We were lucky to catch up with Brianna Washington recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brianna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
The biggest risk I have ever taken was simply launching my business. For years I prolonged and procrastinated out of fear of failure, imperfections and just simply overthinking. In a timespan of one to two years I went back and forth with myself on when to launch and if I should ever launch, surprising right? Impulsively, I woke up one day and announced the launch the day of with no promotion nor game plan. I figured I had to do it one way or another. Besides, I make the best decisions under pressure. The fear of failing went directly out of the window once I got the ball rolling. You only fail if you don’t try. Take risks, that’s where the success and money is.
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
I am Brianna Washington, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the owner of Anticipated by B’Ivory. Anyone who knows me knows that my passion and goals in life have to deal with fashion. Since an adolescent I have always had a strong obsession and love for all things fashion. I’ve always had my own sense of style. Whether its colors, patterns, fabrics, etc.. the art of fashion excites me in every way. My style is my simple way of conveying the complex things in my mind. My style is my craft, my art. I am always getting asked where I’ve gotten a certain piece from or how do I style looks together. My looks are always awaited on by my peers. I knew very early on I wanted to own a clothing boutique. I came up with Anticipated by B’Ivory, a women’s clothing boutique. Known to be highly awaited and intensively addictive, Anticipated is an exclusive shop for many versatile pieces. I choose every piece specifically in particular because I don’t just sell “looks”, I sell a lifestyle. I offer styling consultations to my customers to help bring their vision/lifestyle to life. My creativeness, discipline, self-confidence, and optimism sets me apart from others in this industry. Overall I’d say my kindness puts me in a league of my own. It is very essential to me that my returning and potential clients are comfortable and feel “at home” when getting the Anticipated by B’Ivory experience, so kindness means a lot to me. Running my business on my terms, and not following trends and just sticking to my vision the past year is what I am most proud of.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy for growing clientele I’d say would have to be to simply just post. Post your content! Post your products! The more you post, the more potential customers/supporters will see it. Schedule out your post, for instance, I wake up at 7 a.m each morning, my first will be going public in the next hour and so on. Don’t worry about “oh maybe I’m posting too much, or am I getting on my followers nerves?” Don’t think so hard about it, just post. With that being said, you also want to be sure to post relevant content, you want to grab your audiences attention with every post. The more your content is posted, the more people will see it.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I’ve always had social media accounts since grade school, Instagram specifically is where my audience is. My sense of style has always gotten noticed as far as social media. My Instagram started rapidly growing I’d say about two years ago. I would post new outfit content every single day. During that time fashion pages or fashion blogs would repost my pictures, and I’d gain more followers each post. Very cliche sounding, but I’d post a certain times and I’d also give out hints to my audience that would let them know that I have content coming. After a while, people kind of knew when I’d be posting or not, it became a routine. As I’ve stated before, I don’t just sell or offer “looks”, I sell a lifestyle. So with my content whether it was the actual ensemble put together, the way I pose, and even location, I always make sure to put out raw content. I don’t consider myself having an aesthetic, everyday is a different look for me, you’d never what I will show up wearing. My advice for those just starting to build the social media presence, is to just be you. Don’t copy someone else’s aesthetic, find your own, become your own muse. After learning what you do and do not like, apply it, find your own swag, make your own lane!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soanticipated.com
- Instagram: @shopanticipated
- Facebook: Anticipated by B’Ivory
Image Credits
Kendal Rhone Shanbria Carter Casey Williams