return. I’m most proud of stepping out on faith and being able to open a location for people to come in and experience the vibe and ambiance at my location and the creativity inside my boutique and of course meet the person behind the brand. The most important thing in this industry is to keep advertising daily, don’t give up on your goals and dreams. Never give up, find what your passion is, execute a plan and go after what you want. I never stopped, even when times were hard, I still pushed myself and I will continue to push myself and my brand. I keep the trends in store.

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

You know the saying “it takes money to make money”. Upon starting my business I used all of my savings to get all of the items needed for my store. Of course I did apply for business loans, I was denied for each loan I applied for. But, that didn’t stop me from opening up my store.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source for me is Google. Google has been great for me. I always make sure I ask customers how they find out about my boutique, and this is always the answer. I make sure I post on my Google page daily, with new products/apparel, even if it’s posting boutique flyers and new inventory. A business that’s up to date on their business profile, customers are more likely to visit your store. I share updates about what’s new in store or any business updates.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.glam-a-kouture.myshopify.com
• Facebook: Glam A Kouture
• Other: Google @ Glam A Kouture