At Country Rose Boutique, COVID-19 presented a necessary nudge rather than a rude shove.

Rose Rauman is closing the store she has owned at 823 Grand Ave. in Glenwood Springs after six years.

“COVID helped me cut my heartstrings to my store and made it much easier for me to close, because I’ve been thinking about it for the last year,” she said.

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Several factors had her considering shutting the doors, a critical one being lack of profitability.

“When I’ve been supplementing the store for a long time with funds, it’s just silly to do that. The only reason it was still there is because of my passion for it. … At some point after six years you gotta go, ‘Hey, I’m just paying people to come buy my stuff instead of paying me a living,’” she said.

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Profits from her towing company, Covenant Towing & Transport — which has been very successful, she said — have been propping up her two Country Rose Boutique stores. The other in Grand Junction started liquidating Feb. 1.

With so many irons in the fire, she took some time to evaluate her life.

“The year 2020 means perfect vision. I wanted vision, I wanted to see that we were re-evaluating everything we’re doing, what’s profitable, what’s not, what we should keep, what we shouldn’t,” she said.

And that includes realizing that there is more to life than work.

“We’ve been in business for ourselves for 27 years. We’ve owned businesses, either a construction company, tow truck company, stores. We’re true entrepreneurs in this valley, and it was just time to look at what we’re doing with our lives and what’re the most important things. It’s family, it’s church community, it’s having time to invest in the value of those things,” she said.

Rauman said an increase in online shopping is another factor that pushed her to close. But maybe if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em?

“I’ve known I needed to [start selling online] at least for the past year or two, and I’ve struggled with that back and forth, going, ‘OK, I could do that, but I’m already working constantly at the tow truck and at Country Rose.’ … I do feel like it would be very profitable with the base that it already has. I decided I just want to breathe and spend time with my grandchildren and kids and enjoy life a little bit more,” she said.

The towing company will keep her busy, but she’ll be able to put her energy into one business rather than three.

“My next chapter is to only have to do that for one business and to really put my heart into Covenant Towing and help take it to another level,” she said.

But she will miss her boutique.

“The hardest part is [leaving] my customers and how much people tell me how much they love the stores and how unique they are, but if they can’t turn a profit and they can’t make money, y’know …,” she said.

Rauman maintains a positive outlook on the closures.

“I have a really good attitude. I wouldn’t change anything about my experience with the store. I’ve gotten to know some really wonderful people,” she said.

And her good attitude extends to her perception of the pandemic.

“I think COVID really helps people figure out ‘What’s really important in my life,’” she said.

cwertheim@postindependent.com