COLLEGE STATION, Texas — If you find yourself in College Station and happen to mosey into the Attitude Dance Boutique, you’ll find everything but that.
“I have actually made lots of friends through the shop here,” Emily Mayerhoff, the owner, said.
She opened the small storefront 10 years ago after realizing there weren’t many options for dancewear for her daughters in the Brazos Valley.
“You don't want to put a football player in a helmet that doesn't fit properly, because it's not going to protect him on the field,” she explained. “Same thing with dancewear or dance shoes.”
Now, she’s thankful for the impact she’s made on the community and vice versa.
“Instead of shopping online or at a big box store they choose to come back to us because of those friendships and those relationships and the trust that we've built with that,” she explained.
Like most other businesses, Mayerhoff looks forward to the holidays, mostly to spend extra time with her family, but also because she loves the thrill of Small Business Saturday.
“It's always a big day for us and all of our friends and customers come out and celebrate with us,” she said, smiling.
However, with shipping issues and supply just not meeting the demand, this year will no doubtingly look different.
“There are supply shortages and so starting early gives you a little bit more time for the goods to come in,” said Amy Rasor, a spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau out of Dallas Fort Worth.
According to her, that’s the same reason why it’s the perfect time to shop small.
“They're struggling too and they're having trouble getting goods in as well, but it's definitely something that you can leave with something in hand,” she explained.
It’s a theory Mayerhoff agrees with.
“They trust our selection, they trust our fitting, they trust the whole process,” she said. “But if they didn't take a chance on me long ago, or even today, then we still wouldn't be here.”
