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

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

Growing up, my dad showed me what the power of hard work and dedication could do – especially if you put this behind something you are passionate about. This allowed me to quit a job and step out on faith back in 2011 to go after a career that I was passionate about but had no experience in (with the exception of being self-taught). When the journey got hard, I remembered the struggle my dad had to endure coming to the United States and building his now super successful company from scratch. I kept on going and eventually landed a career in the digital field and was able to build a couple of businesses on my own.

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 Michelle Wilson and I’m the owner of Little Miss Chelle. Little Miss Chelle is an online children’s boutique that provides clothing for little princesses ages 3 months through the age of seven. I’ve always had the creative gene – from a young age, you could always find me sewing clothes for my many dolls. One of my dreams was to create fashionable pieces for kids. The first part of that dream came true in 2015 when I created my first clothing line, IslandGirlChelle. (which sold out). Then in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, I stepped out on faith and expanded into children’s wear with Little Miss Chelle.

I believe what sets my clothing line apart from the others are the pieces that go into each and every collection – the detail, the fabric selection, the color combinations, and the overall fit. I put 100% of thought into each piece; the design mimics the kind of clothing my mom used to dress me in – very girly, matchy-matchy, and fun. I incorporate a lot of tutu-style pieces and try to remain on trend by researching to see what’s currently in style such as unicorns, mermaids, etc.

I am most proud of how far this business has come. Sometimes I look back and think that if I had allowed fear to get the best of me back then – my business wouldn’t be here today. I am proud of myself for stepping out on faith and working hard to achieve my dream; one that I accomplished on my own, of course with God by my side and in my corner.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I sell on the website I created (I’m also a web designer) and also on Etsy. I love using both platforms because it doubles the traffic to the items that I’m selling. The pros of selling on your own website are you get total control of the design and how your items are presented. The cons are if you use Shopify for instance would be the monthly hosting fees; the minimum is currently $29 per month.

The pros of using Etsy are there are over 6 million shoppers that use their platform. It’s super easy to set up your products, promote your shop, and collect your reviews. The best thing is you don’t really have to promote your items, if you use strong and effective keywords while setting up your shop – your items will sell. The cons of using Etsy might be the fees as well, but they are super low. It’s about 20 cents to add and renew a listing – then $2 to $4 that gets paid to Etsy when your item sells. You can simply just account for this in the listed item price. Another con is that you don’t really have a lot of flexibility when it comes to designing how your page looks. But overall the pros outweigh the cons.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I think the most effective strategy for growing your clientele is utilizing all the free tools via social media. You can create super easy content strategies across all social media platforms by creating reels, posting fun stories, and more. There are also so many apps out there that can create a content posting schedule for you – just set a date and a time then it’s posted. Another strategy would be to gather your reviews and post them. Potential customers and clients love reviews; 65% of new customer purchases come from reviews they’ve seen about your products or services.

Tip: Take a screenshot of your review, create a highlight on Instagram called “reviews” and post them there. You can use apps such as Bazaart to create a cool template to showcase your review.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.littlemisschelle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little.miss.chelle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littlemisschelle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/michelle-l-wilson-66459749

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