Sophie M.

Founder & Ecommerce Manager, Hestia Lumora

Self Employed • Indépendant

Feb 2026 - Present • 6 mos

Founder of Hestia Lumora, a handmade candle brand based in southern France: gourmet trompe-l'oeil candles made with 100% vegetable soy wax and fragrances from Grasse. I created this business from nothing and I run its entire online presence alone. It is my everyday laboratory and the concrete proof of what I offer to my clients. WHAT I BUILT, ALONE AND WITHOUT AN AGENCY - Complete brand identity: name, visual universe, tone of voice, a trompe-l'oeil positioning carried through to the product names themselves. - Shopify ecommerce store: structure, sales funnel, secure checkout, order and shipping management. - Detailed product pages: sensory storytelling, full composition, weight, burn time, and FAQ blocks answering the questions buyers actually ask. - Product photography, social media accounts and editorial content, all produced in house. SEARCH OPTIMISATION, DONE ENTIRELY BY MYSELF - Keyword research and competitor analysis. - Technical work: title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, internal linking, image alt text, loading speed. - Local SEO: Google Business Profile and geo-targeted search queries. - AI answer engine optimisation: explicit factual data, standalone sentences, clearly named entities and readable Q&A formats, so ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can read, understand and quote the brand. THE DECISIONS THAT MATTERED Instead of describing a fragrance, every page answers the real objections: will the decorations burn, is the scent natural, how long does it last. Those answers reassure the buyer, feed the search rankings and are directly quotable by an AI. One piece of writing, three benefits. WHAT THIS BRINGS TO MY CLIENTS I do not theorise ecommerce, I practise it every day. I know what launching really means: a tight budget, zero visibility at the start, and the obligation to be found. That is the field experience I bring to artisans, creators and independent sellers who want to exist online and to sell without an agency budget.

Deputy Store Manager, Intermarche

Company • Temps plein

Feb 2026 - Present • 6 mos

Deputy manager of an Intermarche supermarket in Montpellier, France, one of the country's largest grocery retail chains. I hold this role alongside my independent activity, and the two feed each other constantly. MY RESPONSIBILITIES - Team management: scheduling, task allocation, onboarding and everyday support of new staff. - Commercial management: revenue tracking, margins and shrinkage, ordering, stock and inventory. - Merchandising: shelf layout, product highlighting, promotional operations and in-store events. - Customer relations: welcome, complaints handling, after-sales service. - Performance tracking: average basket, footfall, conversion rate, results by department. - Daily operations: store opening and closing, hygiene and safety standards, and the application of chain procedures. WHAT THIS JOB TEACHES ME EVERY DAY Retail is not theory. It plays out on a badly placed price, an unreadable label, a product in the wrong aisle, a promise that is not kept. I see what triggers a purchase and what kills it, every single day, across several thousand customers a week. WHAT THIS BRINGS TO MY FREELANCE CLIENTS I design brand identities and online stores for artisans, creators and small independent retailers. This field experience changes everything: - I think in margins, not only in design. A beautiful store that does not sell is useless. - I build your product pages like a shelf: clear hierarchy, decisive arguments first, objections answered before they get asked. - I know your operational constraints: stock, seasonality, available time. I never recommend a tool you will not have the time to use. - I know how to talk to your customers, because they are also mine. - I know what a real launch costs in time and money, so my recommendations stay realistic for a small structure with no marketing team. Digital is not a decorative window. It is a sales channel. I approach it as a retailer who happens to build websites, not as a technician. That is the whole difference.