By Invitation Only

Erin Brady, owner since 2004 of Invitation Only, a Heights stationery and gift shop, has a couple of business philosophies: “I’m big on the Golden Rule – treat people the way you want to be treated” and “I’m a huge believer in the customer’s always right.”

Those time-honored maxims have served her well. The year Brady and her husband, Justin, bought the shop, it did $145,000 in sales. Their 10-year goal was $500,000 in revenue. “We hit that in our third year,” Brady said. “We’ve still continued every single month since we’ve been in business to grow, so I know we’re not done growing.”

In addition to offering stationery, By Invitation Only specializes in fine papers and wedding invitations. It also specializes in customer service, Brady said. “We’re so friendly and welcoming, and we like to work with people. It’s a fun place to be, and it’s created a lot of repeat business and so many referrals that our business exploded so quickly.”

She also credits the store’s success to its being owner-operated. “I think customers like to work with the owner,” she said. “I think it gives people a real reassurance that they’re going to be taken care of.” Brady emphasized, however, that she and her husband are a team. Justin Brady does the bookkeeping and accounting.

As far as her employees, “We have such a family atmosphere up here,” she said. “I’ve never tried to act like anybody’s boss. I just want us all to work together and be a team. I don’t care if I’m taking out the trash or cleaning the toilets. I just want us to get stuff done.”

As for her customers, Brady said that if there are problems, she wants to handle them. Her belief in customer service means that “I just try to treat them the way I want to be treated when I go somewhere. And I think that has really helped in our success.”

“My ultimate goal is I want to hit a million dollars a year in sales,” Brady said. “I think it’s definitely doable.”