This week's Entrepreneur Spotlight features Taber Olinger of Fancy & Staple, located on Broadway in Downtown Fort Wayne. Here at Living Fort Wayne, we LOVE Fancy & Staple. The boutique-style shop is unique, and browsing around is almost as fun as purchasing the amazing, individualistic products they have to offer. Seriously, I get lost in there for hours.
Fancy & Staple's mission is "I'm from Fort Wayne and have always loved it here. For me, whenever something new comes this city, it's REALLY exciting! Instead of taking it for granted because there's already a bazillion other cool things, I feel more appreciative and connected to the progress. For the past 10 years (at least), I've wanted desperately to be part of that growth and offer something unique to Fort Wayne. Now that I'm finally there, I couldn't be more thrilled!
What resource in the community has helped you thrive in the community?
I believe the biggest challenge I overcame happened in the very beginning. It was taking the initial leap, from idea to reality. Getting started can seem over whelming, scary, and impossible. For me, I needed a little push. Even though I had been preparing for years and I was as ready as I was ever going to be. Once I started the process, nothing could stand in my way. It was an amazing experience that I would do over and over again.
What person has helped you the most in your journey?
If your ready (you've done your research) then just go for it. Take it one step at a time, and make sure each step is done correctly. Seriously, take no short cuts. Opening a business isn't supposed to be a fast process, so make sure you have the time to dedicate to it. People will know if you half-ass it ... can I say that? Do everything you can to get people excited about it. USE your social networking and make it look good. Create your own buzz and keep sharing throughout the whole process. Have fun with it and make sure everyone else has fun with it as well!
What would be the best thing Fort Wayne could do for entrepreneurs in your opinion?
The Holly Trolley was huge for me and everyone else downtown from what I hear. Given the amount of shoppers that day, I think a quarterly small business trolley tour would prove to be successful as well. Finally there's enough going on downtown to sustain a multitude of events and I think we should take advantage of it.
Visit Fancy & Staple Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Leave yourself plenty of time to browse, you won't regret it.
You can follow Fancy & Staple on Instagram at @fancyandstaple or Like the shop on Facebook. Personally, I enjoy the F&S Pinterest as well.
This post is part of a series of posts in collaboration with Start Fort Wayne where Living Fort Wayne explores resources available to entrepreneurs and spotlights entrepreneurs who decided northeast Indiana is the place to operate their businesses.
