We were lucky to catch up with Nora Minassian recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nora, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

The reason I started my blog/online shop was to help older women (over 40 and up) to find new ways to dress and style outfits. I also wanted to supply them with wearable, practical, comfy yet chic pieces and show them how to put it all together.
I believe that a lot of more mature women do not get represented well in the fashion industry and are not catered to as much as younger women are. There is a false belief in high end fashion that women over 40 do not care about what they wear as much as they did when they were younger. This was more prevalent when I started my business over 10 years ago.
So my niche is very specific and it has helped me grow my business and make it very personal where I communicate with my customers and help them along the way to find their personal style.

Nora, 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?

I always had a love of fashion so at an early age I decided to become a fashion designer. I attended Otis College of Art and Design and graduated with a BA in fashion design and merchandising. Right after graduating I started working in the fashion industry for different companies and even had my own company for a few years.
After working in the fashion industry as a designer and merchandiser for 35 years, I decided to do something a little different. At the time blogs were starting to become very popular. So I started a blog called “Jacket Society” because I personally love jackets and blazers and I wanted to show how adding that one item to your wardrobe can make all the difference in one’s style. I also designed and manufactured a small group of jackets to sell on an online shop that was attached to my blog.
Soon after I was asked by my customers to add tops, jewelry and scarves from my looks to our shop. So I decided to rename the shop from “Jacket Society” to “Just Style LA”. By doing that I was able to offer other items that worked along side the jackets like hand-picked accessories, scarves, shawls, capes, tops and blouses.
When I started Just Style LA, previously called Jacket Society, it was just a style and fashion blog, I loved the interaction and feedback I received from my readers about my advice about styling and how women can create new looks simply and easily was very fulfilling. So when I added the online apparel store to the fashion and style blog, I wanted to have the same relationships with my customers. Having always worked in the wholesale end of the fashion industry for over 20 years, I really wanted to sell directly to my customers and build relationships, listen to them and help fulfill their needs
This is what I would say I am most proud of.
In conclusion, I would say my business is a service that I provide to older women that they are lacking in the industry. Someone to help them style their looks and get quality pieces at affordable prices to look and feel great about themselves no matter how old they are.

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

Yes I sell on my site through Shopify. I started my business as a blog but added the Ecommerce part soon after. I originally started my blog on a WooCommerce site and then we added the shop. But we switched to Shopify about 5 years ago and we are very happy with this platform. It is very easy to set up and use and I think it is perfect for small businesses.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I started my business as a personal styling blog and that has been very helpful in keeping in touch with my readers and customers. I do 2-3 blog stories a week where I feature new looks and products and talk about how to style and wear them with my clients. I also do “Style Talk” videos once every few months to communicate more one-0n-0ne with my customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juststylela.com
• Instagram: @juststylela
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juststylela
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nora-minassian-8063019/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jacketsociety
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/juststylela/