Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chelsea Santos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Chelsea, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Yaya + Lou focuses on promoting sustainability by encouraging
parents to invest in fewer, better things. We offer a highly curated selection of child and baby goods that meet our standards of quality. We educate our customers on the value of investing in
fewer, higher quality baby goods that can be passed down rather than spend money on an abundance of disposable
goods that will end up in a landfill after a few uses. To take our mission further, we accept gently use quality baby goods (whether purchased in our store or not) in exchange for store credit and sell those second-hand items in store. If done well, goods can cycle through our store multiple times expanding its life cycle.
Chelsea, 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 Chelsea, I was born in NYC and raised in the Tampa Bay area. I have always had a love for fashion and design and knew I would pursue some type of creative path. Once I had daughters, they quickly became my muses. Having spent a lot of my childhood and teenage years visiting New York City, I realized that our retail experience in Central Florida could not compare to that of the city, especially when it came to children and baby. Our options outside of big box stores were extremely limited and I wanted to be the one that provided a solution. In 2019, after unexpectedly becoming a single mother, I decided to take a leap of faith and show my daughters that we don’t have to be a victim of our circumstances. Pouring my heart into Yaya + Lou helped me get through the darkest times and it has always been my mission to create a space that also brings sunshine to anyone that steps inside. Something that has always set us apart from other similar shops is that we provide an experience beyond just retail. We have done this by offering weekly story-time, building out a montessori play area within our shop, hosting monthly workshops, and more. We have created a sense of community for our customers and in return we have gained their trust and loyalty.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
I believe the best way to manage a team is by providing clear expectations, simplifying operating procedures, keeping continuous contact, encouraging success, and ensuring your team has access to you and the comfort to reach out. It is important to be confident in your role as leader without being cocky. Initiating incentives such as monetary rewards for reaching goals is a great way to maintain high morale. Another way to maintain morale and show your appreciation is by sending your team $5-$7 for coffee on the boss. This simple gesture, especially when done unexpectedly, is sure to brighten your team’s day.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Our ability to connect with our customers has built our reputation within out market. We have never been in the business of just making transactions. We always make it our priority to build rapport and lasting relationships with each of our customers, regardless of their age, race, status, gender etc.. Being a children’s store, it is not lost on me that we may be the only adults our customers talk to in a day. I make sure that our customers feel safe, heard and supported, whether they are shopping with us or not. I believe over the last 5 years we have done a great job doing this and why we have built such a positive reputation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yayaandlou.com
- Instagram: @yayaandlou
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/yayaandlou
