Today we’d like to introduce you to Uylee Dennis.
Hi Uylee, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
All my life I wanted to start a business. As a little girl, I sold candy in the neighborhood from my home. As an adult, I always enjoyed selling things as a hobby on various platforms such as eBay and others. I worked all my secular life as an Executive Assistant, so selling items was just a side hobby.
However, due to health, I was forced into an early retirement from work. This meant no longer having employment, which is something I’ve had since I was fourteen. So, I now had time to grow my side business and invest more time into it. In time, my small hobby turned into a small business. And after much hard work, we were able to trademark our brand, and we’ve been in business now for eight years.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes, there were definite struggles. It costs money to start any business. This meant obtaining various funding options to invest in starting my brand. I used my own saved resources, grants, and loans. In time, we had enough to get our Shop moving.
However, when the pandemic hit hard in 2020, our business took a plunge. Suddenly our sales drastically decreased, and we were sure we would have to shut down the business. It was a hard struggle getting through that time, but we made it through with a lot of hard work and creativity.
And there was also the need to learn all the laws and requirements of running a business. My major was never in business, so there was much to learn about successfully running a business on my own. I took as many business courses as I could. I took advantage of every workshop I was invited to. I made a job of learning the business. There are still things I’m learning, and there is always room for more education. But I finally reached a point where I was able to successfully run my business.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Uylee’s Boutique?
We are an online boutique. When we began our business, we specialized in retro and vintage-inspired dresses. Since then, we have added modern clothing into our brand. We carry a wide range of dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, jewelry, handbags, and many accessories. We also create custom shirts, mugs, and various accessories.
When it comes to women, we come in various beautiful shapes and curves. So, our brand carries ladies’ dresses ranging from a U.S. size zero through a thirty-two. And we are willing to order larger sizes if a young lady requires that.
I love that we have been able to dress so many ladies for various important events in their lives. We have dressed Brides and entire wedding parties. And it’s been great obtaining photos of these ladies wearing our dresses, along with personal thank you messages.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe the personal attention that we have been known to give our Customers has truly helped to grow our brand. We go as far as gift wrapping Customer’s purchases prior to shipping them, and providing handwritten thank you cards as well. We also make sure to include a free gift in our Customer’s shipment. This has all contributed to loyal and repeat Customers. And our customers also refer others, and that has also helped to grow our brand
Pricing:
- Dresses: $4.99 – $129.99
- Skirts: $4.99 – $39.99
- Jewelry: $4.99 – $29.99
- Custom Clothing; $19.99 – $34.99
- Custom Mugs: $19.99 – $22.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://UyleesBoutique.fashion
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/UyleesBoutique
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Uylees
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/UyleesBoutique
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@UyleesBoutique
