Elizabeth Allen is the definition of an entrepreneur.
Though she studied science with plans to work in medicine, Allen found love with her husband and his young daughter. They were newly married with three young children when Allen got a call that would change her life. A beloved Murfreesboro shop, Lelise’s Shop, was going out of business. The store, where Allen was a customer, had awakened a love of fashion—namely spend-worthy basics and quality clothing—and the news made her rethink her life path. With her family beside her (and no business plan in sight), Allen took over the shop and in 2008 opened e.Allen.
The trendsetting boutique specializes in those pieces that made Allen fall in love with fashion to begin with. And it’s resonated with customers through the years. So much so that in 2013 she opened a second location in the Gulch. Now, it’s her store that inspires young fashionistas—both to dress for their best lives and to live them.
Answer the Call: One day I got a call from a woman who had a shop on the square in Murfreesboro called Leslie’s Shop. She said, “You have an outstanding gift card. I know you just had a baby, so you’re probably waiting to come spend it, but I wanted to let you know that I am planning to close.” I got off the phone with her and immediately called my husband like, “I know we have a one-month-old baby and a two- year-old and a five-year old, but I think I want to start a boutique. I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself and I really want to do this.” And my sweet husband, who also runs his own business, said, “Let’s do it!”
A Passion for Fashion: Fashion is extremely inspiring. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry that is made up of manufacturing, distribution, marketing. I don’t even know that I realized how many hands an item touches before it ends up in a customer’s closet. Has my passion changed over time? I think it’s evolved.The more time that I’ve spent in this industry, I have gotten to see so many different sides of it and feel comfortable in so many different areas and build so many different great relationships. At e.Allen, my passion is to provide my customers with functional foundational wardrobes that they can love over and over again for a long period of time. I want to teach women how to make smart purchases, how to edit their closets, what trends to inject in their closets, when to spend more money on staple pieces—pieces that have very beautiful tailoring and will stay in their wardrobe for years, versus something you’re going to hit on for a season—and bring the best of the best to our stores for our customers. That is just an evolution of passion.
Surrounded by Support: I’ve really spent a lot of time analyzing and evaluating who I spend my time with and who I’m around if I’m taking time away from my family— especially through 2020. I have a lot of beautiful friends and family members that inspire me and support me, and within those roles, there are entrepreneurs and there are like-minded people. I have some good cheerleaders, and people that I cheerlead as well, that inspire me to be the best version of myself. My children and my husband are my greatest accomplishments. Hands down, they are the best of the best. I am so in love with our kids and with the marriage that we’ve created, and we continue to create and make better, and I’m so proud. I’m so thankful.
Finding Her Way: I didn’t know how hard it was going to be, honestly. I think that that’s really what enabled me to do what I did. I was 24, and I did this right in the middle of the 2008 recession. There were a lot of sleepless nights burning the candle at both ends. I would put [my daughter] back down at four in the morning after a feeding, and I would run to the store and do payroll and taxes and just pray that I was doing it right and they weren’t going to come looking for me. There were so many times I cried on that back-room floor. I pinch myself looking back at where it began and where we are today.
Shop Local: Nashville means so much to me. It is full of so many creatives, so many artists, people who just really want to see a change and create something really special. Nashville means growth. It means opportunity. My first store was opened in 2008 in Murfreesboro, and we opened in Nashville five years after that. We decided to open in the Gulch, and it was such a wild process. I broke ground in February and somehow some way got a permit and opened our doors for a soft opening on April 1. People came from all over and showed up and showed out for us. Until recently it was still one of our largest [sales] days that we have ever had in the history of e.Allen. And then it was crickets for weeks. And I was like, “Oh my gosh, have I just signed my life away on this crazy lease?” But sure enough, Nashville kept showing up and showing out and it’s been unbelievable. It’s continued to progress. It’s continued to get better and I’m excited to continue to be here and continue to be part of such an amazing city.
A Delicate Balance: There are times that I feel like I’m killing it and then there’s times that I think life just gets the best of you. I wish I had the perfect formula because that would take so much stress out of my life, but I think the best thing is when I’m at work, I need to be focusing on work. When I’m at home, I need to have my phone away and I need to be focusing on my family. Having done this for 15 years, I know that I have an incredible team that has my back. They know what to do, they know what the expectations are, and that gives me such peace of mind.
To Young Elizabeth: I would tell my younger self that everything is going to be okay. I feel like I spent so much time worrying about things and wondering about things, and that I would just want myself to know it’s going to be okay. Just enjoy what you’re doing, laugh more, love more, and it’s all going to be okay. It’s going to turn out great. It’s going to be beautiful. It can be messy, but messy is beautiful too, and just know that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be you.
Looking to the Future: I know that e.Allen will definitely be in my aura still in five years. I’m kind of coming up on a weird time. Empty nesting is within five years, so I know my husband and I, because we really didn’t get a honeymoon phase at the beginning, there’s going to be some traveling on the horizon. There’s going to be maybe some extra downtime and some good self-care moments within that. As far as e.Allen goes, I’m always a believer in growth. That doesn’t mean another store, not that another store is out of the equation, but there will be growth. I know that there will be many more good times with e.Allen and I’m excited to see what the future holds.