The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) College of Business invited Rhea Lana Riner, founder of “Rhea Lana” Children’s Consignment, as the featured speaker for the John W. Allison Entrepreneurial Speaker Series on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.

Students, faculty, and community members gathered to hear Riner share about how the sale for gently used children’s clothes, toys, and accessories outgrew their family living room and is now hosted at the Conway Expo Center twice per year.

A stay-at-home mom, Riner began the small sale in 1997 to help her family and friends reduce the cost of children’s clothing and other items. Her husband Dave’s love of technology helped her namesake company grow from a few consigners to over 2,500. She explained how her strategy and leadership has grown over the years.

“My family is the reason I started doing this, but I also love helping other families,” said Riner. She added that when the company began franchising in 2008, she discovered her passion for mentoring other women to become business owners.

When asked her advice for new entrepreneurs, Riner said, “outwork everybody you know.”

The UCA Marketing and Management Department has studied Riner’s success as an entrepreneur as well challenges endured such as the company’s investigation by the Department of Labor. Several faculty members submitted a case study to the Journal of Critical Incidents about the court proceedings. Riner spoke for a short time about the challenges of the nine-year court battle, saying that the company is now better than ever.

“Hosting Rhea Lana Riner today is significant. We’ve submitted a case study about her work, and it was incredible to hear her experience directly from her,” said Dr. Tracy Suter, Chair of the Marketing and Management department at UCA. “We hope to continue this pattern of producing case studies about successful Arkansas entrepreneurs and bringing them here to share with our students.”

The group shared lunch before the presentation and a question and answer session. Riner also brought several of her staff, which allowed one alumna of the UCA business program to share her experience as a Rhea Lana employee with current students.

Established in 1969, the UCA College of Business offers 21 undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates to equip current and future business professionals to successfully and ethically meet the changing business environment. The AACSB-accredited program offers a thorough business education as well as opportunities for hands-on experience and industry networking.

The John W. Allison Entrepreneurial Speaker Series was created to expose UCA College of Business students to successful men and women who have distinguished themselves in business by their entrepreneurial abilities. All speakers are Arkansans that have been meticulously selected to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. The series is designed for a small group of select students to allow for greater interaction between the speaker and the students. Speakers for the series have previously included business and community leaders such as: John Allison, Governor Mike Beebe, Kristian Anderson, Governor Mike Huckabee, Todd Ross, Steve Strange, Alex Lieblong, Sheffield Nelson, and others.