Small Business Shopster

For Small Business Saturday, I’m featuring Enzee Boutique. Small business owner, Natalie Zysko, does a spectacular job with constantly rotating new merchandise. It’s a place that I love to pop into often before or after a movie since it’s a couple doors down from York Theatre in uptown Elmhurst.

One of the things that wowed me about Natalie is that she started this business when she was 22 years old. It’s still going strong 13 years later. Impressive, right!? As a young girl she dreamed of traveling Europe as a basketball player, but realized she wasn’t cut out for that. She was always drawn to fashion and retail. Growing up, Natalie often bonded with her mother while shopping and it was her mom that encouraged her to explore the field of fashion.

She majored in Fashion Design & Merchandising and minored in Business at Dominican University in River Forest, IL. After her first year, she realized she hated fashion design. She liked designing, but didn’t like to sew. Natalie knew she had to take the good with the bad and those two things went hand-in-hand, so she kept at it. Natalie said if she could do it all over again she wouldn’t major in Fashion Design because it was so much work. On the other hand, she knows that it really did benefit her in the long run. Having her background and knowing how to sew helps Natalie have an eye for well-designed clothing.

During college, Natalie did an internship with Sears where she made patterns in their computer design system and sent them off to China, who made the clothing. She realized she wasn’t an “office girl” and didn’t like sitting in a cubicle.

Natalie said, “I just wanted to go and find someone to talk to. So, I found myself eating cookies a lot.”

She decided that job wasn’t for her so she quit her third week. Her advisor wasn’t too happy about that, but Natalie didn’t want to waste her time or theirs. Her advisor found another internship for her, but this time in retail. The internship evolved into a job. Natalie enjoyed unpacking all the new merchandise and her mentor/boss, Joan, would take her to fashion shows to pick out clothes. Natalie thought she could do that and decided she wanted to open up her own shop. She began writing her business plan at 21 years old, graduated, and bartended for a few months. Natalie decided to bite the bullet and took out a loan at the age of 22 and the rest is history.

Natalie was determined to make it work. She said, “That is the one lesson I try to keep with me is that if you’re really determined enough, if you really have that passion, you’re gonna do it. I think as you grow older, you kind of lose some of that confidence and the ability to think that you can, but being so young and not realizing what I was doing, like the money and the whole concept that I had of seriously putting myself in this much debt. It’s frightening to me now at this age! Reality sets in and just how much work this actually entails. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely satisfying.” Natalie shared there are many ups and downs to owning your own business, but says that’s life.

The name Enzee came about while collaborating with a college friend who was a graphic artist. The N and Z are Natalie’s initials and the rest is just a word play of making her initials into a word with E’s.

Enzee Boutique is filled with women’s fashion, jewelry, purses, accessories, etc. Natalie loves making jewelry so some of her jewelry is sold there as well as a few local jewelry artists. She also sells things from other countries that are for non-profit and fair trade. One of the lines they sell is called Lily & Laura, which is a company that helps women in Nepal, who make these beautiful, beaded bracelets. She says it feels good knowing that you are helping to empower people, especially women.

Natalie says one of the fun aspects of the job is going to trade shows in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Atlanta and choosing clothes that she thinks women will like here. Natalie enjoys helping people and takes that responsibility seriously. One of the least things she likes as a small business owner is that it’s always with her, she’s always thinking and wondering about it, and how to improve. Natalie shared it can be a burden and that it’s hard, but she’s learned to delegate, to let go a little, and to trust in a good staff.

Enzee Boutique has some fun events. In the Spring, they do a Ladies Night. The first or second Thursday of the month they host a Wine Night where Tannins (112 N. York St.) provides a couple bottles of wine and women shop and sample the wine. If you purchase something from Enzee that night you can take your receipt to Tannins and get 15% off there. It’s a small business helping another small business out.

Natalie wants her customers to know that they care and they know you’re important and want to help women feel and look their best. She said, “We’re so hard on each other and ourselves sometimes and we want to be that person you know you can trust and that we’re going to tell you the truth and we’re going to help you look the way you want to look. And forget the rules, if you like it, wear it.”

I personally love how much jewelry and accessories Enzee supplies. They also provide simple jewelry repairs. A fun service they offer as well is private parties where they will shut the store’s doors for 2 hours while you and your friends get personally styled. How fun is that?

Give Enzee Boutique a peek! You won’t be disappointed. It’s located at 140 North York St. in Elmhurst, IL. Or, if you’re afar, check out the website: enzeeboutique.com