Having just finished the third “J” month this year and in the face of COVID-19, I am shocked at how well we did. It appears that online shopping is at a 78% increase since March, and our business is seeing it. The brick and mortar stores are shut down or closing permanently, yet somehow, we all still wear clothes!!!

We are connecting with people at a higher rate than ever. People are randomly calling us, emailing us, messaging us – all needing what we have clothes. We are not running FB ads, we have even put a pause on our ManyChat (revamping it right now). We are so busy, those things don’t seem to be needed right now. We are gaining new customers locally and all over the nation through word of mouth. Work styles, lifestyles and what you do for fun have morphed into different things for each individual. Less dry cleaning is needed and more comfortable clothing is needed.

We know that COVID-19 is redefining how we live, and we even now carry graphic tees now, where we are gifting a matching face masks (limited designs at this point)!

Our shopping community is truly hearty, and we are very connected to helping each other. Daily, we have a Positivity Chat, where we share everything but our business – from recipes, projects, health issues, etc. In fact, our chat may have saved a VIP’s life! She was complaining about a stomach issue for three days and finally went to the ER to discover is going “septic!”

We are able through all of this to stay grounded and help others. Recently, 12 families in our community were outplaced from their homes from a 2-alarm fire. Currently, we are running a challenge – if you buy – we match for these families. We have customers buying and donating, too, and we are still matching. It is so cool to be able to give back and make the money needed to pay our bills for two families. We have done all of this without any funding (loan or grant) from the Government – ironic – the LLC was not written into the legislation so we did not benefit from all the money Capital Hill was handing out.

If there is anyone feeling low right now, needing extra money to make ends meet. Reach out to us. We are looking for a few passionate people who want to learn how to be the best business owners and prevail during the most difficult times. Are you one of the 5 that we will select? Email us at th*****@mo******************.com and we can set up an appointment and furnish more information about how to join the journey. If you want to see first-hand what we are doing, join our community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/lularoeonthemountainside.com

#wearecommunity #wearelularoe #sharethefreedom #strengtheningfamilies #womenhelpingwomenentreprenurs #madeformore #bosslady #bossmom #dmvmoms #bossbabe

Our purpose is “to create freedom, serve others, and strengthen families through fashion. It’s a community where lives are being improved through love, purpose, confidence, trust & growth.”

Mrs. Donna Thomas is currently senior partner of Mountainside Clothing, LLC, a clothing retailer. Donna is responsible for business operations, marketing, social media, training, sales and leadership development for her company and growing team. Donna’s business partner is her adult daughter, Kirsten Thomas, and has struck a balance between quality and quantity of time with the family and her work and is living her best life!!! Donna is a blogger, has appeared as a guest on podcasts, speaks and is working on a book on how to rock a direct sales business.

Previously, Donna was Vice President at Xerox where she championed cost optimization initiatives totaling over $100M, built a quality assurance and internal audit organization from scratch, established automatic data analytics, and lead a cultural process was also responsible for creating and building out a professional/personal development organization for women empowerment. Prior to Xerox, she held several positions with progressive advancement in leadership and is a three-time Hood College graduate.

Donna challenges herself to go the extra mile in all that she does and she believes she is blessing lives 365 days a year through her business (fundraising activities) and her nonprofit, where she is Executive Director, 100 Women Who Care. In her spare time, she enjoys time with her family and volunteering. She lives with her husband, son and nephew in mountains of southern Frederick County, Maryland.