posted by:headmom

Cheryl Courson is a Southwest Florida mom and business owner who brings an affordable and unique resale opportunity to the Naples area with Twinkle Twinkle Little Store. Learn more about Cheryl and how Twinkle Twinkle Little Store can help you buy or sell new and gently used merchandise:

SWFLmoms: What are the names of your children and how did you choose those names?

Cheryl Courson: Jade my daughter is 3 1/2 year old. My husband and I named her that because we wanted a name that reflects her Asian heritage, but is also commonly known by most people. My son, Kai, is 18 months old and we just fell in love with the name, which actually has many meanings in many languages. I think the most commonly known is the Hawaiian meaning of ocean.

SWFLmoms: Tell us about the purpose of Twinkle Twinkle Little Store and how it was founded?

Courson: My partner, Brooke Chatham, and I used to shop consignment and resale stores a lot before opening up our own. There were none in all of Collier County, so we saw an opportunity and a need for the whole community. We knew from the beginning that it would be helpful to offer rentals as a service to the grandparents and visitors to the area. We also wanted to work somewhere where we could bring our kids to work, and be very children friendly.

SWFLmoms: What background helped you start such a business and were you nervous taking the leap to do it?

Courson: Brooke and I have over 15 years of retail experience combined, however we never opened up our own business or ran resale before. I have a degree in communication studies and economics, and Brooke has a degree in fashion merchandising. We were very excited and not nervous. I was tired of working 70 hours a week in my prior job and wanted to spend more time with my kid, plus I was pregnant at the time. Brooke was a stay at home mom with 3 kids, and was getting stir-crazy, so we were ready! We did everything ourselves from the ground up, building, painting and more.

SWFLmoms: How is business? What factors do you think contribute to the store’s success? 

Courson: Business is good! It is tough to compare how we are doing to other stores or versus other economic times because we opened two years ago when the economy was first starting to falter and there are not many other stores in the area to compare to. However, we do see many people coming in that are experiencing resale for the first time and hopefully they enjoy the experience and keep coming back. We are always adjusting and learning by experience.

SWFLmoms: We hear you offer an interesting work bartering opportunity, can you tell us more about that?

Courson: We offer a great program called Twinkle Co-Op, in which anyone can help out in our store and earn $12 per hour in-store credit. Co-Opers can work any time they want, for as long or as little as they would like, and can even bring their kids with them. In turn, the in-store credit can be used on anything in our store and it never expires. The projects that co-opers help out with are easy, such as hanging clothing. We all know that finding a job is tough nowadays, and even harder for pregnant women or moms with young children. We also know that kids aren't going to stop growing and the need for baby gear and clothing will always be around, so we truly believe we can make a win-win situation for everyone. We have dozens of moms who have helped out and bought everything from cribs to Christmas presents, clothing and more. I know that many co-opers love working in our store because they get first pick of all the new arrivals. We have even hired a couple of co-opers. We really appreciate everyone who has helped out with Twinkle Co-Op, and we wouldn't be as well organized without them!

SWFLmoms: What is your daily schedule like as a mom and business owner?

Courson: I am a really relaxed parent and I bring my kids to work with me every day. They have a great play area and think of the store as home away from home. My kids never get bored since there are constantly new toys coming and going. I work nine hour days five days a week, but that is an improvement from my prior job.

SWFLmoms: What items are the most popular?

Courson: I love that we get a lot of products from Asia and Europe or online only that you can't find at any other store locally. Baby gear is always popular, more specifically Convertible carseats and Pack-n-plays/Playyards are our consistent best sellers. We can barely keep them in stock.

SWFLmoms: Anything else interesting to share?

Courson: We always like to support our community. We donate to several local charities, such as Helps Outreach and Destiny Diaper Bank. We give them things in our store that don't sell after a period of time and anything that our customers want us to donate to them. We are also open to finding new ways to help others out.

For more information on Twinkle Twinkie Little Store, visit them at 4910 U.S. 41 N. in Naples or give the store a call at (239) 262-5904. Sign up for the SWFLmoms newsletter on the SWFmoms.com home page by February 14, 2010 for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Twinkle Twinkle Little Store. If you already receive our weekly updates, you are already entered to win!