Coffee with an Entrepreneur: Colleen Keaveney
On Wednesday, October 20th 2021, The Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Coffee With An Entrepreneur series, sponsored by Sureway Property Management, welcomed local entrepreneur Colleen Keaveney to speak to Rowan students. Keaveney highlighted her career accomplishments and business, Thomas + Main, a gift boutique located in Mullica Hill, NJ.
Keaveney attended Syracuse University where she double majored in marketing and entrepreneurship. Keaveney started working in Marketing Communications at the Wharton School of Business after graduation but did not feel fulfilled as an entrepreneur. According to Keaveney, her entrepreneurial spirit came to the forefront in 2019 when she was speaking with the owner of Paper Nut, an established boutique in Mullica Hill. Without hesitation, she left her salaried position to purchase Paper Nut and officially launched Thomas + Main.
Upon opening, Keaveney knew she had to mold the store’s brand to be her own. That all started with the name, a dedication to her late father, Thomas. Keaveney grew up very close to her father and after losing him a year prior to the store’s opening, she felt it would be a meaningful way to honor him.
Keaveney’s background in marketing seems to have been a catalyst to Thomas + Main’s success. She outlined some of their many marketing campaigns including hosting free in-store parties, virtual happy hours during Covid, charity events, a nine day warehouse sale, and a beach airplane banner campaign. Not only did these programs bring more traffic to both her online and brick and mortar stores, but they seem to have brought the community together — a longstanding goal of founder Colleen Keaveney.
One piece of advice she gave to students was to remember that you are your own brand. She encouraged students to own whatever it is they do to the fullest extent. Keaveney emphasized the importance of forming relationships and developing connections, and recommended initiating more casual networking opportunities with potential connections in addition to attending formal networking sessions. Keaveney reminded students that being respectful and speaking kindly with everyone can get you far, emphasizing that you never know who will be your next customer or next boss. Keaveney ended by sharing her life motto, “Head. Heart. Hustle.”
