Young business owners take their shot, men's style

Samantha Beebe and Liz Murray, sisters and co-business owners, might be young, but they are old enough to seize an important entrepreneurial lesson: Don't be so scared of expansion challenges that you miss out on a big opportunity.

For Beebe and Murray, that opportunity is to open a second clothing boutique on St. Armands Circle, two doors down from their first store, Influence Style. The new store, Influence Men, opened in early December and sells a variety of men's contemporary clothing. Says Beebe: “We thought there was a niche in Sarasota for the guy who wants everyday clothes.”

Yet opening a retail store in a still-shaky economy certainly isn't risk-free. Plus, Beebe and Murray, are heavily occupied with Influence Style, a trendy and busy store they opened in 2010. The sisters moved to the area from Michigan to open the business and found that St. Armands Circle, which attracts a strong seasonal crowd, has been a great location decision.

So great that when independent bookseller Circle Books closed in September after 13 years, the sisters pounced on the vacancy. They spoke with the landlord and had a lease agreement in place within a few weeks. Murray, the designer/buyer side of the duo, spent the fall traveling to fashion shows, in places like Las Vegas, Miami and New York, to get the store's inventory ready. Beebe handles the business side of the stores.

“We had played around with the idea for months,” Beebe tells Coffee Talk. “There is a very big risk with it, but if you see an opportunity you have to do it, otherwise you will always wonder.”