Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Campbell.
Hi Shannon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I would say my story started as a young woman who loved fashion. I spent the majority of my time at the Mall of America when I was in my twenties. I was either managing a retail store or I was shopping there. I never grew tired of going shopping. I longed for the day when I could become a buyer, when I would be the one making the decisions on what to buy. Unfortunately, I burned out in the retail industry and jumped to office administration jobs. But I never gave up on my dream. Flash forward many years to the summer of 2017, the summer my home burned down. We lost a lot of our possessions and our home had to be completely rebuilt. But I walked away from that grateful. I was grateful that my family was safe and I was grateful to be able to start over. It made me realize I already had everything I needed in life – my family. And now was the perfect opportunity to show my son Dylan that you can take a tragedy in your life and turn it into something special. I wanted Dylan to see that life will give you difficult situations that you must get through. But you should never give up on your dreams and you should seize any opportunity to pursue your dreams.
Losing most of your possessions is sad, but it also leaves you with the chance to start over, and more importantly, it leaves you with money. I know that sounds crass, but you cannot start a business, especially an online boutique without money. I now had the funds I needed to pursue my dream. I had the money to start my own boutique, I could be the buyer I always dreamed of becoming. I decided to seize this opportunity and go after my dream job. I would start my own online boutique. In September 2019 when I finally received the funds from my insurance company, I opened Sunflower and Jasmine Women’s Boutique.
Had I known the pandemic was about to hit in 2020 and shut down the world, I would have waited. But you cannot foresee these types of events, so I am not as established as I hoped to be by this time. I am growing my reach every day online and gaining new shoppers. But most of all I am learning every day how to be a better boutique owner, so down the road as my boutique grows, I will be prepared for whatever the future brings.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth going for me. The pandemic started shutting down the world in early 2020, just months after I had launched my boutique. People were hoarding essential items fearing they would not be able to get them in the future. They were not interested in shopping a new online boutique. I was basically dead in the water, praying for the pandemic fears to lighten so people would go back to shopping normally. However, that wasn’t the only issue. I was running this boutique on my own without really understanding what it took to launch an online boutique. I enjoyed picking items I loved for myself but were the items I was picking the right items. How did I know I was buying items that other people would want to purchase? Also, everyone tells you that in order to get your online boutique launched and get people to shop your brand you need to put yourself out there. You need to do live videos on Facebook and make Instagram reels. That is difficult when you are a very private person. I am an introvert by nature, so putting myself out on these platforms is my worst nightmare. And if I stay true to myself, I wouldn’t be the face of my boutique. I am the happy person behind the scenes person. It is a struggle every day to find the balance of staying true to yourself and putting enough of yourself out there to grow your customer base.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Sunflower And Jasmine Womens Boutique?
My boutique is an online women’s boutique. We sell on trend women’s clothes and accessories. We may dabble in a few toys or spa items. We are a boutique that has something for all women who love fashion. At the moment we carry sizes S-L, we do have some XS and XL sizes. We pride ourselves on being affordable. We do not mark up our items a ton. Once an item is marked down 50%, it is at our cost. We will have sales that offer 15-20% off sitewide. I want my shoppers to be happy with their purchases. I want them to be able to reach out to me if there is an issue. I will do everything I can to make it right for the customer. My boutique offers casual, dressy, and bohemian styles. We purchase some of our merchandise locally. And I hope to find more local businesses to support. I also try to support other small businesses and wholesalers. I want to be a part of building other small businesses’ success stories. One day I hope to be able to give back to the community.
For now, I run my business out of my home in Bloomington, MN. One day I hope to be large enough and successful enough to move into a warehouse. All my models are my friends, they help me out of the kindness of their hearts, and I appreciate them so much.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I feel the most important characteristic for success is being self-motivated and self-reliant. There is no one who is going to do the work for you. You have to be the one to put in the time and make the decisions. When it is your company, and you have no employees you need to be everything for your company. If you are lucky (and I was), you will have a few people to help you with things like photography and modeling. Basically, you have to make things happen for yourself. You are sales, marketing, distribution, shipping, accounting, management, and many other things. And you are all these things at the same time. If you are not willing to put in the work, then don’t bother starting a business.
Pricing:
- Most items range from $25-$45
- Offer occasional sales of 15% to 20% off sitewide
Contact Info:
- Email: info@sunflowerandjasmine.com
- Website: www.sunflowerandjasmine.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunflower_and_jasmine
- Facebook: @sunflowerandjasmine
Image Credits
Allie Haley Photography
