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She said, \u201cIf 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So with Henry\u2019s feedback, Katie ordered inventory for his booth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d said Katie. \u201cHe\u2019ll go in [to his booth] and set it up, and he\u2019ll do little videos that I\u2019ll post on Facebook of him showing everybody what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henry\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Katie said, \u201cWe 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\u2019ll sell it for. I remind him he\u2019s going to put on the tags or ask if he\u2019s going to ship an order out today and remind him if I\u2019m going to do it, he will have to pay me to do the work for him. So he\u2019s 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\u2019s definitely been a good teaching moment, as far as being an entrepreneur and learning how a business works,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a mission to bring you cute, affordable clothes, no matter what stage of life you\u2019re in, Katie offers clothes from small to 3X. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve always tried to offer super affordable casual mom clothes. I try not to make anything over $40; usually, nothing\u2019s over $30. I ask myself before I buy anything if I\u2019m willing to pay this much for something. If I\u2019m not going to do it, I won\u2019t 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\u2019m not doing it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The community\u2019s 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\u2019s found that people are trying to spend less money at large online stores and are spending their money locally to support their community. It\u2019s something she appreciates even more as a single mom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Katie said, \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Katie passes along value for her customers\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s worth it all! GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.\u00a0 For years, Katie Hallum sold boutique clothing and accessories […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/06\/3-1-1024x683.png\")
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