Today we’d like to introduce you to Tricia Naylor.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I will start by saying I never in my life thought I would own a lingerie store! I joined the Air Force immediately after graduating from high school, at the age of 17. I trained and served as a Russian Linguist for 4 years before leaving the service to start a family. Over the course of 6 years, while raising two babies and following my husband through his military service, I managed to obtain a BS in Psychology and an MBA. As my schooling was drawing to a close, my husband was leaving the service and we decided that San Diego was going to be our forever home! My husband is an Endodontist and my MBA was focused on the Business of Health. My intention behind concentrating in the Business of Health was to help my husband with managing and growing his practice and then eventually transition to a large healthcare system in which I could grow professionally. At this time, we were settling into San Diego living and I was on the hunt for a good lingerie store to find quality bras. I was disappointed in the experience that I had, it was so impersonal and nothing ever seemed to fit me quite right; I always left feeling like there was something wrong with me or my body. This was the point at which I began to wonder how many other women have felt or do feel the same way. Naturally, I began to chat with other women and largely found they had similar experiences. An idea was born. I wanted to provide the women of San Diego a place where they could go for personalized, expert service in a setting that put them at ease and made them feel comfortable. Bra fitting is a very intimate experience and some women are not comfortable with their bodies, there is fear in letting someone else in. My goal and hope is to break down those barriers and help women see and feel how beautiful they really are.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would not say that the road to business ownership has been smooth, however I imagine that most people that make the move into being self-employed have a few crazy stories to tell about building their brand. I have no retail experience, so deciding to move into the retail space was a little intimidating, but also very exciting. I created a business plan and started sending it out to various banks and retail centers in May 2019; things started moving very quickly from there. By July I was in the thick of loan approval and starting the build out of my space. The center I decided to move into was opening a new area and I was slotted for one of the new suites (yay!) …and they wanted me to open in 4 months. It was fast, but I took it as a challenge and accepted. There was so much to do and I am still not sure to this day how I managed, but we closed the loan, got a design in place, worked through construction issues, learned bra fitting, picked inventory, etc. I opened the doors to my lingerie boutique on November 29th, 2019. I was only open for approximately three months before the entire world was locked down due to a pandemic. Who could have imagined this happening to their new business? There were no manuals or books in business school that touched on how to pandemic-proof your business, so I have had to weather this storm as best as possible and continue to learn as the situation changes. Real world experience has always been the best way to learn, and I know that I am getting a great education right now! It has been difficult obtaining federal and state funding because they typically stipulate that you had to have been in business 12 months prior to the shutdowns, and unfortunately for me I only had 3 months of business history.
Rumeur Lingerie – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Rumeur is a lingerie boutique that specializes in fit, which is important because more than 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size (I was one of them!). Wearing the wrong bra size can lead to bad posture, pain, physical changes to the body and poor body image. I felt that there was a hole in the market in San Diego for beautiful and comfortable underpinnings and a dearth of knowledge regarding proper bra fitting. I knew there had to be a better answer than what was currently available, where the experience for me had always been less than appealing and often made me feel like lingerie was not made for me. I thought there should be a space where women feel comfortable and empowered to love their bodies the way they are today. I am here to help women get into the best fitting bras they have ever been in, and with that to help their bodies feel good by getting them into proper fitting underpinnings that help rather than hurt.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Well, being that my store is still a baby – opening was a pretty big moment for me! No matter what happens to the store, I am so proud of myself for taking this from an idea to reality. There is nothing better than seeing your dreams come to life in front of your eyes. I love what I do and nothing makes me happier than helping women see the beauty that I see in their bodies. I am also proud of what I think was a successful start to the charitable side of my boutique. I believe that as a business within this community, I should give back as much as possible. I recently closed out my first bra drive in which I collected gently used bras from local women to give to homeless women in San Diego. I was able to collect over 300 hundred bras the first round and cannot wait to help even more women on the next round!
Contact Info:
- Address: Rumeur Lingerie
Del Mar Highlands Town Center
12843 El Camino Real, Ste 102
San Diego CA, 92130 - Website: www.RumeurLingerie.com
- Phone: 858.523.9980
- Email: sales@rumeurlingerie.com
- Instagram: @RumeurLingerie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rumeur-Lingerie
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rumeur-lingerie-san-diego
Image Credit:
Deer Trail Photography
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