Meet Octavia Soljour of Soljour Boutique

Today we’d like to introduce you to Octavia Soljour.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Octavia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
A little over a year ago I signed up to be a mentee at a bible study that I attend on Tuesday mornings at Oak Cliff Bible Church. I was given the opportunity to choose who I wanted to be mentored by. After learning about all the different mentors one stood out, Alice Warren. Alice was a retired teacher, owned a speech pathology business and a boutique owner. My first thought was, wow she is quite the entrepreneur! The next week we met for the first time.

She asked me what I wanted to get out of the mentorship program? I kind of fumbled over my words. I hadn’t thought about what I wanted to get out of the program. To be honest, I signed up with her because I thought it was cool that she owned a boutique and I always dreamed of owning one myself but not believing that it would ever happen. After throwing a couple goals off the top of my head, I mentioned that I would love to know how she got started with her boutique business. I also shared that owning a boutique was a dream of mine. She asked, “what’s stopping you?”

I told her I have little kids at home, a husband and a part-time job, I just don’t have the time right now. She shared with me how she started twenty years ago while working full time, two little kids and recently divorced. She went on to tell me she could teach me the business and I could do it with my busy schedule. I soon realized that I have no excuse not to take advantage of this opportunity. I truly believe meeting Alice was a divine appointment. Even though having a boutique was a dream of mine, it wasn’t something I thought I would be doing right now. But I’m so glad that I am!

Has it been a smooth road?
Being a business owner has its challenges. We can’t predict the future. You can purchase something that you absolutely love but find out that your clientele doesn’t. I think the biggest struggle is learning who you want your clientele to be and building your brand around that.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Soljour Boutique is a women’s clothing, accessories and personal styling company. We specialize in unique pieces that you will mostly likely not find at Target or your local mall. I try to carry a wide range of pieces that compliment different body types, ages and stages of life.

Since we don’t have a brick and mortar location we do a lot of vendor events around the city as well as host pop-up parties. What also makes Soljour Boutique unique is that we offer personal styling and shopping. This service is perfect for our clients that don’t have the time to shop for themselves or not sure how to find clothing for their body type.

What I’m most proud of is the growth of the company. We are less than a year old, but we are making a name for ourselves in the DFW area. I love that we are building a business where women are happy with the merchandise and return to shop for more.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The DFW area has such a wide range of people, culture and resources. I do think it’s a great city to start a business. I recommend starting small. Attending networking mixers and vendor events are a great way to get your name out there and find people that can help you grow your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soljourboutique.com
• Phone: 2142283431
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Doneda Bailey

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