We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lupita Golmes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lupita , appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I love being the founder of my business and it brings me overwhelming joy to think I made that leap of faith to leave my regular job ten years ago. Just like any risky transition it did cross my mind during the first year of my business launch to return to my regular job in order to pay my bills and provide for my two children. During my first year I would feel fearful to think I would fail with my business, nonetheless I continued to walk the unknown path! 

Lupita , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Angelique_closet was founded in April of 2013 which was after the birth of my daughter Angelique. I found myself purchasing handmade clothing from Instagram accounts which started to get pricey. That is when I had the bright idea to try and do it myself so I decided to attend design and sewing in Tijuana. In these classes I was able to learn how to place the thread in a needle and how to make leotards which are now my most popular product and are also known as bodysuits. 

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I funded my business with one of my maternity leave checks which was roughly $500. During this time my husband and I were both starting our businesses and it was a time where we were limited financially. From the outside looking in it might have not seemed like the ideal plan to invest in our dream to become business owners. I continued to press into this dream and spent $300 on my sewing machine that I still use now, and $200 on materials such as scissors, elastic, and fabric. 

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Trying to build an audience in the beginning is challenging, because not many people want to follow a page with 20 followers. In order to gain an audience I began to join “share for share” group chats where pages would share a page in exchange for the returned favor. By joining this group my page started to grow and then I started to work on my next step which was reaching out to moms. I reached out to moms who had children that could potentially wear my clothing and promote it on their media. I went as far as sending these moms free clothing for their children so that they would agree to promote my clothing. I saw this as an investment at the time, fast forward to today I’m in a position where I’m being offered sponsorship deals so that I’m able to share other’s products in exchange for a monetary incentive.

My greatest advice to those who are starting their businesses would be to not get discouraged. Continue to reach out and be persistent with knocking on doors and offer your services, because eventually you will get a response! I’d like to use my journey as a prime example to where not giving up on your dream will take you. Most if not all business owners start from zero and it’s key to not give up! I would also like to leave the door open for those who would like to reach out and offer further advice or help!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.angeliquecloset.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/angelique_closet
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/angeliquecloset1

Image Credits
all models are from instagram @nataliaajoyce @kyliefeliz @stamped_by_india_ @fee_ee_ee_enay