By Cory L. Higgs
The rattle of change in a cash register drawer, the promise of making a profit, and the thrill of the sale is what drives this aspiring businesswoman to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.
Rain Davis is a Meadows of Dan mountain girl through and through.
She loves spending time with her friends and tormenting her little brother. Among her many interests, Davis is keen on exploring her entrepreneurial side, with a little help from her mom and dad, Casey and Tim Davis.
Although she celebrated her 10th birthday on April 5, Davis dipped her toes in the business world a few years ago at the Meadows of Dan Folk Fair she said, where she started her own company, Rainbow Creations. While the company is a little ways off from becoming a Fortune 500 company, Davis continues to devotedly pursue her passion for running a business.
She is no stranger to entrepreneurship and female business owners. Many of the women in her family own or have owned stores and businesses. Gas stations, gift shops, clothing stores, sandwich shops, you name it someone around young Davis has done it, and she reports that self-made spirit has rubbed off on her. Now, Davis said she is ready to take up the mantle and carry on the tradition.
Davis’ company currently produces air plants in decorative hand-decorated containers.
She buys her containers, plants, and supplies in bulk, and then assembles and customizes her product in house, with little to labor costs, she said. Davis said she got the idea for air plants after noticing how easy they were to tend.
“Anyone can do it,” she said. “I like the designing and decorating (of her wares), but the business side of thing is more me, I like talking to people.”
Davis said that she also helps in the deli at Poor Farmer’s Market occasionally, and she can be found behind the register at the Concord Corner Store.
“I also spend a lot of time in my play office,” she said.
Davis said her product has proven to be highly profitable, and that she made enough money at the Folk Fair to pay her good friend a ‘solid’ wage to help her at the fair.
However, little of the money made it into the bank, as she redistributed the wealth to other vendors at the fair. Trickle-down, local economic stimulus plan, or the shopping bug? She said she’ll never tell, but Davis said she plans to head off to college and return to manage the stores her family owns.
“After school, I want to take over the stores,” she said, adding that, “I want to stay in Patrick County because this is where my family is, this is my home.”
Next time you go shopping in Meadows of Dan, pop into one of her family’s stores, and you may see Davis behind the register poses with her wares , carrying on her legacy one sale at a time.
