Weekend Fun: GIVEAWAY TIME!

I told you guys that when I reached 100 followers, I'd do a giveaway. Not because I'm obsessive and have to have more followers [heck, I'm just surprised one person is reading it must less 100] but because giveaways are fun and I love to GIVE!

So most of you know I own a women's apparel boutique in a small [yet quickly growing!] town in South Carolina. By that picture in my last post, it doesn't seem that I would own an apparel boutique but mind you, that was my lovely oh-so-casual Sunday afternoon attire! :) It was always a far fetched dream of mine but as the ol' quote goes I "turned my cants into cans and my dreams into plans". I made it a reality after a lot of hard work, sweat, and tears. Wanted to fill you guys in on a little more info about the business and how I got started and then I'll be giving away TWO $50.00 gift cards to two lucky readers next Friday!

I present to you, the details...

Greenville Fashion Week with friends.

Glitz, glam, and lots of fashion. It's what I LOVE!

1. How did you decide you were going to open an apparel boutique: First of all, I've always loved fashion and playing dress up. What little girl doesn't? Always dreamed of owning my own boutique. Never thinking it would become a reality. More so, I've loved business. It's in my blood. My dad and grandmother were both entrepreneurs. My grandmother owned a florist, my dad a used car dealership. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a BA in advertising/retail, I quickly found myself selling advertisements instead of actually creating them, which is really what I loved to do. I'm a visual, creative person. I love graphic design. I landed several ad sales jobs for publications in the Upstate. One of my favorite was The Little Black Book and I learned so much about entrepreneurship from the owner, Jackie. That's when I was first inspired.

Later, I moved on to online ad sales for the Anderson Independent newspaper and one day while out selling ads at a cute apparel boutique, it hit me like a light bulb. Anderson had a local college that was just recently deemed a four year University and they had about the same population as another local town, Greenwood. How in the world were they supporting not one, not two, but three saavy women's apparel boutiques? Yet Greenwood [where there had been a local four year university for hundreds of years] had absolutely nothing. I'm talking zilch. The mall only had [and still has] a Belks and JC Pennys and maybe a Bath & Body Works. It's the worst. That tiny lightbulb also led me to thinking "Hey, one thing is for sure. I talk to people daily until I am blue in the face convincing them of the best ways to advertise and market their business. If I ever had my own business, I'd at least know how to do that!".

That's where it begins.

2. Did you randomly open a business on a whim? No. The key is research, research, and more research. Oh and a very concise plan. In between sales appointments and during lunch breaks, I'd scoot over to the Anderson County Library, whip out my laptop and that's where the brainstorming began. When I finished my business plan, I presented it to the bank. He quickly made me go back, rework it and then I presented it again. Trust me, it was a lot of work. Not to mention, the biggest leap of faith I've ever taken in my life. I look back now at how determined, head strong, confident I was - thinking WHO was that person? Trust me, now I know I was just desperate. Desperate to get what I wanted. Desperate to fulfill my dream! Mind you three months after I opened Sugar, my father passed away unexpectedly. The next month, I got married. 2008 is a blur. Couple months later in 2009, the recession hits...along with the reality that my father is gone and um, I'm a newlywed. It was the hardest year, sacrificing every ounce of me to keep this business open. It has not been an easy road to say the least, but I feel so blessed that through a lot of faith and a lot of prayers, the Lord has led us where we are today!

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on April 10th 2008

With my sister, Courtney, at Sugar's Grand Opening! My family has been a huge support system.

My mom actually helps with my bookkeeping and my sister works for me as much as she can! They are my everything!

3. Did you take out a business loan? Why yes, as a 24 year old, nearly fresh out of college - I didn't just have the start up funds lying around. I wish! It was a way for me to value the business even more; knowing how much was on the line and how I couldn't let anyone, especially myself down. I was scared of failure so I worked non stop to make sure that didn't happen. I've also invested a lot of money and my entire savings [and going weeks, errrr...months without a paycheck] to get this business off the ground. It is my baby, my everything. All my hard work, blood, sweat and tears. I will forever be grateful to CountyBank in Greenwood for going out on a small limb for this girl. They have been so good to me over the last three years and I enjoy doing my business banking with them.

With two of my college roomates at Sugar's One Year Birthday!

I remember thinking "WOW, how have we made it to one year?"

4. How did you determine your location? First off, the rent on the major highway in Greenwood was unheard of and there just weren't many great spots available. While in "uptown" Greenwood one day I found the most quaint brick historical street , actually while shopping for my wedding gown at a boutique called Voila! The space next door was for rent and had just been a women's apparel boutique [catering to women ages 40+] for a year. The racks were already in the walls, the check out counter, mirrors, dressing rooms, already there. Huge space at 1400 sq foot. It. was. perfect. The rent was so reasonable. I knew I had to have it. I found it in January 2008 when I conceptualized my idea and by February the space was rented and we began painting/remodeling. Uptown Greenwood didn't have much to offer then but I had researched their 10 year plan. I had faith in their 10 year plan. They wanted to revitalize the area and bring much of the business and livelihood back, that was taken out to the bypass when major retailers such as Wal Mart and Lowe's opened. Well a year later they began major street and building renovations, I inspired a shoe boutique and childrens store to open down the street into a newly renovated building, the well established mens store moved over too, and we've had several new spas and restaurants open in Uptown as well! It is flourishing with new businesses, Live after 5 events, festivals, etc... non stop. Greenwood now has a Starbucks, Old Navy, The Children's Place and will soon get a Micheals, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, and more. Moving on up! Once again, the Lord not only knew where I needed the business to be...but he knew exactly when. His timing is perfect!

Second time meeting Lilly Pulitzer. One of the major highlights of my LIFE!

5. How did you come up with the name Sugar? I was inspired by my favorite phrase, "La Dolce Vita" which I learned while studying abroad in Italy in 2005. Being raised in a sweet, Southern household, I knew manners. I knew how to be polite. I knew that I wanted a store that exuded Southern "sweetness" and the best customer service around. Also, I figured hey - fashion is to women what candy is to kids. We crave it. We want it. We have to have it. So that's how I came up with "Sugar: the fashion you crave". We have a blog, Spoonful of Sugar that you can also check out. After ordering immediate merchandise from vendors such as Karlie, Alternative Apparel, and more...we opened our doors on April 11, 2008!

6. What lines do you carry? What's your target market? Our target market is ages 20-40, even though I have customers who are 16 and 85! I wanted to carry clothes that were bright, fun, and made women trendy, confident, and well...happy! Like Lilly Pulitzer says, "Live a colorful life"! I also wanted to make sure I had prices that real working women, and college students, could afford. We have jewelry and accessories starting at $12, tops for $28-$98, dresses for $46-148, and high fashion designer lines that are $78-$248. It's all about variety. I've dabbled with several lines in the past to see what works and what doesn't work. That's all retail is: trial and error. Women are fickle. Our moods change, our "likes" change. There were some lines that worked three years ago that don't neccessarily work now. We've tried emerging designers such as Hunter Dixon, Dosty, William Rast, even Not Your Daughters Jeans and Judith March [didn't offer exclusivity, even though I love the line]. Yet what we've truly found that has worked for us would be the following, in order of their popularity: Karlie, Ivy Jane, Uncle Frank, Lilly Pulitzer, Britt Ryan, Tulle, iT! Jeans, Citizens of Humanity, Tracy Negoshian, Rain, Luii, LK Designs, Nick & Mo, Tru Colors, Dance in Paris and a few others we may pick up from time to time at market. We've recently picked up Spanx, LaRoque, Paige Premium Denim, and maternity lines Lilac Clothing and Maternal America. We are always looking for feedback and new lines. I'm actually looking at a new line next week. I'm up for trying anything that I think my customers may love. Keep the ideas coming!

Sugar celebrated Lilly Pulitzer's 50th Jubilee with a party.

We love parties, promotions, and spending time with our fabulous customers!

7. When did you begin selling online? We've had our website, www.scsugar.com, since we opened in April 2008. We didn't convert it to an e-commerce site until July 2010. It has been a slow process as we have yet to add our entire inventory to our site, since it's ever changing. Our online sales have definitely grown this year and we are so happy to have customers from all over the US. We ship all orders over $100 for FREE and we want to make online shopping as convenient as possible. Therefore, we're still figuring out a few gliches and adding new merchandise daily to provide everyone with the best variety!

8. What's your best advertising/marketing approach? I never thought I'd say this, but hands down Facebook is by far the best advertising/marketing tool I think ANY business could use today, especially retail. It is changing the way apparel boutiques do business. Amazes me each and everyday. We began utilizing a Facebook page about a year ago and it's grown our customer base by the month. We love all of our fans and it's the best way to see exactly what new styles we've gotten in the store. Instantly and directly to your mobile device or home computer. Amazing what the world of technology is doing for small businesses around the world.

9. How many employees do you have? We currently have only one full time employee: me, myself, and I. That will have to change once baby Cade arrives in February. However, I've been so blessed with awesome part-time workers since I've opened. The Lord has always brought me the best girls! They have been blessings. I have three part time college gals that help me now and in the Summer, I have two more employees that work for me part time since they are school teachers. It works out great but I'll definitely be looking for full time help in the Spring. One thing about owning your own business: um, no long maternity leave.

10.Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you consider yourself successful? Everyone always asks you this, right? I have tossed around the idea of franchising, the only worry for me is location. I think location is KEY and you have to know your target market and make sure your target market is THERE. I'd like to see how Sugar continues to grow since I feel like even after 3 1/2 years, we just now have our head above water. Then maybe I will open up to the possibilities of bringing a Sugar to a town near you.

Also, when I think about defining success...if success means waking up every morning being able to do what you love and make people happy, then yes, I consider myself successful. Trust me, retail is not always the oh-so-glamorous lifestyle you may think it is. You live, breathe, and sleep it. You have good days. You have bad days. There is an ever present fear of failure each and everyday. Yet I absolutely love what I do and every new day that I'm able to keep my store open, do what I love, and serve new customers - well that is success to me! :)

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

for a $50 Sugar gift card

You've got the chance for up to FIVE entries.

Just comment and let me know which of these you do!

1. Follow my blog

2. Follow Sugar's blog HERE

3. Fan Sugar on Facebook HERE

4. Follow Sugar on Twitter @scsugar

5. Blog about SUGAR and what products you love!

On Friday, I'll put all the names in a hat and draw TWO lucky winners.

GOOD LUCK and again, thanks for following along!

Also, as today marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11 - my heart continues to go out to the countless families affected by this tragedy. May we NEVER FORGET and

God Bless America!