Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirra Gabriel.
Hi Kirra, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In August of 2020, I had just started the school year as a sixth-grader. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the school had become virtual, where I attended my classes via Zoom from my school-issued iPad. This was not how I imagined my first year in middle school. I couldn’t see my friends at school or hang out at lunch and it was really boring just being inside the house most of the day.
One day, I began making charm bracelets from a crafting jewelry kit that I had received for my birthday. My mom told me how nice they were and that I should maybe start a business where I could sell them. (I think she was just trying to find something to keep me busy). I didn’t know anything about how to start a business but she told me she’d help me as long as I maintained good grades in school.
I got started right away making bracelets and before I knew it I had tons. Once my mom saw how many I had made she started working on how I could sell them. We started an Instagram page and launched a website (kgaccessories.com) all in the same month. Now that we had an Instagram we need content and lots of it.
This is when I decided to include my little sister Khalia in the business. We mostly use her as a model but she helps with many other things.
On our website launch day, we were surprised by how many friends and family supported us with a purchase or a donation. But as the weeks went by we realized how difficult it was to drive customers to our site or even make a purchase. We knew we needed another way to get sales besides our website.
In March of 2020, we signed up for our first local pop-up shop. We took what profit we had from our sales and some money our parents invested to purchase some wholesale accessories items we thought were trendy and unique.
We had never done a pop event before and we didn’t know what to expect but we tried our hardest to be prepared. By the end of the pop-up, we had made over $400.
For the remainder of the year, we attended pop-up events, totaling 14 events in all. We are still a long way away from where we want to be but have certainly gained more knowledge about business, supporters, and confidence to continue on.
Alright, 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?
There have been many struggles along the way. The biggest struggle for me is waiting for sales. Lol. You create an e-commerce site and think you’re going to get a lot of sales.
When in reality, the majority of people don’t even know your business exists. Another huge struggle for me was learning that I had to take a portion of my profit to reinvest back into the business.
I just wanted to keep all the money we would make and spend it on things for myself. I now understand that if I didn’t invest back into the business eventually there would be no business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our purpose at KG Accessories is to empower and encourage girls to love themselves and live boldly through our expressive style.
We pride ourselves on offering unique and trendy accessories for girls of all ages, hoping to inspire the next generation of fashion influencers.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Consistency has seem to be one of the most important aspects of our small business.
It’s important for people to know you are still thriving or operating as a small business. When we started we were determined to always keep going even if things were slow or if we didn’t know what to do next.
It’s okay to take a moment to regroup, strategize, or even rest when things get hectic but you have to keep going to see results.
Pricing:
- $5 jewelry and hair accessories
- $25-$35 Charm Bags
- $1 charms
Contact Info:
- Email: Kg.access2020@gmail.com
- Website: www.kgaccessories.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/kgacessory
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/kgaccessory/
- Other: Linkt.ree/kgaccessory
