rent on our thousand square feet,” Spivey recalled.
”I remember thinking it was so awkward to tell people we had named our store Simply Chic Boutique. I literally quit my job as a pharmaceutical rep and bought a car for $1,000 – with no A/C – and drove it for the entire first year while we scraped by.”
Fast forward. The Spiveys have gone from “scraping by” to owning/franchising five Simply Chic Boutique locations – Bossier, Shreveport, Natchitoches, Baton Rouge and Mandeville.
Spivey has a good idea of why the business has been successful. It has nothing to do with location, parking or selection of merchandise.
“There’s a need for women to come in and feel special,” Spivey said. “I really hope that’s what we deliver to our customers. Whether they buy a dress or not, when they leave, they know they were respected and honored in our store, and they leave having a positive experience. I feel like we meet that need in our community – loving on women and supporting women in our community.”
Spivey describes Simply Chic Boutique as a “girly store.”
“We enjoy color and fun prints,” Spivey said. “We definitely try to respect that Bossier is a market where people are not afraid to get a shirt at Old Navy or Target, so we like to keep our price points affordable. We really dress girls from their teenage years, all the way to – we have customers in their 70s. We try to do plus sizes as well, so it’s every shape, size, background and ethnicity to represent every woman.
Even though Simply Chic Boutique has expanded beyond Bossier, the success of its first location – in Spivey’s hometown – is extra special for the Airline High School and Northwestern State University graduate.
“I was loved and raised in this community,” Spivey said, “so it’s nice to come back and build a business here.” She added, “(The award) is sweet, because it’s recognition that we’ve made a mark and maybe we’ve made a difference in people’s lives. We’ve been honored that the community has supported us for 10 years, so it’s kind of the cherry on top.”
BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR
Beau Hays
When Beau Hays decided to expand his popular food truck business to a brick-andmortar restaurant, he could have chosen any location.
He settled on what at the time was a renovated – and largely unproven – East Bank District.
“The proximity to the casinos, the access to I-20, and the fact there are 1,900 hotel rooms within a half-mile,” Hays said, explaining his decision. “It made sense that little area would do a lot more than it was doing. For us, we just kind of took a chance.”
That “chance” has turned into success. BeauxJax Crafthouse is one of two businesses (Frozen Pirogue is the other) Hays owns in the District. Plus, he has an have a good time on the weekend, grab a bit to eat during the week. I think it’s a good fit for Bossier.”
But Hays sees even more potential for the District.
“I think of a familyfriendly Beale Street (in Memphis),” Hays said. “It’s family-friendly during the day, and later in the evening, it becomes kind of a nightlife scene.”
And it sounds like Hays is close to contributing again to that vision.
“We’ve got some plans in the chute for some things we want to do to really kick up the live music scene,” Hays said. “We’re looking at those lots behind us to potentially put in an amphitheater right behind all three of our businesses. We feel like that would draw a lot of tourism traffic. The idea is to build that whole area into a destination.”
While Hays is very appreciative of his recent
One of the reasons Hays’ businesses are recognition from the Chamber, he wants doing well is that he knows his audience to make one thing clear.
and has tailored his
offerings to their wants. “This is
very much a team effort,” “We draw a little bit of an older clientele,” Hays said. “I just didn’t like this being Hays said. “People with families, 35-55, an individual award. There’s a lot of hard
interest in a third District business, Bayou Axe.
they have kids, probably go to church on Sunday,” Hays said. “They come out and
work that came from a lot of people to get us as far as we have come.”