MOST OF us have shopped online with Facebook groups or Etsy stores, excited to find unique gifts or treats for ourselves. We often have no personal contact with the seller but identify with their brands, styles, and prices. The impact of our purchases is relatively unknown.
For years, Katie Hallum sold boutique clothing and accessories more for fun than financial security. When the pandemic hit and impacted her regular job, the single mom knew it was time to make it her full-time job.
She expanded from online to a booth at North Main Marketplace in Shelbyville. Naturally, her son, Henry, went with her to stock and style her booths but was bored hanging out while she worked.
Katie had an idea — a booth for Henry. It wasn’t just a booth geared to kids his age with Henry’s name on it, but a booth owned and managed by Henry.
She said, “If he had something to sell, he would have something to do with me. And it became very popular because I have a group that shops with me, and many of them are just like me with kids his age.”
So with Henry’s feedback, Katie ordered inventory for his booth.
“I try to get his input as much as I can on what he wants to order because I think he has a better opinion of what kids his age are going to like,” said Katie. “He’ll go in [to his booth] and set it up, and he’ll do little videos that I’ll post on Facebook of him showing everybody what it is.”
Henry’s Fun Shop carries books, toys, graphic tees, and holiday items, among other cool things for kids his age. What began as something for him to do while his mother worked turned into a lesson in owning and managing a business.
Katie said, “We talk a lot about the money side of it so that he can understand how business works. I tell him how much his product costs and how much he’ll sell it for. I remind him he’s going to put on the tags or ask if he’s going to ship an order out today and remind him if I’m going to do it, he will have to pay me to do the work for him. So he’s learned what an expense is and what retail versus wholesale is as much as he can understand it. He knows the more work he puts in, the more money he will get in his savings account. And the more work I do, the less he will get, so it’s definitely been a good teaching moment, as far as being an entrepreneur and learning how a business works,” she said.
With a mission to bring you cute, affordable clothes, no matter what stage of life you’re in, Katie offers clothes from small to 3X.
“I’ve always tried to offer super affordable casual mom clothes. I try not to make anything over $40; usually, nothing’s over $30. I ask myself before I buy anything if I’m willing to pay this much for something. If I’m not going to do it, I won’t ask anybody else to do it. And I try really hard to save people shipping by offering to put purchases in their mailbox or letting them pick them up at North Main because when I start to check out somewhere, and the shipping is over $10, I’m not doing it,” she said.
The community’s support has been priceless to Katie. Customers have become lifelong friends who feel good about spending their money with her and supporting local businesses. She’s found that people are trying to spend less money at large online stores and are spending their money locally to support their community. It’s something she appreciates even more as a single mom.
She loves working in a business with her son while building special friendships and connections with the community, putting Katie and her son in the middle of something wonderful. The two enjoy giving back to the community, which she hopes sticks with Henry as he grows up. They’ve sponsored fundraisers for local organizations and made every effort to donate to auctions raising money for local needs. Henry held a fundraiser through sales in his booth for Evelyn Jefferson following her emergency brain surgery.
Katie said, “The shop has always been really special and important to me. I named it after my son, Henry, and now he gets to do his part with me. I hope we can always do it together and that someday Henry can do something with it without me. I can pass it along to him if he wants to continue doing something with it.”
Katie passes along value for her customers’ dollars. Her customers pass their support along to her and Henry, and a business succeeds with a chance of becoming a generational store serving customers in every season of life.
That’s worth it all! GN
