Stephanie Milfeld Of Z And Q A Children’s Boutique Is Our Guest On Discover Harmony Florida
This is our first edition of our resident spotlight of our Discover Harmony Florida podcast. Jeanine is joined by her co-host Kristin Macari owner of Studio Nine 13. Welcome to the 18th episode of Discover Harmony Florida.
Jeanine said that we don’t have a lot of businesses in Harmony so she thought picking different people to highlight would be fun. She said the resident spotlight for this episode is Stephanie Milfeld. She owns Z and Q a children’s boutique which is located at 1037 New York Ave in downtown St. Cloud.
Kristin said she loves Z and Q. It is a really cute children’s boutique. They do carry clothing for teenage girls as well. They have cute high-quality clothing that is slightly more modest than what you would find in more mainstream stores. Kristin said they have bathing suits right now that are reversible.
Jeanine and Kristin were talking about a large bag that Stephanie sells at Z and Q. Jeanine just gave that bag to two of her top producing agents. Kristin was commenting on how versatile they are. It is a great bag for kids in sports because you can literally wash it out.
It’s a great bag to keep in the trunk of your car and use for grocery shopping. It’s an important thing for today’s mom and you can add charms to the bag as you can with Crock’s shoes.
Video Podcast Of Stephanie Milfeld Of Z And Q A Children's Boutique
Why Did You Open Z And Q A Children’s Boutique?
Jeanine went to interview Stephanie Milfeld on location inside her store Z and Q a Children’s Boutique in downtown St. Cloud FL. Jeanine started by asking Stephanie why she started her business and how long she has been open?
Stephanie said she has been open for almost 4 years this coming July. The reason why she wanted to open her store was there were just not a lot of children’s stores other than the big box stores. Stephanie wanted to put a focus on giving back to the local community so every brand she carries in-store gives back to a cause community or organization.
Jeanine asked her to expand on the organizations that she contributes to. Stephanie answered that personally Z and Q gives to the Osceola Education Foundation and their gift for teaching program. They have a school supply store at a Gift For Teaching for teachers who teach at Title One schools to help replenish their classrooms. Stephanie added that Z and Q also donate extra clothing to Help Now Osceola. They help victims that are leaving domestic violence situations.
Jeanine then asked Stephanie to give a little bit of background about herself. Stephanie said that she was born and grew up in Osceola County. She graduated from high school here. She is the mom of two girls, Zoey and Quinn who represents the name of the store, Z and Q.
Serving The People Of St. Cloud Florida
Stephanie is the wife of a firefighter/paramedic who just got a promotion and is now a Captain. She also volunteers her time for the local PTO (parent-teacher organization).
Jeanine asked Stephanie to expand on how she uniquely serves the people of St. Cloud Florida. Stephanie said she is part of the downtown St. Cloud business group and serves on their board. She helps with a lot of the downtown activities including the monthly market committee. She helps with organizing the events in the area and getting people into local mom-and-pop shops and showcasing local vendors.
Jeanine asked her if the downtown monthly market is on the last Wednesday of every month? Stephanie confirmed that it is the last Wednesday of every month. She stated that the months of June and July are only for vendors 21 and younger. We call that our “young entrepreneurs’ market”. We take a break in August and then bring it back in September. Each market runs from 5-9 PM. There are food trucks and music and vendors with stores open late. It is an enjoyable time.
Jeanine asked Stephanie how many vendors are at the monthly marketplace? She said there are over one hundred vendors. Stephanie continued that Pennsylvania Ave and 10th Street are going under construction so that is being dealt with but well over one hundred vendors at each event. Jeanine said she loves the monthly marketplace events and moved her monthly staff meetings which were on Wednesday evenings so everyone could attend the marketplace.
The Best Selling Item In The Z And Q Boutique
Stephanie was asked by Jeanine what was her top-selling item in her store. She said it’s probably a tie between our swim diapers and our simply Tote bags. Jeanine said she just bought two of those Tote bags and loves them. Stephanie said the Totes are durable and hold all the things you need, and you can rinse them out with a hose.
She said the swim diapers are popular because they are re-usable, and they fit from 6 pounds up to 36 pounds. Until kids are potty trained this item is a must-have for a Florida baby. Jeanine asked about the little charms on the Tote bags. Stephanie said they have all kinds of tote charms you can add to the bag. They say things like “hot mess”, “mom” or “mama bear”. It allows a person to make their bag unique.
Stephanie was then asked by Jeanine why should people move to St. Cloud? She said that although we are growing it still has that small-town feel. For example, you go to the grocery store and run into people you know. She said businesses work well together. If she doesn’t have something a person is looking for in her store, she will guide people to where they can find it.
Collaboration Over Competition In The St. Cloud Florida Community
People in this community love helping people. Stephanie said it is collaboration over competition and we are all here to succeed and help one another. Jeanine asked if she was familiar with other businesses' merchandise? Stephanie said that we try to be. There is not a lot of overlap in merchandise as we are all unique, so we love sending people to other businesses.
Jeanine then asked Stephanie aside from her store, what is the one place people need to check out who are coming to Saint Cloud? She said that is a tough one to answer because there are so many great places. There are so many wonderful restaurants that are all unique for example but if she were to give one place it would be Shop DK. They have lots of home décor. So, for people moving to St. Cloud this is the place for you.
Stephanie stated that she feels like when you move you may want to redo parts of your home that maybe you want to change from your old house. Shop DK has house plants, planters, lighting, rugs, comforters, and more. They are located on 11th Street. Jeanine was not even aware of them so now she knows.
Janine said a big thank you to Stephanie for coming on the Discover Harmony Florida podcast today. Jeanine is going to continue to support her business as she has such great unique items all the time.
Stephanie Shares How Facebook Live Events Help Her Business
Jeanine asked Stephanie how people can find Z and Q? She said you can find us on Facebook and Instagram @ZandQboutique. Stephanie said they do live sales once a month where you can shop from home in your pajamas. They are open 7 days a week so come on down and see us.
Stephanie had recently done a Facebook Live event and it was really successful so Jeanine asked what advice could you give to other business owners to do the same thing? She answered and said try it and don’t be overwhelmed. It is a lot to take in at first, but it was fun!
Even though you are not physically interacting with people it was kind of like a party. Jeanine asked if she received sales from the live event and Stephanie said yes, it was great.
Jeanine wanted to give a shout-out to Stephanie’s husband Patrick. While they were filming in Z and Q, Patrick was helping with everything. He even took Jeanine next door to another business and helped her pick out some gifts for two men.
We hope you enjoyed Jeanine interviewing Stephanie Milfeld Of Z And Q A Children’s Boutique our first resident spotlight of Harmony FL. This will be a monthly focus for the Discover Harmony Florida podcast. View video source.