On American Business Women's Day, Rowlett honors and celebrates the contributions and achievements of women in the workforce and women business owners in our City.

On this important day, we share insights from one women-owned businesses. Cheryl Fitzgerald, owner of Girlfriends Boutique in located in the The Village of Rowlett Downtown, started her business 17 years ago. She loves being in the downtown area and the walkability to stores and restaurants. Cheryl attributes the success of her business to the friendships she has made with her customers. Earlier this year in response to the pandemic, she had to quickly adapt her business model. Cheryl shared some insights from this experience.

How did you adapt your business during the pandemic? 

There was a time at the start of the pandemic that I had to close for six weeks. I quickly adapted by pivoting my marketing to online sales. I posted all my merchandise on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and the orders started coming in. I wrote each customer a personal note and we delivered the merchandise to their homes every week which included over 200 homes in the DFW region. It was both fun and challenging. I employed several high school students to help with deliveries. With every delivery we also included a little surprise, adding a candle or car scents. Our customers loved it!

How has the impact of the pandemic and the pivot to add online sales changed your business today? 

My business sales are now close to being back to normal levels. After reopening, I still offer online sales. However, many of our customers are shopping in person again. I diversified our inventory and now carry more unique items. And those candles we added to the online delivery orders have now become an extremely popular item. After we reopened, every single person that came into the store would buy a candle. People who are now working from home love having the fragrances in their remote workplace.

What are some takeaways from your recent experiences? 

Customer service is always No. 1. Make friends with your customers. Quickly pivot when possible to meet today's customer needs. I think people appreciate small businesses more now, especially the ones that made it through these tough times. The mindset of more and more customers today is "Shop Small Businesses".