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Made in the USA
Janie Monares
Owner, Posh and Prim
Dallas
Launched: November 2008
Former job: Business manager (still working full-time)

I launched my site on Black Friday. The idea came about six months earlier, and I spent that time getting the site ready.

Posh and Prim is a boutique of items from designers across the U.S. It had been about 10 years since I'd been in the fashion business. I started on eBay. I used to be a PowerSeller, but once their fees started skyrocking, we weren't making a profit. I thought designers would also be looking for new places to sell. I promoted the site online, and found designers through blogs and through Etsy's bulletin boards.

I wanted to stick with indie products directly from designers. Right now, with this economy, a lot of people don't like outsourcing. They'd rather get something in the United States, handmade.

The best-selling products on the site are small products - health and beauty items, jewelry. Small things are easier for people to afford. I advertise online and in some indie magazines, and sales have been pretty good.

I still work in business management, and run the online boutique as well. My husband, a stay-at-home dad, built the site and manages the operations. He's a disabled Naval vet. The business helps bring in another income. It's really hard, the way the economy is. You have to do everything you can.

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