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  Features 04/03/03
'A Little Something' gets a little bigger


By Toby G. Hayes

 

LOGAN – She is a mom, a chef, a florist and now an entrepreneur, but Laura Wolford’s vision for a retail store in Logan has boomed beyond even her expectations.

Just two years ago Wolford started ...A Little Something out of her desire to sell items from around the world at affordable prices. Those hard to find things for any occasion.

"I’ve traveled all over the world and I love unusual things," she says. "It’s a Wal-Mart mentality in a Sachs Fifth Avenue feel. We try to have something for everyone."

Walking into her Main Street store feels like you’ve been transported to a foreign bazaar, complete with household decor down to the tiniest of knick-knacks. From couches and clocks to candle sconces, they have what you’re looking for, and even what you’re not looking for. Wolford has traveled around the country searching for the items in her store.

"I went through a lot of junk to find the treasures. And I think that’s my edge," she said. "My goal is to be a specialty shop with lower prices."
Wolford says people have this image that her store is beyond their pocketbook, but once people step inside and see the variety and affordability of what she offers, people are surprised.

"I hear it way too often," she says. "I have a huge responsibility to prove it to them."

It could be the music that keeps them coming back. As you walk in the store it is everything from 1940s swing to Hawaiian sounds.

"I like things that are a little bit lively and fun. It is a good atmosphere I think," she said. "It makes you feel good, and that’s what I want. It’s a different atmosphere. We want you to come in and feel welcome."

But Wolford has a lot more to feel good about than just music. After recently moving to her newer expanded location at 1145 N. Main, Wolford has also expanded to open other stores in Utah. So far she has two other franchise stores, one in Centerville, which opened last May, and another in Orem.
"I have no doubt we will be a national and international business in just a few years," she says.

Her goal is to have 150 stores within five years, and she’s well on her way. Wolford already has a list of over 20 people wanting to open a franchise, including in places like Nova Scotia and England.

Wolford has no formal business training nor marketing background except what she has learned the last two years. What drives her is her creativity and vision for success.

"And it’s working," she said. "We’ve created an incredible store and I’m thrilled with it."

To many people, Wolford may sound like a workaholic, but she’s not. From the first day she opened up for business she set priorities to live by. Her first priority is her family.

"I know my life is better because of it," she says.

Wolford clocks out by 3 o’clock each day to pick her kids up from school. While business is still going on down at her store, she sits down with her children to help them with their homework.

Success hasn’t change the mother, the chef and the florist, it has only made her more confident.

"I’m not afraid of failure," she says. "If I fail, then I’ll dust myself off and get up again. My goals and dreams are endless. There’s nothing we can’t do."

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