Andrea Morehead/Eyewitness News
She's no stranger to the runway.
A model for nine years, Kim Corbitt has turned her love for fashion into a business.
"I was shopping so much that my friends all noticed and asked me to look for things for them," Corbitt said. "I prayed for a great name and a great concept. I woke up in the middle of the night and I said, 'I'm going to call it Catwalk and I'm going put a catwalk in there.'"
And customers are not shy.
"I have ladies, I can't get them off the catwalk. I'm like okay, you look really cute, alright. You look good in that girl, they just go on and on. Everyone has fun with it."
Corbitt has been having fun with fashion as owner of Catwalk Boutique since 2004. She opened first in Fishers near Hamilton Southeastern.
"I had more of the moms coming in than the girls. Girls that age want to go to the mall," she said.
So she changed her focus and moved two years ago.
"It's 82nd street, everyone's shopping between Keystone and Castleton," she said.
While the economy has affected fashion retail business, the bottom line is: Kim is determined to be her own boss. No excuses, no matter what.
"If it's something you're passionate about and you love it and you really want to do it, find a way to do it. And do it," Corbitt says.
And now she's passing the legacy on to her daughter Morgan.
Corbitt said, "She's my best salesperson. I want to show her that you can be a woman and a mom and be professional and have a business and take care of home and do all these things."
She has a busy life but she relishes and encourages others to follow their dreams too.
Like Corbitt, Niquelle Allen's love for fashion took her out of the courtroom and into a full-time business that she owns.
Allen said, "If it did fail, so what. I'd just go back to being an attorney full time."
Her business is called Butterfly Consignment, also on 82nd street.
She remembers when the sign first went up after six months of planning.
"I couldn't believe it I think I just kind of skipped around the parking lot like oh my it was just like an overpowering feeling."
She has about 300 consigners and there's something for everyone, including designer items from Jimmy Choo and Gucci. The upscale boutique doesn't sell what's typically called "used." The merchandise here is "pre-loved."
"You've been seen with it on television you think I love it, but i'm over it now I'm gonna move on to the next piece. Someone else can love it. So you've already loved it, so you can pass the love on to someone else," Allen said.
Allen is paying it forward by allowing local artists and vendors to sell their creations at the boutique too. she calls them "new-love" items from soap to jewelry. While consigning is not a new concept, it's always been Allen's dream.
"You have a dream you put in the works to make it happen and it actually comes true. It's sort of a fairy tale come true."
Two women entrepreneurs are sharing the same street and the same goal, and they both share their wisdom so others can succeed too.
"It's not if, it's when," Corbitt said.
Allen said, "Have faith in yourself."
