Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Roberts . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I have always had the dream of opening up my own boutique. The idea started in college with my friend. We would talk about opening up a wedding boutique, but I was going to school for education. I finished my education at Kent State University and then moved down to Columbus and became a special education teacher. Throughout my teaching career, the idea of starting a boutique was still in the back of my mind. The idea changed throughout the years, though. It changed to a women’s boutique and then I settled on children’s clothing. This was the best idea yet. I love kids and I love clothing, so what better to combine the two. I knew that this was a worthwhile endeavor after saying many prayers and seeing God opening up many doors throughout the past two years. I also starting brainstorming and researching different ideas, which showed me that I was ready and serious about taking on this journey. In my heart I knew that it was worth the risk of quitting my teaching job. I had a lot of support from my husband, family and friends. When asking if a problem was being solved, I would answer yes. My children are 7 and 9 and the majority of their friends are in the same age range. There are not many options of children’s clothes in this age range. So, I decided to focus my boutique of children’s clothing size 6-16. The majority of children’s boutiques are newborn to toddler sizes. The idea of picking out adorable clothing for my kids and their friends is so exciting to me. Seeing kids around my neighborhood in my boutique’s clothing is the best feeling ever!

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?

My name is Jessica Roberts. I am a wife and mother to two children, Sadie (9 years) and Drew (7 years). I was an Intervention Specialist for 18 years and worked with elementary school age students. I always had the dream of opening my own clothing boutique. The focus of my boutique evolved over time and eventually I decided to pursue starting a children’s boutique. I love working with kids and clothing, so what better to combine the two. My boutique is called SadieMays Children’s Boutique. I made the name by combining my daughter’s name with my birth month. SadieMays provides boys and girls clothing sizes 6-16. The items will not be found in big stores, like Target or Old Navy. What I am most proud of is being able to take a risk and following my dreams. I want to be able to provide a brand that people can rely on and have outfits to make memories in.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is by putting myself out there. I have learned to have open and honest conversations. Whenever I meet someone new and I learn that they have children, I tell them my background and that I just started my own children’s boutique. I love sharing my story and how I got into the clothing business. I feel that it is so important to be yourself, especially when running a small business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson that I learned is that owning a business can have its let downs. Not everything is going to work out the way you want it to, but that is how you learn to become more resilient. The backstory is that I had a potential space for my boutique, but I wasn’t ready to make the decision to move forward with it. Unfortunately, it became unavailable. Now there are no spaces available in my town. In the end, this situation made me work harder and gave me the perseverance that I needed to move forward with my dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: SadieMays.Online
• Instagram: @sadiemaysboutique
• Facebook: SadieMaysboutique