51ĀŅĀ×

Elizabeth Todd (BSVC ā€™95) is still on cloud nine after celebrating a milestone that was once only a dream for a young college student. She recently marked the 10-year anniversary of a digital magazine she co-founded called ā€œ.ā€

ā€œWhen I came to 51ĀŅĀ×, I wanted to work for magazines in New York City,ā€ said Todd. ā€œI didnā€™t quite make it to New York, and the path was a little different than I had planned, but this has been a dream come true.ā€

Todd, a visual communication major, grew up near Columbus and came to Athens for college after learning about 51ĀŅĀ×ā€™s strong journalism school. As a student, she wrote for ā€œā€ and learned about the power of storytelling and how to communicate a message clearly. 

After graduation, Todd was awarded an internship with the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. The Legislative Service Commission (LSC) is a nonpartisan agency providing the Ohio General Assembly with drafting, research, budget and fiscal analysis, training, and other services. 

ā€œI didnā€™t totally understand what I was getting in to,ā€ said Todd. ā€œBut luckily for me, an 51ĀŅĀ× journalism major was the press secretary for the speaker of the house and selected me to work in that department. Jo Ann Davidson was the first female speaker of the house in Ohio, so it was a great experience.ā€

After the 14-month internship was over, Todd was asked to stay on working as the deputy press secretary in Davidsonā€™s press office. She learned a lot about politics and eventually ended up getting hired by a marketing agency creating campaign-related direct mail pieces. When she got married, she moved to Alexandria, Virginia and thatā€™s when her career took a turn.

ā€œI always traveled to other state capitals for work, and I didnā€™t understand why places like Indianapolis, Indiana and Madison, Wisconsin had better retail stores than Alexandria.ā€

A friend suggested to Todd that she might want to open a shoe store in Old Town Alexandria.

ā€œI jumped at the idea,ā€ said Todd.  ā€œI was confident enough and ignorant enough to not know what it would take to do it. I opened my first store in 2003 called ā€˜The Shoe Hive.ā€™ It was a tiny shoe store, but it had a lot of independent brands that you couldnā€™t find other places.ā€

Todd expanded the store in 2009 and bought the building it was located in. In 2017, she opened a womenā€™s clothing store located about a block and a half away. Three years after that she moved the womenā€™s clothing store to a larger location and opened a menā€™s clothing store. All the stores are located within a two-block radius. But that wasnā€™t the end of Toddā€™s entrepreneurship.

ā€œLocal marketing has always truthfully been what I excel at and what I truly love,ā€ said Todd. ā€œIn partnership with the City of Alexandria, we started marketing the area as the ā€˜Old Town Boutique District.ā€™ Alexandria is a small town near a big city, and I wanted something that let people know what our stores offer and who the people are that are running them. So, we started ā€˜Alexandria Stylebook.ā€™ā€

The digital lifestyle magazine offers the latest trends, tips, and insight on all things style, beauty, design, fitness, and wellness in Alexandria. It contains blogs from business owners in the district who share all the best the city has to offer. ā€˜Alexandria Stylebookā€™ started out as a weekly newsletter with four stores participating. But it has grown significantly over the years now publishing four days a week with 32 businesses contributing. 

Todd says she learned everything she needed to know to launch and grow ā€œAlexandria Stylebookā€ at 51ĀŅĀ×.

ā€œI definitely learned how to write in journalism school and learned thatā€™s not a skill everyone leaves college with,ā€ said Todd. ā€œWorking for ā€˜The Postā€™ was a great experience for me. 51ĀŅĀ× really encouraged me to try different things. It was the greatest four years of my life. Itā€™s magical.ā€