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

Brea, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

There are a few trends that stand out to me in the fashion industry. You are seeing a lot of – Pink : Pink is literally on every item on everything from apparel, to shoes, to accessories, to any item you can wear or decorate with.
– Mermaid style items and inspirations from the sea. On the red carpet we have seen many influences from shells, to mermaid shaped dresses, and colors as well.
– Crochet is also all over the stores. This is a fun trend that provides color or neutrals that make a statement.

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 Brea, like brie cheese. I have an Apparel Marketing and design Degree. Although, I have always loved fashion and being creative with my wardrobe. In college and right after college I was managing retail stores and this is were I learned a whole lot of knowledge about retail and what it actually took to run an actual business or store. I moved to Southern California in 2014 to pursue my dreams 1. living in LA and 2. chasing my fashion dreams. I exited the retail/fashion industry for about 5 years when I decided to start my business in 2020. It was out of a whim I decided i was going to start my ecommerce store and use social media to market my brand.

We offer womens clothing that is trendsetting that can be paired with any basic. We sell small batch collections to keep everyones closets fresh. The collections are made up of Tops, Jackets, Bottoms, Dresses, and fun Accessories.

Adding color to everyones wardrobe is the main goal, and enhancing style with Chaxel’s eclectic style.

We encourage everyone to take the risk, fell confident in your style and “Dress outside the BOX”

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I started the business I only had a personal account, that I would post randomly on. But I was a frequent user of Instagram following people and engaging on accounts I followed. I knew nothing about actual content creation, the algorithm, strategy, or anything else that I have had to learn for social media. The first step i tok was find a social media course that works for your budget and take all the courses. This will give you an understanding of how social media works, There is not right or wrong way of doing advertising on social media. Your audience will be drawn to your content. I focus on Organic growth, which means never buying followers and showing up every day. Building an audience on social media takes time, just like everything else. Being consistent is key to growing your audience. Showing up everyday, on stories posts and reels are all important. Instagram has been my main platform for 3 years, but I am slowly growing my tik tok the same way, trying new strategies trying different styles of content to see what the viewers are attracted to to create more of that style. My biggest advice, is DO NOT GIVE UP! Be authentic, the audience will grow and like you for your real self!

Have you ever had to pivot?

This year 2023, I started the new year off in a challenging time. So I am currently going through a shift in my business. As a clothing boutique it is a financial risky business. Everything I buy in advance and pick out 6-12 months before the season. This year 2023, I have had to really narrow my focus on collections and items I am launching each month. Managing financials is something that most business owners probably have the most challenge with. I would highly recommend getting a financial advisor and a CPA that specializes in small business and your industry. One of the hardest things I have had to do since I started this business is lay off some of my contract employees. This was not a shining bright moment for me, but financially it did not make sense at the moment. Having hard conversations around financials and letting people go is always a tough thing in business. Pivoting out of this situation I am just head down, promoting as much as I can myself, and making sure I am organized and have my emails, and marketing automations set up in advance. Putting all of these systems in place will help me grow out of the slow sales cycle. Business is always pivoting, if you are not uncomfortable, YOU aren’t doing it right :)

Contact Info:

• Website: http://chaxel.shop
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/chaxel.shop
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/chaxel.shop