Today we’d like to introduce you to Shauna T.
Shauna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello, I’m Shauna T owner of Expressions Inc.
Expressions Inc originally started out as a graphic t-shirt brand in October of 2020. A few of my top sellers where I hustle different respect it, and God, faith, and hustle. I ended up trademarking I hustle different respect it because that saying, and design resonated with so many people. I still have it on my site now because people love that shirt. My cousins (which is my tribe/customers) begin requesting different items like short sets, jumpsuits, and dresses. I was initially afraid to transition over to a boutique because I was already comfortable and doing well with selling T-shirts. But as time went on, I overcame my fear, and I really begin to listen to what my cousins were requesting. I was like okay God; I’m going to make the switch over to a boutique. I began to research on the internet and took a trip to L. A. Fashion District. August 2021, I changed over to a full boutique. My cousins loved it; I know they were like finally, lol. But I notice that there was a need for plus-size women’s clothing. Me being plus size all my life I know the struggle of finding cute plus size clothing. Plus size women want to be sexy and stylish just as women who are smaller sizes. Then about mid-September of 2021, I changed over to plus size only carrying sizes 1x-3x. I decided to be the face of my brand because I am a plus size woman. I’m wanted to display confidence, sexiness, and being classy in your apparel for the curvy girls. Now, that I had identified who my brand was for, I needed more people to know I existed. I was praying and asking God what should I do? I took to social media Instagram and TikTok specifically, I ended up going viral in October 2021, and January 2022 which helped me get the visibility that I needed, and it help me grow my brand as well. I love to say that I gave God something to work with by putting in the work and he did the rest, and that’s what brought my brand to where it is today. I am super grateful for all my cousins who supported me form the beginning until now and all my new cousins. Thank you for choosing Expressions Inc to be your fashion solution. Expressions Inc is a plus-size women’s boutique that carries sizes 1x-3x. We cater to women who love to be modest in their apparel, sexy, classy, and stylish.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Entrepreneurship is hard it is not for the weak, few of my challenges were learning who I wanted to service and why. It’s important that you identify this before you start or at the beginning of your journey. It makes things a lot smoother and you’re not bouncing all over the place confusing yourself and your customer. Also learning how to properly market my business to my customer, which ties into knowing who you want to service and why. I use social media as one form of marketing. I had to learn people receive information and communicate differently than me. I asked myself a few questions. How can I best communicate to my customer through social media? Is my content speaking to my customer? What does my content look like to my customer? I had to take myself out of the equation it became all about my customer. I learned how to speak my customers language through my content. This did not happen overnight I had to test, test, and more testing. I still test out different things now. I’m better now than when I started but I always remain a student. As an entrepreneur your start out doing everything yourself, customer service, packing orders, or doing your website. I learned quickly I am not super women, and I needed some help. There are so many things to learn while on this journey of entrepreneurship, it’s more than you just calling yourself a boss or looking pretty for a picture. How much work are you putting in to see the results you want in your business. I had to learn sis you cannot be a lazy boss, or you will get lazy results. Most importantly shifting my mind set. I had to change the way I thought about myself and my brand. I have overcome a lot of things on this entrepreneurship journey. I’m just getting started it will make 2 years in October. I’m excited about the feature of my brand, looking forward to more lessons learned, and greatness on my journey.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Expressions Inc?
Expressions Inc is a plus-size women’s boutique that carries sizes 1x-3x. We cater to women who love to be modest in their apparel, sexy, stylish, and classy. Our mission is to lighten your load and also save time by providing stylish that you can easily accessorize. Expressions Inc’s brand values are Faith, Family, Fun, and Integrity. We are here to serve the plus-size community.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters to me the most is my family. My family is my foundation they keep me grounded. They are one of the main reasons why I keep pushing in my business. I didn’t grow up with a sliver spoon in my mouth and to my knowledge there are not any millionaires in my family. But God bless and same the same I will be the first. Knowing that I will be able to leave a legacy for my children is so much joy and fulfillment for me.
Contact Info:
- Website www.expressioninc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_expressionsinc_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Expressioninc1
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@expressionsinc
