We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Satin Bostic. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Satin below.

Satin, appreciate you joining us today. What can you share with us about the story behind how you found your key vendors?

I originally wanted to be a luxury plus size bridal boutique. I researched the most desired and high quality vendors.

I reached out via Instagram and was immediately placed with a sales person..

They agreed to provide me a high credit line and I was overly excited to start selecting my dresses.

All of my gowns would range from size 20-32. I ordered close to 40,000 in bridal gowns with this vendor.

As the dresses started coming in, they were noticeably small for plus size gowns. I soon discovered that although the dresses said a certain size, they were actually four size smaller!

So instead of carrying sizes 20 – 32, I actually had 16 – 28, it doesn’t seem like much difference, but it was.

These dresses was designed with the European body in mind and even a 28 fit more like a 22. There was no room for voluptuous curves, back rolls, fupas, bigger arms and large breast.

Upon opening I soon discovered that these bridal gowns did not fit the bodies of my core customer base. I watched thousands of dollars walk out the door because the dresses were so ill fitting on our plus size brides.

Here’s the kicker, I still owed this vendor 40,000 and the dresses were none refundable. Needless to say, I was bummed and questioned my ability to lead my company.

I eventually sold all the dresses at or below wholesale to pay off my line of credit..

So here is the 40,000 lesson, because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s the best for your audience. We’ve heard it before, it takes money to make money, be prepared to see the product in person, pictures don’t tell the true story. If you want to see the product personally, you may have to fly out to head quarters or find another location that carries that line.

The sales person job is to…. sell. They work for their company, not yours and if they promise you anything, get it in writing or it didn’t happen..

If you’re not good with research, pay someone who is good to do it for you, knowing your weaknesses is apart of being an excellent leader and hiring consultants where you lack knowledge, will save you tons of money and headaches.

Satin, 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?

My name is Satin Bostic and I’m the owner of House of Curves Bridal Boutique.

My cousin got married in 2014 and had a hard time finding a dress at traditional bridal stores. It was heartbreaking walking in a store with hundreds of dresses, but only a few in plus size. They expected my cousin to pin the dress on her shoulders or buy her size to try on, I found this to be ridiculous, but a seed was planted.

In 2019 I found myself with a supervisor who specialized in belittling his employees, consistently mansplaining processes and micromanaging our entire team. In an effort of to take control of my life I decided to go after my dream and that’s when I decided to create House of Curves.

I went to about 25 local bridal shops and discovered they still lacked a wide selection of bridal gowns. It was clear to me that there was a big hole the market and I wanted to help fill it.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We opened February 15, 2020 with a beautiful grand opening filled with champagne, great food and wonderful friends.

Grand opening…..,grand closing, we’ll kinda of. In March Covid closed our doors, I originally thought we would be closed for a few weeks, that was not the case, we were closed for 6 months. It was a very depressing year, we sold 3 dresses the entire year and made less that 5k the entire year. I paid all of the business expenses out of my personal account because the business was essentially broke.

I went about meeting more people in the wedding industry and began to study the industry while fine tuning my contribution to the field.

I sought out more vendors that truly focused on plus size bodies. My customer base didn’t need luxury, they needed options and that is what I was determined to give them.

We moved to a larger location and I purchased more dresses that was in line with my customers needs.

The next year the business sales and profits sky rocketed and the business was back in the green.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As my business started to grow it was imperative that I had a good relationship with a financial institution.

I met my banker at a women in business seminar and he pulled out the welcome sign.

I have personally financed 85% of my business out of my own personal savings. I do not want my business to be heavily financed with loans so early in it’s inception however, having funds on demand is necessary and my banking relationship allows this.

I cashed in my 401k to start my business and I don’t regret it. I leveraged it to secure bank loans and purchase inventory. Although this is unconventional this process worked for me

Contact Info:

• Website: www.houseofcurvesbridal.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseofcurvesbridal/?hl=en

Image Credits
None