Our group had the pleasure of visiting Annmarie’s Boutique in downtown Kokomo, where owner Annmarie shared her inspiring entrepreneurial journey. Starting out as a buyer for a hospital gift shop and finding success selling memorial necklaces on Etsy, Annmarie took a bold leap into business ownership.

Nine years ago, she opened Annmarie’s Boutique in Tipton. Fast forward to 3.5 years ago — she saw an opportunity in Kokomo, bought a beautiful downtown building, and turned it into the thriving boutique it is today. Earlier this year, she consolidated her efforts by closing the Tipton location and focusing on making her Kokomo boutique a cornerstone of the community.

Annmarie’s dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed. In March 2024, she was honored as Small Business of the Month by the Chamber, and in 2023, she won the "Best Clothing Boutique for Women" in the Best of Kokomo Awards.

Beyond the boutique, Annmarie transformed the upstairs of her building into The Upper Level — a beautifully renovated and decorated event space for bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, and more. The space is designed to make setup and teardown simple for guests and helps offset the costs of owning the building. It’s in high demand, typically booked most weekends throughout the year.

Running her business solo for the first six years, Annmarie built her success on smart strategies like keystone markup — offering high-quality merchandise at reasonable prices to encourage customers to buy more. She also adds her creative touch with a custom t-shirt shop, designing and sublimation printing seasonal, holiday, and school spirit apparel right in the boutique.

Some valuable advice she shared:
💡 "I never used a credit card!"
💡 "Buy what your customers like."

Thank you, Annmarie, for welcoming us into your boutique, sharing your wisdom, showing us what it means to take risks, work hard, and create something meaningful, oh, AND letting us do some shopping too.