Photos by Kayleigh Omang
Those who think the Human Resources field is linear are sorely mistaken. A local entrepreneur, Indira Kovaci, knows this better than most.
Kovaci started down her professional path by majoring in Human Resources while attending Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead. After graduating, Kovaci worked a number of office management and human resource jobs before becoming an entrepreneur on somewhat of a whim.
“My husband likes to tinker with cars and I was doing an office job at the time. He wanted me to go online to look for a shop for him to work on cars, so, I went to Craiglist and typed in “shop”. A boutique came up and I was like, ‘that’s interesting.’ So, I clicked on it and it was the last day to purchase the shop because the people were coming to get the sign that day. I went to take a look at it during my lunch and fell in love with it,” said Kovaci.
The rest is history, Kovaci purchased Prim Rose Boutique three year’s ago and began her entrepreneurial journey. Kovaci moved the business to its new location in West Fargo this past July and recently opened a salon right next door to the boutique where contractors can lease spots from Kovaci.
We caught up with Kovaci to learn more about her journey from HR to business owner and what she’s learned along the way.
Did you ever think you’d be an entrepreneur?
Not on a whim like that. I’m more of a careful planner. So, when my husband has an idea on a whim I’m the one to say let’s stop and think about this. So, when I did that, he was like, “what did you just do?”
What’s the journey been like for you?
It’s been really rewarding meeting all of the different kind of entrepreneurs. My first year, I was kind of on the down-low. I didn’t really know about the different networking groups around town. However, you need to network and you need to be involved in the community to be more aware of everything that’s going on. Now it’s better, but the first year was really rough because I was really alone in it and I didn’t have any connections.
What type of networking groups have you used for your business?
I’m in a ladyboss group but you just connect with different people through photoshoots and morning buzz talks. Things like that.
What is some advice you’d give to someone who’s trying to start their own business?
Don’t use all your money to open your own business. Have a backup plan.
How do you use your HR degree in your day-to-day?
A lot of people think HR is just hiring, but it’s so much more than that. With HR you just learn to work with so many different people with different personalities.
