Meet Jennifer Buathier of Flirty Fashion with Jen
I come from a family of small business owners so it was something always on the horizon. I had a successful run in high end cosmetic management and retail for close to a decade in Ohio along with many hours worked in our family restaurants. When I moved to Arizona I worked in an office and knew that was not the end goal. While I was still working I started selling clothes from home with a direct sales company and slowly transitioned into my own shop. I knew again, I wanted to be working for myself so I slowly started toward that goal. First I did all the paperwork; LLC, finding a CPA, taxation and all of the necessary legalities before the fun started. After all of the tedious papers were filed, I had to figure my business focus and branding. I decided on quality, mainly USA made and affordable fashion for women, I mean who really wants to drop half a check on a few pieces of clothing? Once I established all of the licensing to order wholesale, I started to focus on styles and trends and who had the best pricing. It’s been a lot of work….I’ve added two children to the mix and had some terrible tragedy strike in 2019 but never gave up the focus on customer service and affordability. I do all of the ordering, selling, shipping and of course customer satisfaction. Running a one man show with the help of my husband, Sean, from time to time definitely keeps me busy but I love being able to follow my passion for fashion, affordable finds and saving on daycare!
It’s not a smooth road in any business! Ask anyone who owns their own or works for someone. I often get lazy working from home with two kids because after all, it’s a lot of work and exhausting. The biggest obstacle is not having a storefront. Social media is great but it’s the toughest business strategy ever and highly competitive. It comes with a lot of positives though and the main one is low overhead when working from home.
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I sell affordable women’s fashion in all sizes including the plus size market. In boutique shops it’s often hard to find anything above an XL so this has grown me a very loyal and loving clientele. Another big focus is Made in USA. Although not every item I carry is made here in the states, that is my focus. I have proven over and over again USA can be affordable. My price point definitely sets me apart from others. When I’m charging at max about $40 for denim and most shops are charging $60 and up.
Hmmm, let me see…..success…..wow how it has changed for me. I used to know myself as the hardest worker. The more I worked, the more I saved, the more I saw my accounts grow, the more successful I was becoming…WRONG! I was giving my time to corporate America and it was killing me. I was dealing with people who would replace my hard work in a second. I finally realized that I had been doing it all wrong in about 2015. I was never a “brown noser” so I always stayed mid level when I moved to Arizona. When I started working toward staying home full time with my kids and launching my business is probably when I found most success. Now success to me means owning my own time. No one tells me how to take vacation or if I’m really sick to use my time off. There are many joys in that from a parent standpoint.
