No. 14 – Starting An Online Boutique

NalyRice.com
February 21, 2023

Branching out into retail & documenting my journey along the way.

I’ve been slowly but surely working on starting my own online boutique, NalyRice.com. After owning a Marketing Technology services business in the B2B sector for 10 years, this is my first foray into a retail product market.

It’s been exciting, challenging, and quite educational.

I’m starting to document this experience if anyone else is interested in starting their own online shop. Whether you’re selling self-published books, jewelry, candles, homemade goods, or your artwork, learning how to create an online store is a valuable skill.

My website NalyRice.com has evolved over the years with me. It started as a personal portfolio website for job hunting, became my hub for writing and speaking events, and last year evolved into an e-commerce website.

It’s been a fun experiment to rebuild the website equipped with e-commerce.

The real learning began for me in product development, sourcing, pricing, shipping, and distribution. It’s a completely different environment and work process than what I’ve done in marketing technology services.

I’m having fun with it and look forward to learning and testing more!

Have you thought about starting an online store?

Lately, I’ve been taking it easy on myself since my Grandmother’s passing. I haven’t been working as much, on anything. I’ve been enjoying simple things around the house and reading or watching interesting things.

I visited the National Portrait Gallery for some inspiration and got what I needed. Something about artwork that speaks to me differently and stirs up my creativity. Sometimes I’m so compelled by an art piece that the words simply come spewing out and I can’t seem to type it on my phone fast enough.

The art piece above is called “Angel,” by Abbot Handerson Thayer, painted in 1887 with oil on canvas. The large painting is beautiful and the frame is stunningly ornate. The photo doesn’t do the painting justice, so definitely check it out in person.

I find that solitude helps me recharge and rebalance myself. Reconnecting with myself by enjoying a nature walk, preparing a meal, traveling, visiting museums, and more helps me relax.

When was the last time you took yourself on a day of leisure alone?

My website NalyRice.com has evolved into its own retail brand with bold, chic, and uplifting products for women around the world. It’s inspired by all the women entrepreneurs I’ve met since starting my business in 2013.

Creating NalyRice.com with this focus is what’s guiding our product and content development.

I want to help more women around the world:

To be bold and brave enough to believe and chase their dreams no matter their social, cultural, or economic barriers.
To feel chic and confident in who they are and be the best version of themselves.
To uplift and be uplifted by your stories of triumphs and trials that may help another woman have the courage to chase her dreams.
To develop content and products that are bold, chic, and uplifting for women.

As we voyage on and learn more, hopefully we can expand our products and partnerships that will help more women.

The online boutique will carry products like:

Stationery
Greeting Cards
Lingerie & Undergarments
Accessories
Jewelry
Custom/Personalized/Monogram
Wall Art

I’ll document it here on Notes by Naly and would love to hear about your experience starting, scaling, or selling an online store.

Thank you for inspiring me! I’m so excited to create and curate new items for the boutique. I hope you enjoy them and are inspired to chase your dreams too!

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