Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Everton.
Scott, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a native Bostonian from the Dorchester neighborhood. I had aspirations to become an optometrist and after graduating high school began community college to fill pre-requisites to apply for medical school. When it came time to apply for Optometry school, I learned I wouldn’t be able to afford the application fees or schooling. I ended up working in retail for a long time, mostly selling sunglasses.
After becoming established as a Retail Manager, I lusted for more and hoped to open my own business, maybe even my own glasses shop. Then after having a record-breaking year at my job where my location sold over $2MM sunglasses in one year I became determined to get a piece of the action. I would ride my bike back and forth to work each day thinking of how I could open my own business.
Then one day it hit me, what if I opened a shop on a bike. Combining my passion for selling glasses with my love of riding bikes. I began to network in the Boston area and my hero Jon Ramos. He has designed and assembled each of the Solar Flair peddle powered Pop Up Optical Shops. After meeting with Jon, we worked together to create the concept, and I made the initial investment from my personal savings.
My first year was successful and lead to me being able to invest in a second bicycle based store concept. I have managed to get married and have a baby in the midst of all this, and am currently expecting another baby any day now as well as up to my 3rd concept of Solar Flair shop. I have a day job where I manage a community center in the neighborhood I’m from.
I love my job and struggle to take the leap to work Solar Flair only but do the success Solar Flair has had it may be inevitable. Solar Flair looks to provide affordable eyewear, with great customer service all on a bike. We hope to create an experience for our customers and inspire folks with our entrepreneurship and innovation.
This past summer I partnered with Madison Park Development Corporation to employ urban teens at my Pop Up shop’s and we try to engage and employ as many young people from the same community I was raised in. Giving young people the chance to embrace cultural norms as wheelieing bicycles and being a tree hustler without troubles with the law, or adults shunning their behavior.
I hope to find a way to open a Brick and Mortar location in the Uphams Corner neighborhood I’m from, that will include many exciting innovations much like my mobile bicycle based pop up shops did. With a strong focus on being able to provide affordable prosecution eyesore in an instant.
Has it been a smooth road?
I think my road has been fairly smooth; my first struggle was finding my place within this antique city. I tried to Pop Up on street corners throughout the city and learned not everyone loved my concept. I eventually had a meeting with the Public Works department who told me they weren’t even sure where a business like mine could fit in.
Through some great referrals I ended up networking and finding out about the many markets that are available for a vendor like myself, and now find myself overbooked for markets instead of worrying if I will get kicked off the corner. As my business grows the struggles of logistics and personal are hardest on me.
Balancing a day job that often requires aloft of hours nights and weekends, a family, and a small business I let a lot of details slip through the cracks. But my wife is very supportive and for the first time this summer when I told her I was thinking about shutting down Solar Flair so we could focus on some personal issues, she encouraged me and said NO WAY!
This summer has been the hardest time of my life. There have been bumps in my road all year leading to these trying times. In Jan 2018 I found out I would be expecting a new baby in Oct 2018! Then was in a car accident in Feb 2018, followed by the news Solar Flair was being audited by the IRS, only to find out my then 1-year-old son had lead poisoning.
I had to move out of my home with my now pregnant wife, find out how to get my house deleaded, help change my son’s diet to get his lead levels down. While I planned for my Summer busy season for Solar Flair. I recovered well from the car accident, but it taught me a lot, my family moved into my mom’s house while we figured how to delude our home.
Which has been great to have the family support and we were very lucky to have somewhere to go, I ended up owing the IRS $8,000, and got approved for a program that would pay for the delegation with some conditions I was agreeable with. We are in the midst of moving back into our home as the baby is due any day now. But Solar Flair has suffered from these many bumps in the road.
Sales are down this year, and I just haven’t been able to make the time, or find ways to get ahead but more simply maintain. I am inspired for 2019 as I think that I have learned a lot of lessons that will make me more successful next year. Things have been so crazy for so long now, that I know they will turn around and success is around the corner.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Solar Flair is a peddle powered pop up optical shop. We sell glasses on a bicycle. We ride around the Boston area with our transforming retail stores and pull up to markets, events, festivals, pretty much anywhere that will have us and even some places that won’t. We curate cool glasses and sell them at an affordable price. People tell us they have never seen a section like ours every day, and are shocked at our pricing.
I’m most proud of being my vision to life, folks are inspired by Solar Flair and seeing me riding around on my bike makes people feel like they could something equally as creative and I love that. It feels great to have folks tell me about the idea they had, and I try my best to encourage them to make it happen.
There are very few places that specialize in affordable eyewear, and even fewer that offer quality products. Solar Flair’s selection is like no place else, and if you see us somewhere, we rode there on a bike!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
When I first started Solar Flair Boston was a road black, because the city is so old a lot of ordinances and provisions from the 1800’s were stopping me from doing what I wanted to do. But once I learned about the market scene that all changed.
Now I am always finding out about a new event I may be able to pop up at, and have to stay on it to make sure I don’t miss out. I have only ever lived in Boston, and don’t know much about what its like to start a business anywhere else.
I think there are so many factors into if a business will be successful in the Boston area, but I would recommend anyone to start other because of the building boom and content influx of new young people.
Pricing:
- Eyewear frames $25 !!!!
- Rx Lenses $50
- kids eyewear $15
Contact Info:
- Address: 28 Alaska Street Roxbury, Ma 02119
- Phone: 617-640-4369
- Email: SolarFlairOptics@gmail.com
- Instagram: @SolarFlairOptics
- Facebook: SolarFlairBoston
- Twitter: @SolarFlairOptic
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