Fishertown native Belva Comp was born in retail. Her father founded Harbaugh Hardware - still managed by her brothers - and she worked in the store from the time she was a small child. Later, she and her mother, Phyllis, opened a clothing store in Fishertown, Fashion Tree, and the pair ran their store for 12 years before closing in 1990. “When I first got out of high school I tried working in a 9-5 office job but I just didn’t like it. I guess you could say that retailing was in my blood.” She returned to her roots in 1994 when she began working at the Bedford Fashion Bug, one of 1200 stores in the nationwide chain, as an hourly sales associate. She worked her way up, first promoted to head cashier, then to assistant manager and in 2000 to her current position as co-manager of the Bedford store.

“If you want to succeed in retail you’ve got to be a real people person,” she said. “You have to enjoy working with people and have a pleasant personality - the kind that makes it appear that you enjoy what you’re doing.” As co-manager, Belva helps oversee a staff of 10 to 12 associates and the day-to-day operation of the store, including providing direct customer service, training staff, processing shipments, setting up store displays, preparing daily reports. “The list is pretty long,” she said. The hours can sometimes seem endless. “You’ve got to be flexible, and the hours can be long. We work weekends, evenings, many holidays. Probably the hardest part of my job is balancing family demands with my career.”

Retailing is a career she recommends to young people, especially if they have the twin qualities of working well with people and being flexible. She advises them to take lots of business classes in high school and pursue a merchandising or post-secondary business degree program if possible. “For the right person, this can be a great career,” she said. “Especially in a small area such as Bedford, we have a lot of repeat business so many of our customers become like friends. It’s very rewarding to help customers find what they need and help make them happy. There’s a lot of satisfaction, and I honestly can’t think of anything else I’d rather do with my life.”

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