I made $247,000 last year running a bridal boutique. Here are the networking and marketing strategies I used to grow my business from the ground up.

• LaTonya Turnage runs a full-service bridal boutique in Baltimore, Maryland, that she started in 2015.
• She launched it after 15 years in marketing and with her own savings.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with LaTonya Turnage, a 48-year-old wedding-business owner, about her job. Insider has verified her business' revenue with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a bridal beauty expert and stylist and the owner of Elite Secrets Bridal and The Elite Design House. Before entering the bridal industry, I worked in sales and marketing for a radiology company for 15 years.

Elite Secrets Bridal provides full-service luxury bridal beauty, from styling and alterations to hair and makeup. The Elite Design House is where brides customize and build the wedding dress of their dreams. I've partnered with designers nationwide to help brides find a one-of-a-kind dress. Both brands are housed in my brick-and-mortar shop in the Fashion District of Mount Vernon in Baltimore.

We begin the process with an introduction and interview to learn more about the bride and her wedding-day vision. Once we meet on the day of the appointment, we begin introducing wedding-dress styles based on her vision and the silhouettes that enhance her body type.

I currently employ two full-time and three part-time employees. In 2021, my business made $365,000 in revenue. My expenses were $118,000, so I took home $247,000.

I was always intrigued by all things beauty, so I started working as a freelance bridal-makeup artist while at the radiology company

I always took my time to make every bride felt special. I would even stick around the entire wedding day to ensure they were touched up throughout.

As my journey continued, I wanted to do more and try a hand at everything. I knew that makeup was a part of the complete package, but the styling, photography, and more seals the final look.

In 2015, with my husband's help and using our savings to invest in the new business, I opened Elite Secrets Bridal. I still offer a luxury VIP service where I stay throughout the wedding day to continue to touch up the makeup if needed for the service, photos, or reception.

The first few years were tough

I put in long hours trying to attract the right clientele. My passion is what kept me going back then and even now. I've always had the desire to serve people.

After the first couple of years in business, I really started to focus on my branding and how I showed up online to attract the right audience. Having a marketing background, I knew it would be a good investment and I would see the return.

I researched luxury brands like Cartier and Tiffany & Co. and read articles that spoke about the brands and their messaging to their customers. I knew it was important to show up similarly in my branding and messaging.

I also knew the voice of our brand was important, such as which fonts we'd use for the website, the copy, the color palette, even the way we speak and address our customers in emails.. Initially, I tried doing it myself, but, eventually, I realized I needed outside help.

I hired a PR and marketing team who helped with branding, copywriting, and building a strategy, which included hiring a graphic designer to develop a new website — one that I was proud to show off and was appealing to the clientele I was aiming to attract.

I developed profiles for three different customers and wrote out details about each one of them. This was important to understand who we were speaking to and what content would be important to post on social media.

Additionally, I knew if my customers weren't coming to me, I had to go to where they hang out and make friends. Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are where I had to be. I created a social-media calendar and scheduled posts. Each day was different messaging, and I repeated each week. My social-media manager and my assistant help me with this now.

I used networking as part of my marketing plan by being relatable so people could buy into me as a person and not just the business

It's important to network with industry professionals such as wedding planners, event-venue managers, and photographers. However, I was careful and still am careful to vet those relationships to ensure their clientele matched our target audience.

Social media is like making friends, and building trust for those friends converts into paying customers. When someone would book an appointment, I would literally say to myself, They've said yes to the dress, three times before they entered our doors. And it was true — they said yes when they were drawn to our website from social media or maybe an ad they read in a local magazine. They said yes when booking an appointment with us. And then they said yes when they actually walked through the door.

This mindset helped me to grow and train my team to be successful as well.

One time, a bride traveled all the way from Utah and said she came because she wanted to support a Black-owned business

Her mom traveled with her. This particular bride discovered our boutique on Instagram and began following us. She was most intrigued when she realized we were Black-owned.

They both were super excited to see the shop in person and actually have the opportunity to work with me personally. We offered to set up a virtual video call so her grandmother could join, and they both were overjoyed. I expected this to be a challenge considering her grandmother's age, but boy was I wrong. Once she realized what was happening, she cried tears of joy to see her granddaughter in the gown she would walk down the aisle in.

It gave me chills to witness the happy cries and see three generations of women celebrate this happy time. Her grandmother told me I was now part of the family and insisted I attend the wedding.

This was one of those times I knew I was in the right place, living out my passion and serving our brides. The icing on the cake was how far they traveled to support a small Black-owned business. It was definitely one of those unforgettable moments.

During the pandemic, we were closed for 4 months. I learned a lot about my back office and the financial part of my business.

It was a very dark time, as many businesses were closing. In bridal retail, selling online is difficult because it's a very emotional purchase, so we had to get creative.

I knew I had goals, but now I had more time to work on an actual plan to achieve those goals. I was forced to take a closer look at my expenses, meaning accounts receivable versus accounts payable. I put together a forecast, growth plan, and exit strategy to ensure the future of my business all the way to retirement.

We also began to implement one of our most highly booked appointment types to date: the VIP Appointment, which is a private, COVID-19-friendly appointment for brides and their bridal party of up to nine guests. It's the perfect experience and time for the bride to make it all about her while keeping everyone safe. We increased revenue as well by charging $250 for this booking.

If you're an entrepreneur and you're not sure where to begin, invest in a coach or mentor to help with building a foundation and setting business goals. Build a network of like-minded entrepreneurs and attend networking events. Sign up for your local chamber of commerce and small-business associations. It's also important to build a relationship with your local bank and banker and focus on your customer experience. This will put you a step ahead of your competitor.