We recently connected with Sheila Montas and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sheila, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

For years I had others ask me to promote their brand and/or be apart of it since my image was marketable. Even though I was getting paid for the services I provided I eventually decided to start my own brand/business and fully profit off of it instead of getting paid to be the middle man.
People would always come to me and ask me “where I purchased this and that,” “ Do I sell this or that “ or “Can you help me with this or that”, so I took it upon myself to make a name for myself and make a brand and turn it into my own business “U Collection LLC”.
It’s a Clothing Boutique that caters to all type of woman (sizes,height,race ) & my Business/Brand also provides services that is needed from other business owners such as marketing, promoting,advices, helpful tips, etc

Regardless of weather it’s for my business or others I normally like to start off with doing research on what I’m working on then after brainstorm ideas for visual content and more, then I would write out a treatment that breaks down the whole layout on how I would go about my plan within the time frame it needs to be done and then last execute everything on that list!.

Sheila, 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?

My name is Nefertiti but everyone calls me Neffy for short. I am the CEO of UCollection LLC & UCollection Boutique. I’m known for modeling, being an artist, Hosting events/shows/radio sessions, the marketing guru, people see me as an influencer and also my clothing boutique!
I’ve been apart of this entertainment business since I was in my young teen years and still am currently apart of it.
I was successful in a lot of business moves I made which got me to the point where I am at today & I also made a lot of mistakes that I learned from which molded me into the person I am now.
People normally come to me for business advice, for marketing strategies ideas or promotions and or collaborations. I also sell feminine clothing cater to woman of all sizes/color/height.

I Feel like My Personality, My Image & Work ethic speaks for itself and help makes me stand out in the entertainment business compared to others which makes me different than most.

Im really proud of myself for not giving up on the things I put my mind to regardless of how hard & challenging the obstacles were. I’m happy for my supportive friends that stuck by me through all my success and challenges as well as my followers.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The beginning process of funding my business was a tough one, I also made some bad decisions which i eventually learned from and was able to move forward in a more smarter direction. I was in my mid 20s working a regular min wage 9-5 job so money was really tight but I was determined to get something rolling in as far as my business plan. I took out a few bucks from each paycheck until I got around $500-$600 which at the time I thought was enough to start my business.
I bought the items I needed to buy to help market my clothing business and bought my clothes right after. I did enough research beforehand to help give me an idea on the direction I wanted to take to help push my business but because I did not have enough to get a storefront or rent out a suite i decided to store everything in my bedroom and use my closet As a setup to hold inventory or market it which a lot of people was not aware of.
My biggest mistake was buying wayyyyy more inventory then I needed to, alot of stuff sold out but their were also a lot of stuff that wasn’t selling much either and was just sitting around so In the beginning of starting I lost some money but again it was a learning experience that helped me for when I expanded my business down the line.
I feel like every new business owner goes through obstacles where they have a drought period where things are moving slow or they possibly made a bad decision or bad investment where they lost money or loss a profit from but at the end of the day you learn from it all and continue to move forward with better decisions and a better mindset

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to eventually learn to not expect alot from others because not everyone is genuine as me or have Good intentions like I do & also to not care so much about what others thought about me because regardless of weather I’m doing good or not someone is always going to have something to talk about.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Nefertiti_2u
• Twitter: Asknefertiti
• Other: Business pages on IG: @whatsnext_byNefertiti @ucollection__boutique

Image Credits
@phanphotography