Community Highlights: Meet Wynne Foster of In Clover

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wynne Foster

Hi Wynne, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Prior to my children being born, I had several jobs including working at Nine West Shoes and the Lukemia and Lymphoma Society. When my children were born, I became a stay-at-home mom for 10 years – constantly running around Kansas City needing a gift for a friend, teacher, relative, etc. I would always be on the search for a new outfit for the weekend and there was never anywhere close or easy to do that.

At the time, Corinth Square was absolutely empty – there were no good shops, restaurants, etc. We lived right down the street and I noticed there was such a need for a easy and convenient place to buy a cute new outfit, browse for gifts for upcoming events, pick out a new necklace, and so much more.l This is all where In Clover started to come alive.

I started talking about wanting to open a boutique and was approached by a new friend that also had interest in this. We started networking with people in the business to understand more about how to run a boutique, did research into lines we loved that we wanted to sell, started to design the look of the store, and chose the name of In Clover.

In Clover means living in luxury and comfort – this is exactly what we wanted our boutique to embody – and this is where the store came alive! A neighborhood, convenient, local store for women in the KC community to swing by and be able to find everything they need, while being welcomed by a friendly and luxurious atmosphere.

We opened our doors in March of 2011 and from day one hit the ground running.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say one of the biggest obstacles around starting In Clover was figuring out what markets in which cities to go to, what lines to purchase from and carry in the store, and price points.

Hand in hand with this, was the difficulty of learning how our clients will spend their money and when. Trying to navigate inventory numbers and knowing when we would need to buy more jewelry vs. when we bought too many sweaters for the season was extremely tricky to get down to ensure In Clover was operationally efficient.

An obstacle we have navigated more recently, was the decision to launch our online shop on our website. We learned quickly that the people who shop at In Clover want to shop in person with us – they don’t want to shop online. I do think this is because of the environment and community that we have been able to create over the past 13+ years, which is so amazing. However, we did put time and work into launching this online store that ultimately didn’t make sense for our business.

And lastly, the biggest obstacle for me over the past couple of years has been running the store as the sole owner. My business partner left the business two years ago to pursue other interests, and I decided to continue to run the store on my own. This was a large learning curve and a lot of pressure to be the only owner and decision maker moving forward. However not only have I learned so much knowledge over this time period, the business has continued to be so successful beyond my expectations. I have reached goals that I couldn’t have ever imagined I could have met doing this on my own. I am so grateful for my staff and the In Clover community for the endless support.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I always used to love to dress up. When I was little I would go into my moms closet and my moms friends closets and putting on their high heels, makeup and dresses. I would say I have always loved shopping, clothes and all of these things – even from when I was a little girl shopping at Chocolate Soup.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Incloverboutique.com
• Instagram: @incloverboutique
• Facebook: HTTPS://facebook.com/InCloverBoutique