T-R FILE PHOTO Brittany Tow, the owner/operator of Brit Marie’s and Co., moved to her new location at 1 W. Main St. in Marshalltown last May.

Being a small business owner requires more than a strong work ethic. It also requires having an understanding of who your customer is, says Brittany Tow, owner of Brit Marie’s & Co., 1 W. Main Street.

“When it comes to owning your own business, they always say that you have to know your ideal client. Your ideal client is you. You are the one creating the business,” she said.

The store specializes in stylish and casual women’s clothing and accessories — items Tow herself would feel comfortable wearing — with sizes available in small through 3XL. The desire to carry plus size items was born out of the knowledge that they’re not always readily available. After Younker’s and JCPenney closed in Marshalltown several years ago, Tow felt it was time to launch her own business to try and fill the void.

“As a plus size, you always hate shopping anyway, and some people hate shopping altogether, no matter what size they are,” she noted. “So I wanted to make mine more all-inclusive. I was tired of going into other boutiques, other stores, and here’s your section. Or some boutiques were only small to large, and it was just hard to find anything that you liked. So I said, I want to open one.”

A unique aspect of the store, she points out, is there are no sections.

“I just differentiate on my hangers what’s a regular and what is plus by the little clips,” she added.

The venture began in 2018 with Tow selling at vendor shows. In early 2019, she purchased a trailer she used as a mobile boutique or “store on wheels.” The concept, Brit Marie’s Country Boutique, leaned western in style. A storefront opened at 13 W. Main Street in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The store was closed for about two months but online sales kept her afloat. With people staying home, she notes, sweatshirts, leggings and other comfy garments grew in popularity.

“Honestly, the pandemic didn’t actually hurt too much,” she said.

The year 2020 also marked a permanent career shift. Tow had grown up on a family farm in the Gilman/Laurel area and attended East Marshall. After getting an AAS degree from Kirkwood, she transferred to ISU and earned a degree in ag studies and communications. She envisioned a lifelong career in the field of agriculture.

“My first job out of college was in procurement, and then I kind of sidetracked and thought I wanted to be more in the sales side of agriculture,” she said. “Then I went back to procurement, and really liked that side of it.”

At the time, she was employed at Monsanto in Grinnell. Bayer bought out the company and her job was going to be moved to St. Louis. In October 2020, she decided it was time to leave. While on the surface, ag and fashion may have little in common, both can entail knowledge of buying and selling.

After years of backbreaking work setting up and tearing down at shows, she sold the trailer in July 2023. She opened at her current storefront in May 2024.

Her previous store had 1,000 square feet of retail space whereas her current setup has more than 3,000, not counting storage. Tow employs a couple of part-time staff. In addition to clothing and accessories, she offers permanent jewelry. She dabbled in selling men’s clothing, but has held off on expanding that. Products are obtained at markets on buying trips, plus from trusted sources.

“In seven years I’ve been able to find some vendors that I really like, so I usually just follow them on Facebook, follow them on their website, see when they have new launches coming, or their pre-orders,” she said. “Some of them will let you schedule lives with them, and they’ll just go through the inventory with you, and then you can make decisions based on that.”

In January, Cassedi’s Rustic Revival opened in the back of her store, offering repurposed furniture, and is run by Cassedi Simon-Wolken.

New to the storefront is a homemade items section, which features earrings, candles, popcorn, wine, soap and more.

“I do have a lot of people who come in and just want a little gift for a friend or something like that. So they just want something a little bit more budget-friendly and smaller,” she said.

Starting March 28, Tow will have items available for sale at Channing’s Customs in Grinnell.

“I’ll be using a space, kind of like what I’m having vendors come in here and do,” she said. “My mind is constantly going, it’s constantly looking for that next thing. What else can I do? What else can I bring? I feel like I just can’t sit still. So I’m always definitely thinking about what the next step is.”

Tow is a proponent of strengthening Marshalltown’s downtown. A few years ago, she joined the Marshalltown Central Business District’s (MCBD) promotions committee, assisting with downtown events.

“I was asked to join the board, because I was already on a committee. In order to be on the board, you have to be on one of the four subcommittees within the MCBD — that’s part of Main Street Iowa, Main Street America, their parameters — so I joined the board,” Tow explained. “Then they created the retail promotions committee and I became chair.”

Retail events were geared toward driving foot traffic into downtown businesses.

“We just decided in December that we are going to combine the retail and promotions committees together,” she added.

Tow is an advocate for other entrepreneurs, especially women in business.

“There are tons of business spaces open for people to come in and start their business. Don’t be scared. I honestly don’t even think I was when I started, and I didn’t have people out there that I could reach out to and talk to, because at the time, I didn’t know. So now I want to be that person. If you have questions, come on in,” she said.

Tow is licensed to sell insurance through Farm Bureau. She previously served on the local board, but stepped aside after leaving agriculture. As a side gig, she sells WineShop at Home.

Brit Marie’s is open Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It may be reached at: 641-485-6303 and britmaries2018@gmail.com. To shop online, visit britmaries.com or britmariescountryboutique.com.