We recently connected with Sydnie Rushing and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sydnie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I was in the beginning stages of planning I workshopped a lot of names. So many were kitchy and ill fitting for my brand vision. Businesses who’ve been around for a while will often admit they wished they’d named their business after themselves but Sydnie was never a great name for a clothing store. However, my last name is Rushing. In the early vision boards, many Wes Anderson images and themes were defining characteristics of my branding. Wes Anderson fans would know of the movie Rushmore. I thought to myself “Rushmore” was a bit cooler version of Rushing and so I went all in.

Fast forward a few years later and I’m re-watching the movie Rushmore. It was then when I heard perhaps the best line of any movie I’ve ever seen;
Bill Muray says to Jason Schwartzman, “So kid, what the secret?”
Schwartzman says “Secret sir?”
“The secret to life. It seems like you have it all figured out.”
“I don’t know about the secret to life, but I think you need to find something you love in life and do that forever. For me, thats Rushmore.”

…I welled up with tears and have forever felt like I made the right choice. For me, thats also Rushmore.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Rushmore began in Downtown Alton, Illinois. We opened August of 2019 and unlike a lot of entrepreneurship journeys, I had not always dreamed of opening a boutique. It was a series of perfectly aligned choices that lead me to opening Rushmore. It began after an attempt at a business degree, I realized I hated all my business courses and needed to pivot if I ever wanted to graduate. I had always loved fashion and sewing so I switched to an Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising major and graduated with a double minor in business and arts. For many years I worked in women’s specialty retail in various levels of styling and management. I was working as a co-manager when one day like a bolt from the blue, I felt the urge to open a boutique. I asked my then boyfriend (now husband) Steve, what he thought and with no hesitation he said, “you’d be great at that.”. I hadn’t been a boutique shopper and I really hadn’t known what that experience looked like, but I had a vision and knew corporate women’s retail very well – from the merchandising to the operations. It was that moment I began my entrepreneurship journey.

The style of Rushmore is really derived from my own unique style; A blend of work wear and causal wear. I’ve always been drawn to an elevated look and classic styles but adding a little funk. Like a blazer, jeans, and a graphic tee. Like a leather jacket and pencil skirt. I would wear dress pants for any occasion! A friend once said to me, “you always look like you’re ready for a nice dinner”…. it was unintentional at the time but I find that’s still my goal. Rushmore is always current but not “trendy”. We focus on style – true personal style. The best classic wardrobes are built over time. I truly believe, finding really special pieces that will surpass the test of time while still reflecting your own very special style is what “fashion” is all about. Thats the foundation of Rushmore. Special, timeless, quality pieces at a reasonable price point.

I find that the boutique world in recent years has been either very affordable with little longevity or they’re on the higher end, making those special pieces unattainable for most. I aim to offer the in-between; quality garments at a reasonable price point. I also know that theres a lot of corporate options out there and of course theres online retail. The thing that Rushmore has that those box stores and online stores don’t have is the human experience. When you come to my shop, you talk to me. I hear the concerns directly from my customers and I listen. I see what they like, what they’re looking for, and I’m here to help. I know fit and styles. Some people read The NY Times each day, I read Vogue. I stay on the pulse of what’s happening in fashion and how to make your wardrobe feel current but still represent “you”. I know first hand what it’s like to hate what’s in your closet and feel at odds with your own body and often times shopping is the last thing you want to do. Rushmore offers an atmosphere that helps ease those pains a bit. My hope is that you feel comfortable and supported in your own style journey. Theres enough hard things to do in this world! I want shopping to be one of the fun things.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2024, I made the very hard decision to relocate the store from Alton, Illinois to the Central West End of STL. This pivot all began at the end of 2022 when my mother lost her battle against cancer and my husband and I moved into her house, my childhood home, to take care of her 3 senior pets and to take on the generations of stuff that accumulates over 30 years.

Prior to my mother’s passing, Steve and I lived above the Alton store. In 2019 we renovated the upstairs into a really great loft and opened the shop on the ground floor. It was awesome! But after we moved out Rushmore felt… different. It was sad. My life had changed so much and I felt it in my heart that it was time to move on. Steve and I had often talked about moving to St. Louis and after so much change, it felt right to start new.

Knowing it wasn’t the store itself that I needed to move on from, I started searching for a space with three things; I wanted it to be in a neighborhood (not a stripe center or mall), wood floors, and exposed brick. Some spaces were almost right but I was going to have to compromise my brand in order to make it fit the neighborhood. When I found the space on McPherson Ave, it was all the right things. It was also chard to a crisp… if you know about the fire that happened at the corner of Euclid and McPherson during the summer of 2022, then you know what I’m talking about. The whole block needed a total renovation. The property manager walked me around and said, you’ll have to use your imagination… that was easy! I saw vision! The space was perfect.

I closed the Alton location in March of 2023 with the expectation I would be moving into the new store front in April. That was not how it happened. The construction process took longer than planned and after 6 months of “trusting the process” and learning to release control around what I have no control over, we are finally moved in and it’s going wonderfully! The space is just what I envisioned for Rushmore. The neighborhood has been so accepting and delighted to have more women’s shopping options in the neighborhood! We’ve been open in the CWE for 6 months now and I feel so at home. As spring kicks off I’ve watched the community come back to life and I can’t wait to see what the spring and summer have in store for the surrounding business that will be blooming soon.

It just goes to show, when you follow your gut, good things happen.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Buying for a retail store is not all it’s cracked up to be. A few years back, I was at a tipping point. Not many people know that I almost closed the business due to, frankly poor inventory management. It’s a fine line between buying and overbuying. Knowing what to buy and when. For many years I kept to a budget and bought primarily based on intuition. It worked for a while but eventually it all caught up to me. Many business owners know, one overbought season can put you out of business. I was at that place. I looked at all the numbers and thought, I’m going to have to close completely. The same day that I came to that conclusion fate stepped in.

I had been to trade show earlier that year and heard a woman speak on stage about the basics of running a boutique. I had felt like she was talking directly to me! I had to speak to her! After she finished her presentation I walked up to meet her. She asked how much I made in sales that month and based on that alone she knew how much I made that year! It was incredible- like a psychic at the carnival! I was star struck – she knew a secrete to the business that I did not. I signed up for her emails which ultimately got lost in my inbox and I didn’t think much of it afterwards.

The day I realized Rushmore was coming to an end I got an email; “Are you feeling underpaid and overwhelmed”? YES! I was! The webinar was free and I had the time that night to tune in. Once again, everything she said resonated with me. She had me on the hook and I was ready to learn more! She ended the webinar with an offer to buy her online course on how to fix your inventory. I knew if I took this course and it didn’t fix my problems I would be out the cost of the course and also my business. OR… it would teach me how to fix this mess I put myself in and actually save the business I loved.

I bought the course! It wasn’t cheap but it was live and lead by her with only 9 other students in it. We met weekly on zoom and vulnerably shared our numbers with the class. After the 6 months of meeting each week, I had the knowledge! My business was thriving! My inventory was stable! I had control over my business again! Plus I had made back the cost of the class! Let’s just say, I never got a masters degree, but what I have now it worth so much more. My mom had said, “if you take this course, no one can take away your knowledge”. It’s crazy to think back on how I almost threw in the towel, but in the fashion of a true entrepreneur I was resilient and took a risk. I still use these same principles in my buying plans now. It reframed how I look at buying and now I feel like a pro! When I go to market I actually know what I’m doing…. it’s’ awesome!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rushmoreboutique.com
• Instagram: rushmore_boutique
• Facebook: rushmoreboutique