Lockdown made me think – and do some silly dances!
Boutique owner Karen Hall says lockdown forced her out of her comfort zone – making her up her digital game, brush up her social media skills and earning her a solid online following.
Now the businesswoman wants to thank all her customers who kept the ladieswear shop in business through a turbulent summer.
Karen runs Karen George Boutique in Emsworth High Street, which she took over the shop in 2016.
The 49-year-old said: “Like many, it really was touch and go as to whether we would survive.
“Unfortunately, not being an essential business, we had to close our door. We took advantage of the government grant, furloughed staff members and worked very hard to generate online sales.
“We had a website but it wasn’t particularly active, more just a presence on the web for people to find us.
“We spent a great deal of time taking images and loading products onto the website – I modelled them myself and did silly dances I posted on the Facebook page to prompt some interest.
“Many customers have since told me how I kept them entertained and loved it.”
As well as refreshing her website, Karen set up social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok, and she has been writing blogs and creating videos, searching for ways to keep in touch with her customers and keep her business alive.
She said: “It was a really tough time. People just weren’t going anywhere or spending any money.”
All her summer stock had to be put in a drastic 50 per cent of sale, just so she could raise enough to stay afloat and get in the next season’s clothes.
However Karen said she was not letting Covid-19 stop her from living her dream of running a boutique. Fashion is her calling and she loves working in the shop.
She originally trained as a secretary but ended up running an accountancy firm – selling that practice after 20 years. She also ran a shop in Bishop’s Waltham with her business partner, opening a further shop in Chichester, though these have now closed as she focuses on Emsworth. She said: “We merged the accountancy practice just at the same time as my mum passed away so I took some time out to consider what I wanted to do.
“I really enjoyed the shop, buying stock, meeting suppliers and then the satisfaction of people liking your choices and buying them.
“One of my suppliers told me about the shop becoming available for rent as the previous tenant was retiring, and I couldn’t resist. The idea of doing this by myself, on a much smaller scale in such a pretty town as Emsworth was perfect. And here we are – in our fourth year. We have come a long way.”
She added: “At last it is starting to pick up now and we are excited about our new stock. I want to thank everybody for supporting us.”