home
Yassin graduated with four degrees in Travel Tourism
Management, Computer Science, Fashion Design and Business Management, and in
2011 she ventured into selling women's apparel and established “Let’s Journey into Fashion, LLC”, an on-line retail store which features many of
my own personal designs.
She recently
spent time in Nashville Tennessee where she had the pleasure of styling Cyrene Tankard on the red carpet for their premier viewing of
their new reality show Thicker than Water that
airs on Bravo TV on Sundays at 9pm est.
Get
to know Yassin Hall and experience her journey
Please, tell us the
story behind Montage. How did all start?
I believe that Let’s
Journey into Fashion was my destiny, as well as the answer to my prayers. After
my divorce in 2009, I became a single mom with two special needs children. I
spent time researching Florida schools and made the decision to move to Orlando
because I felt the school district was a better fit for my children’s needs. I
was already a stay at home mom who worked in the real estate industry renting
luxury condos. I have always enjoyed wearing high fashion clothing. However, as
a single mom, I was on a strict budget and found that these clothes came with
high price tags.
The turning point came
when I needed an outfit to wear to an event. After spending the day at the mall
searching for an outfit, I ended up purchasing a blouse with the hefty price
tag of $90. It really bothered me to spend that much money on myself for a
blouse that I only needed to wear one evening. My inner entrepreneur
decided to search the internet for the label, and by a miracle I was able to
find the manufacturer of the exact same shirt. They were selling a pack of six
shirts for the $90 I spent on one shirt. I promptly returned the shirt to the
store and purchased the pack of shirts. Feeling very proud of myself, I wore
the shirt to the function, took pictures of myself modeling it, and posted them
to Facebook so my friends and family could see it. The positive response was
overwhelming and they wanted to know where they could purchase the shirt. I
proudly informed them that I had extras. Thus began my new journey.
Do you have a
background in retail or sales?
While I was attending
college at the age of 19, I worked as a store manager of Lerner’s. I also
possess four years of sales experience as a real estate broker.
What was the biggest
challenge you encountered in getting your business off the ground?
While I tend to look at
challenges as learning opportunities, the biggest challenge I’ve encountered
while launching the business was being able to balance my role as mom, CEO, and
all other responsibilities of the company. I am solely was responsible for
marketing, acquiring merchandise, packing ,shipping, and ensuring not just good
but “great” customer service.
You are a divorce
single mother of four. What do you struggle with most as a mom and business
owner?
My greatest struggle is
balancing my children’s dreams with those of my own. Also, finding time to have
a social life or time for myself is very challenging. I am the mother of a very
bright teenaged son who is involved in various after school programs.
Additionally, my daughter dreams of a career in New York on Broadway. She
attends classes 5-7 days per week for several hours per day. She also
participates in competitions and performances which can often conflict with my
work schedule. My daughter’s dance classes and my company are two of the
biggest commitments in my life. Thankfully, I have a hard working and
loyal staff who work for the company. They also assist me in juggling my
responsibilities as a mom and CEO. |
|
Black Sexy Glam Lace Long Maxi Dress
|
How did you select the
lines that you carry? How often do you consider adding new lines?
I must admit that I am
a fashion stalker. I follow almost all of the fashion blogs, websites, and
fashion magazines out there staying up with the latest trends. Fashion has been
my passion since I was 12 years old, owning my own label and boutique store has
always been my dream. I am always looking for new lines to carry, fashion
never gets old and trends are being made daily.
What is your favorite
part of owning a business?
For me Let’s Journey
into Fashion is not a business a way of life, it is our life journey for
my Public Relations Manager Contrell Fowler, Operations Manager Zaimah Sahbazz,
Photographer & Graphics Artist Cuemadi White, Customer Service Rep Danica
Lewis, my customers and myself this is all of our lives. We all enjoy being
able to motivate & inspire each other, we love coming to work.
Looking for products that our customers will enjoy brings us happiness.
This is our Journey of Life together. For myself the best part is receiving
a phone call, text or email from a women whom I have never met that is having a
hard time coping and faith leads her to call me, I am grateful that I am able
to get her through that hurdle, let her know it’s ok.
What is your least
favorite part of owning a business?
My least favorite part
of owning not just a business but a fashion business is maintaining affordable
high fashion clothing. In today’s society it is my opinion that we have
two types of shoppers: shoppers that believe that the more expensive the item the
better quality of the clothing, then we have the shoppers that want quality for
next to nothing. At Let’s Journey into Fashion we have great quality
affordable high fashion. Shoppers see a dress for $20 - $30 and think
that it’s cheaply made. Convincing those shoppers to purchase takes trust and
communication. I pride myself and my company having not great but the
best communication with my customers as best as I can.
What are your best
sellers?
All of our items are
best sellers as we update our items weekly to keep up with the latest trends. |
|
Miss Red
White & Blue
|
Who is your typical
customer?
We actually have two
types of typical customers: college young woman on a tight budget & the
single mom on a budget. |
|
Prom Fuchsia One Shoulder Dazzle
|
What sets your boutique
apart from the others?
What sets Let’s Journey
into Fashion apart from the others is that the company main focus is inspiring
and motivation today’s women. We firmly believe that if you are not
feeling good inside about yourself first no matter what item you wear will
build your self esteem. In order to look good you must feel good
first. On most of my social networks I open the online store with a
motivation quote every day. Let’s Journey into Fashion is not just a company,
my staff, my customers and myself are A FAMILY. The 2nd aspect that
sets us apart is our affordable prices for high fashion clothing.
Do you have any plans
on opening up a physical location?
In the near future I
would like to open a boutique that is of no other I have seen thus far; I have
an idea but haven’t focus on the dynamics of it as yet.
What plans do you have
for your business in the near future?
Once the business has
grown to a point that has met my goals for the company, I do plan to do more
public speaking to today’s young women to building better, stronger women of tomorrow.
What advice do you give
to anyone who wants to start their own online business?
My advice would be as follows:
·
You must have faith in God
·
You must believe in yourself,
believe that through every obstacle you WILL succeed and failure is NOT an
option
·
Having a degree in business is
important and necessary
·
Having great customer service is
critical & sincerely knowing your customers are important and are more than
just customers they are a part of your business, they are the business.
·
You must have a loyal trust
worthy and dependable staff that are not just working for a paycheck but for
the love of the company
·
Do you research & ask
questions
·
Get to know your target market
Home
