Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tanesha Stinson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Tanesha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My story is simple. I had a dream. Life happened. I responded to life. Life gave me everything I needed to succeed at my dream. I am now living out my dream in real life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Tanesha Stinson, founder of Flamingo Apparel & Accessories, LLC. I specialize in trendy statement footwear for women. I also provide matching accessories to our shoes, such as purses, hats, scarves and jewelry. I got into the footwear industry solely (no pun intended) as a hobby. I absolutely love shoes! And I simply turned that love and passion of shoes into a business! What sets me apart from others? The attention to detail, the choice of colors and textures, the exclusivity of the shoe. I have looked at the competitors and my product selection is unmatched!

I am passionate about a woman feeling beautiful, set apart and special. I enjoy completing an outfit with an eye-catching piece that prompts the question, “Where did you get those from?”

I am most proud of the level of customer service that is provided to our ladies. Since we are currently 100% online, it is very important to answer every email and direct message. It helps to develop trust between us and the customer, as well as helping build our brand of the premier online shoe boutique. We strive to be the best, because we are the best. As we grow, we desire to grow with our customers to secure brand loyalty. We work well with our customer because we are our customers!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

That’s a good question. Well, I invested in my business 100% for the first 3 months of its incubation. After 3 months, I realized that I needed more funding to purchase more product to expand my brand. I was not making enough from sales to expand the way I wanted to in the spring, so I put together an angel investment package for friends and family that were willing to invest different amounts into my business. I offered incentives for investors such as: special payouts for sales earmarks being met, quarterly payouts and discounts. The commitment was for 2 years and the investment amount was for $1,000 and $2,000. The response to those that were willing to invest in my business was overwhelming. I was able to purchase inventory for the spring and summer of this year. The financial support of my friends and family pretty much jump started my business and helped me to get to where I am today.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Yes! So, as the CEO, there was a vision for the type of shoes that I wanted to stock in my online store. I had the mindset of heels, heels and more heels. Maybe a few low heels, but heels nonetheless. However, as I began to navigate through the different seasons and as brand recognition expanded, I started receiving texts, posts, direct messages and emails asking for more flats, lower heels and loafer type shoes. Honestly, these types of shoes are not my specialty, so it was a challenge for me to find these types of shoes to accommodate the demand that I was faced with.

I was fortunate to find a few vendors whose quality and style matched my own. We are debuting our first line of loafers in November 2022 and we are really excited to share this new product with our customers! This pivot for me was challenging because it has forced me to re-envision my consideration set as it pertains to the upcoming seasons. If there is a demand for flatter, trendy footwear, then I want to be on top of that trend for the upcoming season. I have already started looking at loafer style flats for Spring 2023 as well as our signature heels.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.royaltshoetique.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/royaltshoetique
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/royaltshoetique