For most people, juggling is difficult. For 20-year-old Ashley Carpenter, she juggles raising her daughter and running her own thrift store.

Those who stop by Beautiful Bowtique located at 803 Mason Dr., will find a shopkeeper that looks fresh out of high school holding a baby while haggling with them.

“I’ve always been an entrepeneur. Ever since I was little, I  was always fund raising, there was a way of making money either through a Kool-Aid stand or washing cars or something,” said Carpenter.

That entrepreneur in Carpenter has caused her to open and run her own thrift and consignment store. After only opening Nov. 12, the store already has 30 consigners.

Carpenter wanted to own her own business in order to spend time with her daughter Mary.

“I did this for her, it’s nice to be with her. I didn’t want to put her in daycare,” said Carpenter.

With her husband several time zones away, Carpenter is essentially a single mom. This has made the process of opening up a business difficult, to say the least. She put the entire operation together by herself in four weeks.

That makes being a parent, wife and business owner stressful.

“It’s very busy, but it’s worth it. I get overwhelmed but her smile makes it all better,” said Carpenter looking lovingly at her daugher in her arms. “I don’t have any time for myself. I don’t have any time off. But I think it will pay off later on.”

Carpenter has had to also deal with skeptics. She said her friends thought she was “crazy” for wanting to open the business.

“They didn’t think I could do it, a lot of people didn’t think I could do it. Now they’re just kind of shocked,” laughed Carpenter.

Now those same friends have turned supportive in the best way possible, by giving her their business. She said most of them have visited the store to sell and help out.

Her career as business owner began with taking real estate classes. However, the recent economic downturn caused her to abandon that path. She does not have any formal business training other than some high school classes.

Carpenter said her real education came from life’s hard knocks.

“When I was 16, my mom left me and I had to pay a house mortgage and bills. In order to do this, I invited strangers in my house to help pay.”

She plans to eventually take business classes, but for now, she is holding her own.

“I’m very street smart. I think having some more book smarts might help with keeping things in check, but I’m doing pretty good,” said Carpenter.

In order to get started, Carpenter took out a loan and a leap of faith.

“I have had a business plan since high school. I always wanted to own a thrift store. I just ran across the building and decided to go for it.”

While she took out a loan during an economic slide, Carpenter has looked at the situation in a positive light. She believes that hard times breed good business for her.

“I personally think that with the way the economy is right now that people are looking for more stuff to buy for less and people would rather bring their stuff and make money off it than donate it,” said Carpenter.

While still a freshman to running her own business, Carpenter is already envisioning an expansion of her store within a year. She also hopes to eventually open more stores across Bossier City and offer help to those in need.

“When we get more donations I want to give out vouchers for people that need help. I think someone with even a larger income than myself can have financial trouble and need help,” Carpenter said.

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