WORLAND – Janet's Boutique which originally started as The Hazel Shop in a very small building with minimal retail space has come a long way in the 30 years that Janet Snyder has owned it.

"I bought the store from a lady in August of 1986, who had had it for, at that point and time, over 10 years and she bought it from another lady that had had it, gosh I don't know how long and a lady before that from Greybull is the one who started it, at that time it was named The Hazel Shop," Snyder stated.

The original building was located on what is now the fenced in place on the east side of Ace Hardware. That building had 600 square feet of retail space. The business than moved next door which is part of Ace Hardware now and that had about 1,500 square feet of retail space. The final move over 20 years ago, was to where the business is located now, 709 Big Horn Ave, the old J.C. Penny building with 5,000 square feet of retail space, Snyder said.

The store originally sold only women's clothes but over the years additional items have been added including some items for men. "When we moved into this building we expanded into the home decor department. We experimented around with a few things, but I finally decided upon the home decor, children's clothing from newborn to about 6X and we have a huge shoe department. We have a lot of choice of shoes, a big inventory for women, kids and men's Keens," Snyder said.

The shop contains a variety of clothing and accessories to meet any budget and almost any occasion. Snyder stated that the shop has a large variety of price ranges and carries clothing and accessories from casual to working professional along with tuxedo rentals for proms and weddings. "We have a good mix of price ranges and a good mix of merchandise but we don't carry anything super dressy like for bridal," she said.

Snyder is very particular about the items that she sells in her store and picks out the product lines herself traveling to find just the right items. "I've always felt that I wanted to carry quality merchandise, things that stand the test of time and won't fall apart after a couple washes so I pick everything out myself, travelling to Denver, Seattle, Dallas, Vegas and Billings for markets," Snyder said.

Snyder explained the benefit of traveling to the markets is being able to inspect the items for quality by touching and feeling the products. "The best way is to spend a little more money and go to the markets even though its time consuming because you can see the quality, you can feel it and see how they put the line together and how to merchandize it," Snyder said. "That way you also create a rapport with your sales people and then they have your back when you need something," she added.

Going to the markets is the most exciting and challenging part of the business for Snyder. Being current and on trend and bringing in new styles at the perfect time for your customers can be quite a challenge. "You have to be really careful, you can't bring it (new style) in too late, or else you don't look like you know what you are doing and you can't bring it in too early because it just sits there and won't sell. It's the challenging part of business but it's also fun," Snyder stated.

Snyder has taken employees with her to the markets over the years for their feedback and feels blessed with the quality employees that she has had over the years. "I've had great employees throughout the years but the group of ladies that I have now is amazing. One lady has been with me for 26 years or something like that and the other gals have been here over 10 years. I'm just really thankful for their help," Snyder said.

Janet's Boutique is also blessed by its faithful customers and Janet is running a special 30th anniversary sale-a-bration as a heartfelt thank you. "I have such a wonderful customer base and that's why I am running this sale is because I want to reward my customers and the people who have been loyal to me for 30 years and have decided to shop local because people have a lot choice nowadays. They have choices on the internet; they have choices in other communities that they don't have to be in the car very long to get to. So I am really thankful when people decide to make the choice to stay here local," she said.

Snyder also credits the shop's success to God, her husband and family. "I really feel like I'm here because the Lord has blessed me to be here. It's through His provision that I am here and as long as I am supposed to be doing this I will be with His guidance and the support of my husband and family,"Syder stated.

Looking to the future, Snyder is optimistic, "I'm hoping that I can stay here and still provide goods and services to this community. I look forward to all the business banding together and supporting each other to make Worland thrive again."