About Jules Boutique

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Jules Boutique in the News: All that glitters will add some kick to the holidays and those bleak winter eves - The Truth

Boutique has little bit of everything

By MONICA JOSEPH
Goshen News Lifestyles Editor

The door is often propped open at 130 S. Main St. — which, along with bright window displays, draws customers in to browse among the clothing, handbags, novelty items, jewelry and more.

Jules Boutique owner Julie (Freshour) Rohn is a 1990 graduate of Goshen High School. She studied at Indiana University at South Bend, Indiana University-Purdue University and Heron School of Art in Indianapolis before becoming a preschool and kindergarten teacher at Montessori School. Rohn spent 10 years in Indianapolis before moving back to her hometown. She was a stay-at-home mom until her son, Carter, now 7, was in kindergarten. Rohn knew she wanted to start her own business, and she was drawn to the “beautiful old buildings” in downtown Goshen.

Purchasing her new business went fairly smoothly thanks to a software business plan maker she discovered at Staples. “It walked me through it,” Rohn said. The software asked detailed questions, and by the time she was finished filling in the blanks, she was ready to take the proposal to the bank. Her first idea was to purchase a bar/restaurant downtown, but when the deal fell through, she decided to start a boutique. She opened her business June 1, 2004, at 211 S. Main St. beside ShooBeDo. In August 2006, Rohn moved her growing business to its current, larger location.

With a mother who is an interior designer, home decor was her first focus. She also knew she wanted to sell denim clothing. Friend Shawn Nafziger created a Web site for Rohn, which became a hit for online denim sales. “At first, I had hardly any clothes” (in the boutique), Rohn said. Then she began to notice something — the few clothes she had in the store “were flying off the rack.” The home decor items were slower to sell, so Rohn changed her focus to fit her customers’ needs.

She said she wasn’t trying to compete with a downtown Goshen anchor store Newell’s — she had a different demographic in mind. “I want to add to Goshen,” Rohn said. “I never want to take away.” Denim jeans remained a staple, but Rohn added tops, jackets, skirts and dresses. Handbags are also a big part of her business. Bags of all colors, shapes and sizes are perched or hung everywhere in the store. The shop also sells jewelry, lotion, candles, knick-knacks — it’s a shop full of different textures and colors. Customers tend to wander around and stay a while to browse, Rohn said. The key to her business, she said, is keeping prices reasonable — “that’s what works in Goshen.”

Rohn also makes sure her Main Street window and the entire store gets a fresh look once a month. On one Thursday a month, you can find Rohn “pulling an all-nighter” changing the theme of her window display — one of the favorite parts of her job. She also re-arranges items in the store to bring new attention to those that have been in stock for a while and create space for new stock.

Rohn said a major benefit to being a business owner is the freedom to schedule her work around her family life. “Carter loves coming here,” Rohn said of her son. “I’ve arranged a playroom in the back.” Her sister Jill Freshour’s son Connor is also a frequent visitor.

Being a more “right brain” creative person, the endless paperwork was the biggest challenge to business ownership. Rohn hired an accountant to help out, so she could concentrate on buying , selling and other management duties.

Rohn said her business will continue to evolve to suit her customers. When she realized many of the people walking through the door were not going to be buying the small junior-sized clothing in her stock, she decided to work to accommodate other shapes and sizes and more mature customers. “I’m working to find better sizes for everyone from 30 to 60,” Rohn said. For the first time, her racks feature extra-large sizes. She also began carrying Lucky jeans that come in “true sizes.” She said the decision paid off. “The women’s sizes have been moving,” she said. “The Lucky jeans have been moving the fastest.”

She also hopes to bring home decor back to the shop. Her employee, Pam Lebaron, is a designer. Rohn said she plans to open a space in the back with “touchable, design on a budget” items with Lebaron’s services as a plus.