Ann Fann started her children's clothing store for her infant son and daughter. And just as the children have grown, so has her business.
After almost a year, The Sweet Pea, located on Howard, is expanding and moving to a larger building across the street.
"We're moving to 304 Howard St., where the Print Shop was in the historic Fountain Building next door to Mississippi Gift Co.," Fann said.
Currently the business only has 800 square feet of showroom space and 300 square feet of storage. The new location will almost triple that amount of space.
"I'm going to have an upstairs office, so I won't have to do paperwork behind the register," Fann said.
"Everything I'm doing is going to at least double," she said. There will be additional lines of clothing added, and she will be able to stock more of her current items.
"There will be space to finally see everything, and we're going to have a great atmosphere," Fann said. "We are really excited about it."
Fann ultimately decided to open her own business because she had two babies and no time to drive to Jackson. "I needed affordable, cute clothes for my babies and so did my friends," she said. "And it was something I've always wanted to do."
Because her children are both under the age of 3, Fann said she needed a job that would allow her to spend time with them.
"I'm not a good stay-at-home mom, but I'm not willing to have a 9-to-5 job where I can't leave and take them to school or to the doctor or to the park to play," she said.
"With that in mind and my experience and the need, that's what I did."
Fann said her first experience in working retail was when her mom dropped her off at the mall when she was 15 and said she would not pick her up until she had a job.
"That's the day I started working retail, and I loved it," she said.
She went on to major in merchandising at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
She has served as a manager at Dillard's and has been a sales coordinator for Guess Jeans.
And even when she was working in international sales for an automobile company, Fann said she would get her retail fix at night by working part-time at The Gap.
Getting her master's degree in business administration helped Fann learn how to start a business.
And she said dealing with the public is her No. 1 favorite thing to do.
Since opening her business, Fann has added clothing for girls sizes 7-16, and she has more than doubled her boys merchandise.
Fann started out with three employees. Now there are seven.
"I just hired a manager, Caroline Caviness," she said. "She starts Oct. 1.
"Now I can focus more on the day-to-day operation, and she can deal with the employees," Fann said.
One thing that Fann prides herself on is the customer service she offers to people who come into her store.
They can have a bottled Coke while they shop, or she will help them find whatever it is they need.
"I will go to the ends of the earth to fulfill a customer's wishes. I want to make every customer feel special, whether they are a mother, grandmother, black, white, yellow or green," Fann said.
"If there is something somebody wants, I'll buy it. I've put in 10 to 15 new lines because somebody requested it," she said.
She also added shoes because a customer asked for them.
Fann said the first year has been great, and she has been so overwhelmed by the support of the community and the Delta as a whole.
She said the business on Saturday is "booming."
"We have people from at least five counties coming here to shop. I just couldn't be more thrilled," she said.
