The End of a Chapter
Today was our last day at our retail location located in the MoDiv Retail Incubator located in downtown Grand Rapids. Today marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another!
I am so proud of what Sofia Bella Couture has become and what it has accomplished since its inception in September. I have given 110% of my life to this business over the course of the last 7 months and I am so thankful for what I have learned throughout this journey.
As we began to tell people that we were closing our retail location and moving to a different business model, we heard the same thing over and over, "I am so sorry to hear this. I am sorry it didn't work out for you." I want everyone to know that there is nothing to be sorry for! This is exciting news! This is a very smart, savvy business decision that is going to catapult our business to the next level! Our product line appeals to a very niche market, so we were not able to thrive in an incubator type setting, much less downtown! Our demographics are not shopping downtown on a consistent basis. I racked my brain thinking of ways to increase sales. Spend money on print ads? No! No one reads print ads anymore! We received press from every media outlet in Grand Rapids! If people hadn't heard about us through eightWest, WZZM13, Fox 17, Wood TV, GRNow, mLive, Grand Rapids Press or Rapid Growth Media, then they weren't going to hear about us! MoDiv received more press and coverage than any other retail in Grand Rapids ever has.
I have been working feverishly behind the scenes to build our online presence and our online following and in recent weeks we have accomplished that. We have been shipping out 10-15 packages a week, consistently, for the last month and a half! This is so exciting to us! Our Facebook fan base is growing by a minimum of 10-25 fans a day on a bad day and anywhere from 25-50 on a good day!
Our social calendar is filling up fast with fun, exciting networking functions. We have vendor shows, craft shows, farmers markets and other gigs lined up all summer long! You will be able to visit us at various shows around town as well as shop through our Facebook page, our e commerce site and trunk shows!
This is where you can find us the month of May:
May 2 @ 9 am - Stroller Strides Grand Opening - Manhattan Park - EGR
May 2 @ 7 pm - Moms in Tow Moms Night Out - Boatwerks in Holland - Come Join Us!
May 12 - River Bank Run - Come cheer Sofia Bella on! I'll be running in a pink tutu!
May 14 @ 10 am - MOM's Club Meet n Greet Open House - Caledonia Public Library
May 19 @ 9 am - GR8 Parenting Event @ DeVos Place! Free admission! Lots of shopping!
May 24 @ 6 pm Moms in Tow Birthday Party
We will continue to keep you updated on our whereabouts as we fill our calendar! We are also looking at a small space to rent as well!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who have supported us and shopped with us over the last 7 months. Without you, we wouldn't be us!
See you soon!
Brandice & Sofia
