We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Flair Shay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Flair, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
I consider my business different completely. We give everyone the opportunity to express, promote and self advertise whatever they choose on our umbrellas through word’s, photos or their own personal logos. We definitely are different from the standard umbrella companies out there.
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 a minority woman of color. Two time cancer survivor and single mother of a almost 16 year old son. I started this business playing around with umbrella’s during my recovery from surgery. I printed my own image and my son’s image as a surprise to him. When he opened his he couldn’t believe it and smiled but he also said “Mom, you’re so bougie”! He went to school with his umbrella and many of his teachers loved it. I started doing custom umbrella’s for staff. That’s when The Bougie Brella was launched. I have since began to do umbrella’s for different schools in San Diego for sports and Alumni. We are pretty much on all social media platforms.. I am currently working on a umbrella line for men which will be all large golf size umbrellas with masculine themes. I’m very proud of my business and every obstacle/setback we have over come. Currently we are working on getting copyright clearance to add sports teams to our line. We get so many people who want to represent their favorite teams. Overall I am overjoyed with my loyal customers and our positive feedback. We definitely stand out from your standard umbrella and I love being different!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I built my audience on social media by using my personal friends and family who have their own followers. I actually contacted people personally and offered a incentive they couldn’t refuse. I personalized a umbrella for them to share on their social media free.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Honesty! I’m very truthful with my customers. I can be contacted directly! Customers love being able to speak directly to the owner and operator. I love being able to build one direct relationships with my customers. I stand on my reputation. It’s who I am and what my company is!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: The Bougie Brella
- Facebook: The Bougie Brella
- Linkedin: The Bougie Brella
- Twitter: The Bougie Brella
Image Credits
Flair Shay