By EMMA DELK

Nini Zadrozny believes the key to growing her jewelry business from her dining room table to a 2,500-foot boutique has been keeping her “personal touch.”

As Nini’s Treasures Owner and CEO, Zadrozny manages the day-to-day and overall operations of the store. Over 29 years in business, Nini’s Treasures has expanded from selling jewelry to now including clothes, shoes, accessories, home decor and baby items.

Zadrozny’s first dip into retail was selling Leslie Ann Jewelry to friends and co-workers at the Ohio Valley Medical Center, where she worked full-time as a medical technologist. As she sold the handmade jewelry, Zadrozny began to build a network of clients.

“I’d go out to trade shows and different organizations like schools and churches to sell,” described Zadrozny. “My mornings were devoted to selling the jewelry, and then I’d work afternoon shifts in the lab.”

Zadrozny’s side hustle turned into a full-time gig when a friend informed her of a store opening at Stratford Springs.

She decided to take the plunge and open a boutique in the 600-foot space.

Since Zadrozny entered the medical field for the job security it provided, making the jump from steady employment to the uncertainty of opening a business was “very scary.”

“I knew there wasn’t going to be a problem with me getting a job in the medical field because we had three hospitals in our area at the time,” noted Zadrozny. “On the other hand, there’s no guarantee for success in retail. You just don’t know what kind of traffic flow there’ll be or what sales you’ll have on any day.”

Despite retail’s uncertainty, Zadrozny is confident the personal touch of specialty stores will always keep customers coming in.

“A lot of retailers are afraid of the unknown and everything going online, so having a specialty, as boutiques do, keeps us from being a drying breed,” explained Zardozny.

“You don’t get that personalized feeling at shopping at online retailers or box stores.”

Zardozny noted she sees more female-owned specialty stores opening in Downtown Wheeling. She believes this speaks to consumers’ preference for a personalized shopping experience.

“I see more specialty stores popping up, and I think that’s because people are turning away from malls and box stores,” explained Zardozny.

“I appreciate any woman who decides to enter the retail business because I know how hard it can be.”

While Zardozny spent four years at West Liberty to gain the knowledge to become a medical technologist, she believes the skills one needs for the sales field cannot be taught. Zardozny explained sales skills cannot be developed but are instead intrinsic skills.

A key part of sales, according to Zardozny, is being a “people person.” Zardozny explained she was never afraid to talk to people, which allows her to be honest and straightforward with customers.

“The key I tell my employees here when they start working is “Don’t be afraid to say hi,” she described. “That’s one thing that keeps us specific is that we know to meet and greet every single person that comes to our store, whether they buy anything or not. At big box stores half the time you won’t even know who works there.”