We recently connected with Michelle Vejar and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

I love this question. My mom Shirley Herold was my biggest inspiration and cheerleader. As a child of the 70’s my mom had an incredible wardrobe. Colors, patterns, wide collars, skinny scarfs and bell bottoms. You will see a strong 70’s influence when you shop Rock-n-Boho Clothing. My Mom taught me so many life lessons. She allowed me to make lots of mistakes and always gave me the time and space to learn from my failures. Never “I told you so” or “you should have listened to me.” This life lesson gave me the confidence to listen and trust myself and it serves me everyday and in every aspect of life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Playing dress up in my mom’s closet is where my passion for clothes began. I followed a few other passions before starting my own business. After moving to Nashville and being inspired by the local vibrant music + fashion scene and the people I met that were fearlessly following their own dreams. I decided to follow my lifelong passion in late 2018 and launch Rock-n-Boho Clothing. One thing that sets Rock-n-Boho apart from other boutiques is that I work with small/growing designers on one-of-a-kind pieces that are exclusively available at Rocknbohoclothing.com This allows me to support other small businesses in my community while curating unique pieces. I have created a genuine bond with my clients I encourage self-expression and self-confidence.

Some of my proudest moments over the past few years really come from my clients sending me photos or telling me how I helped them feel confident. Of course being noticed on a larger scale feels fantastic. This year a few of my clothes were featured in People Magazine on singer/songwriter Bri Bagwell. In 2021 Rock-n-Boho was voted “Nashville’s Favorite small business” by the Nashville Scene. In 2020 Rock-n-Boho Clothing was voted best Mobile Boutique in TN by Boutique Hub.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like many small business owners covid was a huge challenge. I purchased a vintage school bus to operate as a mobile boutique and applied to music festivals and events. Less than a month after buying the bus and giving it a makeover everything shut down and all of the events I lined up were canceled. I went from festivals to driveways and parking lots and made it work.The next pivot came last year as festivals and events started to come back and I filled my schedule with events and the engine on the bus blew so I had to cancel a majority of the events. This year I approached one of my favorite businesses in Nashville Dashwood Vintage + Flora about renting a space in her store. You can now shop Rock-n-Boho at Dashwood in Nashville or online and I still do a few events each month.  Each challange I look at as an opportunity.  I love the quote “Face your challenges head-on rather than surrendering your dreams to fear”

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

When I started my business I was really concerned about how and if I could keep up with all of the moving parts. Building a website, tracking inventory, sales, sales taxes, shipping, email and text marketing. These were all things I had never done before and I didn’t even know where to start. After some research, I chose Shopify as my platform. Shopify is a complete commerce platform that lets you start, grow, and manage a business. I also joined a group called Boutique Hub. Boutique Hub has a library of research and I could connect directly and make relationships with other boutique owners all over the US.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rocknbohoclothing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocknbohoco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocknbohoco
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/rocknbohoclothing/

Image Credits
Michelle Vejar