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

Melinda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

The biggest risk I have taken was starting my own business. After losing my job in 2020 and struggling to find a new one I decided I would begin working on opening up my online store in 2021. As I was working full time in my new job, I would also spend time planning and researching until I launched Chula Glamour in September of 2021. Using my own savings and quitting my job, I embarked on this journey of entrepreneurship with hopes and dreams of it growing and getting our brand out there. I am grateful for all our support from our customers, friends and family throughout these past almost 2 years of Chula Glamour.

Melinda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi ! My name is Melinda Barragan and I am the proud owner of Chula Glamour. I am Mexican-American and was born and raised in LA County. I launched my small business Chula Glamour online in September 2021. “Chula” means beautiful in Spanish slang and Glamour comes from the products we sell which are false eyelashes. I created my business to honor my Mexican roots and culture and also from the love I have for makeup and all things beauty related. I want all customers to enjoy our products and to boost their confidence while using our lashes everyday for any occasion in their life without having to overspend. I am most proud of and grateful for all the positive feedback from everyone who has purchased and/or used our lashes and for all the support that Chula Glamour has had for these almost 2 years and continues to have as it grows.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for my brand has been Social Media, Pop-Up Events and by word-of mouth. Using social media platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok have been important and very useful in gaining followers and reaching people near and far. Also attending my first pop-up event in April opened up more opportunities to meet fellow business owners as well as customers. Finally, I appreciate when our customers love our lashes so much that they recommend your product to others, it helps your small business grow that much more.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on our site ( www.chulaglamour.com ) using Shopify. In my view, the pros of using Shopify are that it simplifies managing your website and maintains it organized so I would recommend using it for anyone starting out their business. The cons are that it does take some time to figure out how to design your own website using their tools and templates( at least in my experience), there’s also a monthly fee and they have a percentage charge for every credit card transaction but they do offer other payment solutions for you and your customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chulaglamour.com
• Instagram: @shopchulaglamour
• Other: TikTok: @shopchulaglamour Pinterest: @shopchulaglamour

Image Credits
Carolyn Chacon-Lovo