Today we’d like to introduce you to Shira Ferman.

Hi Shira, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2019, I graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s in Retail Merchandise and Product Development. During my time in college, I worked retail at Aldo Shoes and Pacsun.

I also worked for the Collegiate Merchandise Association, an on-campus, student-led fashion media group as a blog writer, editor, and stylist for their magazine. I wanted to test out all of the different positions the fashion industry had to offer prior to searching for a job in the real world.

After graduating I ended up landing my dream job in NYC at Macy’s as an assistant to the director of Product Development for furniture. After 9 months of living in the NYC area, the pandemic began, prompting my fiancé and me to move back to our home state of Florida. I worked for a year and a half from home and when it came time for a promotion, I was moved to product development assistant for women’s shoes. The only caveat was I needed to be in NYC to meet with vendors every week.

I searched for jobs in St. Pete and Tampa and felt in my heart it was time to try something I’ve always wanted to do.
I’ve always had an eye for fashion trends and I love putting together outfits. After some reflection, I decided that I wanted to curate a selection of clothes that was cute and affordable. On TikTok, I came across an E-Guide by Leigha Stepp (a boutique owner in Florida) and followed every step to start the business and get it up and running. Once the infrastructure was set, I began putting together my assortment.

I designed the entire website using Shopify and once my inventory arrived I only had one more task, the hardest of them all: Find the perfect name for my boutique. On October 1st, 2021, the website went live and The Lovely Sun was born. We have been doing pop-ups all over St. Pete and Tampa area as well as selling to online customers all over the country.

There was a huge learning curve in the beginning but I loved taking on this new challenge. I feel so happy when I give my customers unique and trendy clothes that make them smile and feel pretty.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The learning curve for starting and growing the business has been the greatest challenge so far.

There are a ton of small things you don’t think of when starting your first business. The only way to learn is to work through everything one step at a time and keep in mind that there is always more to learn!

Another struggle we have is the rain during summertime in Florida. Rain can damage the clothes and cause mold so we’ve ended up having to cancel many pop-up shops this summer so far. We try to wait until the last minute as it’s Florida and the weather always seems to change.

And I say “we”. but I really mean just me (lol).

We’ve been impressed with The Lovely Sun, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Lovely Sun is an online boutique with pop-up shops all over St. Pete and the Tampa area. We specialize in offering unique and trendy women’s clothes and accessories for less. We pride ourselves on finding the coolest stuff that you don’t see in many places varying from bright colors to chic and neutral colors.

You will find all types of styles at our shop but we only bring in the best of the best! Our customers are our priority always! We love putting together outfits for our customers and seeing them shine in our merch online! We love chatting with the customers online too, providing styling opinions and options.

Another unique thing we do on our Instagram is asking and taking polls for customers on the merchandise we are thinking of buying so the customer gets a lot of say! We’ve had a customer inquire about a sold-out item and since it did so well we brought it back, not once but three times! Our goal is to make you feel special and loved!

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My advice for students with networking and finding a mentor is to look to your teachers for advice or join clubs on campus that pertain to your career so you can also learn from your peers. You will also learn so much from your boss at work.

While working at Aldo Shoes and Pacsun my bosses were able to teach me a ton about sales and communication.

While I worked at Macy’s my boss taught me how to be extremely organized, and how to prioritize when I have too much on my plate and helped to enhance my communication skills even further.

These are all vital lessons to apply to any career and I use these skills every day with my boutique.

Pricing:

• Our prices range from $9-$100
• We try to keep the prices as low as we possibly can so our customers are happy.
• The whole site is always 10% off- we LOVE always having a sale for our customers.
• We have 15% off $75 or more on the website always.

• Website: www.thelovelysun.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopthelovelysun/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopthelovelysun
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopthelovelysun       

Image Credits

Ferg’s Sportbar, Sydney Settles, Shira, Steven, and Rachel Stinar