Green Bay entrepreneur Miranda Davis wants to sell merchandise and make a difference with L.U.V.
Miranda Davis of Green Bay survived a brutal attack that almost killed her. She lived through the suicides of her father and best friend. And she has fought bulimia for years.
Yet, instead of getting bitter, Davis has fought to be an example of joy and forgiveness. She has taken those experiences and created a business named L.U.V.
“L.U.V. is the product of my core beliefs,” she said. “After many different life events, I have learned that it is so essential to feel loved, understood and valued.”
To accomplish that, she has an ecommerce site (www.luv-collection.org) that features clothing and accessories that are statements of positive affirmation.
One of those items, the one she thinks is the most special, is a robe.
“After the attack on Sept. 16, 2018, I got out of the hospital and received a gift from a group of women. They were strangers to me," she said. "I opened the gift to find a beautiful, soft robe inside. As soon as I put it on, I felt so special and so much love. It was almost overwhelming."
Just as the robe lifted her spirits, she wants her customers to get that same feeling. She says the robe become her superpower of love, understanding and value, or L.U.V.
The robe is the centerpiece of the collection because it aided her recovery. As she relates the horrifying incident, she hopes to be able to lift up others who might be struggling. She also hopes to bring greater attention to mental illness.
Relating her experience, Davis talks about that September day when she was attacked by her partner, the father of their two children. In front of the children, as they sat together in their car, he sliced her with a box cutter before fleeing on foot.
“I feel safer now — he is in jail for 30 years," she said. "But I also feel bad in a way because the reason he attacked me is that he was having a psychotic episode, and I hadn’t recognized the severity of his mental illness. As part of my business, I want to be able to educate others to prevent someone else from going through this.”
As she works with mentors at the Green Bay SCORE chapter, her challenge is to combine the desire to inspire and teach with her ecommerce store. Davis has modified the business since its original model that was more focused on fitness.
“I started with a website for fitness, and thought I might be able to turn it into a business, but something was missing," Davis said. "Even though I worked so hard and put so much money into it, I thought, this isn’t it. So, I deleted it all.”
Developing that business, however, gave her experience in creating a website, developing social media and assessing the competition to find a niche. Even with the new business, she thinks that the most difficult part is doing something that will stand out.
Davis hopes to do that by incorporating her story into her merchandise sales. She visualizes a business that will be profitable and make a difference.
“I reached out to SCORE because I was trying to make a business and marketing plan and felt stuck,” she said. “I met with Bob Jahnke (SCORE mentor) and he was super helpful in helping me try to develop my business model.”
She is still working on a clear definition of what it will look like. She would like it to encompass speaking, writing a book, selling merchandise (especially robes), and educating people on mental health issues. As a fitness buff, she also contemplates how her love for teaching aerial dancing and barre classes might be included.
Davis said: “I feel like it’s a passion I have to make a difference, and that’s what lights me up — knowing I can make that difference. I am motivated and have this confidence that what I’m doing is right.”
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She works full time and spends the rest of the day taking care of her children and planning the business. Developing a marketing plan is a work in progress as she tries to create an identifiable brand.
With so many distinct areas in L.U.V., it is difficult to summarize what the business is within a single name and logo. She is working on simplifying that.
“I need to have a mission statement that will clearly state my goal,” Davis said. “I want to have everything put together, but it takes patience to get to the point where I have a niche.”
In addition to working with SCORE, hours are spent online watching business videos and learning. She took an online entrepreneurial boot camp to learn how to build the ecommerce site and has checked off a list that includes items like obtaining a seller’s permit, selecting suppliers and joining social media sites.
“When I first launched in 2021, I would still be up at 2 a.m. researching and learning,” she said. “Now I’m working with SCORE and learning how to brand and market it. I want this business to make a difference, and when I’m older, I want my kids to be proud of who I am and to bring light into my community.”
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay entrepreneur Miranda Davis wants to make difference with L.U.V.
