When Susan Dieter began working at Joseph Horne's department store at Southern Park Mall she

When Susan Dieter began working at Joseph Horne's department store at Southern Park Mall she realized she had found her niche in life -- retailing.
"It was something that I loved and it came very easy to me," she said. "They trained me in a junior executive program and more or less taught me what they thought I needed to know."
Dieter soon began working in Pittsburgh for the 15-store Horne's chain, as a buyer for the infants, toddlers and furniture departments. She often opened new boutiques within the stores, which sparked her dream to open her own baby boutique in Youngstown.
Dieter lived in Pittsburgh during the week and came home to Youngstown on the weekends.
"Every winter in January, I would get very blue and start riding around [the Youngstown area] looking for a place to open a store," she said.
Eighteen years later, when Horne's sold out to Federated, Dieter made her dream a reality and opened Stork's Landing in 1996.
Coordinating baby
Stork's Landing carries upscale infants' and children's clothing, accessories, furniture and gift items that range from traditional to whimsical. The store specializes in items made of velvet, chenille and satin, handmade knitwear and coordinated outfits.
"We try to coordinate the baby from head to toe -- hats, headbands, booties, blanket, bib, socks, shoes. You'd be amazed at how many customers want that complete coordination," she said.
Opening the store was quite easy, said Dieter, given her experience in the retail world. Manufacturers were already familiar with her and readily extended her credit.
"Because we had opened so many stores, I knew how to open a store, I knew how to buy, I knew what the necessary inventory levels should be to start with, so that also came very easy," she said.
Her husband, home builder Lynn Dieter, helped with development of the store design and layout.
Dieter said the only thing she needed to relearn was how to understand and respond to her customers' needs after dealing solely with store management during her stint at Horne's.
"What happened is amazing because I have truly become a friend to my customers and they to me. I think that was one of the nicest things that's happened in the business," she said.
Dieter said the business is doing very well despite several other children's boutiques in the area, and she is considering opening another store in Howland or the Cleveland area.