ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - Though Sherri Williams lost her final appeal regarding banning sex toys as "obscene devices" to the U.S. Supreme Court last October, she continued to operate her stores while actively seeking partners to expand the chain. Now, the latest turn has the Pleasures owner placing her one-stop romance shops in Huntsville and Decatur on the buyer's market.
"For 10 years, I was looking over my shoulder fearing the worst vengeance and that daily concern became emotionally draining for me," she told ANB. "I lived in fear that the next round in my case would force the closure of my stores and the sudden loss of income."
After turning the page and gaining notoriety, the Florida native is tackling her newest ventures in life: three projects that will include a book, movie, and product line, all of which are currently in the works.
"For the same reason I was compelled to fight a bad law, I am now compelled to focus on sharing the knowledge gained from that battle with my associates and new born entrepreneurs," she said.
Williams will be developing a product line that is "extremely unique and currently unknown to the adult industry," she said. Although she stayed mum about further details on the line, Williams said her goal is to crossover into the mainstream market and open doors that were once closed to adult.
Her satirical television film, Obscene Movie: It's Funny What People Don't Want You to See, details the course of her never-ending legal battle. Williams' book, Define Obscene for Me, offsets the movie and offers a manuscript based on her experiences running her boutiques in the "buckle of the Bible Belt and those that tried to define, describe, dictate, formulate, censor, and legislate the things they think are obscene."
Although Williams said business prospered throughout the 10-year challenge, she could not justify opening more stores or expand them as the profits indicated, until recently. However, she said that "these projects consume a lot of my time and income, so the decision to sell the stores would allow focus on the projects and the capital needed to launch a new product line and self-publish a book."
Williams ended with a sincere thank you to all in the adult industry who have helped her along the way.
For information on Williams' Alabama-based shops that are up for sale, visit BizBuySell.com under "Property ID 373793."
For the July clip of ABC's 20/20 special "Sex in America," that featured Williams, click here.
