We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon Connelly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.

Shannon, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I get SO many questions about the name of my business! First of all, when I came up with the name I definitely underestimated how many people knew what Edelweiss was. Growing up, my favorite movie was The Sound of Music. If you are familiar with the movie, Edelweiss is a song in the film. It is also the name of a flower that only grows at the top of the Alps. I was fortunate enough to travel to Austria and Germany a couple of years before I started my business. There are so many stories about the flower that I learned while abroad. The flower means devotion, as it only grows in the toughest condition on earth. Being a business owner, I believe, is one of the toughest careers you can choose! It definitely requires devotion if you want your business to grow, just like the flower.

Shannon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a little girl, my favorite thing to do was play store. As I grew older, the idea of being a business owner one day and having my own store never left my mind! I graduated with my degree in Entrepreneurship and started my business shortly after. Fashion and clothing is one of my passions, so I figured what better business to start than a women’s clothing boutique. I have the opportunity to attend market multiple times a year to learn about trends in fashion and hand select what products will be in store that upcoming season. I focus on big trends in fashion that year mixed with classic pieces that you will get to wear year after year. We carry women’s clothing, shoes and accessories. I hear a lot from customers that they like shopping with us because of our unique product selection. You will find pieces with us you won’t find elsewhere-especially in larger chain stores. I am most proud of my ability as a buyer for my customers. When people ask who does our buying and they really connect with our style, it really lets me know I’m doing something right. After all, every item I purchase is an investment. If my buying skills are poor, my ability to be profitable is extremely low. Buying also goes so much further than just finding “cute” styles. You have to focus on price, quality and ship dates as well. So much goes into it and I’m very proud of my buying! I want customers to know that I always have them in mind when I attend market. I would also never buy anything that I as a customer wouldn’t wear myself. That way when they shop in my store, I can genuinely be excited about every item they look at.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am coming up on 5 years as a business owner. Time flies, but there has also been A LOT of life that has happened in the last 5 years. I am a completely different person today, both professionally and personally, than when I started. Being a business owner has definitely been responsible for a lot of that. If there’s one thing I know about owning a business, it is that you should always expect the unexpected. You never know what is around the corner and it is a journey. Over the course of 5 years, I have really started 4 different businesses. We first started online only. Then, I decided to travel around the US setting up at large shopping and women’s events. After that, I purchased a fashion truck and moved to Nashville, TN. It was like starting over! I had just gotten my truck business built up when COVID hit and shut everything down. The difficult thing about having a mobile business too, is that your season for operating is only about 8-9 months out of the year due to weather. So, as winter approached I had to pivot again. That’s when I found our mall had leasing opportunities for small businesses and the rest is history. Even at the mall I never know what each day will bring me. I have learned to be open to the journey and see where this business leads me.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

To be honest, it comes down to much simpler things than I would have originally anticipated. Interacting with customers daily has been the most effective way I have grown my clientele. Customers wander in from organic foot traffic in the mall, but our interactions and genuine conversation are what keep them coming back. I try to let everyone know that we are a small business and this is our only location. Being in the mall, most people assume we are a large brand with locations all across the country. When I tell people I’m the owner and we are a small business, it connects with people. They like supporting small, local businesses. I also provide a unique customer experience you don’t get in chain stores. Because the customer connects with me and my vision, they have really spread the word and they continue to come in time and time again. While we have also tried social media marketing and working with local influencers, connecting with customers organically and providing exceptional customer service has been the most effective strategy for growing our customer base.

Contact Info:

• Website: shopedelweissboutique.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/shopedelweissboutique