Chrissy owns an online self-care and beauty boutique that does business in 15 U.S. states. She also gets support from—and provides learning opportunities to—an LIM intern.
What has your career path been so far?
I graduated from LIM College in January of 2020 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. I was working full time in the Lord & Taylor corporate buying office when COVID-19 hit, and my office was let go. I had my own company in the works and had planned to launch it while having a full-time job, but this really gave me the chance to accelerate that process.
Tell us about your company.
My Serenity is an online boutique of all-natural products that are sourced sustainably and made in the USA. I create a virtual environment for customers with a curated assortment of products made by vendors who work to provide quality ethically. I want to educate my consumers through the products I buy, and I encourage them to stay in-tune with themselves and educate themselves about ethical shopping. I’ve gained exposure in 15 states and sold out my inventory five times since opening in May.
How did your LIM education prepare you to run your own business?
LIM helped me in so many ways, giving me the tools to run my boutique. The opportunity to have multiple internships while attending LIM gave me the experience in the buying industry to understand consumer behavior and shopping patterns. Taking classes such as Product Development, Retail Math, Social Media, and Entrepreneurship helped me understand that a business has so many different aspects. Also, some of my LIM professors have been amazingly supportive in this venture. They encouraged me to follow my dreams.
You’ve been working with an LIM intern. What has that been like?
I’ve loved working with Julianna, my LIM intern. We have a mutual passion and work ethic that has been great for the business and its growth. Julianna is an extremely hard worker who also pushes me to grow as her boss. Sharing a similar educational experience has been helpful because we share a lot of the same background knowledge in business, which allows us to stay on the same page and have great communication. Since this is a startup and small business, I’m able to have a really close working relationship with Julianna and teach her one-on-one.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own business?
You need to have a clear idea of your market and what your brand image is. You also need to have confidence in yourself and your product, because that passion is conveyed to the consumer. As long as you know your goals and stay consistent, the customers will gravitate to you.
