Overnight successes usually don’t happen quite that fast — especially in retail. I was reminded of that in stories I read about two vastly different clothing retailers. You may have heard of Forever 21, a hip clothing store known for its low prices on up-to-the-minute fashions. You probably never heard of Show Hoppers, a dancewear shop in Concord, New Hampshire that doesn’t even have a website. Fortunately, the Concord Monitor followed the mother-and-daughter owners of Show Hoppers in their first year as they learned the intricate dance of retail survival.

After 24 years in business, Forever 21’s worldwide sales are in the billions of dollars, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times. Show Hoppers’ owners say they’re thrilled if sales hit $300 a day. Yet both are niche marketers. Aggressive Forever 21’s mantra is “Create a niche, and then blow it out.” Show Hoppers’ niche is dancewear for girls in their small town. They realized parents had to drive many miles to find appropriate clothes for their little dancers, so they started on a shoestring with a boutique catering to those parents.

Forever 21 attributes its success to spotting fashion trends and then finding manufacturers who can supply them with quality, low-cost clothing. Show Hoppers is still looking for its place in the Concord sun — or sleet, if you factor in the miserably snowy first winter they experienced in downtown Concord. But they hung in there, adjusted inventory and are optimistic about their second year in business.

I like the attitude of the daughter, who doesn’t let being legally blind slow her down: “Every decision you make that’s unknown is scary. But if you don’t take a chance, how are you going to know?”

I also like the attitude of Forever 21’s senior vice president: “Where there’s a flash of opportunity, we’re stepping in.”

It took Forever 21 nearly a quarter of a century to achieve its “overnight” success and become a media darling. I hope Show Hoppers is content to become the premier dancewear shop in its home state, and perhaps beyond. Before you become an overnight success, I hope you will read both stories and draw inspiration for your retail store.