Sarah Hartzler — Molli Grace Boutique

Sarah Hartzler

and Molli Grace Boutique: Caring, Fashion & Fun!

— By Melissa McCance—

Some people just radiate energy. Even sitting still, you feel their vibrancy. Sarah Hartzler, owner of the popular online fashion site Molli Grace Boutique, is such a person. And, it’s a good thing she has that kind of vitality, because Sarah is one busy lady! Besides helping her husband Lynn run Green Energy LP and managing her online boutique, Sarah is also the mother of three lively girls ranging in age from four to 14.

Sarah’s path to entrepreneurship was a winding one. After graduating from Hillsdale High School, Sarah received her undergraduate degree from Spring Arbor University. For 15 years, she filled various roles at Michigan Works! starting in the resource room helping clients use computers and ending as president of the organization serving Hillsdale, Jackson, and Lenawee counties. She also completed an MBA through Spring Arbor University with an emphasis in leadership.

When her husband—someone Sarah describes as “a total entrepreneur, always starting and building ventures”— was getting Green Energy LP established, Sarah began to feel God nudging her toward leaving her position with Michigan Works! and helping Lynn.

“I’d always worked for someone,” says Sarah. “I liked the security of someone cutting a paycheck for me.” But God continued to lead, and she could see clearly that they could do more together

to grow the business and how much it would benefit Lynn for her to cover things at the office and free him to be in the field dealing directly with customers.

Although Sarah was busy in her new role with the propane company, something else popped up to catch her attention. She had been an enthusiastic customer of Jennifer Gillispie’s online fashion source Molli Grace Boutique for some time and learned that Jennifer was interested in selling the business.

“I was already buying the clothes, I was familiar with the business, and I thought it sounded like a fun thing to do.” Sarah and her husband discussed the opportunity in detail and both felt God was opening doors for her and that she should move ahead.

She became the new owner on January 1, 2021, and thanks Jennifer for helping her learn the ins and outs of the business.

Molli Grace Boutique offers a wide range of items including jeans by Kan Can, Judy Blue, Cello, and other brands. You can buy tops, sweaters, dresses, shoes, and accessories as well. Sarah also carries some gift items like tumblers, totes, and mugs, and gift cards are available. She occasionally carries children’s clothing, mostly for little girls. Sarah says she’s learned a lot about what her customers want and works hard to make sure she’s meeting their needs.

“I want to help women of all shapes and sizes find clothes they love and feel good in,” explains Sarah. “Curvier women can really have a hard time finding stylish, flattering items. That’s why I order things in the full size range from small to 3X whenever possible.”

Sarah uses social media extensively. Shoppers who join the Facebook group can participate in a number of ways to earn shopping credits and win prizes. Tuesdays are “$20 Tuesdays” which give shoppers a chance to pick up some nice clothes without breaking the bank and on Wednesdays she features fun stuff like accessories.

Every Thursday at 8 p.m. is the live sale when Sarah models a lot of garments which she describes to her customers. She likes to use the live sales to help her clientele, as she puts it, “shop intelligently.” She describes how the garments fit, whether or not they run true

to size, and gives an idea of the feel and weight of the fabrics. “It makes a big difference if you can see something on a person rather than just looking at a picture of it.”

It’s clear that people love Sarah’s approach to retail and love what she sells. Since taking over the business, she has added over 2,000 members to the existing customers who were buying from Jennifer. Her genuine interest in and care for her shoppers comes through and gives a personal feel to the boutique.

“I love it when someone comes up to me when I’m out and tells me how happy they are with things they’ve bought from me or how special they feel in an outfit from my store. That just makes me feel so good. I can see the comments when I’m doing a live show, and that’s always a lot of fun. I work at building relationships with customers. It isn’t just about selling—it’s about helping women feel good about themselves.”

Future plans include purchasing more inventory to satisfy customers as popular items can go very quickly, especially during the live shows. At some point, Sarah would like to have a brickand-mortar store along with the online business. And, she’s hoping to get her daughters more involved down the road. One daughter has already been part of the live shows. “Sometimes I have to bring my four-year-old along when I do the live shows, and she just loves the camera!” laughs Sarah. “I get some great comments about people who are really enjoying having her there.”

To join the fun as a Molli Grace Boutique customer, you can connect with the Facebook group or visit the website: molligraceboutique.com. Look for Sarah’s content on Instagram and TikTok as well.