Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Pherigo.
Hi Emily, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2016, my business partner Aaliyah and I were working as managers for a popular woman’s retailer at the Florida Mall. We were required to dress to impress for work from head to toe. Aaliyah and I both loved purchasing shoes from an upcoming e-commerce site that was located overseas. We would constantly get complimented on our shoes and often recommend this website to our customers.
On one slow weekday, Aaliyah and I were both on the sales floor and fantasized about starting our own business. We both came to the undeniable conclusion that an online shoe boutique that sold similar shoes to our favorite international shoe retailer would be great here in the states. Kind of toying with the idea, we started coming up with a name and loved the idea of eventually starting our own line.
After a busy working weekend, a corporate visit, and consistently feeling underappreciated in our current roles, we decided to move forward and really pursue starting our own business. After a few months of researching, planning, and doing our own mini “Shark Tank” to our families, we were finally ready to move forward.
People always ask- what is the hardest part of starting a business? Well, our answer is starting a business! Aaliyah and I went through so much with trying to get started. Childbirth, death, grief, life events, and the closure of our main source of income in May 2017. With so many roadblocks, we never gave up. While it took longer than we expected- on January 2019, we created Viibe Shoes. With a small loan from a family member and help from friends, we were able to buy our first batch of inventory, create a logo, and introduce ourselves to the world.
Today, we are still growing our online business. Connecting with people around the community, attending Pop-Up Shops around the Orlando and Florida area. We are still selling shoes online. We are currently designing our own shoes and hope to get these manufactured in early 2022.
Alright, 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?
Rough is an understatement! We have experienced many struggles along the way. Aaliyah and I both lost our jobs in 2017 due to the company closing all brick-and-mortar locations. This was going to be one of our main sources of income to fund the business.
Emily got into a major car accident at the end of 2017. The money that was saved to start the business went to medical bills. Aaliyah moved back to Jacksonville, and most recently, to Atlanta. The distance was tough at first but eventually worked itself out. The most recent struggle was COVID. We saw a decrease in our online sales and had many in-person events scheduled. Both Aaliyah and I had to go back to working jobs to make ends meet.
We’ve been impressed with Viibe Shoes, 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?
Viibe Shoes was started by two best friends who worked in retail and felt undervalued and knew they had more to offer. We are both huge shoe fanatics and found the styles we would like weren’t always readily available in the US. We would have to order from overseas and wait at least a week to receive. We wanted to bring similar styles here into the US along with great price points. We don’t believe you have to spend a million of dollars to look good!
We offer an array of different styles- from heels, boots, sneakers to casual. While you can find many similar styles at our competitors, we believe in supporting small businesses. We offer free ground shipping, local pick-up and will always strive to provide great customer service. We are proud that we started this business on our own! It may have taken a while to get off the ground but it’s ours and we are very proud. We are women and black-owned!
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Don’t get your hopes up, remain consistent and be susceptible to change. Just because your business patterns have changed doesn’t mean you can’t roll with the punches. During COVID- our sales decreased but we still remained consistent with marketing and took the time to really connect with our customers.
Pricing:
- $25-52 is the price range for our shoes.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@viibeshoes.com
- Website: www.viibeshoes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viibeshoes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viibeshoes
Image Credits
Eric McElroy Nya Ramirez Karina Castro Nicole Sandoval Lilit Sargsyan
