“Running a business in Vice City like… :)”
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marilou Desnoulez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marilou, love having you share your insights with us. Maybe you can first introduce yourself and your business to our readers?
I was born French and recently became a US citizen after 7 years under the Floridian tropics. Yeah! With 2 homes, Paris and Miami, I’m definitely feeling local in the Sunshine State!
Never in my life had I pictured myself as an entrepreneur, until 9 months before the actual launch of Bichōn®️. Back in summer 2018, I had been working for 1+ year in marketing & sales for a distributor of European watches and jewelry. I had been curious to step into the luxury industry and believed that the prestige of it would fulfil me. Truth is, as I was navigating through this world, it wasn’t feeling right for me. Questions came up about the sense given to my professional dedication and it became clear at some point that I wanted to invest my time and energy into a personal and meaningful project, for a better world. Without pretention, at my own level, but to “do my part”. That summer, I went through a difficult personal time with my grandmother Mimi and role model passing away. I could feel the urge to fill a void and initiate a life shift. This is the summer I came up with the idea of the embroidered essentials of Miami, a tribute to the American dream I was living in 305 and to Mimi, a talented seamstress. My boyfriend at that time and closest Miami friends were business-owners, they inspired me and gave me the impulse to jump into entrepreneurship!
Marilou, looking forward to hearing your stories today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?
Bichōnning* is in our DNA! Last summer, a customer reached out to us on the website to request if we could exceptionally expedite an order, for the birthday of his beloved uncle turning… 88 a few days later! The item was out of stock and would have usually shipped within 6 business days. Too late!
But just thinking of the nephew’s kindness and the elderly uncle’s joy, we launched an urgent production (with the emergency fees at our expense), drove out to our supplier manufacture specifically to pick up the creation, and met the customer at a gas station in a Miami suburb for a private delivery!
Santiago shared the story behind his special intention: explaining that he had purchased the “Alligator hat” as a wink. Since Santi was a kid, Migue had been messing with his nephew, joking about the fact that he was living in a tropical jungle with gators as neighbors.
Santiago, grateful for the hand delivery, then rushed to the Dolphin Mall to have the cap customized with the embroidery “Tio Migue”. A few days later, we received a picture of 88 year old Migue, proudly wearing his Alligator hat.
Human stories like this one just make our day and overall journey all the more rewarding!
* From French: Spoiling/treating with care
In a world of uncertainty – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot in your career and that happened to bring a positive outcome?
I graduated with 2 Master’s degrees: in HR and in Communication. I started my career in internal communication in a agency in Paris, working tight with the executive board and HR team, for the employees of the company.
In my 5th year, I won the green card lottery to move (back) to the USA! Destiny callin’! A no brainer, I quit my job, my loved ones and started from scratch a fresh new life across the ocean. I landed in Miami, started to look for a job and faced 3 main issues: there were almost no open positions for internal communication, I couldn’t compete with an English native and my Spanish level was pretty much limited to ordering tacos and bebidas (not easy when moving to the Northernmost capital of Latin America). I then decided to reconsider my research and opened it to sales and marketing. After a month and a half I was offered a newly created position of Business Developer to introduce a high-end French Swimwear brand to the USA. The US market, the retail industry, the missions… EVERYTHING was new to me! And OMG, I am so grateful today that this pivotal opportunity came up because it was the first chapter in the journey that led me to where I am today!
We should never be afraid of change if we listen to our deepest desires, it always ends up working out in one way or another.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
It would be fairer to publicly ask individuals and businesses 😊 but my presumption is:
First, we sincerely care for our customers and partners because we owe them bigtime for this amazing journey! Our gratitude is shown through actions as simple as: joining a little hand-written note to our online orders, answering anyone who reaches us out within 24 hours max, paying our suppliers on time, considering every single feedback about our creations… Bichōnning our community!
And second, I’d say our strong commitments that savvy shoppers are sensitive to. No BS, we’re a mindful brand with a story to tell, commitments to honor and core values that we stand for: transparency, integrity, sustainability and solidarity.
Much more than a (small) business, Bichōn®️ is a human journey driven by love. For the USA, for the people, for the planet. Everything we do at Bichōn®️, we do it with our heart. And people feel it!
Contact Info:
- Website: thebichon.com
- Instagram: bichon_undertheneon
- Facebook: bichonapparel
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/78982544/admin/
- Youtube: Bichon_undertheneon
Keep up with Bichōn®️ that will release this fall its very first campaign, a love tribute to the 305!