![]() ![]() ![]() The thriving business still makes the great community impact that it did in its early days. She also established private shopping in the store by appointment and organized local delivery services. She also created “window shopping” that she combined with Venmo payment and curbside delivery to allow her to take advantage of the beautiful windows on three sides of the shop. She implemented online sales as one idea. When COVID hit, her classes had to stop and the shop had to close, so Maria got creative. This strategy was also one way she created some relief from the effects of the COVID pandemic as well. To help market her new plant services, Maria became a vendor at the Kenosha Public Market. She was so supportive and knew how to keep me relaxed and keep me on track.” THE OBSTACLES “Her knowledge and insights, her own business experience and her calm demeanor were so valuable. Mary Fischer-Tracy, the interim director at the UW-Parkside SBDC, helped Maria with her business plan and financial projections and introduced her to many resources. She came to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in 2018 for help adding plants and plant therapy to her existing wellness business. These offerings have changed over the years, but Maria is thrilled that her boutique now has a focus on one of her true passions: gardening. She taught a wide variety of courses including yoga, writing, aromatherapy and Houseplant 101. The business, then called Body & Soul Boutique, offered only massage therapy services at first but soon added body treatment and facial services as well as instructional classes and retail sales of skin care products, candles, hats, sandals and other boutique items. She also worked on the Keep Kenosha Beautiful committee and, as part of the Downtown Business Improvement District, she helped bring beautiful hanging baskets and other plantings and installations to downtown. When Maria first moved to the downtown community, she partnered with a veterans’ support organization across the street to create a large, beautiful garden space. Then, in 2000, she and her husband at the time, Curzio, purchased a brick and mortar building downtown and EQUINOX botanical boutique is still thriving there today. In 1998, Maria Caravati started her business as a massage therapist, renting space in a building near the lake in Kenosha. ![]()
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