I know you, girl. I can spot you from a mile away.

2026 has been a wildly busy year for my brand. We've traveled from Las Vegas to Miami, and last week we packed up the collection once again and headed to Detroit for the 45th Anniversary of The Links, Incorporated.

A few days ago, I posted an Instagram video called The Art of Schlepping (because yes, building a small fashion brand often involves hauling garment racks, suitcases, and steamers across the country). But I wanted to go a little deeper into why I believe getting in front of your customers matters now more than ever.

Not just customers.  The customers.

Before we get into Detroit, let's talk about something every business owner should know: your Ideal Customer Avatar.

I feel qualified to talk about this because marketing has always been my thing. I studied it in school (who remembers the 4 Ps?), I've taken countless courses (shout out to Marie Forleo), and I've been fortunate enough to learn from mentors who have spent their careers leading Fortune 500 companies. The one thing they all obsess over?

The customer.

So when I say I can pick my woman out of a crowd of hundreds, it's not just intuition. It's years of training, observation and learning.

An Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) is a detailed, semi-fictional profile of the person who represents your best customer. She's more than a demographic. She's someone you know almost as well as a close friend.

What does she do for work?

Where does she vacation?

What stresses her out?

What makes her feel confident?

How does she spend a Saturday?

What does success look like to her?

If you own a business, you need to understand your customer's life—not just what they buy.

I've even made it a habit to study other brands' customer avatars. Some relatively small brands have built incredible direct-to-consumer businesses because they know, with sniper precision, exactly who they're talking to...and who they're not.

That's the important part. Not everyone is your customer.

Despite what people say, all money is not good money. Trying to market to everyone usually means connecting deeply with no one.

Now, let's get back to Detroit.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and immediately started setting up our booth. As I looked around the event, my first thought was that our price point might be a little high compared to what I was seeing around us.

That was my initial impression.

Still, we created a beautiful, organized booth and got ready.

The first day sales were eh...fine.

We sold mostly sale merchandise and made less than $1,000.

That evening, I thought about what needed to change.

The next morning, I started my day with prayer.

The thought that came to me was simple:

Go find your girls.

So that's exactly what I did.

Once the day's activities began, I grabbed a handful of business cards and went on a mission. I walked through the café. The main hall. The common areas of the convention center. There were nearly 4,000 women attending the conference.

I didn't need all 4,000.

I just needed mine.

I handed out about 10 or 12 cards. Every conversation was intentional. I wasn't trying to convince anyone. I simply introduced myself, shared the brand, and invited them to visit.

They told me they'd stop by. And they did!

By the end of that day, eight of the women I personally invited had come to the booth. They shopped. Then they brought friends. Then those friends brought more friends.

In one day, we exceeded our event sales goal. Friday was even busier.

We were so swamped that I never got another chance to leave the booth again. 

But something even more meaningful happened.

We met incredible women who didn't just shop—they wanted to build relationships. They invited us to participate in future charitable initiatives, private events, and community partnerships. The Links sisters welcomed us like family, and that meant just as much as the sales.

The experience reminded me of something I've always believed:

Fundamentally, I know who the Undra Celeste New York woman is.

She is accomplished. She is well-lived. She appreciates quality. She values community. She invests in herself. She understands that getting dressed isn't vanity—it's preparation.

Growth doesn't come from chasing everyone.

It comes from serving her so well that she tells another woman just like her. And after Detroit, I'm even more convinced of that.

Love,

Undra