We recently connected with Sydney Hughes and have shared our conversation below.

Sydney, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I opened Here & Now in December 2019 selling only small gift items and jewelry in the front room of a Yoga Studio. After two INCREDIBLE months of business, I had already outgrown my space. In February 2020 I signed a lease on what we now refer to as the “dollhouse”, a small cottage commercial building and we started adding in more items like clothing, accessories, shoes, and much more. Covid 19 hit and my plan came to an abrupt halt. We took a pause from mid March to May 1st and I questioned what I had gotten myself into. On May 1, 2020 we opened at the dollhouse. The support of my community made my business grow immensely over the next 9 months. By 2021 we had already outgrown this space again. A space on our downtown square (which happens to be the Largest Downtown Square in America) was available and was 3 times the square footage. We took the risk and moved to the square in February of 2021. Our Elm Street location is where we truly grew into the business that we are now. While there were little things that were not like I would want them to be, I made what we had work. By 2023 we had outgrown our space yet again. Frustrated with the market and how so many boutiques and retailers were all beginning to look the same, I was fully ready to rebrand my boutique. An opportunity knocked on my door & a space on the opposite side of our square opened up. This space was used previously as a staffing office, and had low ceilings, florescent lighting, and floating walls to create office spaces. Something about this space just felt ‘right’, and after digging we found the true, originally character of this building that was built in 1896 behind it all. We signed the lease and gained 1000 additional square feet of storage. Renovations started in October 2023, and on January 22, 2024 we opened a brand new business. A new vision, esthetic, product assortment, and mission. The moral of my story is to never give up on what you truly envision for your business. I started Here & Now at 27, and was dating my now husband. It was most definitely a young, frilly, more youthful store. But now, it has grown and matured into a store full of items that I truly feel like have depth and soul. I buy each peace with intention, and well thought out plans.
My message here is to never give up on who you continue to grown into. Never be scared to make your business pivot with you. It is rewarding and the loyal customers will evolve with you.

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

I was born and raised in Graham, Texas. When I graduated high school in 2011, I went off to Texas Tech to study Retail Management. After college I worked on the corporate side of retail for many different major retailers such as Walmart, Academy Sports & Outdoors and Pier 1 Imports. I held positions in different fields such as Macro Space Productivity, Space Planning, Planning & Allocations, and eCommerce. In 2018 I started dating my now husband, Hunter, who I have known for the majority of my life. We made the bold decision for me to relocate back to my hometown of Graham in 2019, and by the end of that year I opened Here & Now. By 2024, Hunter has joined in on the fun with me as our business continues to evolve into what it is today.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think i kind of touched on this in my first slide… We made a major pivot this past year with wanting to rebrand… Don’t know if i need to go into that again or if you can just pull from what I already wrote.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like my entire story is about pivoting. We just continue to pivot and grow. I am not the best at talking about myself but am happpy to answer any questions you have about my story!

Contact Info:

• Website: shophereandnow.com
• Instagram: hereandnowboutique
• Facebook: hereandnowboutique

Image Credits
myself & Agency of Saints