Meet Liliana Valdivia | Owner of Saucy Babe Fashion

We had the good fortune of connecting with Liliana Valdivia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liliana, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Like many other women, online shopping has always been therapeutic to me. I find it pleasurable to go online and check out all the new fashion trends, along with clicking on “add to cart”. One evening while I was in my shopping zone, I thought to myself, why not start my own online fashion boutique? I mean, I love to shop so why not shop for clothes to pass on to other women that love fashion themselves? Not just that, I have always been pretty versatile when it comes to the clothes in my closet, so I felt I could bring forth some unique pieces for women’s’ every occasion. The thought of being able to do something that I love and work for myself at the same time, didn’t sound like a bad idea at all. I then started to do my research on what was required to start my own business. The more I was learning about the business world, the more excited I was becoming. I also thought the name “Saucy Babe Fashion” would be perfect for my boutique, as “Saucy Babe” means a woman that is confident, fierce, bold, etc. and that’s how I want women to feel in my clothes. I continued my research for months, and also began to bring in my inventory. There has been a lot of trial and error since then, along with many long nights, but as we know, nothing comes easy.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I will be honest and say that owning a business was not something that I had thought of before, especially a fashion boutique. I had been working in the medical field for years and at times, I would feel burned out with the same routine. I began doing my business research in 2019 and in September of 2020 is when I finally went live with Saucy Babe Fashion. I was so excited about it and also proud of myself for doing all the leg work and following through on starting my business that was first just an idea.

The year 2020, I have to say, was not just the year I had started my business, but I had also gotten engaged to my best friend in July and found out we were expecting our first child a week after I had started my business. That did changed some things for me because I was working a 9-5, trying to take care of myself and my pregnancy, and running a new business all at the same time. It was not easy for me at all! I was using the little time I had to work on my business, including shopping for inventory, modeling clothes and taking pictures, editing the pictures, posting on my website and social media, marketing, fulfilling orders and attending small business pop up shops to try and get my brand out there. Because of my pregnancy and the toll it can take on our bodies, I did go through a time that I decided to take a little break from it all. I still maintained my online website, but I stopped marketing, which from all that I have learned from the business industry, marketing is one of the most powerful tool that you can use for your business. If you’re not marketing your brand, how are people suppose to know who you are? Also, I learned that consistency is key to success of my business. If I’m not consistent with posting on social media, reaching out to my subscribers, staying on top of all the new fashion trends, then I won’t get as far as I want with my business.

After I took a little break from my business and had my baby, I was trying to get my energy back and return to my business endeavor, when postpartum hit me! That made it even harder for me to get back to what I had started. It took lots of prayers to finally snap out of the darkness that I was feeling and began to get back to business mode. This time around, I had a newborn, but I had decided that I needed to stay home with her, instead of returning to my job of 10 +years . I felt that it would be for the best interest of my family to care for my baby girl at home and learn about motherhood, while concentrating on reviving my Saucy Babe Fashion business. Its not easy caring for my baby and running my business, but as long as I’m putting forth the effort, I know that I will get to the place I want to be when it comes to my brand. There’s still so much I’m learning along the way, but when I look back to when I first started, I am proud of how far I’ve come.

My goal is to one day open up my own store front and have all kinds of women wearing my clothes. I try and have different styles for every woman, including dresses, joggers, leggings, tops/bodysuits and a variety of sets that one can dress up or dress down depending on their occasion. I also can customize any of our jogger sets and or hoodies/tops. Eventually, I want to add shoes and more accessories to my inventory so that my customers can shop a whole look on my website. Also, I realize that all of us women come in different sizes and forms, and I want to be able to fulfill every woman’s need by adding more sizes to my inventory.

I am excited to see what the future holds for Saucy Babe Fashion! I will continue to work hard and remain consistent. It really makes my day to hear feedback from my customers and how they loved their merchandise. That’s really what it’s all about!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am originally from Los Angeles, California and moved to Houston about 12 years ago. I have to be honest and say that even though I’ve been here for that long, I still don’t know of everything there is to do in Houston. If my best friend was visiting, I would probably take her to some of my favorite restaurants which are: Cajun Craven for some of the best crawfish, Top Sushi for some of the best beef rolls I’ve ever had, and Xochi for some exquisite plates. I would also take her to the Present Company for some drinks and cute decor.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to first and foremost, my Fiancé Patrick! He has pushed me many times when I felt like giving up and has been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on because I was so overwhelmed with my business. It really helps to have someone there to listen to you and give you positive insight. I want to thank my friends and family that have showed their support when it comes to my business, whether it was to model some of my merchandise, promote my business, help me with my pop up shops or simply believing in me and the success of Saucy Babe Fashion. I want to also give a shoutout to my beautiful daughter Kataleya because she has brought me so much joy and happiness into my life that I was missing. Lastly, nothing is possible without God! I thank God every day for all the gates he has opened for me, including the gate to my business! I always say that God wouldn’t have opened that gate for me if I was going to fail. He has not allowed me to come this far to just give up. He gives me all the tools I need to keep going! Thank you God!

Website: www.saucybabefashion.com

Instagram: @saucybabefashion

Facebook: Saucy Babe Fashion

Image Credits
Paradise Dapree Jessica Cabrera Alondra Mendez Kristel Olivera