We were lucky to catch up with Gracie Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gracie, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I personally love this question and is something I feel so passionate about!
For me, I couldn’t be happier as a business owner. I look back and think about all of the “regular” jobs I have had and think how lucky I am because I wouldn’t go back even if I could. In our society, owning a business and being an entrepreneur has never been more accepted. This is the perfect time to take a leap of faith, invest in that start up idea you’ve had for years and just do it!
As a business owner, I work for no one, I have a flexible schedule, I get to spend a lot of time with my family, and so much more!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello! My name is Gracie Johnson and I am 23 years old. I have been married to my husband Jesse for almost 3 years, and we have a beautiful 18 month old daughter, Rosalee. I graduated from Wade College with my Bachelors Degree in Fashion Design and Product Development in 2022. Outside of work I love to read, crochet, music, and watching new movies and shows with my sweet husband! I am the full owner of Hello Gorgeous, a women’s clothing and accessories boutique, partial owner of Hello Gorgeous: KIDS, a children’s clothing and accessories boutique, and partial owner of The Village Shops, a small town vendor mall. I started Hello Gorgeous about 7 years ago when I was in High School and it only grew from there! It is now an empowering women’s clothing and accessories brand where we ae size inclusive and welcoming to ALL body types! I then opened the Vendor mall with my grandma about 2 years ago and my mom has since joined on as part owner as well, it is a family affair! Our vendor mall carries all kinds of products from small businesses in our area, giving business owners like us the opportunity to grow their community in a low cost, effective way!
We give our community, community! We bring people together to be a one stop shop for all of their needs! Finally, my sister and I decided to branch off of Hello Gorgeous and start Hello Gorgeous: KIDS as a way for moms to get affordable, cute, trendy items for their kiddos!
I am most proud of the fact that all of my hard work the past 7 years has really shown. God has given me so many opportunities and opened so many doors for me that I have been able to become the business woman that I am today.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

This is another question that I am very passionate about and feel like is something that tends to be overlooked in terms of a businesses success. The most effective way to grow your clientele is to make connections, form relationships and friendships! Since day one my goal has been not only to gain customers but a community of friends. Now I know their names, kids names, what they do for work, maybe some of their interests and I am able to not only connect with them on a business level but a personal level and that to me is a much more long term result for growing clientele. A great way to look at it is, you not only want to provide a product worth coming back for, but you want to make your customers feel like they are supporting a friends business as well which only adds to customer loyalty.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson that I had to learn at several points in my journey has been, I cannot control everything and sometimes the best things come in time. I used to be to heavily worried about things that were out of my control and I had to learn to have faith that God would provide, and He always has! I have learned to put in the work , do what I can and then have faith. Success does not come overnight, it takes hard work, trials and failure, but at the end of the day, it is all worth it to see your dream become a reality.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.the-village-shops.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellogorgeous8701/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellogorgeous8701/ https://www.facebook.com/thevillagevendors/