Today we’d like to introduce you to Meadow Helmer.
Hi Meadow, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Magnolia Mobile Boutique was started in 2020 right before Covid hit. My dream was to get an old camper or trailer to renovate into a boutique. I want to be able to offer size inclusive clothing that was not only trendy but affordable to any age/ style. The first camper I purchased, I found for a great price but after I started to get into the renovation project, I realize how much work it would actually need. It needed to be completely taken down to the frame and rebuilt. I decided to keep looking and see if I could find anything else that wouldn’t take as much time to complete. I ended up finding an enclosed trailer for a great deal and it was bigger than the camper was. I got to work on the inside painting, redoing the floor and adding shelving up. I had just graduated high school a few months prior and didn’t have a ton of experience on building out the trailer or even how to run a business from scratch. I researched a lot online and had some trial and error but eventually got everything done in time for my first event. I even had to borrow a car to be able to tow the trailer to my first event because my car at the time wasn’t able to tow anything. I grew up with a single mom who no matter what always made it work. She ended up going back to school while working multiple jobs to provide for us. I didn’t have much family here so if she was at work and even in her college classes I was right there with her sitting in class or helping at her work. I believe this is a big reason why I am where I am today because she showed me what hard working is and how to never settle. From 2020 to 2023 I did every and any event I could find to grow my business and get my name out there. During this time I still went to college and worked a full time job. In the beginning of 2023 I was given the opportunity to lease a storefront. This would mean, I would have to quit my full-time job and dive all in to the boutique business. I was definitely worried at first I didn’t know how it would end up turning out, but I made sure I had enough in my savings account to pay my bills if things went south for a little while. I decided to go for it and April 2023 I opened my storefront Magnolia Boutique. I’m located in a small town with not much around so I wasn’t sure how a boutique would go, but it ended up being the perfect location. I’ve met so many amazing people in the area and a lot of my regulars have turned into family. It has now been two years in this location and I have grown so much over that timeframe. I wanted to help other small businesses grow like I did and offer more than just clothing. So I opened the door to other Small businesses around the area. We now offer not just women’s clothing, but kids clothing, locally made skin care, home decor, cups, fragrances, and more. I still do mobile events with the trailer a few times a year. After a few months of being open in the storefront I was able to hire an employee who has also turned into family. Running a business is hard it’s not always easy so having her has been a huge help. She is great with the customers and definitely has helped me grow to where I am at.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, running a business is never completely easy. I have had a few obstacles that have popped up here and there, but nothing too crazy thankfully that hasn’t been able to be fixed. The main obstacle at first was definitely when Covid hit. I don’t think anyone realized how much of an impact, that was going to cause. A lot of my events for the first year were canceled so finding events during that time was definitely difficult.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I believe my boutique is different from others with the variety of products that we offer as well as how much we care about our customers. We offer women’s sizing up to 3X and every week we get new products in to make sure we have a large variety of items to choose from. We also work with a lot of local businesses to offer products in our store that’s more than just clothing. We truly care about all of our customers, whether it’s your first time in or you’re one of our regulars. We always want everyone to feel welcome here no matter what your budget or your style is. I believe retail therapy is definitely a thing. Sometimes you have those days where you just need to get out of the house and go shopping. My motto is you never know what people are going through so I make sure to treat everyone with as much kindness as possible. It sounds super cliché but you never know what small thing you could do to change someone’s day or even their life.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I have learned a lot of lessons along this journey. Some good and some not as good but a needed reality check. Not everyone wants to see you succeed. You will come across people that no matter what you do they just want to see you fail. This was a hard lesson to learn because I couldn’t imagine having that mindset. I’m all for supporting others and I want to see everyone succeed no matter what.
It’s not quite a lesson but something good I have seen is how even tho there’s people who won’t support you there’s a big group of people who will. I have met so many strangers that have turned into close friends even family that I see every week now. Anytime they need a gift or new outfit they will come shop and bring new people in as well. Word of mouth is huge, it can either help you or hurt you. This is another reason why it’s important to be nice to everyone. We have gotten a ton of new customers in because of word of mouth.
Pricing:
- $1-$58
- Prices mainly go from $20-$40
- Cheapest item $1
- Most expensive item $58
Contact Info:
