In 2008, Katie Nichols, founder of Entourage had a vision – a vision to change the way women shopped, by providing affordable fashion with high-end, boutique service. Katie, a UGA alumni and Athens resident, saw the need to execute that vision in her own town. Katie wanted women to feel empowered in their wardrobe, without the expensive price tag, which many local retailers carried. So she decided to take a leap of faith and took a loan out against her house and purchased a storefront. Day and night she painted and prepped the location with pride, and Entourage was born.
From that day on, Katie made her dream and reality through unwavering determination, ambition, focus and drive. She stands with nine Entourage locations across the southeast, along with sister store, b. berry in Statesboro, Ga. and a booming ecommerce website; bringing affordable fashion to all.
This single mother of two is a force to reckon with, and it is her passion and drive for the business that has made it a great success. To this day, she still looks over every stitch of clothing that comes through the warehouse and continues to create a place where anyone and everyone can feel accepted and included. Entourage is more than just a brand, it’s an experience, and Katie embodies that experience. Style does not have to break the bank and when the job is done, Katie gives 10% of all profits back to charitable organizations. In her own words, “It’s about grace, it’s about integrity, and it’s about making someone feel like a million bucks without making them spend a million bucks.”
The very values that Entourage began with are still important to Katie today. Katie and her entourage exhibit these values daily by upholding the company’s mission statement: To provide empowerment and affordable fashion through an outstanding experience with integrity, sincerity, grace and style.
By definition, an Entourage is a group of people that come together to support a very important person, and according to the brand, that person is the customer – every client that walks through the front doors or enters the URL into a search bar.
“As a group, we must support each other with our values, while exhibiting those values to our VIP’s. Serving isn’t just an act or a job duty, it is style – a style that never goes out of fashion,” Katie says. “We want to enhance our style by constantly considering new ideas, dreaming, being ambitious, and achieving goals together, as a unit.”
The brand is known for having the latest trends and home goods for under $42, daily new arrivals, one of the largest selections of game day fashion in the entire SEC, as well as bridal, maternity and “extended sizes.” For the first quarter of 2017, Entourage has even expanded to include athleisure – the latest fitness to fashion trend – and swimwear.
Katie’s goal is to offer product to every client, at any age and at every point in their life, no matter the budget. “I started this brand fresh out of college. As I have grown through the stages of life; being a business owner, motherhood, and now a woman in my 30’s, the brand has grown and evolved just the same. I base what we sell as a brand off of what I know I need and have needed and been unable to find. I think that is why it has been successful.” From a girl fresh out of college, embarking on her first business venture, to business mogul and mother, eight years later, Katie and her Entourage are definitely onto something. It is clear with determination and drive; anyone can turn their dreams to reality.
