Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Nobles.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in retail. My mother owned a bridal shop and I used to go to work with her and “help.” She would give me little jobs like picking up all of the pearls that had fallen off of the sample gowns. It was like a treasure hunt to me. I spent countless hours in that store watching and learning. When I was in college, I managed the bridal shop until my mother retired and sold the business.
Even though I got my degree in psychology, I kept going back to retail. I worked in big box stores and small boutiques, both giving me a unique perspective and teaching me different but equally valuable lessons. I found myself dreaming about how I would do things if I were to open my own store. One day, I was driving to my parents’ house in Marshfield and passed by an empty retail storefront.
With a lot of encouragement from my husband and parents, Mono Mono Boutique opened within a couple of months! I just thought, if I’m going to stay in retail, I’m going to do it for myself. I didn’t know it at the time, but when I opened my store I was just barely pregnant with my first child. It was a happy surprise! Starting this business was a huge risk and very scary, but ended up being the best thing I could have done for my family.
I was able to bring both of my children to work with me when they were babies. I had the best of both worlds, time with my children while still fulfilling my dream. My kids are now 11 and 8, but I have customers that remember me trying to hold a baby in one arm and wrap their gift with the other. They are more than customers now, they are friends.
Now, my daughter likes to come into my store and “help” so she can take over some day.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been 12 years and three locations since I opened my store. It has grown quite a bit, but not without difficulty. How was I to know when I opened in late 2006 that a recession was coming my way? Getting through those years was not easy and there were many times when I wasn’t sure we would make it.
Then, I made a decision that changed everything. I moved the store to a new spot in 2012. It was smaller. The rent was higher. It was crazy risky. BUT, it worked! We had more foot traffic, better parking, better visibility… and our sales skyrocketed. Location, location, location! Last year we expanded to space right next door.
Please tell us about Mono Mono Boutique.
At Mono Mono, our goal is to offer items that are unique and good quality, but still affordable. There is a misconception that buying from a boutique means that you have to spend a lot of money, and that’s not always true.
I consider myself to be fairly cost conscious when it comes to shopping, so I always ask myself if an item would be too expensive for me when I’m doing my buying. If it is, I won’t bring it in. I want my customers to feel good about buying local, and I hope that by offering products that are different than anything they find at the big box stores, but for a similar price, that I accomplish that goal.
People always ask me how I choose my products. The answer is simply that I choose the things that I like, and so my store is a reflection of my personality. It is colorful and sassy, with a strong attachment to the ocean.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have opened the store in my current plaza. As a new business, it is difficult to succeed with minimal parking and poor visibility.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8 Snow Road Marshfield, MA 02050
- Website: www.monomonoboutique.com
- Phone: 781.837.6565
- Email: info@monomonoboutique.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/monomonoboutique
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/monomonoboutique
- Twitter: twitter.com/monomonogifts
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