A Shop of One's Own: Women Who Turned the Dream into Reality

Whether flowers are your fancy, hats your madness, or paper your passion, you can open a store selling the things you love. To thrive in a shop of your own, however, requires myriad skills best learned from those who already know. Victoria introduces a group of women entrepreneurs who, with little inventory and big dreams, created a rewarding niche in the retail market. Their triumphs and failures, practical advice and insider secrets, provide invaluable lessons for fledgling shop owners. Here's just the right advice to take you from getting establishing credit to choosing a space to developing a solid partnership with vendors. Find creative and inviting ideas for displaying your wares so customers will linger longer, and smart ways to get the biggest bang out of your advertising dollars. The profiles of female shop owners will offer inspiration and provide invaluable role models.