OSAGE BUSINESS CHOSEN FOR STATEWIDE SBDC AWARD
Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique, Osage, chosen for Small Business of the Month Award
AMES, Iowa – America’s SBDC Iowa (SBDC) is pleased to announce that Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique of Osage, is the winner of the SBDC’s statewide December Small Business of the Month Award.
Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique is an online boutique and pop-up store based in Osage, Iowa. Owners Lacey Huisman and Michele Johnson opened the online boutique in October 2017, providing their community a local online option of attractive and affordable clothing. They began selling directly to their customers using Facebook. Word of mouth, local ownership, and an instinct for selecting unique, well-priced apparel made Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique immediately popular. Owner Michele Johnson said, “We use Facebook Live to talk about new products and feature our favorite things, but we also just chat.”
Since beginning their online boutique, Lacey and Michele have also held private parties, and have opened a pop-up shop in downtown Osage. They worked with Brook Boehmler of the North Iowa Area SBDC, as they transitioned to adding the pop-up shop. They also enrolled in Venture School, a 7-week entrepreneurial training program taught by the University of Iowa on the NIACC campus.
Brook Boehmler, Regional Director, North Area Iowa SBDC says, “Lacey and Michele have built a successful local business that fulfills an important niche in rural Iowa by challenging the retail status quo and using innovative methods to reach and serve their customers.”
For more information about Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique, visit www.petuniasandpixiedust.commentsold.com/store or on their Facebook page at http://bit.ly/PetuniasPixieDustFacebook.
