We were lucky to catch up with Kayla Cameron recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kayla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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 am so happy as a business owner and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. With that being said, it is so up and down and do unpredictable. The last time I had the thought of having a regular job was after the holidays in January or February and sales were super low. I was just feeling discouraged and questioning if I made the right decision to expand my business and take it full after graduating college. This past year was my first year working full time after graduating college. Because everything felt like it wasn’t working, I became very unmotivated and wasn’t putting my best foot forward.

What I realized was that I needed to take matters into my own hands and remember why I love doing what I am doing. I dove deep into marketing techniques, creating fun events with customers to connect with the community, and just switching things up. All of this brought my interest back and got me out of a rut and I remembered why I love doing what i do.

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.

My name is Kayla Cameron and I am the owner of Kaylee. Kaylee is a trendy clothing boutique for college and high school girls. I first opened my boutique kind of randomly when I was 17. I was getting ready to graduate high school and go to college but I was not excited for my future. I had no idea what I wanted to do other than always loved fashion. I never fully explored the possible career options until then. After my first summer open in Pentwater, I completely feel in love with helping people discover their style and interacting with clients.

I decided to open Kaylee specifically because I always loved shopping small and the unique and personal experience that small businesses provide. But, as a young person I felt that there were no experiences like this for people my age while also keeping a decent price point in mind. This is what I am most proud of. Being able to curate a complete experience for my customers. They are able to shop clothing for all aspects of their life include loungewear, casual clothes, and more formal attire. They are also able to shop in a fun and upbeat environment with prices that are realistic for the target market. I also love being able to help people find clothes that make them feel confident in their body.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I have made so far in my life has to be when I decided to change colleges and my major right before freshman year. When I graduated high school I thought I was going to go to a small college to study marketing. After opening Kaylee for the first season, I knew that I needed to learn about the fashion industry and made the decision to go to Iowa State and study apparel, merchandising, and design. This pivot allowed me to learn more and enhance my business. It also taught me that it is okay to change your mind and chose what feels best at the time.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

There are two big things that I do to keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty is 1. posting and connecting on social media and 2. always interacting with clients in store.

When it comes to social media, I post behind the scenes, new arrivals, and popular products. This allows customers to feel connected to the brand and me while also leaving comments and asking questions. I always respond to direct messages and comments to build these relationships.

I also love being in store and offering my assistance as best as possible. I love hearing about my customers, what they like to do, offering suggestions for what they could wear to new events, hearing what items and trends they are looking for, and just catching up, i try to be in a store location as much as possible to that my customers know who and what they are supporting and they feel good about their purchases. I also think it is important that they recognize the value I put into every style I put in store and how carefully everything is selected.

Contact Info:

• Website: shopkaylee.com
• Instagram: @shopkaylee_
• Other: Tiktok: @shopkaylee_