![\"\"](\"http:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/DSC1405finalflat.jpg\")
\u201cMy staff and I are good at remembering our customers,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re like elephants \u2026 we remember all the details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a regular customer (as many are), they can guide your gift giving by telling you what leopard faux fur coat your friend\u2019s daughter has been eyeing, other trends she\u2019s following, and her size. They can give you the scoop on what toys a mom doesn\u2019t want in her house and what others have already bought the child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This approach has helped Stoopher & Boots succeed for 10 years \u2014 doubling the size of the store two years ago and surviving through the pandemic, when New York City stores had to shutter for months and then limit in-store customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goldstein gained much of her business acumen in her 13-year career with the Fortune 500 company Accenture. Though she\u2019s thankful for the training and foundation, Goldstein didn\u2019t enjoy the work, which she characterizes as \u201chuman performance change management.\u201d In her current role, she dedicates much longer hours, but is so enthused by her occupation that she jokingly says she feels like she\u2019s retired. \u201cIt\u2019s just so fun,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of the attraction with opening her own shop was that Goldstein \u2014 who had been making and selling T-shirts online \u2014 could \u201cstay crafty.\u201d It started with embellishing and printing graphics on tops. Now, she has several clothing lines that she sells in the shop and to approximately 100 stores across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Panama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sparkle line features rainbow hearts, sequin stars, and unicorns. With Tweenstyle, think tons of tie dye, animal prints, and lightning bolts. Then there are teen boys\u2019 tees \u2014 boasting sayings like \u201cNothin\u2019 but net\u201d and \u201cSavage\u201d \u2014 in the LCK line she codesigned with her boyfriend\u2019s 13-year-old son (and named for his initials). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Running a business during the quarantine last spring was difficult, but Goldstein made the most of the situation. She began making face masks from super soft, boldly printed fabrics. Fortunately, Stoopher & Boots already had a website where people could make purchases for curbside pickup or shipping. But her staff refocused their online marketing to targeted email blasts and Instagram posts. They also found new ways to keep customers engaged, like downloadable coloring sheets and other free activities to entertain kids stuck at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goldstein continued providing personalized shopping, although it was more time consuming because it was done via texting and phone calls. She also kept up with her clientele by offering a virtual fashion class with one of the local schools, where she asked students for feedback on designs for the fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking toward the future, as fashion and retail always do, Goldstein has started making room for vacation wear. She herself rarely takes days off (\u201cChristmas and July 4\u201d), but that\u2019s because, Goldstein says, \u201cI\u2019m doing what I love, and I\u2019m so thankful that I have the support of the community to do that.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At a time when storefronts are suffering, Stephanie Goldstein \u201997 maintains customer loyalty at her Manhattan boutique.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":6308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[354,276,299],"coauthors":[388],"class_list":["post-6478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-endeavor","tag-alumni","tag-business","tag-fashion"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-1Gu","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/DSC1405finalflat.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6478"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6522,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6478\/revisions\/6522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6478"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}