Here's a quick history of me:
I am a military brat who found roots in Nebraska over 25 years ago. I grew up in a pretty normal'ish family. I was always working for as long as I can remember and usually 2 or 3 jobs at a time. I loved to work. Customer service jobs were probably my favorite and babysitting.
I went to college in 2002 (yep... it's been awhile!) with no particular future plans in mind so I started down the path of a business degree. I soon realized that I loved school and could spend a lot of money dabbling and never end up with any type of degree. So, I did the most logical thing; I quit. Yep. No degree for this girl but that is A' OK!
Fast forward a few years: I got married (6/7/08) to my wonderful hubby Ben and we started having kids right away. Collin in 2009, Mylah in 2012, and twins, Kaeyln and Korah in 2014. During all of that we moved a couple times, redid a couple houses, and changed jobs a handful of times between us. Ben even went out on his own as a commercial applicator and started his own business while I was working as an in-home daycare provider. It was a crazy, busy, stressful, interesting, but fun time.
SO how did Mylah Rose Boutique actually begin??
It really was started out of pure insanity, literally! Being a stay at home mom of a four littles, I was struggling. As much as I loved being home with my children and my pajamas; I needed an out. Something I could call my own and be proud of, something to get dressed for and leave the house.
After long months of research and some soul searching, I knew that a children's boutique would be a perfect fit for not only our family but also for the community.
Living in a rural area of Nebraska has many, many positives but we lacked having places close to home where you could shop last minute. A place where you could bring your kiddos -without judgement- just to get out of the house for a bit and maybe do some retail therapy for yourself too!
I began online in December of 2016 and kept kind of "looking but not looking" for a brick and mortar. I knew if I really wanted to be back out with the public that I would eventually have to open a store. By March of 2017 - I happened upon a building and an offer I really couldn't pass up.
She was a beaut, clark.......
A lot of love and work from myself, family, and friends went into this building. It took us about 6 months to get it to the point where I was ready to open.
I LOVE remodeling but when faced with the tiny budget I had : I had to get creative. I wasn't able to do all the things I would have loved too, but in the end; it all came together quite nicely. The tin ceiling is lovingly referred to as my 5th baby and my absolute most favorite part of the building.
We officially opened the storefront in Geneva August 17, 2017.
I worked limited hours at first so I was still able to pick my kiddos up from daycare and school. By November, things had REALLY picked up and I was constantly being asked to carry women's clothing - especially since I still had over half of the shop sitting empty.
I had never been big into fashion and I was honestly scared to death to sell ladies clothing. These people obviously had never seen my closet OR knew my major lack of self-esteem....
But I usually don't back down from a challenge so by late December we officially added ladies clothing.
To my surprise, our customers liked what I was offering! I also realized that I do in fact have a small passion for fashion and I LOVE to help women find clothing that fits them and makes them feel good.
Fast Forward to Now:
I have been able to hire 4 gals and some random extra help, complete lots more updates to the main shop building, and donate to SO many charities and events. But most importantly - bring some of the "big city" convivence back to our small town, support other local businesses, grow my confidence as a business woman, and help other women feel good and save some precious time in this crazy, busy life.
In September of 2018 we opened a small, second location in Hebron, NE due the high volume of requests for shipping that way and deliveries.
Unfortunately I had to make the hard decision to close our Hebron location in the fall of 2021. We greatly miss being a part of Hebron!
During the summer of C*vid - I got a wild hair and drove clear to Flordia to buy an old fed-ex clunker truck. It was quite the affair and story to get it home and then up and running. If you haven't seen the videos on Facebook of our adventures in the truck... check them out for a much needed a laugh!! ☺
None of this would be possible without the support of my husband, family, banker & accountant, friends, and the AMAZING community support. I am so grateful and have never felt more blessed. I still can't believe I GET to do this. Thank you for being a blessing in my life and I hope I can continue to be a blessing in yours!
Where did we come up with the name???
Oh yes, I forgot to mention the name of our shop was actually my husband's idea! I was struggling to find a name I liked that was one of a kind and didn't box me into just selling children's item (phew, glad I did that!). Ben kept mentioning to just use Mylah's name, our oldest daughter. After spending a few weeks of googling my heart out : I decided that was going to be it - Mylah Rose.