Meet the most inspirational, entrepreneurial women across the beauty, fashion, and lifestyle industries.
“A boss is an owner of a business who surrounds themselves with like minded women who choose to inspire and lift each other up creating an atmosphere where the best of each employee shines through to create the success of the business.”
Alicia of Coco Blu is a spirited, fashionable muse. She gracefully takes charge of a room, and is so kind, creative and hard-working. Her sense of style is on-point (as evident by the successful boutiques), but her style isn’t all that has led her to a thriving business, it’s also how genuine and savvy she is.
Coco Blu was inspired by the strong women in Alicia’s life. She came from a line of female business owners who instilled in her she could conquer anything.
“Don’t be afraid to fail every now and then. Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and get back to being your positive self! Every down fall in life/business is a huge lesson learned and will only make you stronger. Treat others in your circle with a kind heart and respect, it will come back to you two fold.”
Alicia started her business by selling antiques and her own art at a cooperative, and then started to run a boutique with business partners. 8 years ago, she opened her own two stores in Wayne and Stone Harbor: Coco Blu was born. She attributes her skills to her grandmother, who taught her to sew and inspired her love of painting. “There is a world of lessons to be learned from our Grandparents,” Alicia reflects.
Coco Blu is named after her favorite fashion icon, Coco Chanel, and the ocean (hence the blue). When you walk into the store, it is colorful and calming; the walls are a serene, Caribbean blue, and the merchandise is artfully arranged. What I love about the store is that the minute you arrive, you are their friend. There are stylists there to give you an honest advice, and that you look and feel your best in Coco Blu styles! And honestly, it would be hard not to, the store is FULL of amazing pieces.
Alicia sources all the items herself. Within minutes of my arrival, my eyes immediately went to a gorgeous, navy blue top with a crepe ribbon adorned sleeve and open shoulder top. It was fresh, very runway inspired, and it spoke to me! I had picked out some other items to try on (a super cute polka-dot ensemble, a hot pink dress), but the minute I put on the navy top, and paired it with fringe white jeans, white sandals, and a pink necklace (made by one of Alicia’s stylists!), I knew it was my outfit.
Stay tuned for more styling with this memorable navy top, kindly gifted from Alicia!
Alicia loves to work with designers that see her boutique as a special showcase for their hard work. With the rise of e-commerce, she is working hard to source unique brands and designers that are just starting out, because she loves giving opportunities to new business owners. Shopping is one of her favorite parts of running the boutique, and I can’t blame her! She has excellent taste and sources true gems. Seeing a happy repeat customer also gives her a lot of joy.
The work-life balance is hard, but Alicia’s family is very understanding, and her daughter helps her during her summers off of teaching.
Social media is key to success in this business.
“When I first started in the business close to 20 years ago, it was just print. With Facebook and Instagram, it allows your customers to see what your business is about; new arrivals, happenings and more. With print, it would take a week to find out what a business had going on. In today’s economy, it’s more important than ever to educate the consumers the importance of shopping local. Your dollars recirculate into your local economy. Do not forget the fact that many of your local businesses donate, sponsor and support local school districts and organizations. Show us the love!!”
For the future, Alicia aims to always inspire others and support other young businesswomen. Rather than view things as competition, she loves to mentor women with her advice in the fashion industry. After sitting with her, I get such a warm sense of kindness, and she would be a great person to seek advice from.
Her final advice for people that want to pursue their own business?
“Where I was able to wing it back in the day when I first started my retail venture because financially I had little to loose; this is not the case today! For my industry, I would suggest taking business/ marketing courses in college. I would suggest finding an internship working with a company who you share the same business ethics and values with. If you are out of college, design a business plan based on where you would like to open your business. Know what and where your biggest expenses will be and design a budget for spending to fill your boutique. And if you ever have questions or want an opinion, feel free to reach out to me.”
All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this piece. I did receive a piece as a gift, after I finished the interview.