Meet Karen Harris of Blush Desert in Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Harris.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Karen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Although the company is only two years old, the dream began when I watched the movie, “The Intern” in 2015. I loved the concept of having an online catalogue company. Although I loved the idea, I didn’t just jump right on the idea for a couple of reasons. One, because my life at the time was very busy with kids and working for my husband’s real estate company. Two, I lacked the confidence. When I eventually found I had time on my hands, my family suggested I get a job. Working at a traditional job just didn’t sound appealing to me and I just kept thinking about this idea/dream of starting an online store. This also helped me gain the confidence to give it a try. Not only that but I also wanted to do something my family could all be a part of. So while the idea marinated in my mind for a few years, when I finally decided, I acted fairly quickly to make a go of it.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My education is actually in Interior Design so, since starting Blush Desert I’ve been through a crash course in marketing, technology and business. Unfortunately, this has slowed the company’s growth a bit. Never-the-less there’s still been growth and frankly, if the company had grown faster, I’m not sure I would have been able to keep up. I feel we’re better equipped now that we’ve had a few years to figure things out. We’re ready to move forward and see the growth we’ve been hoping for.

Another obstacle, if you can call it that, is we’re are determined not to go into debt to build this business so we have funded it on our own without taking out any loans. The company has experienced slower growth to this point but when we do get to the point we can take a salary it will be that much sweeter because we won’t have to make payments to pay off debt.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
What sets our company apart from so many online women’s clothing boutiques is that we specialize in modest clothing, swimwear, business attire, and fun weekend wear. Our clothing and accessories are fantastic quality yet affordably priced.

We also promote kindness; treating others with respect and charitable love. We believe in serving, helping and lifting others, women especially. Women seem to have a well-established habit of casting dispersions on each other in every area of life. They can say such horribly unkind things to and about each other when they should be lifting, motivating and encouraging each other. I don’t know why as the supposed “gentler gender” we are so unkind and uncharitable but as a company Blush Desert tries to use our platform to spread a message of kindness, acceptance, loving support and encouragement. Not only for women but for humanity in general. One of my favorite Shows is on Netflix; The Kindness Diaries. It’s an incredible show and it is very motivating. It makes me want to be a better person and seek out opportunities to serve. We have a fundraising project we hope to be unveiling In January 2020. We hope to raise money to help organizations that free the victims of sex trafficking. Be watching for our big reveal in January (fingers crossed).

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I don’t even have to think about this, for us I would say humility and gratitude. We’ve needed and received so much help from others who have the knowledge and skills we lack. I’ve been able to tap into a strong group of women business owners with similar values, women like Megan Good and Beth Griffith. They are sisters and entrepreneurs who created a workspace called She Works Here, in Mesa. They offer seminars/classes and a network of other business owners who gather to network and learn from each other. Megan builds websites and helps run She Works Here with Beth. They both advise, counsel and speak on issues of interest to entrepreneurs. They offer continued education via guest speakers as well.

We’ve also been so fortunate to have the help of our great family who has really been there for us beginning with my partner, (daughter-in-law) Roxanne Harris who is our photographer, has helped out at boutiques and is one of our buyers. Recently she’s taken time off to have her second baby.

Then there’s my wonderful husband who has never failed to be there to help me pack up the merchandise so I can take the show on the road. We attend various boutiques around the valley every year, from Queen Creek to Peoria. We also do pop-up shops from time to time. Hubby has helped me with all the heavy lifting every single time and he’s always available to answer any business and tax questions I have. My daughter, Elle has also been a huge help at the boutiques and buying trips while Roxannes been taking a break.

Recently, I found an intern, Emily Ferrell, who is a brilliant business student at ASU. She’s amazing and knowledgeable in Social media marketing and has helped us increase sales. She’s very good at what she does and I’m so grateful we found her.

Finally, I have to say, so important for anyone’s success is a strong set of good, old fashioned values like honesty, integrity, hard work, perseverance, gratitude, patience and service. I have a burning desire to succeed because I want to be a strong example for my kids, of hard work, never giving up and learning new things. I want them to know you can be successful and strong while still being kind. I want them to be proud of me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blushdesert.com
• Phone: Text only- 480-201-7314
• Email: blush.desert@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blush.desert
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blush.desert

Image Credit:
Roxanne Harris
Trevor Wade
Lyric Porter

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