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Business Owner Knows Her Niche

Scott Iskowitz/ The Tampa Tribune)

Vanessa Rendon,20, recently opened Nessa's Shoppe on Kennedy Blvd in Tampa.

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By MICHAEL H. SAMUELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2007

Updated: 11/05/2007 07:22 pm

TAMPA - Ever since she was little, Vanessa Rendon knew she wanted to open a clothing store.

It wasn't so long ago that Rendon was that 8-year-old girl, home playing "clothing store" with her little sister.

Now 20, Rendon has graduated from playtime to real life.

She is the owner of Nessa's Shoppe, 4436 W. Kennedy Blvd., which sells jeans, tops and flip-flops.

"This is what I've always wanted to do," Rendon said, standing among the jeans hanging and stacked throughout the 950-square-foot store, which caters to girls and women ages 13 to 35.

She has no formal business or finance training, just a vision of what she wants and how she wants it to look.

Pink shelves. Pink dressing room curtains. And jeans, most priced from $21 to $25, with brand names such as Chianti, 2 Sexy Jeans and The New Face.

Her favorite brands come from Colombia and cost $45.

"Every girl wears jeans," Rendon said. "I love to wear jeans. You can dress up jeans; you can dress down jeans. You can do anything in them."

She said the hardest part of the business was finding jeans in the right price range. She didn't want expensive designer jeans. Instead, she wanted jeans that girls would like and could afford.

"I grew up in Tampa, and I stayed in Tampa," said Rendon, who graduated from Plant High in 2005 and spent two years at Hillsborough Community College. "I wanted to bring the prices back to how they used to be."

She worked various jobs, including at bowling alleys and downtown engineering companies. The one thing she learned from her experiences working since age 13 was that she didn't like working for someone else.

"I didn't like the atmosphere," she said.

She prefers being her own boss, even if it's much more work.

Rendon, who lives in North Tampa, said she worked day and night to get the business ready to open in October. Her husband, Diego, painted; her father, Kenneth Jenkins, built shelves; and her mother, Kimberly Jenkins, pitched in with banking and business help. Her sister, Chelsey Jenkins, and grandmother Marlene Lambert also helped.

"They all did a little bit of everything," Rendon said. "It really helps to have all that support."

"She's so smart," said Diego Rendon, a painter. "I'm so in shock she did it. I'm so proud of my wife."

Kimberly Jenkins said her daughter is a role model for girls who have been told they can't do something.

"You can do it," Jenkins said.

She expects her daughter to succeed because she's doing something she knows.

"She's young, too," Jenkins said. "This is a fun place. She knows what they like."

Rendon said she hopes to go to Plant and Jefferson high schools to tell students her story as an example of how to follow your dreams.

"Believe in yourself," she said, "and don't let anybody tell you you can't do something."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Nessa's Shoppe

WHERE: 4436 W. Kennedy Blvd.

WHAT THEY DO: Sells jeans, tops and flip-flops for girls and women ages 13 to 35

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

CONTACT: (813) 965-8134 or shopnessa@yahoo.com

Reporter Michael H. Samuels can be reached at (813) 835-2109 or msamuels@tampatrib.com.

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