A business owner scours through her inventory searching for the desired piece of clothing in the correct color and size. She neatly folds the merchandise, wraps it up, and puts it in a shipping envelope. She fills the bag with business cards and ship’s away one of her very own items. This entrepreneur is not what one would expect, she is not an adult with a business degree, in fact, sophomore Addy-Parker Loveless is a high school student with a dream.
“My hopes and dreams for my business is to open an actual storefront,” said Loveless.
Loveless decided to start her very own boutique with this future plan as her motivation. Over the summer of 2017 she learned multitudes of information about owning a private business. She paid all the expenses herself and became knowledgeable in boutiques. After months of hard-work, Addy-Parkers Boutique, opened in September.
“I have always wanted to have my own business, but I knew that an actual store was unrealistic at this time, so I thought that I should just do it online,” said Loveless.
Loveless owns a fully-functioning website at addy-parkersboutique.com. She sells clothing and accessories for women of all ages. She buys her inventory wholesale, then resells through her boutique. She usually picks out clothes to sell by relating her customers style to her own. She buys things that she would wear, and always makes sure not to buy the same item or anything that looks too similar.
“I buy everything for my boutique with my own money. My parents do not pay for anything,” said Loveless.
In addition to being a busy high school student, Loveless is managing a growing business everyday. Her boutique is becoming more successful, as she going to have a pop up boutique opening in Bellville in a couple of months. She is working to better her website by spending as much time as possible shipping out orders efficiently. Like any business, promotion is vital to its success; she reaches the social media generation by advertising her boutique on facebook, twitter and instagram.
“I promote my website by having all social media accounts to keep people updated with what I release and any specials that are going on,” said Loveless.
While other Tompkins High School students are taking on their very first job, Loveless became her own boss. While most american business owners would deposit all profits into the bank, Loveless donates five percent of her sales to Clothed By Faith, a local charity that through religion provide clothes to those in need. She pursued her life-long aspiration and she would love to pass on the message for others to do the same.
“ I would like the students at Tompkins to know that they should chase their dreams,” said Loveless.
