Exploring Life & Business with Josie And Steve Zlobin of Glow Flow Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josie And Steve Zlobin

Hi Josie and Steve, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I worked in the casinos for over 12 years. In 2022, my husband Steve persuaded me to leave and to pursue a new career that I would enjoy more. The idea of a glow store landed in our lap and quickly we became a Rave Store for the EDM community. I wanted to up customer service not only to stand out from the big box stores but to also give customers a place they felt welcomed in. With the idea of glow parties becoming popular we wanted to have a place where people are able to get everything in one stop.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggle we had was staffing. I didn’t want to just hire anyone, I wanted to hire those that would be knowledgeable in the products provided and to provide exceptional customer service. Unfortunately, we weren’t successful in that area and as of August 18th we had to make the difficult decision to close our Brick and Mortar and go 100% e-commerce. We vend events and plan on continuing that to keep some face to face engagement with our customer base.

The other big struggle I’m sure all retail stores have, was theft. Even with pictures on the door of other offenders, cameras and signs many still stole. We even started posting videos on Facebook and Instagram of the thieves.

As you know, we’re big fans of Glow Flow Denver . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We opened Glow Flow Denver August 24, 2022. We offer glow in the dark, UV reactive and LED light up products, as well as Flow Toys and all your accessories and makeup for concerts and festivals. We realized that there wasn’t a glow store and decided to put one together. After we opened we started to be labeled as a Rave Store. Realizing the EDM community in Denver was so large we knew we had to lean into it but still wanted to cater to all ages. We listened to what customers were looking for. One of the things I’m most proud for is that we found UV reactive makeup that is safe to use. A lot of customers said they struggled to find safe UV reactive makeup that wouldn’t cause chemical burns. We did the research and have tested all our products. Shortly after opening we were asked to vend events at Tracks, Xbar and a few other venues around Denver Metro Area. We’ve loved every moment of it, especially being able to build relationships with our customers. Although we closed our physical store, we are pivoting our business to e-commerce but still plan on providing exceptional customer service.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
In January, I was invited to go to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to be a constant on Season 12 of The Blox, The Greatest TV show for entrepreneurs. Going in I had no idea what I was getting myself into other than the education and mentorship for 5 days. When I got there I realized I was surrounded by like minded people and everyone wanted to help everyone. Quickly it didn’t matter if I won or lost, I was getting answers on how to scale my business. The Blox community since shooting my season has been a family. Next, I went to The Blox graduate school where we went through all the courses virtually and at our own pace. I’ve completed some college courses for business but it’s not updated for modern day business. They teach you to put a business plan together for business loans but fail to teach you that you can’t get a loan unless you’ve been in business for 2 years and have numbers to show. The Blox teaches you business for the modern day and it actually makes more sense than any school will teach.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Glowflowdenver.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glowflowdenver?igsh=MTZqa2Q4ZWgwcm1pdQ==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlowFlowDenver?mibextid=ZbWKwL