CityView Magazine

38 | May/June 2015 shopping website that hosts her shop, Etsy, a marketplace where people can sell their handmade products at the click of a mouse. One the websites best aspects its the tight-knit com- munity and according to Fox, "the fact that mostly everything is handmade and original. I also love that customers and shop owners have a relationship, you can go back and forth, un- like ordering something from Nordstrom. It's a good place to give feedback and get feedback." Fox discovered Etsy because she was using it to purchase gis and to buy her then-infant son's shoes. With an influential resource at her fingertips and encouraging friends, Fox was inspired to sell her products online. She explained, "I have a lot of friends (and strangers) who are really enthusiastic about my creations. I like Etsy be- cause it's a search engine within a shop, if people are looking for handmade stuff, that's where they are going to go." e name Petite Etoile Shoppe has a deeper meaning than "little star." Fox majored in French literature and his- tory in college. She came up with the name because she was trying to think of something French, easy to remember and inspirational. She explained, "I wanted it to be something people could relate to – one with a special meaning. Everybody should be able to shine wherever they are. I spent a good year of my life married to my husband and really not happy with what was going on in my life and it took me a long time to realize to not be a victim of my circumstance. I would really like to empow- er other military spouses and other moms to find something they are passionate about and just do it. Stop thinking about doing it and do it." "Before I moved to Fayetteville, I was always a workaholic and it prevented me from realizing I had any hobbies," said Fox, "Now, I've been sewing for eight months and I have es- tablished relationships with women from around the country who buy items from my shop!" She has both the experience of creatively marketing her products and a joie de vivre for innovation, so she can offer a lot of expertise when it comes to starting a small business. If you have a favorite pastime, whether it be making homemade soaps or crocheting hats, you can take that hobby and turn it into profit. Besides the initial drive to start an online shop, Fox's tips include: "Don't get discouraged if your shop doesn't take off right away. Find a community of like-minded people to bounce ideas off of. Colorful, patterened skirts are Fox's specialty Fabrics on fabrics

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