Meet Michelle Monae: Owner Of Mpress Boutique

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Monae and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
The most important lesson my business has taught me through the years is no matter what, never give up. Even when things seem like they are falling apart or not going my way, keep faith and trust that everything is working out for the best even if I may not see it right then and there. And in the end things tend to work out. Never give up, especially first starting a business. It may not go as we planned in our heads but if we give up we will never know how great our business could have been and who it could have helped.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Well, my business is named Mpress Boutique. It has had many name changes over the years but this one stuck. Mpress is a play on words M for Michelle which is me. Mpress also (empress) meaning A woman who is a sovereign ruler of great power and rank, especially one ruling an empire. I am building an empire “my company”. Lastly Mpress (impress) a woman who dresses to impress. Building this business has not been easy. With many clothing boutiques you have moments when you may not have many orders that month, to where you can barely get inventory in, then there are moments when you are flowing in orders and having inventory arriving back to back. I continued to have faith and believe that God has a plan for me and my business and I will not give up. I was excited to open my first store years ago in Las Vegas, NV. It was a great accomplishment for me. I was able to build it out just like I dreamed it was everything. My first order was an accomplishment, seeing reality tv stars in my clothing sending shoutouts on Instagram was an accomplishment. I have learned to celebrate all my accomplishments no matter big or small. The goal now is to open up a larger location here in Downtown Atlanta. Regardless of what challenges may come my way I am up for it, my dreams are as big as the sky.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend came to town we would have a blast. A few places we would visit would be the Atlanta Zoo. The Panda’s there are so beautiful. Staying with that same energy our next trip would be Wild Animal Safari. It’s one thing to see the animals but it’s another to actually get to feed the animals up close. Next we would have to visit the aquarium. The dolphin show there is amazing to see. Lastly we would have to go skating somewhere to take us back to our high school days. Some of the food places we would eat are the Waffle House for our morning breakfast. We’re big on seafood so we would definitely eat at The Juicy Crab as well as The Wild Crab.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shout out to my husband and my 3 kids! It is because of them I continue to push forward. My husband’s love and support throughout the years is a main part of my drive. When days were hard and no sales would come in he would continue to uplift my spirits and tell me how much of a great job I am doing. When opening our first location he continued to tell me how proud he was of me. That meant the world to me. And my babies encourage me to go after my dreams no matter how big, they look up to me and as a mom that means the world to me. And my baby girl, Payton, my little fashionista. She loves fashion like her mother and she pushes me to build my business as big as I can so one day she can take it over and enjoy doing what she loves as a career.

Website: www.mpressboutique.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mpress_boutique

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MpressBoutique.co