We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Teresa Martinez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Teresa below.
Teresa, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
Success is subjective, but what I would say it mainly takes to succeed is perseverance and the ability to adapt. Whether you work for someone or own your own business you will inevitably face failures, and how you respond determines the outcome of your actions. In the first year of my retail business, I decided to sell a certain collection of tables that were still being manufactured. This was in the first year of the pandemic and importing and manufacturing was a challenge, so I thought I could sell what was still being manufactured as long as I delivered at the promised time. Well, I sold a good amount of the tables, and when they finally arrived the distributor realized they could not ship them for the price they had given me. This was really bad news for me. At this point, I had customers who had waited six months for this table and had already paid the shipping cost I was given. I refused to cancel the orders. I explained the situation to each customer and asked them to bear with me as I found a good shipping option. I didn’t know what to do. I immediately started reaching out to freight companies all over the nation to see who would be willing to work with me on the cost. I finally found a company in Austin, Texas that was able to give me prices that were almost covered by the profit of the sales, and that is what I did. I shipped all the orders out at a loss to my company in order to keep my word as a retailer and fulfill my orders. At that time, this was very disappointing, but I learned a lot from that experience. Plus, I created relationships with these customers that actually ended up generating additional sales and great reviews for my company. It also helped me map future digital ads as I learned the areas of the country in which my product was in demand. Anyhow, I’m sure if you asked any business owner you will see that we all have failed at times, but perseverance and adaptation is the key to success.
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?
I am an interior designer and founder of Lilian and Victoria, an online lifestyle shop that sells vintage style furniture, lighting, art, home decor, fashion, and accessories. We offer full interior design services and partner with builders to create the home of your dreams. We work with experienced carpenters, painters, tile and flooring installers, and wallpaper and art installers. We accept projects of all sizes and styles. Most designers become known for a certain look, but my goal is to create a space my client loves and that represents them and their lifestyle. I love bringing a room to life and help make the space not only beautiful but more functional. It is very gratifying when my customer tells me how they use their newly renovated space so much more now or that it’s so much easier to live in. I believe that when you love where you live, your outlook on life changes. You face the day with a different attitude and pride that leads to positive changes in your life overall. So, from helping customers select the right piece for them from our online shop or a full design project, we’re here to help.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
Currently most of our products are manufactured by other companies, but last year we launched our first collaboration with a company in California. It is a headband and accessories shop named The Little Karen Studio. They hand sow headbands and send them to us, Then we hand sow beads on to the headbands in a traditional floral pattern inspired by Huichol flower bracelets. I am very excited and love this collection, but this year in a couple of months actually our new collection of custom framed vintage style prints will be ready! Stay tuned!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We are still a very young company. However, we have accumulated great reviews! Of course, great product and quality sells itself to a certain extent, but customer service is everything!! We strive to respond to customers promptly and ship out orders promptly as well. We are constantly working on providing excellent descriptions and pictures that help customers understand the product they are purchasing. We make sure to process returns in a timely manner and cover replacements if an item arrives damaged or is lost in transition.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lilianandvictoria.com/
- Instagram: @lilianandvictoria
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilianandvictoria