We were lucky to catch up with Dylan Demery recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dylan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Finding those key vendors can often be make or break for a brand. Can you talk to us about how you found your key vendors?

We have some amazing suppliers and we found them through Fly Fishing Retailer Expo event that was put on in Denver during the fall of 2019. We are an online fly shop that provides gear and services for women. When we went to that expo, we were looking for women’s gear. We met many amazing women who are creating the products we want to carry and discussed what was possible. Since we prefer to dropship because we don’t have a brick and mortar, it limited who would actually work with us. Yet the suppliers who have decided to take a chance on us are very supportive. Women business owners in the Fly Fishing industry are pretty rare and the group tends to support and uplift each other. When seeking suppliers for a retail business, my best advice is to really hone in on your demographic and what they want. We’ve been refining that since we opened the business and are changing with our customers’ needs and expectations.

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

I am the owner of She’s Fly which is an online/mobile fly shop that focuses on products and services by and for women. We launched in August 2020 and offer women’s fly fishing gear, women’s-only lessons, women’s-only retreats, and other events like paint-and-sips and fly tying clinics. I started fly fishing soon after my husband died as a way to help me process my grief. I found such healing out on the water that I was hooked. When I went to buy waders, I couldn’t find gear that fit me. I set out with two friends to start a business that carries gear for women so that we can feel comfortable and confident out on the water. I also want to share the healing, mindful properties of this sport and how accessible it can be.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We use Wix and I chose this platform because it includes everything I need to run my business from anywhere. I love the owner’s app so I can check analytics or process a sale from my phone – it’s been very handy. It is pricey but as a person with a tech background, I don’t want to spend all my time and money on maintaining a site and the infrastructure behind it. Wix can be a little slow and doesn’t have all the connections that some other larger platforms do, but I appreciate their support AND ease of use because my co-founders need to get in there and do things too. It’s user friendly and that’s a huge load off my mind when things need to get done quickly and I don’t have time to train.

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

Losing my husband in 2009 was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. I never imagined a life without him and at the age of 31 he was gone. We didn’t get to have kids or grow old together. I think it was several months before I really laughed again and with that laugh I knew I was going to be okay. I knew I would heal. I’ve spent my life since then trying to make myself happy and keep moving forward. It’s not always easy because grief comes in waves, but I’ve managed to turn our love into a business that is making a positive impact. It’s magical! I feel like I can handle almost anything because losing him was the worst thing I could ever go through… so I take more risks now. I think, “you’ve been through worse, you can handle this,” and that generally gets me through most challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shesfly.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shesflyfishing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShesFlyFishing/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/she-s-fly-fishing-98406727a/