Community Highlights: Meet KaTrina Powell

Today, we’d like to introduce you to KaTrina Powell.

Hi KaTrina, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I started Nanna Roo’s to keep my late Nanna Debra Jean Frischkorn’s memory alive. 

I come from health care, so I had no idea what I was doing in the boutique world. I just knew it was what I was supposed to be doing. I wanted to have my foundation based on her beliefs. I opened Nanna Roo’s Wild Boutique in November of 2021. 

Out of the corner of my bedroom. Nanna Roo’s is a multi-vendor boutique. All of my vendors are small American businesses. Most of them are run by women and mothers. After a year, I made enough profit to expand into a B&M. My vision became much larger the minute I walked into my old building. It had six rooms and a HUGE lobby… and that’s where the dream for the Open Market began. The Open Market was a small business mall located in Otsego, Michigan. I had 13 businesses inside my store, and I had a food vendor outside. I helped 36 businesses start up, grow, and expand their businesses. 

We had one amazing year inside that building. Sadly, the owners of the building wanted to go in a different direction with it, and I closed the doors to the Open Market in February 2023. Over the last year, I’ve been working with a few of the small businesses I have helped start-up and expand. I am currently working with my business partner and owner of KFXBodyArt on a project called The Swervey Easle. We host Canvas and Ceramic Paint Parties in SW Michigan. It has truly been a joy and a total change of pace for me. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
To be honest. Owning your own business is really hard. Every bit of it is a struggle, but you have to see the beauty within the struggle because your dreams lie there. I went from everything being online and having minimal bills to owning a B&M and not only worrying about myself and my two businesses but also 14 other people and their businesses as well. I loved every moment of it. That alone was the most terrifying thing. 

It was just an idea, a pipe dream, if you will. Then overnight, BAM, I had really turned mine, and by the end, 36 other people’s dreams a REALITY. Marketing and Networking in such a small area was a very difficult thing. It took a lot of strategy and planning. I really learned the dark side of Big Business and that you can’t trust everyone with your ideas and your business. My advice is to share your business but protect your dream. Not all business is good business. 

I appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nanna Roo’s Wild Boutique & Open Market?
Nanna Roo’s is a multi-vendor business. My boutique specifically helps other small businesses, vendors, artisans, artists, crafters, and entrepreneurs of any sort grow and expand their businesses. Whether it’s helping them sell their products/goods or assisting with marketing and promoting their business. I assist in helping from start-up to fully functional, and I help to keep it thriving. My prices vary depending on the project and how much time I have to invest in that person’s business. 

What am I known for? Let me humble myself because I truly feel that without all of the amazing business owners I worked with, the Open Market wouldn’t have been what it was. I wouldn’t even be KNOWN if it weren’t for them. Now, these are things I’ve been told because this was a hard question to answer about myself. I’m known for helping other small businesses grow. I’m known for being the go-to person if you want strategy and good business ideas. I’m known as the girl with the limited design/quantity of products. This means once my inventory is gone, THOSE ITEMS will never be available again. Making my brands more desirable than, say, your basic boutique that gets bulk Chinese clothes. 

You should know that none of this would be possible without my Nanna. When she passed away, it was very hard on my girls and me. She was everything to us. She taught me about unconditional love, loyalty, honesty, trust, and, most of all, encouraging someone to chase their dreams. If it weren’t for the way she loved me and selflessly gave to me to help me grow and flourish and be the mom, friend, spouse, and person I am today. None of it was possible without her; there were so many times I wanted to give up for various reasons, and she’d throw little signs telling me not to give up. This business truly was run by an Angel. 

Well, there are two things. One, my Nanna’s name now lives on forever, honoring her. She didn’t have a funeral, so the closure was never there. That was truly why I even started this business. I was just a sad Nanna’s girl desperately wanting to find happiness in all the grief. Nanna Roos did that, and my God, it was beautiful, and it was so much of what my soul needed. 

I was able to tell not only the story of how the boutique started on hope, a dream, and prayer but also the story of how amazing of a woman MY nanna was in that she was always helping others no matter what. Boy, she’d be tickled pink to know that I created something so amazing it could inspire others to do the same. The second is being able to help others through all of this. It was never the plan, but to know I have touched so many people with something that seemed so small. I burst into tears thinking about it. 

I am in the process of rebranding the boutique since I no longer have the B&M, and I feel that it’s time to revamp my personal business after three years. So, I’m currently only offering remote services for marketing and promoting through my email nannarooswildboutique@gmail.com. I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey of Entrepreneurship and helping other businesses grow and watching not only my dreams come true, but I’m still getting to watch and help other people’s dreams come true, too. 

The Open Market opened doors for me I didn’t know I held the keys to. I am truly grateful for this experience, and all of the business owners became friends I have now made. What I really want people to know is don’t give up. No matter how many nos you THINK there are… there is a YES somewhere. And you will lose an ungodly amount of sleep finding it, but I swear it is so worth it. 

Can you talk to us about happiness and what makes you happy?
Being a mom. My girls are my world. They are Paxdyn 13 and Mila 6. It’s pretty safe to say that anywhere I am… the two of them aren’t far behind. Especially my youngest. She was with me every step of the way with Nanna Roo’s. It became their second. Home. They were the driving force behind it all. On the nights, I wanted to just call it quits. I’d hear them talk about or watch them in the store… and I just knew it was okay. 

They took so much pride in it all. Not only for what I do and who I am, but they took pride in the boutique itself. They are the designers and the creativity behind my personal designs. They are so proud to say our Nanna lives forever through our boutique that when I told them about being in the Inspiring Stories section, my oldest cried for me. We have been through a lot together, so she knew what a big thing this was for me. At the end of the day, I want to leave them with a legacy and a mother they can be proud of. 

Aside from Nanna Roo’s, the 3 of us spend a lot of time “Adventuring,” as my youngest calls it. We love water parks, the beach, Nature walks, and camping. We recently went to Legoland in Florida, and that was a blast for all of us. They are also involved in school activities right now. So, watching them get involved and fall in love with music and art has brought me so much joy. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nannarooswildboutique
• Facebook: @NannaRoosWildBoutique