A shoe.  Can you believe that?  So superficial, I know but hear me out.  From the moment I saw that positive pregnancy test I thought I would never be anything other than the happiest stay at home mom on earth.  Yeah, well that job isn’t as easy or as fun as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, motherhood is an absolute irreplaceable joy and being fortunate enough to stay home with my babies—a gift.  Many days ended and I was happy but often felt like a mop in the corner, can anyone relate to this?

And 8 years ago, my journey as a woman in business began.  My pre-married life consisted of managing many retail businesses and training others to engage customers and sell but my new ventures all started with wanting to get out of my pj’s each day and have a shoe budget.  I was introduced to a company called Norwex, via my sister, and as soon as I used that amazing cloth, I was hooked.  Going to do home parties seemed so “not me,” I typically felt sorry for those moms that sold baskets or lipstick and I figured they never made any money.  Now here I am…selling rags??

However, this superb company and all the amazing women I met, made it a mission I wanted to adopt for life.  Norwex is top of the line microfiber and healthy cleaning products and they changed my life.  As I began doing in home parties and making friends/customers, I invited others to come along with me; and to my surprise, they said yes!  Before long I had the number 1 selling team in the country.

I still do in-home Norwex parties and still invite others to join me to create healthier homes and safer havens.  My top selling team is over 11,000 women and several are top leaders in the world.  I enjoy training and mentoring other stay at home moms and working moms alike to find their potential and see their true gifts.

Through this process, I realized that although I loved my full-time job, my husband and my 2 children, I still wanted more.  I wanted something that was entirely my own that I built from the ground up and something that exemplified who I was as a person.   It was then that Authentique was born.

French for authentic, Authentique is my “little beach house”.  Many people earn success and buy second homes, boats, or pairs and pairs of shoes but I realized what makes me even happier than a pair of Jimmy Choos is seeing smiles on the faces of other people.  I have always known that gift giving is my love language but I never realized it would become my children’s legacy.  At Authentique, we perfect the love language of gift giving.  I take great care in finding companies that are unique and not sold anywhere near our area.  I believe in supporting other small businesses within my small business and most are owned by women.  I also maintain my mindset for keeping our planet healthy and I carry lines that are made of recycled materials, such as cute tote bags made of recycled New York City billboards (sold currently only in New York state and Authentique).

I believe in the experience of shopping for a gift and I try to make it special and fun.  To this point, every Saturday and Sunday we serve mimosas and Racine Kringle, we host private, evening shopping soirees with local live music and always cater to the little people and furry friends of our clients.  Through the years, I’ve learned that authenticity is the best way to achieve success and true happiness.  It has been my mantra and why it became the name of my store.

Also, sometimes a girl wants a martini at 2pm on a Monday, which is why we serve mimosas on the weekend.  Vodka is gone by Friday.

Written by Kimberly Warner, Owner, Authentique Gifts in Downtown Kenosha