Today is a day that we celebrate WOMEN. And for me, that is the opportunity to celebrate a woman that I admire and have a total #girlcrush on. That woman is Bekah Turner, owner of Pink Possum, a boutique in Gluckstadt, Mississippi that offers gifts, kids clothing, women’s clothing and more! Not a local? They offer FREE SHIPPING with a $25 purchase!
You may be thinking where in the world is Gluckstadt, Mississippi and what is Pink Possum? A quick Google search and you would see that Gluckstadt is a small town between Madison and Canton, Mississippi. Pink Possum is a boutique that upon walking in you can find something for everyone. The employees are friendly and helpful and the atmosphere has a fun, fresh vibe.
It may be located in a small town, but Pink Possum is anything but “small”. With a 50,000 follower-crew on Instagram and Facebook, it’s bright and airy images draw international attention. And guess what? Bekah manages the accounts herself!
When I reached out to her about focusing a blog post on her as a business woman in Mississippi, her response was “I would be honored to!” Just one of the many reasons why all of her customers, employees, and vendors love her!
1) How did you decide that you wanted to open a boutique in this area? How long has the Pink Possum been operating?
Well my dad had been in retail all my life, I grew up in his store. I came home from college in 2007 and started carrying clothes in his furniture store in Flowood. Then he closed his store 2009 and I got married and put it on hold. I decided to open pink possum in 2013 when Avery was 2 and Laney Kate was 6 months old. There was nothing in Gluckstadt at the time and all my newly wed friends were moving to the area and I thought it would be perfect.
2) What has been the biggest challenge in operating a retail store? Honestly, getting people in the door. There is so much online competition and it’s so easy to shop from home now.
3) How do you maintain harmony in your roles as a wife, mother, business owner in your life? Well I’m not sure I do maintain harmony but I try! For the most part I work everyday from 8 until 4ish so I can still go grab the kiddos and come home. But some days if I’m feeling more of a pull at home I’ll leave and try to catch up on the loads of laundry that seem to pile up. I have a great husband who doesn’t mind all my traveling and crazy schedule. I also have a great group of girls working for me so it’s easy to take the time off when I need it. I don’t work (physically at the store) on Saturdays either so that gives me some much needed family time.
4) What are the main priorities that you give attention to in running your business? My main priority aside from all the boring office work is managing our social media accounts. I stay pretty active on all of our Channels. I just downloaded Tik Tok yesterday. No idea what it is but I’m going to give it a try! Most days I do office work when I first get in, then try on videos and photos, then manage all my social accounts.
5) One of the things I love most about your boutique is that any girl - at any age from infancy to a more mature age - can find something for themselves! Is this something that you intended to do from the beginning or evolved over time? Yes from day one I’ve carried clothes I would wear myself and baby clothing. I think because that’s what stage of life I was in when I decided to do it.
6) What do you hope that your children learn from watching you as a business owner? I try to tell them that if we want to do fun things, travel, eat out etc that mommy and daddy both work for that privilege. I hope they both grow up with a strong work ethic.
7) Who are the women that you admire and rely on to lift you up? I have a close group of girl friends that are my biggest cheerleaders. They encourage me in everything we do. It’s a good friend who likes, shares and comments on all your posts.
8) Lastly - just four mini questions about you personally:
- Do you make your bed every morning? No
- What is your least favorite workout activity? Burpees
- What is your GET-Up- AND MOVE dance/jam song? Um I don’t dance. But if I did I’d say John Deere Green by Joe Diffy. It gets me going.
- How do you take your coffee? White chocolate mocha is my go to.
Those of us who are privileged to know her know how hard she works to ensure that Pink Possum is not just a storefront, but an experience. It is that warm, authentic, Southern hospitality that makes her customers become repeat shoppers. As one of those, it is an honor to be able to support a woman in business who is striving to make a difference in the community they live in. Bekah ensures that the Pink Possum is always a huge support to local and statewide non-profit organizations.
I encourage you to check out Pink Possum now that you’ve had an opportunity to see the woman behind the brand! You won’t regret it.
