How to Rebuild Your Business After a Big Loss: What Thalia Macedo of Love Boutique Learned

Thalia studied accounting to follow in her father's footsteps, but since she was a little girl she dressed her dolls and loved fashion. Over the years, someone close to her asked why she did not open a boutique. With "all the fear in the world" she did it, and today Love Boutique has been on the market for more than 10 years.

Her story includes store moves, photo shoots and fashion shows with television hosts, and also the blow that came with the pandemic. She told us candidly what went wrong, how she got back up and what she would do today before investing again.

The problems she faced

1.When everyone says do not move

Thalia's first big challenge was moving from a small shop to a much larger one. Everyone told her: "stay where you are, you are doing fine there, why do you want something bigger?". She was walking down the street, saw a space and the next day decided to take the step. It was a risk that paid off, but she remembers that people always have an opinion.

2.A huge investment right before a blow you cannot control

Her business was at its best. She dressed television hosts, did fashion shows, photo shoots and was even approached about doing runway shows in New York. She was about to rent a space in Mexico City and decided to make a big investment in merchandise.

Her dad warned her in November not to invest because something big was coming. She did not believe him. Most of that order was long party dresses for weddings and quinceañera celebrations. The pandemic arrived, and that money sat idle for a long time. Thalia admits it: the mistake was ambition.

3.Losing almost everything overnight

For her, the pandemic was "like a tsunami" that swept away her life: the business, her routine of events and also her personal life. Businesses closed, she had problems inside the business outside her control and she had to accept letting things go, including changing locations.

She needed a huge amount of resilience to restructure everything again. She talks about a mental strength that you build, and about how passion is what brings you back when you want to give up.

4.Being told you no longer want to grow

Today her shop is smaller. Someone once asked her: "do you not want to grow anymore?". She did not know what to say in the moment, but her inner answer was that she will do it again with all the experience she already has. For her, we all have falls, and the important thing is not to give in.

5.Structuring and systematizing the business

When we asked her what is the most complex part of running a business, she did not hesitate: structuring a company, shaping it so it works on its own and systematizing it. That takes many years, she says.

Another headache is importing clothing at affordable prices, because importing is very expensive. The customer only sees the garment hanging and being tried on, but not the whole process behind it.

6.Living the sales roller coaster

Being an entrepreneur means not having a guaranteed salary. If you sell today, you are happy; if you sell nothing, your mood drops. Thalia says you have to work hard on emotional stability, also to deal with rejection from customers who do not like your product.

What she learned (and it can save you years)

1.Take risks, but with information

She no longer jumps in blind. Now she decides every big investment with a prior study and information she has gathered. Taking a wild risk is not the same as taking a calculated one, and she has learned that lesson.

2.Change the plans, not the goal

Thalia says her goal has been the same since she started doing business. Whatever happens, even a pandemic, the goal does not change: the plans adjust. As long as you are clear on where you are going, you will find a way to move forward.

3.Write your business plan

For people just starting out, her advice is to put the dream on paper, make a business plan, break through limiting beliefs and get advice from experts, because nobody can have all the knowledge. Even in the digital age, she says writing by hand helps her get her ideas clearer.

4.Organization, discipline and rest

To balance her life, she had a very clear routine: wake-up time, exercise, meals and work. She also asks that on weekends you give yourself a space and forget about work, and that your partner, if you have one, understand that a business is demanding and that you communicate.

5.You come first

One of her lessons from the pandemic was to stop putting herself last: first comes her, her inner work, her health, exercise, reading and discipline. When you are okay, everything else starts to flow and doors open.

6.Your greatest achievement is the effect on your customers

What fills her most is receiving messages like "my dress was a hit, I looked amazing". For Thalia, fashion goes beyond clothes: when a person looks good in the mirror, she feels more confident to achieve her goals.

“Change the plans, but do not change the goal.”

Is something like this happening to you?

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Listen to the full episode

This is only a summary. The full conversation has many more details, stories and tips. Watch it in full on YouTube (it is recorded in Spanish; turn on the captions and choose Auto-translate to read it in English) or find every episode on the Pandas Creativos podcast page (in Spanish).