Meet Yaasameen Garrett of Nazeerah Love Boutique

When I was 16 years old, I decided that I was tired of asking for money. I wanted my own money on my own terms, but my parents informed me that we were leaving Florida and moving to Texas. I then thought well I don’t want to start a job then have to quit, so like any normal teenager I decided to start my own business. I knew absolutely nothing about starting a boutique, except that you needed a name, clothes, and some form of way to communicate with the world to buy your items. So in June of 2013, I started Nazeerah Love Boutique, which was originally named LoveYaasameen Store. I refused to ask for help or money, so I googled everything and figured it out along the way. Since I had no money, I basically was a drop-shipper using Aliexpress vendors… Which now that I think about it could have gotten me sued because a lot of their pictures were stolen from actual businesses. Considering the fact that Instagram wasn’t available for everyone till 2012, I was one of the first “Insta-Boutiques” to be on the app. I used social media to build my original customers and was doing pretty damn good.

Now seven years later, my company has become something completely different than that big-eyed 16 year old girl could have even imagined. Over the years, I have made many mistakes, I thankfully no longer use Aliexpress as my vendor, I have an actual brand, I have closed down the store numerous times, but here we are.

I want Nazeerah Love Boutique to be a place where any and every type of woman can come online and find an item she cannot do without. We are working hard each and everyday to show real women with real bodies, and to become more inclusive not only for our plus-size women but also for those smaller women as well in the 0’s and extra smalls.

I would be the biggest liar in the world if I said this journey was easy. Again, I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I was a 16 year old who got all her clothes from Rue21 and who sketched designs in her free time but was selling club dresses on the internet. I’ve had to deal with scammers, I’ve had to deal with rude customers, when I was using Aliexpress the terms on my website where that you would order and then have to wait 14-18 days to get your items. This was because once you ordered, I would then purchase the items, have to wait for them to be shipped to me then ship them to you. So imagine the issues I came into when the item(s) would arrive damaged, and now I have to notify my customer that they have to wait even longer.

What about the time that I realized that you don’t get just to start a business and that’s that. You have to legally register your business with the state, oh, and pay TAXES.

I have been a full time college student, working a job, as well as trying to run a business and whew. I now am a full time entrepreneur and it’s not easy. I am a one woman team. I do all the marketing, packaging, customer service, legal work, graphic work, etc. Whatever goes into a business, I do it all by myself, is it hard-hell yes. Would I give it up-hell no.

Nazeerah Love Boutique is for any and every woman. We strive in not only being a testament of hard work and perseverance but also in making everyone feel beautiful. We live in a world that is so quick to label you and we do not want to do that. Be whoever you are and wear whatever you want as long as it makes you happy.

We strive every day to be for you regardless of what you feel like wearing at that moment. We are currently building our inventory daily to reflect this slowly but surely.

I define success as the day I am able to take care of myself and my family completely and fully. I want to be able to spoil those that I love and I will not stop till I am able to do that. That is when I will truly feel successful.