Meet Trailblazer Rebecca Pierce

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Pierce.

Rebecca, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
4GoodVibes opened in October of 2017 in Somerville, MA. It is owned and operated by 4 sisters that age ranges from 21- 26 years old. Rachel (26) Sarah (25), Rebecca (22) & Emily (21) we all grew up in Medford, MA. We all have been very close & have always done everything together. Growing up, we all enjoyed art and incorporating art into our life. Emily & I (Rebecca) went to a Vocational school for High school & studied Business, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. The commute to school on the bus was over an hour each way which gave us a lot of down time to be creative. We started making bracelets & jewelry & selling it online and to friends. Shortly after, we started going to fairs. We noticed one thing in common with all the other artists at fairs was everyone had full time jobs and did fairs on the weekends. We kept saying, we wish there was somehow or somewhere artists didn’t need to give up there entire weekend but still be able to sell product & create a product. We knew we wanted to open a store and we wanted to sell all locally handmade items in the shop. We talked for years about opening a store but never moved on it. In 2013, when Emily and I were in high school, our mother was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer & she beat it. Then, in 2015, her cancer came back. We all noticed very quickly we can’t just talk about our dreams and we need to move on them. Our mother pushed us more then anyone, so in the summer of 2017 we found our current location and instantly dove in. We started going around to local fairs to find artists that would fit our shop. When we opened in October, we had 76 local artisans from the surrounding Boston area. Now in July of 2018 we currently have 136 local artisans and continue to grow everyday. Many customers say we are like an Etsy/Pinterest brick and mortar. In January, we started doing workshops ran by us or the artists in the shop. We do about 4 workshops a month. We have now done bath bomb making, cake decorating, scrub making, macrame, string art, jewelry making & many more. We do both adult & kids workshops. Also, have started doing children birthdays!

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. There has been a lot of learning curves on the way. That being said, we wouldn’t change a thing. Some struggles are getting the word out that we exist & continuing to advertise even when you’re unsure if it’s working. Filing taxes was a huge struggle, You are your own boss and don’t have anyone to ask if your doing something right which can be very scary but at the end of the day, you will learn from your mistakes and as long as you have the best interest at heart for your customers & your business everything will be fine. My advice to other women and young women who are starting there own business is that this day in age most people actually like and love to support women business and appreciate it more then non-women owned business so don’t feel discouraged or feel like your at a disadvantage! Girl power in this area is the best! We actually have a group of ladies who own businesses & meet to talk about each other’s struggles & give each other support and advice to one another.

We’d love to hear more about 4GoodVibes.
We sell all locally handmade items. I make jewelry & bath product. Emily makes candles, wax melts and bottle cap art and Sarah paints. One thing that sets us apart from others is everything is made right here in the Boston area. Almost everything in the store can be customized in a 1-2 week time frame for no extra charge. No matter what you buy in 4GoodVibes it is a very unique, thoughtful gift and very personal. Unless the artist is in another store, you can’t find these same items anywhere else. Most items are one of a kind!

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
In the industry wherein I don’t feel as if there is a barrier. Most gift shops our women operated or owned. The one thing we do come across occasionally though is guys hitting on us or coming into the shop just to talk. We handle this very professionally. In other industry such as my past job, where I was a manager when there was an issue with a guy a lot of the time, they would instantly talk down on you as if they are smarter. The best thing to do is in any situation act confident and leave no room for them to get aggressive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.4goodvibes.bigcartel.com
• Email: 4goodvibessomerville@gmail.com
• Instagram: 4goodvibesma
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/4goodvibess

Image Credit:
Rebecca Pierce

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