Alicia Rozenblum Founder of Alegorie Boutique
Today we’re hearing from up and coming online entrepreneur Alicia Rozenblum. Alicia launched her online accessories boutique Alegorie on the 9th of the 9th, 2008 and has since been featured in Frankie, Shop til You Drop and Style Hunter.
Alicia’s background in jewellery retail management and customer service is reflected in her user-focused website with all the essentials (FAQ’s, Privacy Policy etc).
With customer centric features like “Product Care“, “Wishlist” and the “Look Book” along with a clean, easy to use website I’ve got no doubt that her online business will be a smashing success.
Tell us a bit about your online shop and why you decided to start it.
Alegorie is a concept accessories store based on the idea that the accessories you wear are a reflection of your personality.
I’d always dreamt of owning my own store. I spent five years in retail management at an amazing little jewellery boutique. The owner of the business was an amazing support and inspiration, he let me run the store as if it were my own.
He eventually decided to close the store and move his family to Margaret River in W.A. where they now own a gallery – we still keep in touch!
I had really found my niche working in that store, and knew that I would never really enjoy any other job as much as that one unless I was self employed.
I continued working in retail for a very well known Australian designer accessories company while I began the preparation for what eventually became Alegorie.
My initial intention was to open it as a physical outlet, but my qualifications in Multimedia and the current economical state really lent itself to starting Alegorie online.
Did you have any related experience before you started?
Unlike a lot of online business owners who often have backgrounds in media, marketing and IT, I come primarily from a retail background – six years of which were spent in fine jewellery and fashion accessories at management level.
I have a qualifications in Multimedia Design and in Small Business, but it’s my experience in retail and love of customer service that is the driving force behind the business.
What are the top three things you’ve learnt so far that you’d like to pass on to other women starting up?
- Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish! Don’t be scared to spend money on your business.
- Take the time to conduct as much market research prior to starting your business as possible. It’s amazing what you’ll learn.
- Make sure you check that your intended business name isn’t trademarked!
What were the challenges you faced while developing your website?
I was under a huge time constraint which was a constant burden while the site was being built. I literally did everything myself – graphic design, development, programming… I was working 16 hour days.
The biggest setback was when I was waiting for the studio photography equipment to arrive. I found out five days before I was due to launch that it was going to be delayed by a week! You can’t have an online store without product photos so I was forced to push back the launch date. It was a very tense time at Alegorie HQ!
How have you tried to get visitors to your website to this point?
I have a freelance media and communications consultant handling public relations for me, she’s been sending out press releases and keeping in touch with a lot of print media. I also keep a keen eye on social networking sites and relevant forums.
What is the wildest success story you can imagine for Alegorie’s future?
My vision is for Alegorie to be the leading source of fashion accessories on the internet. A piece of cake, right!
Visit Alegorie.
If you liked this, you might want to check out my business website - Women in Business.
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I've been working online since 2001, started my 
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