Click for sound. Photo by me.
Many people dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Many times these people find that their dreams are nearly impossible for many reasons. However, Victoria Saulovich saw beyond the impossible. One thing that sets Saulovich apart from most of the others is that she saw a vision that could be successful and she went for it, not fearing failure.
For those people who have little faith or who just think it can’t be done without some kind of substantial funding or without a four-year degree; Victoria Saulovich would be the person to convince them otherwise. Through owning her several different boutiques in the past few years, Saulovich has demonstrated the ultimate struggle that most entrepreneurs fear, but she also demonstrates the fearless, driven entrepreneur that most people strive to be. Her failures have only led her to her successes, and through her failures she has only strengthened her future businesses and opportunities.
Click to listen. Photo by me.
With Saulovich’s creative talents and passion for affordable fashion she has managed to create a rage with her boutique Stella. “Fashion is not what drives me, it’s the business that drives me: fashion is just the backdrop for the business.” With her lively and strong-willed personality Saulovich has managed to inspire many people. “She makes people excited about her store, she’s very persistent, and is always coming up with newer and better ideas she is such a great success and I aspire to be just like her,” said one of Saulovich’s employees, Caitlyn Renner. Saulovich currently owns three boutiques so far, one in Laguna Beach, Calif., and two in Fresno, Calif., and she has another one that is due to open this coming May, also in Fresno.
Click to listen. Photo by me.
Saulovich says that, “Fashion should be affordable for everyone, and it should not cost you an arm and a leg just to look cute and trendy.” Because of her belief in affordable fashion, she travels to China to find quality items that can be sold at reasonable prices. She travels to China about four times a year and this allows Stella to have a high turnover rate meaning that she does not keep any of her merchandise for more than 90 days because she is constantly traveling to find newer and better trends.
Click to listen. Photo by me.
Because Saulovich travels to China to buy the merchandise for her store, it eliminates a lot of the costs that she would accumulate if she were to buy the merchandise here in the States. Another key to her success is that she constantly changes the merchandise in her store so when her customers come to visit they have new and fresh items to look at. One talent that has also influenced Saulovich’s success is that she is a natural seller, it’s not just a job to her, it’s her life and her passion. “Victoria is a master at self-promotion. She has a vivacious, infectious personality that draws you in. She is one of those people that could sell ice to an Eskimo,” said Saulovich’s neighbor and friend Cynthia Dolan. Not to mention her dedication to each of her stores: Saulovich visits each of her stores frequently: “I really try to spend more than five hours a week in each of the stores, except the store in Laguna Beach, which is a little bit harder to visit as often, but I try to make it out there every other week.” Saulovich’s boutiques have become all the rage, and keep all of her customers coming back.
“I didn’t immediately begin my career as an entrepreneur; I was any typical person jumping from job to job before I started up my own business.” Saulovich was just like an ordinary person with an idea, but did not have a clue how to develop this idea. Once she had finished two years of her college education at Harbor City College, she was hired with Continental Airlines where she flew international as a flight attendant for about five years. She then married Alan Autry, former mayor of Fresno, and the two had a daughter together. She then moved her family to Santa Monica, Calif., and was hired by United Airlines. After flying three years with United Airlines, Saulovich and her family moved to Fresno.
“My husband was my concession to Fresno: he wanted to be the mayor of Fresno, so we moved to Fresno.” After moving to Fresno, she continued her career with airlines, this time working with United Express West Air. “When I worked at United Express Air West I was able to participate in corporate communications; through working in the business side of the airline it really sparked my interest in business.” This is where Saulovich’s passion and dream to own her business began. “During this time I was going through a divorce, and went through a stage of being a single parent while managing a time-consuming job, it was really hard, but I did it.” Saulovich also managed to pick up a few other jobs and gain experience in sales, which led her into starting her own business: an advertising agency. Most clients of her advertising agency were from automotive dealerships, and from there she moved on to opening her own business, “This is where my career in retail began.”
Saulovich’s very first boutique was inside the Radisson Hotel in Fresno, and she called it Muse. Through her experiences with airlines and being able to travel overseas she was able to purchase items from all over the world to sell in her boutique. “After I owned and managed Muse I learned that location is essential when it comes to reaching customers and maximizing sales.” Saulovich then sold Muse and opened Carmel Kids, which was located on Champlain and Perrin avenues in Fresno. “When I first opened Carmel Kids I was really aiming for kids as customers. I wanted to offer children cute and affordable clothes.” After running Carmel Kids for six years, she decided to go after her real dream: to own a fashion-forward yet affordable boutique. So Saulovich sold Carmel Kids, and she took some of the capital to start her boutique Stella.
Currently Saulovich manages all three of her Stella boutiques as well as her 20 employees. Saulovich does not believe in having a business partner, “its less risk because you can’t always trust your business partner.” Saulovich also does not believe in management in her stores, “all of my employees are treated equally, they don’t really have a boss except for me but other than that they work together to accomplish something great, and I trust them with that.” Upon being hired each employee is required to have a fashion sense, because Saulovich says, “It is vital for these employees to be fashionistas so that when customers come in asking for help, each employee can give their opinion on what is hip or not.”
Saulovich highly recommends entrepreneurship, “not just because you get to be your own boss.” She believes that everyone has the opportunity readily available to him or her, it’s just that a lot of people don’t take up the opportunity because they fear the consequences,” but she recommends that people “Just do it! If you have an idea of something that you would like to do, how can you be unsuccessful if you keep trying? If it doesn’t work the first time, then keep trying. If it doesn’t work again, well, then, change how you did it the first time and try again. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.”
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