We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carly Garrison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Carly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Amaryllis and Main Boutique came about abruptly. After meeting with the Acworth City Development team we felt discouraged. It appeared as though this endeavor was not possible for another year due to the lack of retail space available at the time. Come to find out, time was on our side. We decided to begin the process of this potential opportunity and met with Tami Fredrick, the former owner of 4887 N Main Street and we were blown away with the support and graciousness presented to us. By November 2021 we knew that Amaryllis and Main Boutique would be opening just 4 short months later. Excitement, nervousness, and pressure to get things done were all emotions that presented themselves fairly quickly throughout this process. The only thing we knew for sure was that there was no looking back.

I knew this would work because I wanted something different. I knew I wanted a comfortable place for women to walk in and feel welcome, confident and seen. This in turn gave me the confidence to drive the startup process with one thing in mind, the mission of my store. With a lot of hard work and dedication, everything else just seemed to perfectly fall in place.

The mission behind Amaryllis and Main Boutique is to encourage women to see the best in themselves. Lifting up and empowering other women is the sole purpose of my store and the reason I became a small business owner. This is something I’m extremely passionate about and the fastest way for me to help boost your self-esteem is to offer outfits and accessories that make you feel confident.

Our name stems from the idea that an Amaryllis flower symbolizes a strong, independent, self-confident, and beautiful woman and we are located on Main St. in Downtown Acworth. Deciding on a location was an easy decision as I was born and raised in Acworth and only hope to make a positive impact in the town that I have called home for so many years.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Carly, the owner of Amaryllis + Main Boutique! I was born and raised in Acworth and bought my own house in the Downtown Acworth area in 2020. I went to Harrison High School and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelors degree in Business Management and a Minor in Entrepreneurship. Straight out of college I jumped on the opportunity to fulfill what I thought was my lifetime dream of working for the MLB. After moving to Houston, TX for six months, I returned home to reroute my career.

Upon moving home, a friend of mine introduced me to the retail industry by opening her own women’s clothing boutique. I joined her on her endeavor as her very first employee. While also working a corporate job and helping my friend as I could, I quickly realized that I was extremely passionate about uplifting and empowering women.

It wasn’t long after starting my last corporate position and helping a second friend open a boutique in another surrounding city that I knew what I was meant to do with my life. I was meant to encourage women to feel confident in themselves.

Amaryllis and Main is a women’s boutique offering clothing, shoes, gifts, handmade products, accessories & more. We strive to provide immeasurable customer service, inclusivity, fashion advice, and guidance when needed. It is important to us that we ensure you leave our store happier and more confident than you were when you arrived.

As a business owner, I am extremely proud of our first year in business. I am proud of my employees and I am proud of the connections we have been able to make with not only our customers but the community as well. It is an honor to be a Downtown Acworth Merchant.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Our favorite way to keep up with customers is to continuously build a relationship while they are shopping with us. It is important for us to have an understanding of who our customers are and how we can best support and build trust with them. Since October 2022, we have also started utilizing a loyalty program for our customers to redeem rewards for purchases. This program allows us to notify customers of sales, promotions, giveaways, and events that we have going on as well. Each month we strive to host at least one in-house event to bring women together to socialize and support local small businesses.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Throughout our first year, foot traffic has been our leading source of new business. The next best source for new customers has been word of mouth. We are so grateful for all of the referrals, reviews, and excitement that has been shared regarding our business. Without the verbal feedback and customer support, we would see most new customers coming from social media. We make it a point to share new arrivals every week in-store, on social media, and on our website. Our customers respond very well to our social media content and we love being able to benefit and guide our customers through these platforms.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://amaryllisandmain.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amaryllisandmain/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopamaryllisandmain

Image Credits
Frances Koontz