Opportunities.

Hello, my name is Stephanie and I wanted to start a company that uses talent in the art and fashion industry to speak the truth about our existence. I wanted to reach out in any way possible to the people we might come across with every single day. You Matter Clothing company sheds light on individuals who have felt forgotten, broken, insignificant, or invisible. We believe that everyone is important and that we all deserve to be known and to be loved.

Although we will be selling clothing and accessories, we want to be a business that pays attention to the individuals that choose our brand. This is because there is a rapid growth in online purchases today, which means that more people are making less contact with another human being when purchasing. While others can use face-to-face interactions to reach out to in-person purchases at a physical store, how do you reach out to consumers online? We plan to do this by focusing on the artistic format of the photography to engage customers and become involved with personal matters.

According to The Wall Street Journal, shoppers today have now made "51% of their purchases on the web compared with 48% in 2015 and 47% in 2014, according to the survey by UPS and analytics firm comScore Inc. The survey polled shoppers who make at least two online purchases in a three-month period, excluding groceries." With the technology we have today, this percentage is most likely going to continuously rise. This is an increase in total customer outreach for businesses.The global apparel market is valued at 3 trillion dollars, 3,000 billion, and accounts for 2 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (link).

That being said, it's a growing industry and there will always be millions of people seeking to purchase something new. I see these people as millions of new opportunities to spread truth, to encourage, to listen to, and to make a difference. My goal is to find ways to allow every customer to feel as though they matter as an individual and not as a "whole community" or "everyone matters" cop-out. It's easy to say we all matter, but it's harder to specifically go up to someone and speak one-on-one as if they specifically matter in this world. I think the entire world needs more of that and that's exactly what I want to do within my company.

Choosing to go e-commerce means the possibility of reaching out globally instead of locally, because my heart is for all the people of the world, not just the U.S. My passion in fashion photography and storytelling, therefore as an entrepreneur, I'd want to create compelling visuals and tell stories of the lives we may not know about until light is shed on them. I want to gather a team to allow the company to function smoothly and passionately. I want to overlook the company to make sure that we keep up our image and that our "why" is always answered first.

"Why?"
Because you matter too.

If this interests you to join this future company and you have skills that will be useful for us to grow, please do not hesitate to email youmatterstories@gmail.com and tell me about yourself. I am currently looking for someone to run the blog in the future and feature people that have forgotten their worth. This could be your way of giving back to the world, so don't skip this opportunity!

Sincerely,
Stephanie Ann McDowell
Founder and CEO
You Matter Stories (& Clothing)
youmatterstories.com