Today we’d like to introduce you to Enidra Porter.
Enidra, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey to become a business owner began in 2013. I was always into fitness but I was skeptical about shapewear and waist training products. I was referred to purchase a waist trainer that promised to trim 2 to 4 inches in 30 days. To my amazement, the product actually worked. My waistline went from 31in to 28in inches. I clearly remember crediting everything except the waist trainer. But after continuous usage n continued trimming, I realized I was on to something. After extensive research, I realized there was an opportunity to market this product that could help women like myself obtain the same results.
In August of 2013, I finally settled on a Vendor and made my first purchase of 12 waist trainers. It was a huge gamble as I had just started a new job and there was no budget for investments. Following my purchase, I made an Instagram account and started posting pictures of my self and my results and reached out to family and friends to share with them and solicit support for my new venture. The response was mostly positive but as I reached out overseas to family in Jamaica to explore the potential of this product, I was quickly discouraged. Nevertheless, I started taking pre-orders and continued to ship the product to the few interested buyers that I found locally as well as internationally.
In December of 2013, through Instagram, I was contacted by a well known Jamaican artist that goes by the stage name Stacious. She asked if she could purchase a waist trainer and I remembered my marketing training and offered to give her one at no cost. It was my honor to have such a popular and respected entertainer wear my product and it was also my hope that it would bring recognition to my brand or just a few more customers. Never did I imagine that her IG shoutouts would have changed my life and my business in that way, and for that, I will always be grateful. Through that one interaction, I gained a very great friend as well as my business launching in a way that I could barely keep up with the demand.
In 2015 after becoming a new mom, it was a bit challenging to juggle a 9 to 5, motherhood, and the business. I decided to step back a little from the business and engage in some consignment contracts, both locally and internationally. For the most part, the business stayed afloat but my kindness and naivety was exploited by a few people with ill intentions. Nevertheless, I decided it was time to shed the baby weight and get the business back up and running. Unfortunately, by this time, my vendor had changed their purchasing guidelines and with little to no funds coming in from the consignments, I had no capital to restock inventory. Regardless of that, I was determined to get my body and my business back on track. I joined a new gym to work on myself and it was around the same time when My daughter’s dad offered to make an investment to get the business back up and running.
With those funds, I was able to restock and relaunch my site. I hit the ground running with marketing and word of mouth advertising and soon realized that even at my gym, all the cute gym apparel was overly pricey. That’s when I decided I could make customized and affordable gym apparel tailored to an individual’s personality. My intention was to bring flair to fitness apparel as well as provide something that could be worn to the supermarket or the mall after a workout. I did my research and found a manufacturer that could meet the needs of a drift, functional, and comfortable material that also looks really good. That’s where the PWBS apparel line was born. The hybrid workout/streetwear that is now an intricate part of the PWBS brand. To date, we continue to grow the brand, improve on the manufacturing and be more inclusive to meet any and all fitness/streetwear needs of our current and future customers.
Has it been a smooth road?
With growth, we always experience some form of struggle. Support being one of them. We often learn that the people we meet along the way will be the most supportive.
We’d love to hear more about PerfectWaist BodyShapewear.
My company specializes in retailing authentic Colombian shapewear and quality affordable customized fitness apparel. What I am most proud of is that I have built something out of nothing and giving my daughter something to build on and hopefully, that will be our legacy.
Besides being affordable and being able to customize your fitness apparel to suit your every need, our number one product that sets us apart from other companies is our customer service. We make it as easy as possible to do business with PWBS. We are flexible with delivery, pick up, shipping, and returns. We believe that you should work out hard, and getting fitness apparel should be easy.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Miami is a huge melting pot and I be believe there is plenty of opportunity here. Because of its diversity, it is a great place to start any type of business.
Pricing:
- Waist Trainers ranging from $40 to $66
- Fitness apparel ranging from $40 to $65
Contact Info:
- Website: www.perfectwaistbodyshapewear.com
- Phone: 954-477-5068
- Email: Perfectwaistbodyshapewear@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Perfectwaistbodyshapewear
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/perfectwaistbodyshapewear
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