We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Vargo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.
Hi Michelle, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Perseverance. We settled on the business in February of 2020. Two weeks later we we were told we would need to close for the first COVID lockdown. Very quickly we launched an online store and applied for PPP funding as well as grants through our city. It was very important through this period, to continue working with the same passion that we used to buy the business. From this experience we learned to keep going no matter the circumstance. Having an amazing customer base helped keep us passionate about serving them and running the store through a hard time.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Bliss focuses on supporting small, local artisans and businesses. We believe in brands on a mission, supporting those that support others. It’s important as buyers to be aware of the products and their story. We want to bring long lasting goods, to consumers, that also work towards bettering the world in which we live. It’s this commitment to being a conscientious vendor that keeps the passion flowing, bringing our consumers new and exciting products they can feel good about.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. We were both employees and then managers before buying the store which aided in the understanding of running and operation from the ground up. 2. Knowing your community and what will sell, not just the trends but what your customers and community are looking for. 3. We both came from artistic backgrounds which help with buying, trends, and displays. Our advise would be to connect with your community and other local business owners. Networking is a huge part of our success. Hearing and connecting with fellow business owners helps tremendously with understanding direction.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We are always looking for new local and small artisans. A huge part of our mission is bringing meaningful products to our customers. Having a story and go along with product always makes for a meaningful purchase and hopefully a lifelong, loved item!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blissboulder.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blissboulder/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlissBoulder/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bliss-boulder
