Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Szewczyk and Kristen Hutchinson.
Stephanie and Kristen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We met through the PTA at our kid’s school. We were the co-chairs for the fundraiser at the elementary school for 3 years and had a great working relationship. When Stephanie was moving out of the district we decided to find a business that we both were passionate about. As moms to young daughters we were drawn to the idea of influencing girls at a young age to feel confident and strong in just being themselves at a much younger age then we ever felt. When we asked ourselves when we felt like our strongest self and we both answered in our 30’s we knew we wanted to have a positive impact on you girls at a young age so they could feel like that sooner than we did and achieve amazing things at a younger age. So we launched STRONG self(ie), a subscription box for girls, in the fall of 2017.
Great, 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?
Starting a business is never easy and of course we have had our struggles and continue to encounter challenges along the way. We are having fun and making a difference and take those challenges and learn from them and move on. E-commerce is neither of our expertise so we have surrounded ourselves with others that can teach us and guide us when we face challenges.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about STRONG self(ie) – what should we know?
STRONG self(ie) is a subscription box for girls. We offer 2 boxes…the BLOOM box is for girls ages 8-12 and the BURST box is for girls ages 13-17. The boxes ship seasonally (4 times per year…March, June, September and December) and are packed with trendy and fun products the girls love but with a positive message they deserve to hear. Every product relates back to one of the 4 corners of selfie strength…health(ie), smart(ie), funn(ie) and beaut(ie). The “IE” in our name and the corners stands for “I’m enough”.
We are most proud of the parent/daughter component in our boxes. We give the girls ways to use each of their products in their daily lives to be stronger and we also include tips to parents such as kindness cards and conversation starts to help them have a strong relationship with their daughter.
We value quality or quantity when selecting products for the boxes and take a lot to time to find the perfect products for each box.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being authentic to our customers…both parents and the girls. We truly believe that every girl is perfect just the way they are and embracing our differences and unique qualities at a younger age will result in strong women in the future. Giving a positive message through the marketing in the boxes is also something we feel is a valued added service…we are more than a box of “stuff”…we are on a mission to lift up girls everywhere to help them feel strong and confident!
Pricing:
- Bloom and Burst Box – $59.95 (free shipping)- Season to Season Subscription
- Annual Gift – $220.00 for 4 boxes sent seasonally
- One Time Gift Box – $59.95
Contact Info:
- Website: https://strongselfie.com
- Email: strongselfie@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strong_selfie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STRONGselfie/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/strong_selfie_
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/strongselfie/
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