Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Florence Gbondo . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Florence , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
I started shopwithflo back in 2019 back then I would buy hair pins, hair, accessories, sunglasses and flip-flops. I would sell those, I had customers that I drove to I did that for over six months or so till one year and build up my clientele doing that, then after that I added a few pieces of clothes and then I did a big photo shoot with that. I also had a casting call for models and it was traumatic that was back in 2020, after that, I kept doing the photo shoot back to back back to back. I did different photo shoots different ideas different concept I later on had enough inventory and I moved into my first store that I had but it was space that I rented In someone’s shop, I was sharing After that I went in, and I got my own Suite. I was in the suite for about two years and now I have moved and got a bigger space and it’s a storefront. Grand opening in February,
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Florence, fashion has always been a way for me to escape. I remember back in middle school, and high school I used to be the fashion girl I would wear heels to school you know I always express myself through the way how I dress, I feel like fashion is a great way to escape, and just be yourself. What sets me apart from others is I am on top of the trend in the fashion industry. I travel a lot, I tried to go out and see the fashion world outside, and I do aim to continue to bring the latest fashion in Minnesota i’m so proud of myself. I’m proud of all the fashion shows that I have acquire over the years. I’ve been a part of really big fashion shows in Minnesota and I’m grateful for that. I also travel a lot I went to New York fashion week I’ve been really involved in the fashion industry, and I just can’t wait to continue growing in the fashion industry and continue to bring the latest fashion in Minnesota.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I started my business I had some people that made fun of it I remember one time I went on Facebook and I saw that some girls where saying things like my brand is a local Chinese brand and they called it cheap They where just throwing shade at me, and this where people in my community. and that was the very beginning of the business. I was a little discouraged, but I kept going
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Having the mindset that you have to have money in order to achieve all the goals and all the things that you want for yourself, I came from west Africa. Sierra Leone , and I actually moved here when I was 10 to a single mom she is the only family from her mother side that’s here so she takes care of the whole family back home while she takes care of the bills and other things my mom has a lot on her plate so I never had the opportunity for extra financial support towards this Business. It has been something that I have to work on a work towards. I’ve learned that you can’t sit around and wait for things to happen for you. You have to get up and get it done.
Contact Info:
- Website: Shopwithflo.com
- Instagram: ShopwithfloLLC
- Facebook: Shopwithflo