Today we’d like to introduce you to Princess Neugent.
Princess, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My love for fashion started pretty early, but I started out as a fashionable sneakerhead in middle and high school. Back then I would base my look around my sneakers; the clothes, bags, and jewelry all had to coordinate. As I got older I slowed down on buying sneakers and heels became my obsession. I originally planned to major in fashion design, but I didn’t want to limit myself to fashion only, so I figured picking entrepreneurship for my major would give me the tools to start any kind of business I wanted even if it wasn’t fashion related. Throughout college, I worked part-time retail jobs. I would get paid and go shopping all at the same place, so it was easy to become a shopaholic. I graduated from Northwood University in May 2012 and six months later I started my first full-time job, which had absolutely nothing to do with fashion. At the time it paid the bills, but ultimately I wasn’t happy.
Fast forward to April 2015, my husband and I had our daughter. I utilized my entire maternity leave and as it was coming to an end, I knew I couldn’t go back to work. My husband and I didn’t feel comfortable putting our daughter in daycare. My original plan was to go back to work and put in a two weeks notice, but I couldn’t even bring myself to do that. I emailed my manager and VP and told them I wouldn’t be returning. I knew I wanted to start a home-based business because I needed to be able to take care of the baby and handle business. Our baby girl is definitely the why behind my business.
After my late nights researching and then brainstorming with my husband and my mom, September 2015 we concluded I would start an online women’s shoe store. Neugent, was originally Neugent’s Sole. It was perfect, it literally gave me a reason to buy what I was passionate about, but also provide stylish shoes for women all over the world too.
In 2017, I began to slowly incorporate apparel into my brand to pair with the shoes I was selling. I wanted to provide complete looks, instead of just shoes. By the end of 2017, the clothes began to take over, and I rebranded to Neugent completely by 2018, which is also when I began to incorporate myself as the face of the brand. At first, I only carried women’s sizes small-large, but I was getting so many requests to stock plus size women’s clothing sizes 1X-3X, so it only made sense.
I now carry women’s contemporary and trendy apparel in sizes small-3X and select shoes. I’m no longer behind the scenes at all. I’m now known as the face of Neugent, alongside two of my friends who are my plus-size models. Personal branding has helped my business in so many ways. This year has been all about growth for not only Neugent but also myself as a business owner.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No not at all, more like a rollercoaster to be honest. Some of the struggles I have dealt with along the way have been finding my true target audience in the beginning and then learning how to attract them to my brand. Working with unprofessional influencers was another struggle I ran into from time to time, which is ultimately what pushed me to become the face of my brand, so I no longer found myself depending on others for content. The last struggle I dealt with was hiring individuals to help me with certain aspects of my business, that did not have my best interest at heart. Each struggle resulted in a positive, because they all made me reevaluate my situation, and strategize a better solution.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Neugent provides women sizes small-3X with contemporary and trendy apparel. I specialize in creating an unmatched shopping experience that makes my customers feel comfortable shopping online. I’m known for being very personable with my customers and going that extra mile to help them in any way that I can. I think I’m most proud of the overall growth and connection I’ve been able to build with my audience in such a short amount of time.
What sets me apart from others is I genuinely interact with my customers and potential customers. I’ve never met the majority of them a day in my life, but when they have questions or interact with me online, I make sure that I’m the one replying to those direct messages and comments. Although my business is online, I feel like small things like just responding to your audience goes a really long way. You would be surprised how shocked and excited they are to hear back from the business owner directly.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Consistency is most important to my success. In the fashion industry or any industry for that matter, you cannot be stagnant at all. You have to constantly research your craft and put in the work to make sure that you are producing products or services that keep you ahead. You may have the best product or service in the world, but if you’re inconsistent, people will forget about you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopneugent.com
- Phone: 972-656-9985
- Email: info@shopneugent.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopneugent
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shopneugent
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/princessneugent
- Yelp: www.snapchat.com/princessneugent
- Other: www.anchor.fm/princessneugent
Image Credit:
Marcus Romes
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