We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shikila Tucker-Curry a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shikila, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
I will never forget my very first customers.. And I must say, customers, because two friends were the very first people to walk through the door on opening day and I’ll never forget it. I was not expecting anyone! Then the sweetest lady walked in after
them and she was officially my first purchase. The friends were still busy shopping! They followed and became my second and third purchasers! Of course I had to snap photos throughout the day! It was an awesome feeling of accolplishment. Even if I didnt get anymore purchases that day, that I accomplished my goal.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For those who haven’t had a chance to read my previous feature, Preserve & Co. came about after an attempt to expand our other business. We wanted a second location for a tattoo studio and we found a very quaint space in an up and coming area known lovingly as WeCo (West Columbia, SC). But, as many know, getting zoning for a tattto studio in a great area is extremely hard. So once that wasnt possible, we still loved the space and the area and I wanted to be able utilize it. That’s when my wonderful husband suggested that I take the opportunity to follow a longtime dream of opening a small boutique and doing it my way, not the standard. And Preserve was born. The concept came from my love of growing up and spending summers in rural South Carolina with my grandparents and great-grandmother. Textures, scents, the feeling of warmth. The name came from a trip to see my great-grandmothers old home before it was torn down. While walking away I found one of her old Preserve jars. That coupled with my love for genealogy and the preservation of family history and here we are a year later!
How’d you meet your business partner?
My business partner happens to be my husband. We have been married over a decade and have been business partners for over eight years. We’ve nagivagated and learned a lot about business together. It was definitely a long, hard road to making our first business a success. The best part was knowing that we had one another to turn to and knowing we wanted the best for one another. Having someome you trust as a partner is the most important thing whether they’re your spouse or not.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Thankfully we live in a time that allows us to acess an array great resources. I look for information from fellow entrepreneurs, I am a member of business organizations that gives me an opportunity to network and learn. Depending on what type of industry youre in, you can find an abudance of information and tools online to get your where you need to be. There are also a lof of successful people who are willing to share and help guide newer entrepreneurs, just ask!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.preserveandco.com
- Instagram: @preserveandco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preserveandco