If you call yourself a Smick, then you’ve at least heard of the fashion heaven that is Flourish Boutique. Located just a few minutes from campus, Flourish carries clothes that are both trendy and classic. The best part about Flourish? It’s founded and owned by a Smick alum, Vanessa Cooreman Smith. Opening up your own business is without a doubt hard, but Saint Mary’s prepared Vanessa for success.
Nowadays, Flourish is one of the most popular stores in the Notre Dame area. Vanessa told me a little bit about Flourish, and how Saint Mary’s helped her achieve her dream.
What did you major in at Saint Mary’s? When did you graduate?
I graduated in 2004 and majored in art with a minor in secondary education. When I entered as a freshman, I came in with an interest in various subjects including art, fashion, education, business, and literature. I considered everything from being a teacher to majoring in business, but really struggled to know which exact career path I wanted to take, and therefore which major to pursue. At some point, time limitations pushed me forward into the art degree with an education minor and my plan was to become a high school art teacher. However, by my junior year, I was actively observing and leading classes at an area high school and I disliked the actual class setting so much I found myself nauseous on the way to the high school. Around the same time, I had taken a part time job at a local fashion boutique and fell in love with that work setting instead. I loved the mix of business, the creativity in merchandising, and the sales/communication side of the business too. It was a better fit for my skills and passions and I knew right away that the teaching path was not going to work for me. I completed my degree because it was too late to change majors by that point, but immediately after graduation began planning and saving to start my own business.
Do you remember any professors or classes that had a particular impact on you?
Absolutely! As an art major, Julie Tourtillotte was my advisor because my concentration and senior comp was in Fibers. With a passion for fashion, concentrating on fibers which includes fabric manipulation and print making etc, was about the closest I could get to clothing design. I really enjoyed those classes and remember them often. Even when I am doing the buying for my business now and am looking at certain dyes or fabric contents, my knowledge base from those fibers classes comes in handy. I also learned so much from Kitty Green, who was one of my education professors. Even though I didn’t end up being a teacher, I learned so much about how people think and how to effectively communicate ideas to others via the education classes I took at Saint Mary’s. Hopefully that encourages anyone who is reading this and feels a little lost about their future career path. You should all know that the Saint Mary’s education is strong enough to support any career path, regardless of how that might relate to your major. I use my education every day even though I am not a teacher after all.
What’s your favorite Saint Mary’s memory?
My favorite memories really are the cumulation of all the little moments spent with my friends at Saint Mary’s…it’s the little things you miss the most after graduation. For example, I remember and miss all the meals spent with friends in the DH, walking to class laughing about our weekend shenanigans, move in days at the beginning of each year, studying together, etc. Even though you stay in contact with your Saint Mary’s friends or even make new friends after college, it’s impossible to recreate the closeness of living together on campus…there’s something special about sharing Saint Mary’s life together and I miss all those days so much.
What inspired you to open Flourish? When did you open Flourish?
Once I worked at a boutique and fell in love with boutique life, I knew I wanted to open my own business. I wanted the opportunity to put my own spin on the inventory selection, merchandising, marketing, etc. Whenever I traveled I visited any and every boutique I could find, kept track of designers I wanted to carry, collected pictures of display inspirations, and even started writing a business plan. Over time my ideas started to come together into a clear version of what I wanted my store to be. I chose the name Flourish and started working actively to make it a reality. I first opened Flourish in July of 2008. Our first location was in an untraditional retail space on the Northwest Side of South Bend (in the blackthorn area) and was only 800 square feet.
At first I had no employees and worked any open hours myself. The timing of my store opening was challenging, as just weeks after our grand opening, the stock market crashed and the Great Recession began. The pricey designer clothing I started out with had to be transitioned to more affordable brands, and I had to be very creative in order to keep our business going. I also made a lot of sacrifices including selling our home and downsizing in order to make the business survive. However, the social media revolution worked in my favor and I leveraged Facebook especially, to grow a loyal customer following and showcase images of our new arrivals daily. Back in the day, when Facebook promotion was free and organically showed all your posts to your followers, it was a fantastic way to reach people and get them excited enough about a new item to stop in and shop. It even created a sense of urgency, when we would post a picture and hours later comment “SOLD OUT” below it. At one point, we even sold directly off of Facebook, taking email addresses in comments below pictures and sending people paypal invoices for the items they wanted. It was fun and contagious to our customers and it really helped us thrive.
By year three we had grown enough I started to make a profit. Now in year seven, we have since expanded twice and our store is almost 4000 square feet. Via our website, we ship our products all over the US. And even here in the Michiana area, it’s rare for me to go out to dinner or a movie without seeing someone in Flourish. I feel so blessed that my little business made it through the recession and has grown in market share so much. I wake up every day and go to a job I love….what more can you ask for?!
What is your favorite part of owning your own boutique?
I think the best part of owning my own boutique, is the ability to push myself. I’ve pushed myself to become much more of a business woman and learn accounting and management skills. I’ve pushed myself creatively, trying out new marketing ideas and teaching myself photoshop and photo editing. I’ve also pushed myself to work as hard as I can while still finding the balance to be a good wife, mom, and friend at the same time. I never feel bored or unchallenged. I’m grateful to constantly feel like I’m living my life for a purpose, on purpose!
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when first opening your business?
One of the greatest challenges was overcoming financial obstacles during the first few years of business while the Great Recession was raging and we were in those unstable first few years every new business faces. My second greatest challenge has been becoming an effective manager of people. I am a born visionary and creative person, but I am not a natural manager (nor did I formally study management).
At first I found it hard to delegate to others out of a desire to control everything in my business. Then once I reached the point where my business grew enough and I had no choice but to start delegating, I struggled to stay on top of my employee’s time management and had a hard time letting anyone go or even offering correction in general. Now seven years in, I feel really comfortable in my own skin as a manager though. I have become more assertive and confident, and I enjoy guiding our company towards success even when that means making a tough decision like redirecting or even firing an employee. I have the right perspective on it now and have overcome my insecurities there.
How does Saint Mary’s impact your life today? What are some of the biggest ways Saint Mary’s has impacted your life?
Saint Mary’s is still a part of my life and always will be! I stay in touch with my many SMC friends and love seeing all their successes too. Some of my friends have gone the corporate route, and have awesome jobs in major companies. My best friend and roommate, Brittany (McMahon) Craig went on to start a wedding consulting/planning business and has been very successful too. She’s been featured on the Knot.com and been named the #1 wedding planner in the state of Ohio. I get so much joy out of seeing my Saint Mary’s sisters succeed and thrive. I also love when I get the opportunity to come back on campus now. Several times business professors have asked me to come and talk to classes and we have put on some fashions shows and trunk shows on campus too. It does my heart good to get back on campus and just be a part of the SMC life again.
Do you have any advice for girls who also want to someday start their own businesses?
Starting your own business is not for the faint of heart. It will stretch you financially, intellectually, creatively, etc. And it can put strain on personal things in your life such as your relationships or even your health and well-being, as it can be demanding and stressful. BUT, that being said it can also be so rewarding and when in balance be so fulfilling. The first few years of owning my own business I really struggled to get that balance right because I was devoting so much time and energy to Flourish. But now I have that in check, and enjoy a very full life personally and professionally. I am currently pregnant with my second son and take most weekends off to be with my family…yet I enjoy my work life so much too. So my advice to those who want to try owning their own business is probably prepare as much as possible in advance: save as much money as you can, plan ahead with business plans, marketing plans, employee policy manuals, etc, and mentally prepare to sacrifice for a time until your business is stable and profitable. But once you hit that point, you can expect owning your own business to be a really rewarding career path.
Photo provided by Vanessa Cooreman Smith
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