At only 32, Jennifer Spiegelhalter has faced the exhilarating thrill and sleepless nights that come with small business ownership. A few years ago, when discussing the idea of design school as a preface to opening a boutique, Spiegelhalter’s mother suggested she skip tuition and derive an education from a store of her own. The result? Online fashion boutique Adorabella, live since May 2007, and the product of months of preparation and patience.

Spiegelhalter runs her online store, Adorabella, entirely from her home in Louisville, Kentucky. She shops designer clothing markets throughout the year, buying items as early as six months in advance of the season, and then selling them via her Web site, www.shopadorabella.com, where customers get free shipping anywhere in the country. Most stock is hard to find high-fashion women’s clothing with a spattering of jewelry and accessories. The site offers an eclectic mix of new and established contemporary designers, including Voom by Joy Han, Yoana Baraschi, Candice Held, Diane Samandi, and Eva Franco.

“It’s not as easy to run an Internet business as people think,” Spiegelhalter says. Her preparation to open Adorabella included hours of research and asking lots of questions. Spiegelhalter’s parents used to run jewelry shops and have been a tremendous resource for retail help. Reading books and collecting information from the local small business association were also useful. “The Chamber of Commerce had a lot of really good information,” she says, including referring her to corecubed, an integrated marketing communications company with niche marketing experience. To determine which niche markets were the best match with her fashion tastes, she chose corecubed to assist in researching her market and potential competitors and then develop a strategic marketing plan. When an independent Web design contractor turned out a product that was not what she had anticipated, she also asked corecubed to assist in implementing her Web site.

“There’s definitely a learning curve,” Spiegelhalter laughs. “I had to set up a photo studio in my house and learn from a professional photographer how to take pictures.” She also had to learn how to purchase merchandise at market. “I’m constantly learning,” she says.

The freedom of working from home has been both a blessing and a curse. While it’s great to be the boss, she says it’s a little frightening to know, “you don’t have anyone else to blame if something goes wrong. If I fail, I’ll lose my business and my house.” A sobering thought for anyone, but she says that while running Adorabella has been harder than she had envisioned, “it’s also been more rewarding.”

Goals for Adorabella are changing as quickly as the merchandise itself. Eventually, she’d like to have some men’s clothing on board and bring in more designers. Her ambition is, “to grow to the point that I don’t have to do so many things and can focus solely on the fashion and delivering to my customers.”

Spiegelhalter’s advice to anyone considering a similar venture is, “be prepared.” She suggests researching who you’ll need on your team, like marketers, Web developers, and photographers. She also suggests hiring an agency such as corecubed to assist with research on your market and general business support and advice. “You have to be financially prepared also,” she warns. “Things comes up that you didn’t expect and to make it for the long haul you need good pre-planning with enough capital.”

In the end, Spiegelhalter is doing what she loves and earning a living at it. She’s excited about her growing business and looking forward to what’s coming next. “It’s work,” she says, “but it’s also fun.”


Marissa Snook works with corecubed , an integrated marketing communications company whose employees are located throughout the U.S. and work virtually from home. For more information about corecubed or if you have talent and experience in the marketing/PR industry and want to become part of a dynamic and fun team, visit www.corecubed.com.