Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica McPeck. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

Cancer sucks. Losing a parent to cancer changes your life. Losing both parents to cancer is devastating.

My journey started when we lost my Dad to prostate cancer. I grew up in a close knit, small town, farming community. My Dad farmed and my Mom raised us kids (and helped raise my cousins and then my own kids). My Dad and Mom watched my kids when I went to work as a teacher. Life was good and then everything changed. Cancer changed it all.

After my Dad lost his battle, I left teaching and found a new path. A path that would allow me to have my kids close and give back to my town and a cause. My Mom joined me on this path of opening a small Boutique in our home village. We loved seeing the revitalization of our small town. I chose to name the Boutique after my Dad’s farm, “Livin’ on Dreams.” To honor my Dad’s memory, I started selling tees. Every shirt we sell with the “Livin’ on” saying, a portion of the proceeds gets donated to the American Cancer Society.

A year ago, life got devastating. Breast cancer took my Mom. Devastating. Now every shirt sold with “Livin’ on” has a donation made to the American Cancer Society in both their names. As I navigate this new norm for the Boutique, I take it a day at a time. Now the theme, In October we wear Pink, takes a whole new meaning. The Boutique is wearing pink this October to help create awareness.

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?

I have always loved fashion and putting looks together. I am happy when I feel confident and love what I am wearing. I have learned that I am not the only one. That many women feel this way and I love when they leave the boutique excited about their new purchase. When I opened the Boutique it felt very natural. Livin’ on Dreams Boutique carries women’s clothing and home good items. The relationships that have been created with customers fills a void that I didn’t know existed.

I am most proud of our Livin’ on shirt line because it does more and gives back. We have created many different versions over the past 5 years. Livin’ on Dreams is just one. We have done Livin’ on Coffee, Livin’ on Candy, Livin’ on Country Music, Livin’ on Christmas Magic, and many more. Each shirt sold is tied to a donation to the American Cancer Society. So many lives have been forever changed my this horrible disease and I hope to help (albeit in a small way) to find a cure.

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

Livin’ on Dreams Boutique is located in a small town, actually its a village. The most effective strategy for growing clientele has been by word of mouth and collaborating with the other small businesses in my village. I realize in this time of internet and social media, this may seem surprising, but it seems to be working. I do have social media (Facebook and Instagram), a website, and email campaigns but most of my clientele visit because they heard from a friend about our village.

The small business owners in the village of Lewisburg, Ohio have banded together to attract people to visit our town. We all work together to host town wide events to say thank you to our community and customers. From First Friday Block Parties to Open Houses, we strive to make our customers feel welcomed and at home. There is a special feeling with small towns that people are attracted to and want to belong to, even if it is just for an evening. We are lucky enough to live here and want to share its appeal with others.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Livin’ on Dreams Boutique has a brick and mortar store and an online website. I communicate with my clientele several different ways. I have found that my customers that visit the brick and mortar store like to walk out with a flyer of upcoming events or special sales. They like to hang their paper flyer on their fridges at home so that they don’t forget.

I make daily posts to Facebook and Instagram to help keep my social media followers informed. I showcase new items and link them to my website. Events are created on Facebook and also posted on the website. I will occasionally use email campaigns to try to reach my customers. Social media changes often and you must pivot and reassess its reach as much as possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.livinondreams.com
• Instagram: Livinondreamsboutique
• Facebook: Livin’ on Dreams Boutique