From Recife, the couple Flávio Daniel and Marcela Luiza,34 and 32 years old,respectively, they are transforming the lives of hundreds of people by teaching how to thrive through digital entrepreneurship. They transformed their own experience, with Tradição Móveis stores, a business that was born in physical retail 16 years ago and currently generates R$ 50 million in revenue, but underwent a digital transformation during the pandemic, when they were forced to migrate to online commerce.
The furniture store was born from Daniel's desire to become independent. He worked in his father's furniture business, in Recife, and I wanted to progress, when you decided to have your own business.
However, without money to invest, the young entrepreneur did not obtain credit from banks, much less with product suppliers. It was then that he had the idea to sell the damaged products that were sitting in his father's store for a lower price, valued at R$ 40 thousand
With the store open, the first sales began to emerge and the entrepreneur, besides paying off the debt with the father, it was investing in new products and, little by little, as it was obtaining credit with the manufacturers, it was offering more furniture options for customers
Since the store opened, Daniel was already counting on the partnership of his then-girlfriend, Marcela Luiza, who soon became a wife and business partner. Of humble origin,in the neighborhood of the Distillery of Cabo de Santo Agostinho,she never imagined she would have professional success, especially in the face of the challenges of being a woman entrepreneur alongside her husband while juggling other activities, of home and children. "When I remember where I came from", from my journey, I say that I am the unlikely, because everything did not lead to being here, but we persist, "we prospered and conquered", affirms
Pandemic x online sales
The first contact with online sales began with a loss generated by the opening of a store in another city, which resulted in a debt of R$1 million. The sale through Facebook was the solution found to cover the shortfall
In sequence, the Coronavirus pandemic forced the couple to completely change their way of thinking about the work model. With the confinement, they came to fear for the sustainability of the business and the maintenance of the employees – today the company employs 70 people. "But then we started selling remotely", through social media and WhatsApp. With that, "we had growth and no one needed to be laid off", remember Daniel
With the increase in online sales, the couple started to invest in an online store, formatted through Tray, e-commerce platform, belonging to LWSA. The digital solutions provided by the company allowed the couple to sell more online, optimize business management with inventory control, issuance of invoices, pricing and marketing, everything in one environment. "We needed security in customer transactions and a reliable website", in addition to organizing sales and the online catalog, "that's why we sought the technological solution that our business needed", highlights.
Currently, they operate the stores in an omnichannel way, that is, with physical and online sales in the virtual store and the company's digital channels. The success of the business led the couple to also invest in content strategy on social media and together they became, in addition to entrepreneurs, mentors for people who want to invest or are running their own business, but they need knowledge to perform better.
"The improbable happens", so, our tip for those who are starting a business or intend to have their own business is to always seek knowledge, partnerships with platforms, with technology, and not forget to focus on the customer, that always needs to be at the center of the business to grow more and have recurring sales, points to Marcela
