From Recife, the couple Flávio Daniel and Marcela Luiza, 34 and 32 years old respectively, are transforming the lives of hundreds of people by teaching how to prosper 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 wanted to progress when he decided to start his own business.
However, without money to invest, the young entrepreneur was unable to obtain credit from banks, much less from suppliers of products. It was when he had the idea to sell the damaged products, which were stored in his father's store and valued at R$ 40,000, at a lower price.
With the store open, the first sales began to appear and the entrepreneur, in addition to paying off his debt with his father, invested in new products and, little by little, as he obtained credit with manufacturers, he began to offer more furniture options to customers.
Since the store's opening, Daniel had the support of his then-girlfriend, Marcela Luiza, who soon became his wife and business partner. Born into humble beginnings in the Destilaria neighborhood of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, she never imagined she would achieve professional success, especially given the challenges of being a woman entrepreneur alongside her husband while juggling household and children’s responsibilities. "When I remember where I come from, my journey, I say that I am the unlikely one, because everything did not point to being here, but we persisted, thrived, and conquered," he affirms.
Pandemic x online sales
The first contact with online sales began with a loss caused by opening a store in another city, which resulted in a debt of R$1 million. Selling on Facebook was the solution found to cover the gap.
Next, the Coronavirus pandemic forced the couple to completely change their way of thinking about the work model. With the confinement, they even feared 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 experienced growth and no one had to be laid off," recalls Daniel.
With the increase in online sales, the couple began investing in a virtual store, built using Tray, an e-commerce platform owned by LWSA. The digital solutions brought by the company enabled the couple to sell more online, optimize business management with inventory control, invoice issuance, pricing, and marketing, all in one environment. "We needed security in customer transactions and a reliable website, as well as organization of sales and the online catalog, so we sought the technological solution our business needed," he highlights.
Currently, they operate the stores in an omnichannel way, that is, with physical and online sales through 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 need knowledge to perform better.
“The unlikely happens, so our tip for those who are entrepreneurs 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, who always needs to be at the center of the business to grow more and more and have recurring sales”, points out Marcela.
