Jessica Borchers was following a business path in Indiana.
She started working in retail in high school and continued as she earned her bachelor’s degree in consumer textile marketing at the University of Illinois. She moved up from her college job at a Coach store to manage a Coach store south of Indianapolis after graduation.
After earning an MBA at Eastern Illinois University in 2008, she was working in the marketing division for an energy company back in Indianapolis, often working with sports-related promotions and sponsorships. She also spent a lot of time with spreadsheets and marketing reports and analysis.
She liked the work.
Then her life took a different path when she happened to meet a Seward County farmer – Bryce Borchers – who was visiting a friend in Indianapolis. After five years in Indy, she headed west to Seward with her new husband.
After marrying in 2013, she helped around the farm as their children, Stella, now in fifth grade, and Brody, now in second grade, came along.
She and her husband developed a special bond working together on the farm, she said. She likes living in the country.
After the kids were in school, she served as a substitute in a variety of school jobs and enjoyed being around children.
“I have kind of known I needed to find something that is a fit for me,” she said.
When Allure founder and owner Melissa Briggs put out notice that she wanted to sell her business, Bryce encouraged her to get more information.
“I wanted to do something I am passionate about,” she said.
The more she learned about Allure, the more her interest grew.
She took ownership on Nov. 24, just in time to experience Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season. Briggs stayed on through December to help her out and will continue to help when needed.
“It was great to be in here and meet so many of the guests who shop here,” Borchers said of that transition time. “All of the staff has stayed, and they are the most amazing group that you can imagine.”
Since then, she and Briggs have traveled to two markets to purchase inventory, most recently in Dallas.
At market, you can see all the trends and new ideas in fashion. Borchers said she is already viewing the options with her customers in mind.
“Knowing our market and our people’s lifestyles will help,” she said.
People here want trendy, fashionable clothing. But they also want it to be comfortable, easy and affordable, perhaps more casual and leaning toward blue jeans.
She likes being able to offer a good mix of styles and price points, as well as having a staff focused on customer service, which is not something big chains can offer.
“I love when people come in and say, ‘I am looking for an outfit for XYZ’,” Borchers said. “That’s an experience that people don’t necessarily find any more. So much is online.”
She said allowing people to see and feel the fabric and the fit makes a difference.
Owning the store gives her the freedom to be involved in all parts of the business – the spreadsheets, the analysis, the creativity of finding and displaying merchandise, and working with the staff and customers.
“I like it all, honestly,” Borchers said. “I like to be able to do many different things. I love the creative part of that. I am a people person. Just being around people is great.”
Seward is similar to her hometown, Borchers said, but she remembers having to drive out of town to shop for clothes and she likes providing area shoppers an alternative to that.
“I am excited to be here,” she said.
Borchers has become part of a group of women who have downtown retail businesses and sometimes someone from the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership. They meet periodically to talk about promotions and opportunities.
They were involved in planning the recent “Galentine’s” promotion preceding Valentine’s Day and the Sip-and-Shop event in December.
“It is really fun to just kind of work together,” Borchers said.
