We recently connected with Allie Evans and have shared our conversation below.

Allie , appreciate you joining us today. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

In 2020, Covid hit. I was scared, to say the least. Small businesses were shutting down and I knew I had to do something to keep Downtown Allie going! I am one who will push and make things happen, we did just that. We had been throwing around the idea of a website. After the shut down I knew it was time. My husband, Noah, started my Shopify Website and my sales increased from doing this! I never knew that a website could be such a blessing. So yes, Covid changed my business for the better. I am not going to say it is easy. With having a store front and a website now, it is like having two stores. My customers love seeing what is new and are able to ship or pick up in store!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It has been 9 years since I started Downtown Allie Boutique. Here is how it all began. In 2014, I started waitressing and working at a small business until I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Retail was and is my thing, so I told my parents I wanted to get my business licenses and start my own boutique. Trunk shows, events, and selling out of my car is how I got started. After a few months of seeing this business take off, I looked for a store front. It was a small building on the corner of a small town. My parents seemed a little concerned of what I was about to get myself into. We opened the store front in September 2015 and it was a success! We had people traveling from all of the surrounding counties just to come and shop! It was a dream come true! At the end of the year, I had outgrown that tiny store front. We needed more dressing rooms and room for more merchandise. There was a bigger building right down from the one I was currently in. We decided to purchase it and redo it! In 2016, I was the owner of a building on the Main Street and it was successful! In this year, we welcomed my son, Beckett, into the world. Being a mom and a small business owner has been one of the toughest parts about my job. We ended up having to hire someone full-time to come in and help me. I was able to stay at home some and take care of my son! In 2020, Covid hit and I was terrified of what was about to happen. We had been throwing around the idea of a website. My husband, Noah, set up the website and we had it running by the shutdown! God really had His hand on all of it! A week before all of this, I had gotten in a large shipment which lasted me until we were able to open back up! Our in store traffic and website really helped out growing this small business. Then in 2022, inflation. It was worse than Covid year. I worked harder than I ever have. Sales were down and I was doing everything I possibly could to keep it up. We found out we were pregnant with our second baby, Bayliss. To say it was a little chaotic is an underestimate! We pushed through and made it through the inflation year. This year we have had a phenomenal year! We have seen new faces and I have tried to incorporate more content to our social media! A little bit of what we carry at Downtown Allie. I strive to bring all the unique pieces and try to be different than other boutiques in the area! Modesty and keeping up with the trends is what I continue to do. We have sizes for all women of all ages. Each week I will do a “Top 5 Live” on our Facebook. I love to show off what items look like on! We have customers who shop with us every week! It is such a blessing to see everything I have been through over the years and how we made it to 2024! When I feel like I think I cannot do something, I reread my story. I am here to tell you, you can do anything that you set your mind to. This year I am trying to have more of a schedule and really using my social media towards my business.

How did you build your audience on social media?

First, I started off with a Facebook Page and a Group. I would do giveaways to get more people on both of them. I did noticed that on the group, we would sell more. Facebook Lives always helped too. I would have the audience , like, comment, and share our Live! Now, I am trying out Facebook Ads. We have had several purchase from doing so.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

We keep up with our customers by email marketing and Facebook and Instagram. With using Shopify, if the customer has a question of an item they purchased I can do back to their purchase history and view that item. They also have email marketing. We just downloaded a loyalty program through Shopify too. When the customer spends a certain amount, they get loyalty points to use towards their purchases.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.downtownallieboutique.com
• Instagram: @downtownallie.boutique
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Downtownallie.boutique