While most University students are out looking for jobs this summer, one fellow student is busy owning one.
Erin Norman, graduate student and owner of Diversity Boutique, a women’s clothing store on 101 North Main Street, has operated her business since August 14 of last year. While some compaines in Bowling Green lose business in the summer due to the lack of students, Diversity Boutique has stayed consistent in its sales.
“Business is going really well,” Norman said. “I thought since summer is coming there would be a slower week, but it hasn’t been too bad. I’ve definitely had the same amount of sales now that I did during the school year.”
Diversity Boutique intern Hannah Duling said she has only been working for a few days, but is surprised at how many customers have stopped in.
“It’s a lot busier during the day than I thought it would be,” Duling said. “We get a lot of business, but the atmosphere is different than other clothing stores because most of the other stores are in shopping malls.”
Norman said that there have been steady sales because there is a mixture of age groups that buy clothes.
“We get a lot of college students, but I notice that it’s not the college students who spend the most money by any means,” Norman said. “It’s more of the adults who are still trying to look good.”
However, Norman said that the biggest factor for increased sales came after the fashion show in the Student Union in May.
“Ever since then, the sales have been really good,” Norman said.
“The day after (the fashion show) was my highest day of sales. Many people didn’t even know we had a store, so sometimes it’s just word of mouth.”
As a result of the popularity of the fashion show, Norman said she plans on having another show on campus in August or September. Future fashions may also be held at other schools like Ohio State or Ohio University.
But Norman said the original idea for Diversity Boutique developed from traveling to different parts of the world and being influenced by the things she saw.
“I’ve been to L.A. and over to Europe and have just seen a lot,” Norman said. “So why should Bowling Green not have something that everyone else has or could have.”
Norman said that a lot has changed since the store first opened, including an increase in new clothing lines like the Malagueta from Brazil.
“I’ve gotten more Brazilian lines and more clothing from other countries as well,” Norman said. “The Boutique itself has definitely grown and is now completely full. I don’t even have enough room for clothes on racks anymore.”
But according to Norman, she might not even have a need for many racks in the near future. Norman said by the time she graduates in August she hopes to have her business up and running online.
“My next big challenge is getting (Diversity Boutique) on the Internet,” Norman said. “I think that could be about 80 percent of my business from what I’ve heard.”
Norman also said she would like to look at another university as a second location for Diversity Boutique.
“I was looking at Miami (OH) and I’ve been to a lot of other (universities), but I really think I’d like to have one outside of Ohio,” Norman said. “I’ve been to places like Penn State that don’t have any shopping within an hour of their university.”
