Exploring Life & Business with Ainslee of MyGirlCrush.com

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ainslee .

Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
I started a “For Fun Only” Instagram page about 6 years ago while vacationing in Las Vegas, and after the weekend was over, I had 10K followers! I had no idea if this was good or bad, but it seemed like a lot in a short period. Fast forward to today, and I now have over 3 million followers on Social Media!

I did some modeling and used my following as an Influencer to help sell products for other businesses and IG pages. Ultimately I started on Onlyfans in 2017, and today is one of their most popular Creators! I used the money I made from OnlyFans to buy a house in 2021 and fund different business ventures. The one I’m most excited about is MyGirlCrush (MGC).

MyGirlCrush.com is a Women’s clothing line featuring some great dresses, tops, bodysuits, and two-piece sets! I spent 10 years working for a National Clothing Retailer out of college. I worked my way up from Customer Service to Sales and Management. Starting my clothing line has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I felt that offering hard-to-find colors and “tweaking” designs to make them more wearable would make MyGirlCrush stand out, and it has. I have customers telling me how much they love the harder-to-find colors.

Because we are a start-up, we currently have all our inventory in our great room in our house. We have sourced our clothing from 4 different manufacturers. We have two manufacturers in China and two in the USA. Branding our clothing from the beginning was key to me, and I’m proud what MGC offers is above-average quality for a great price! Some of the best feedback is from women telling me the clothing is higher quality than expected!

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would consider myself more fortunate than most, but my rise in popularity hasn’t been without struggles. There will always be naysayers, trolls, roadblocks, and people and situations that can prevent you from achieving your goals. I have always chosen to rise above and take the high road; staying fit and healthy as a woman in her 40s comes with challenges before outside criticism or times of self-doubt play a part.

Of course, money and financing are always a concern. They don’t always work out, but it’s very satisfying when they do. I’ve made some great investments along the way and was able to fund MyGirlCrush with my own money. I believe in taking risks to become successful, and we’ve taken our fair share in the last few years.

Having never done business with China before, I wasn’t completely sure how that would work. Although it was a challenge and a steep learning curve, I can work through most issues quickly. One that can’t is new designs. I have to ship clothing to my Chinese manufacturers for them to look at the fabric and how it’s sewed. I usually want different fabric and colors than the sample, so there’s a lot of back and forth, and then production starts. All of this back and forth is time-consuming.

Ultimately I wanted to offer a wide variety of options, and I think I’m well on my way to accomplishing that! Dealing with my US manufacturers is much easier, but it’s much more expensive between inflation and higher wage costs. The challenge this creates, of course, is being competitive with other sellers.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
MGC is a Women’s Clothing Manufacturer and reseller. We currently offer dresses, two-piece sets, bodysuits, and jumpsuits. We will be expanding into some other clothing, including private labeling with some US manufacturing partners.

I’m the CEO and Co-Owner of MGC with my husband. My husband handles all the logistics, branding, marketing, and finances. I’m the visionary and creator and manage all collaborations and partnerships with other models and influencers.

We feel that our designs and color options set us apart from our competition. We also enjoy getting to know our customers and encourage them to tag us on social media so we can feature them on our socials.
We knew we wanted to be different them some of the smaller online boutiques by branding our clothing from the start. So our clothing features our labels and hangtags, and we are currently negotiating for our branded shipping packaging.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I advise watching the different social media platforms and seeing which people/brands are doing well across all of them. As an influencer, I’ve had many women reach out to me and ask for advice on running their social media, which platforms work best for certain applications, etc.

The thing to realize about social media is that the larger accounts are sometimes not run by the person they represent. I find it more effective that once you establish contact, arrange a Zoom or Skype meeting so that you know who you are working with. Most people that will answer you on social media have no problem taking time out of their day for a video chat, especially if you’re offering to pay them or send them the product for their time.

Although social media is great for expanding your brand, it’s not the only strategy you should consider when marketing your brand. Targeted ads, word of mouth, reviews, SEO, an effective website, and a brick and mortar should all be considered.

Contact Info:

• Website: mygirlcrush.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mygirlcrushbiz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mygirlcrushbiz
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mygirlcrushbiz
• Yelp: https://www.pinterest.com/mygirlcrushbiz/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mygirlcrushbiz