Retail Inspiration: Reinventing Business During COVID-19
November 17, 2020 | Janie Dennison
MMSC will host Mornings on Main on December 2nd at 8:30 AM with a panel of three retailers that are located in rural communities across Missouri discussing how 2020 has been different for each of them. Success stories will be shared on how they reinvented themselves by enhancing their online presence to grow their business and what their strategy is going into 2021.
Best friends for over 15 years, Rachel Mifflin and Karen Vick decided to open a little clothing boutique together called MKT Clothing in downtown Warrensburg. When COVID hit, MKT had to close their doors to customers, but Rachel & Karen still needed a way to drum up business. So one night, Karen took home a basket of jewelry and did her first live video. In just a few hours she had $600 in sales and realized this was something that could keep them afloat. Since that first live video, Rachel & Karen have done a live sale every Friday for the past 7 months. It has become a ritual within the shop and a habit their shoppers can’t get enough of!
Mary Cupp and Cheryl Craig opened White Flower Quilt Shop in 2016 on the Historic Downtown Square in Clinton. They had both been quilters for some time and by pooling their efforts they were able to turn their passion into a business. They were recognized as the Business of the Year in 2018 and have developed a very successful “Quilt Walk” event for downtown Clinton. In 2019, they expanded the store into the space beside them in order to have space to teach quilting classes.
In 2006, Laurie Everette chose to make the move to become a small business owner by purchasing Annie Laurie’s in Cape Girardeau. Laurie has owned and operated Annie Laurie’s for fourteen years, winning numerous small business accolades during her tenure. In 2016, Laurie expanded her business holdings by purchasing and subsequently remodeling a historic 18th-century property adjacent to Annie Laurie’s. “The Indie House” as it has been renamed, is a shared retail space home to several retail businesses and a nightly rental cottage, “The Guesthouse.”
