Naticia Thorpe Reid is the owner of MiniMe Clothing Boutique, an online female-only boutique offering multifaceted styles for women and girls. The Jamaican-born Cape Cod resident came up with the concept for this business out of boredom, from seeing her daughter and every other little girl in the same outfits at birthday parties. Her plan to remedy this fashion stalemate involved a vision, a lot of hard work, and a few loyal customers. From all of this, the MiniMe Clothing Boutique was born in February 2020.

We all remember what happened the following month, right? Thorpe-Reid was up against some serious pushback, starting a new business at the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This slowed her down a bit but it certainly didn’t stop her. During this time from March 2020, until her business picked up in December of 2020, Thorpe-Reid relied on her local customers, “They were very loyal and most of my customers are here in the Hyannis, Centerville, Falmouth area.” Her customers kept coming back to support her business and to get the jump on some new fun fashion trends.

Like many entrepreneurs this isn’t Thorpe-Reid's only job. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Southern New Hampshire University in 2019 and currently works as a Certified Nursing Assistant. A healer at heart and a healthcare hero, Thorpe-Reid is passionate about Autism Awareness and the geriatric community. Her original plan was to become a social worker. After graduation she couldn’t find a job on the Cape in her field so she started on a plan B, building her own business.

Amplify: What does MiniMe Clothing Boutique offer?

Naticia Thorpe-Reid: We offer versatile and stylish outfits for both women and girls.

Amplify: What inspired you to get into this business?

Naticia: My daughter, I was just tired of seeing her and every other little girl at birthday parties in the same outfit. So I decided to start looking elsewhere and hopefully start a business where I could so unique, different clothing.

Amplify: How did you go about starting your business?

Naticia: I started by researching wholesale clothing, looking at other boutiques in their ideas. I went on Instagram, asked strangers questions, and hoped for an answer. There's one children's boutique, I explained to the lady that I'm thinking about starting a boutique and how did she go about starting? She gave me small bits of information, you know, not everybody wants to give away everything. And then I did a lot of Googling until I found the wholesale website [Shopify] and that's where it kind of took off from there.

Amplify: Did you encounter any obstacles along the way?

Naticia: It's a bit of a challenge when you don't know how to do it yourself. I didn't know much, so I joined Facebook groups, talked to other young ladies that had businesses, try to find someone that was good with building websites. I think this is maybe my fourth website, I'm just trying to get it right.

Amplify: Have the recent events and the country’s current financial climate affected your business?

Naticia: I started my business that February and COVID happened that March. So that summer was relatively slow. My local customers were very loyal and returning and most of my customers are here in Hyannis, Centerville, Falmouth. They kept coming back like every other week, every two weeks and I had like one and two customers from other states that kept coming back as well. It was closer to the end of the year before it had picked up a little bit frequently.

Amplify: What advice do you have for people who want to start their own business?

Naticia: Do your research, like really do your research. Don't take everyone's word for it because not everyone's experience is the same. I ran with what people told me was their experience and trust me, I didn't experience what they did. So the more research you do for yourself and understand what your business is about and what you stand for, the easier it is for you.

Amplify: Where do you see your business in five years?

Naticia: I see myself with a brick and mortar. Um, maybe two, not too sure yet. But definitely a brick and mortar. And still having my online presence as well.

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On the Web: https://themmcboutique.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minimeclothingboutique2019
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minime_clothing_boutique/m