#251: Things I Wish I Would’ve Known Before Starting a Boutique with Amanda Christopherson, Owner of Beautique, and Somer Pickard, Owner of Sparkle and Sass

All right, it's time for episode number 251, a candid conversation between two boutique besties that started at the same time, that live an hour apart, but define success and their journey and their path in business in two different ways. I think you guys are gonna love this one. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works, from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts, and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat. This is gonna be a great one. You guys get ready to meet both Summer and Amanda, two boutique owners, two boutique besties. They live about an hour apart in South Dakota, but both, although they started at the same time, have a little bit different business model. Summer, who has a brick and mortar store, was a two times children's Boutique of the year award winner in the state of South Dakota and now sells women's apparel. And Amanda was also a storefront Boutique of the year winner in South Dakota and twice in the top five global boutique of the year category. Now, although these women have won these national accolades, they both are going to come to you today to discuss their business, the different paths they've taken in business, and let you know why it's important to build your tribe. A tribe of 100 true followers beats a million fans any day of the week. And this candid conversation is going to bring you behind the scenes and the things they wish they would have known before they started their business.

All right. Hey, guys.

Welcome to the show. This week, you guys get a two for one. This week, my friends Amanda and Summer are both here. Two boutique owners that started about the same time, two totally different paths in business, but both from the boutique mecca of South Dakota. Ooh. How was that set up, you guys? So good being from South Dakota.

Oh, being from South Dakota. Yeah. Oh, yeah. There's so many amazing ones here, so. Yes, definitely. Perfect.

Well, you guys, I'm excited because, you guys, we were chatting, I guess, before we started to record, and for the last couple of weeks, actually just about this conversation as a whole, that so many times online, we get lost in this idea of keeping up with the Joneses, seeing other boutique owners grow to certain levels or growing big online versus storefronts, or they have multiple storefronts, and we're Always putting our measurement of success on what other people are posting online. But you guys have such a great story again from South Dakota. You're about an hour apart from one another. Two different paths, and you support one another. And you're here to talk about why bigger isn't always better, but better is better in definition of what your own personal journey is.

Correct.

Tell me more about that conversation that.

The two of you have had. I missed that question. Sorry. Can you repeat it?

Oh, just tell me more about the conversation that the two of you have had about your own individual journeys.

I think early on Summer and I honestly, I don't even remember how her and I first started talking. We've been talking for. Feels like years now. But I think the, the, the awesome thing is, is even though, like you said, we're on. Definitely. I mean, we have had different paths, we're in different places in our businesses. It. We still have so much. There's so many similarities and everything that we go through, situations we have. It's just the, the differences. I'm sorry. The similarities definitely outweigh the differences. Even though, like, like I said, businesses definitely different for both of us. I'm more online and Summer is definitely. She excels more in her store and. But at the end of the day, even though, I mean, like I said, there's so many differences, the similarities definitely outweigh. Summary. Maybe you should help out with that one too.

Yeah, I mean, I think our styles are very similar and I think just the, the way we want our store to be perceived is very similar. Like, we're just very. Have a very big work ethic and our customers are our biggest priority. We know that they are the ones that are making us go and we're kind of just here for them to cater to them and, and we're always just open and honest. I feel like it's very similar in our personality too. We just kind of, you know, we tell our customers how it is. You know, I never want anyone in my store to leave when I know maybe that shirt is too big or your jeans aren't fitting right because that's a reflection on me when they walk out the door. I want them to feel good when they leave so that they come back. And I'm very similar of how we both run our stores.

For sure. Yeah, I'm the same way. I don't even like to. It almost bothers me sometimes when I say the word customer if I'm typing anything in my group, like, oh, I have the best customers, because to Me, I don't think customer is the right word to call the people who have supported me. I'd rather call them supporters. I'd rather call them friends. I'd rather call them family. Because customer just seems so generic and not, I don't know, it just doesn't have that feel good feeling behind it. I don't know, maybe that's just me, but I don't, I don't even like to do it. So, yeah, I think Summer and I definitely are both similar in that aspect where we, we definitely care. Sometimes I feel like maybe, I don't know if it's. I don't know if it's possible to care too much, but sometimes we let things get to us. I think a little more than we should because we just want people to be happy so bad. And I feel like there's, I mean, a lot of people are like that because this is our baby and we just want everybody to love your baby. But yeah, it's definitely been a crazy journey, but love every minute of it. So true.

And you guys have built such a strong community around both of your brands. I'm curious to hear more of the backstory. So you both are friends, you're both boutique owners from the same area. You support each other in community over competition. I want to hear about how your journeys are a little bit different, how they each got started. So, Summer, talk to me first about how you started your boutique.

So my initial boutique started in 2014, same as Amanda. But my story kind of started basically when I had my first child, Isabel. She's 12 now, but I've always been a crafter my whole life. And after I had her, I wanted those adorable baby pictures that, you know, were all over Etsy. Etsy was like probably just started by then. And it was the big frilly tutus with the matching hair bows and the onesies and all that. And so I'm like, I can make that. And so I did. I, I started making that stuff and I posted on Facebook because back then you could post one thing and, you know, every friend that you had would see it, started getting orders. I did a ton of shows and Madison was just kind of where I kept coming back to. The community was always just so great. They were so supportive. And I just got to really know a lot of people through my craft shows in Madison. So I had an abundance of, you know, product and stuff that I just needed to get rid of more than just in one craft show. And so I wanted to do a pop up store here. And so I found a little building and I did a pop up and I did it for four days. And at the end of my four days, customers kept coming to me and saying, you're leaving. And I'm like, oh. And that was when the light bulb went off. I just, I seen that huge need that there really wasn't anything in our community, especially for kids stuff, because that's where I started. And so I just, I figured out how to stay. And that progressed into a few months later where people were asking, are you going to ever have women's clothes? And that was another light bulb like, oh, you want me to pick out clothes for you? I didn't know at the time if I could do it because I just felt like women were super picky about their clothes because I was. And I was kind of terrified to pick out things, but I did, and I started with a few things and it would sell out. And so then I was only open one weekend a month when I had first decided to stay. So I would, you know, post it on Facebook when we were going to be open, and I would use the money that I had had earned from the time before to put more product in and I would expand my women's each time. And it kept just selling out. And so I'm like, gosh, I just, I want my own store and I want to be open all the time. And so that kind of led into us finding a space downtown. And I scoped out this really actually awful, ugly space that got overlooked for years.

Perfect.

Just like a storage space. And it was really about to fall down. But my husband and I renovated our three story farmhouse, so I knew that this was something that we could do. So we bought it and we spent four months tearing it out and restarting over. And now I'm open Monday through Saturday.

Awesome. So it definitely worked out. Creating your own space and building your own community. And Madison. How big is Madison? Just to kind of give people an idea.

It's a little over 7,000.

Okay, perfect. All right, Amanda, tell me more about how you got your business started.

Oh, gosh, you know, six years ago, it was kind of a crazy time. That's when we started in 2014. It was June. And just so my husband and I actually adopted a baby in December. So it had just been about six months prior to me opening boutique. And when I knew, well, at least I thought when we adopted. Mica is his name. He's six now, but we adopted him. I assumed he would be our last. And I have two other Kids that I wasn't able to stay home with them when they were born. And I think it's. It was just a dream of mine to be able to stay home with Micah. I just wanted to stay home, whatever. However, I didn't know how I was gonna do it. I just wanted to make it work somehow. So. I feel like my whole life I've always wanted to own my own business. I just. And I went through quite a different or quite. Quite a few ideas on what I could do. Some. Some were so silly, and I'm so happy I didn't take those paths or even try. I think it would have been a big waste of time and money, but I just didn't really have anything that I was super passionate about yet that I really felt would be my niche. And I started shopping online at a couple different boutiques. And then there is some locally popping up. And I. I'm just like, gosh, you know, I don't. Nobody in my small town has a store or. We don't have any boutiques here. There's. I mean, the closest place to buy clothing to where I am is like, I guess, Kohl's or Target. So I saw the need there locally, and I. I think I just. One thing that I feel like over my life, I've always let fear kind of go into play when trying to make a big decision. And a lot of times I just back out of things without even trying because I didn't want to fail. But with this, I knew I wanted to try it, and if it failed, it failed. At least I could say I tried. If it worked, great. I got to stay home with Micah. So a funny thing, I didn't really get out to stay home with them because it was. Wasn't too long after I started my website online only. I mean, it was, gosh, I think maybe just five months before I quit my job that I was at. And then I opened a storefront. And so my husband and I got a storefront completely. We got it, got it ready. And I was in that location for three years before we grew out of it. And I got our second store, which is. Or not our second store, just our new store. And we've been there now for three years. And then with our online, that kept on going well, and we got our first warehouse last summer. And then, gosh, it was. Or no, it wasn't this past summer, the summer before. So we were there for a year before we moved into our current warehouse. So, yeah, I mean, it's just when I Talk about it within a span of a couple minutes. It seems crazy because it's been six years and it's just been such a wild ride and such a roller coaster. But I'm very thankful that it all worked out, and I'm very happy that I didn't let fear stand in the way of giving it a shot. And, yeah, here I am today.

I love that you both kind of had your own ideas of what you wanted to create and different reasons.

Right.

But your path has turned out to be different. Like Summer having, you know, you have more focus on your storefront. And Amanda, you do have. Do you still have some focus on your storefront, but really, online is your baby, correct?

Online is my baby. And I mean, I wouldn't lie if I said every. I mean, gosh, our lease just renewed and I. There's been so many times that I'm like, I don't. I wish I could focus on one thing, but I. Right now, where I am, there is. There's us and two other boutiques, and we're all very different from one another, which is great for the community because they have options. So I just. Oh, gosh, it would be so hard to close my store. Even though someday it would be nice to just focus on one thing and really try to expand on that. But as long as the store is profitable, it'd be silly, I think, to close it because we have such a great community with the support that we've gotten and everything. So, yeah, I mean, I do do both, but online is where I personally am at. I have a store manager and employees at the store who kind of focus on the store and made that their baby.

Awesome. Summer, talk to me about how, you know, you and Amanda, both your friends, you live locally, and we talk a lot in the hub about what it means to be in community over competition and what it means to have a boutique bestie. But tell me more about your guys relationship and how you work together and maybe even how other boutiques in the area work together. Because there are so many boutiques in South Dakota, and I'm sure there's other boutique owners that can relate to that.

If I could start, I would. One thing that I think has been amazing is the local boutiques that we have here. I feel like there's. I mean, the community over competition is so strong here. I met Summer. Summer, we met at. Katie Lutman with Mason Jar. We met at her event. Right. That's how we met. Okay. If I'm not mistaken. Cause I'm like, I know I've been talking to you for so long, but I. It's hard to remember, like, well, where did I initially meet her? So, yeah, another boutique owner start. She kind of had a. We would do monthly meet meetups and she had a couple events and that's how Summer and I met. And there's so I. There's so I could, I could just go on and on about with names of people that I talk to locally. And it's just amazing the support that we have for one another and a good shoulder to cry and an ear to vent too. And just, it's just, it's been amazing.

I agree with that. And even in our community too, I think it's. It kind of started for us a couple years ago. There was a couple. I was kind of the first boutique, I guess, in our community. And I think the same with Amanda. I think that's kind of maybe why we feel so strongly about our supporters the most, is because they supported us kind of initially when they didn't have anything else to support. So I think we just feel so strongly like they are friends and family to us because they kind of had our back at the very beginning. And then as more and more boutiques and stores open up here, you know, we just feel like we need to hold on to them and just feel so thankful that they're here for us. But I think when we kind of came together as boutiques in my community was a couple years ago when I just kind of reached out and said, hey, let's do a sip and shop. And our community just loved that so much. And now we do them quite often. We kind of do them about four times a year actually. And the community just loves it that we all come together and we have a lot of fun with them. And we just kind of offer gift basket giveaways or gift cards or we do coupons sometimes or where you stamp them and you know, they visit all of the places they could maybe get another gift card or something like that. So. But then going further through the community, you know, just like Amanda said when we got together at that group meeting a few years ago, you know, we all follow each other and you know, we'll like each other's stuff and you know, comment and just we know what it means to help each other out just with one like and a comment, how it boosts the post for us. So just something as simple as that we support each other with and then just going further with, you know, asking each other questions and you know, like Amanda said, someone To a shoulder to cry on or someone to vent to. Anything like that has been great too, man.

Absolutely. Makes it so much easier when you have one another to rely on, right?

Yeah, definitely. Definitely. I don't know how I know there's some boutique owners out there who just, I mean, and staying in your own lane is great. And sometimes I could see maybe how, if you have too many boutique besties, how their ideas or differences might get in the way of you being in your own lane. And so some. I know there are some owners out there who. Who just keep to themselves. I mean, it's not that they're not about community versus competition. They just don't want anything clouding their path. And that's totally fine too. But I think. And I guess it's just up to, I mean, how you are personally. But I find so much comfort knowing that I have so many people that I can reach out to if I need to.

Absolutely. I'm sure you both feel like since you started and you have each other, right. You have these conversations, there's been many ups and downs in business. And because you both kind of are on different paths, I want to go here. Talk to me about one of the biggest struggles that you faced along your journey so far and how you handled it.

For me, I guess one is, you know, we are growing, but we are growing on a smaller scale. So, you know, from where I started, we have definitely outgrown our store, but we're just kind of still here making it work. But employees are so hard just trying to find that perfect employee that can do all the things that you need. Because when you're small, you. I don't have the hours to offer a full time position to every position that I have open that I'm needing. So that's been a big struggle for me. And then also trying to grow and getting yourself hooked into some of these marketing firms that, you know, offer all these things and get you in this big contract and at the end of it, they have done really nothing for you. So that was a big, huge struggle for us last year when we got ourselves roped into something like that. But we are out of contract and we made it through it. And obviously I've learned a lot from it. And Amanda and I were talking and it's just. I think the most important thing is in business is learning everything about your business yourself first and then teaching someone else to do it. That has been a big, big, huge factor, I think.

Yeah. I feel like last week when Summer and I met up to talk about the podcast. We had this plan to meet up, and we were going to go through our plan and everything. And then by the time our meeting was done and I had to go to another meeting, I was like, well, I don't really feel like we got anything about the podcast figured out because we ended up just like, talking about business and like, and, you know, she was talking about getting stuck in that contract. And like, one thing that I, I feel like after going, going to a couple of Rachel Halas events, I'm like, you know, if you, if you can figure out how to do it on your own by Google searching it or something, like, try. Try your best to do something on your own before you reach out to other people to do things for you, because, you know, there it's. It doesn't. I've had to learn that the hard way, too. I feel like anybody in this industry has probably gotten themselves into a situation like that where they trusted, whether it be a marketing firm or, or whoever it was, they. They got roped into a contract or they got roped into just something just crazy expensive for somebody to do something for them that they probably didn't really get a lot of return on, investment on, or they just really didn't get anything out of it other than just a waste of time and money. So, yeah, we talked a lot about that. And I feel like one thing from my experience to be able to tell, you know, just to talk to Summer about that, or it just, you have to go through those things, you have to fail. And I think that just creates. I mean, you learn so much. You learn so much. And by failing at things, I feel like it's. It's a necessity if you want to be successful, you have to fail. And Ashley, I mean, one thing that I want to mention to you is I think it was the first summit when Kelsey Darby spoke and then last year when Red Dress spoke. And one thing that's stuck out to me so much in hearing them speak was their failure that they went through and how they basically had to just start over, like, wipe it clean and start over. Whether. I mean. And you have no idea how many times it's gotten me through just these negative thoughts in my mind, like, oh, my gosh, I don't know how I'm going to get out of this. Why did I do this? What? You know, just why, why, why? And just knowing that the failure and the mistakes are all part of the process and learning and growing is. Is. Is so important because how are you going to Learn how to be better unless you mess up, like, it's just impossible. And I feel like that's been my biggest thing is, like, bigger. We've spoke, we've touched on it, but bigger isn't always better. Smarter is better. And I wish I could hear myself say that six years ago, before I made all the little mistakes. Well, not really. All of them were very little. Some of them are pretty big. But I wish I could have told myself that then, you know, exactly.

What you're saying is so spot on about this idea. You know, keeping up with the Joneses and feeling like there's a magic bullet. And Summer, I think that's probably what you were feeling a little bit of, is feeling like, well, certainly someone must know more than me and someone can help get me to this goal quicker if I just hire them or I give them this money or, you know, there's always this thought process that we're new to this business and someone must know more. So they're going to get us to point A to point B a lot faster. But that's not the.

The truth.

Just like you were saying, Amanda, it's faster and more secure in the long run. If we figure it out and then we start to outsource it to our team, we start to hand it off and have someone in house start to take on some of that burden for you. So, Amanda, back to you. I know we were kind of talking about this before we started to record, but when it comes to scaling, right. Any business wants to grow, one issue that so many businesses can run into, kind of like this outsourcing to different contractors, is also taking on too much debt, feeling like you have to scale your inventory and tie up all of your cash and, you know, the race to the bottom of just trying to get bigger and bigger and bigger. I know you've had some experience with that. So can you tell me about that process and what you've learned?

I feel like I'm an expert on that. And one thing I. Anytime I ever hear or see anything in the hub or anywhere where people are talking about, well, I really need a loan, or PayPal is offering me this working line of credit or this loan builder or this Shopify line of credit, and it just like, it just, it. I just want to be like, no, don't. I mean, I'm not saying don't ever do those things, but a lot of times what will happen is say Shopify is offering you a line of credit, and you. They give you three options. You can take you can take 50,000, 75,000, or a hundred thousand. Well, even though you probably don't need $100,000, it's being offered to you, and your mind just goes crazy. And all the things and ideas of what you could do with this money that you don't necessarily need, but you just do it anyways. And so now you're taking on this debt that you really didn't need to begin with. And only to do what you're just gonna. You're gonna buy more inventory than you need, than you have room for. Then your employees are gonna be able to keep up with. Nine times out of 10, you don't have the customer. Customers to back up the amount of inventory that you're buying. Or it's just. You just get so caught up in it, and then all of a sudden you're. You're in a position where. Oh, crap. Now Shopify is basically eating my cash because they take money off the top, so they're taking a percentage on my daily sales. Well, great. Now I have no cash in the bank. Well, great. Oh, here's PayPal. PayPal's offering me a line of credit. I should just get this PayPal line of credit because I need money right now because Shopify is keeping all my money. And then it's just like you're just robbing Peter to pay Paul. And it just never ends. And if I could go back in time. Oh, my gosh. Anytime I ever hear people talk about how they are debt free or they started debt, they are. Summer, I know you said, you just said something a little bit ago, how you. You would sell out and then you would get a little more. You would sell out and you'd get a little more. And how much smarter that is than trying to be bigger. Oh, well, that boutique just got moved into a 15,000 square foot warehouse, and I'm only in a 5,000 square foot warehouse. I mean, I'm not saying only to make it sound like that, but it's. You get so caught up in what other people are doing or how they're succeeding, and then you do things that end up being so detrimental to your business and could end up costing you your entire business because you were trying to rush it too fast. I'm very transparent. I'm open and honest. And I will say that I got really close to that last year, and we're still getting out of it. But I've. But I've learned a lot. I've learned how to budget and look at data and be smarter about what I'm buying. And what I need versus want with employees and delegating responsibilities. You know, maybe if those two employees could be cut into one employee, as much as I would hate to have to get rid of one, maybe that's just something you have to do to make your business arrive. I mean, you just have to be smart about it. But yeah, smarter, you gotta be smart because, yeah, it can catch up to you really quick. And then you're gonna look back and really regret like, why? Why did I do that? I would have been okay if I would have just done this or this or didn't do this or this. Yeah.

Two things that you really hit on are really being smart with how to scale your team and your time and the other, how to scale really your inventory and your data, how to understand what steps to take at what time. Summer, back to you. Tell me more about your process of just kind of understanding what's going to be on your plate versus what you're going to ask help for, when and where.

I think, you know, with what Amanda is saying, I think the reason why I'm also where I'm at in business is because I have been a cash only business for three years now. So, you know, I did take out some loans at the beginning to get me started, but then I would invest in that and then pay off and I was able to do that. So that really makes me watch my numbers because when I'm out, I'm out. I don't have a loan, I don't have a credit card. I do cash only. So that really helps me with my inventory. If I don't sell anything today, that means tomorrow I can't put anything out. That's kind of how I work it so that I'm not putting out too much inventory that I can't sell. And I just kind of really watch that closely. And I'm always kind of checking what I did, you know, prior last year to where we need to be at for this year, seeing what's selling, what's not selling, what needs to be marked down. That's kind of my process, I guess. And maybe why I have scaled. You know, I'm growing, but I'm not, I'm not. I'm not scaling huge numbers every year, but I am growing, but it's just a slower process for me. And that I know is because somewhat of me and you know, and again, coming down to employees, what I can afford and making sure they're the right fit for me, I guess I may be picky on that, I just want to find someone that will stay here for a long period of time and will help with all the things instead of just one thing. Because we're just not big enough to be able to just do. Have one person just do shipping right now. One person needs to do shipping, online measurements. You know, we kind of. Everybody does everything here because we're smaller. So I think that's kind of a big factor as well with where I'm at in my business.

And super important that you've like cross trained your employees in that way. Right. That's a part of being lean and making sure that those employees can do multiple things. Talk to me about that process of what it was like for you. And then Amanda will go to you next about hiring that team for the first time, bringing them on and starting where you're at. And then we can talk with Amanda a little bit more about adding to that team and what that looks like as well.

I guess for me, I just knew right away when I opened my store that I wanted to have a full time employee. So I know for a lot of people that they work in their store first and then they kind of, you know, work up to that, but I just knew. I have four children also the same as Amanda. And I too started as a stay at home mom. I went to school for orthodontics. I worked for an orthodontics office and not orthodontics, but a dental assistant. And I worked in an orthodontics office. And after I had our first baby, I just, I had a really hard time bringing her to daycare and I just struggled with that. So we tried to find something so I could stay home. So again, initially that was my thing. I didn't want to have a store where I had to be here full time and miss out on some of the things. So I knew initially I wanted that full time employee so that I could still be in the back, you know, marking inventory and, you know, getting home at a decent time. Or I could bring my daughter to work with me. All of my girls and my son come to work with me or my husband. We have not had daycare since. For 11 and a half years now.

So.

So jealous. So jealous.

It's blessing and it's a curse sometimes because sometimes it's very hard to get work done with children. But you know, there's so many times where they're here with me and you know, when they were young and they'll, they'll be looking in the mirror and just giggling like it's just all those little moments that I would take in that I wouldn't have gotten if my kids were at daycare. So that was just my first thing. And then just teaching them the ways that I wanted my store, how I wanted my store to be portrayed. I would work with them, with the customers, because the customer is our number one priority in the store. You know, making sure they feel welcome, making sure that they don't feel like they're interrupting anything that we're doing. We're here for them, we're ready for when they walk in the door. We greet them in the first 10 seconds and we make sure to tell every customer thank you for whether they purchase something or not. We tell them thanks for stopping, you know, so it's not an awkward leave. When they leave the store without purchasing something, we want them to know that our door is always open and they can come and go freely however they want and whenever they want. And some customers just come in to talk to us. So that was like my main priority. And then just kind of as the business has grown, you know, then it's adding in a little bit more to the job description. So, you know, as we've gone, we get in more boxes and we're still just a full time person and I, we check in those boxes. I have a part time girl that she works on Mondays, but then she'll check in boxes. So everyone here kind of knows how everything works and we do do kids as well. So, you know, it's training them on kids sizes which I feel like is very, very different from adult sizes. And just knowing what the shoes sizes mean because those I feel like are different. And then we have actually taken on suit and tux rental because we are a small business. So we do a lot of things here and it's, it's just again my full time gal and I pretty much doing all that, so. And then I take care of all of the importing of the inventory. I'm the photographer, I'm the editor right now. I do all our social media so it gets to be a lot sometimes.

But you're getting some awesome quality time with your family, which I love. And so many people, right, that's what they want out of business. So I love that this is the business and the life that you've created, designed and you get to optimize at your pace.

Yeah. And it doesn't always work out that way. There's a ton of times where I'm here still till two in the morning, but then there's other times where I'm like, hey, my kid has something at school today or I'm gonna have lunch with my daughter today. And that's what I love that this allows me to do that.

Absolutely. Amanda, how about you tell me about your process of scaling your employees?

I feel like I have, I, I've listened to quite a few podcasts and I think one thing that I hear a lot are people complaining about maybe not having the right staff or having a big turnover or, or all that just chaos ness of having employees. I, I started basically by my, I mean by myself and my first part time gal who was in college at the time for accounting. After she was with me for, gosh, I don't know, maybe about a year or so, she graduated and she started getting job offers. And at that point I saw the need in needing a full time person and I really. Her and I just clicked so well, just on so many different levels. Just, I mean, if I, if I had to rewrite my will today, I would leave my kids to her. I mean, she's, she's. I can't even say enough good things about her. And she's been with me for, I mean, basically since the beginning, for good five years now. And she is, I wish my CEO or no, my coo. Yeah, coo. There's too many C's out there. If I were to, God forbid, die in a crash tomorrow in a car accident, my business would still be able to run. And she might even run it smarter because she's, she's just, she's. I don't know. Finding those people is just so important. And I was talking to Summer about this last week because she was kind of having. We were kind of, she was kind of venting about some situations that she's been having and her. What she's wanting. So yeah, I found, I found my, my right hand girl. And then after that the. So I'll just kind of back it up. Six. Yeah, six of my girls or five. Sorry. Five of my girls have been with me for over four years and I've been in business for six years. And for the first, I would say six months, I did it on my own. So I mean that just shows like they're everything. I feel so lucky that I found them that they, that boutique means as much to them because I feel like that's so important is that you find people that care, that care about the success of your business that will go out of their way to. Okay. Even though she's in charge of shipping she might see something or have an idea or hey, we should try this. Like they're all involved. Which I feel like is so, so, so important because sometimes you can get really burnt out when just you or a couple other staff members are the only ones that really ever try to come up with the creative side of things, of staying relevant and ideas for sales and this and that. So, so yeah, I just, I feel like I've been so fortunate. It's just not something I've had to complain about, thankfully. And I hope I don't ever have to, but is, yeah, I mean, I got, I got really, really, really lucky. So I guess offering advice or anything like that, I mean, I could offer. Like last week when I was talking to Summer, like I was offering her advice on how maybe she could get to a point where she could let go of some of those things that maybe she's not wanting to do all the time anymore just by, you know, maybe you should, maybe you should look for. You put an ad out there for a full time salaried position with, with a few different benefits. You might get more. It's hard in a small town. It's hard to find qualified help help because there's only so many people. And so I feel like maybe she would have better luck if, if she was. When, when she is at that point for when she wants to find that person to offer something like that, which might seem scary. I remember when I hired our photographer after we were photos forever and ever. I knew it was, we were at the point where, okay, we really need a photographer. And I offered her a salary that I could not afford. But I knew in the long run having her and having her professional pictures and it was a, it was a good investment and it worked out. Even though I initially was like, okay, I can't afford that salary that she's asking for, I knew it was going to be okay. So that's just. Yeah, I just not had any issues with employees at all. I've been so very fortunate, lucky to have the right group of girls and they're definitely there for me.

I think you bring up a really good point. In Summer, we could probably even chat about this. In a cash based business, sometimes it's hard to pull the trigger when you feel like you're ready to expand, but you just don't know maybe how you're going to pay for it in that moment. And even with us at the Hub when we first started to hire, it was like, man, you know, could I just get some help at home? Like if I could free up myself at home first, someone to help clean or take the kids a little bit more often, like just starting small. And you guys have, I know, heard me say this in the Hub, but it's always like payroll and team are an investment. They're not an expense. So where can I make an investment where someone can help me do the $10 an hour jobs so that I, the business owner, focuses on the hundred dollar an hour jobs? Because I'm going to pay myself back tenfold if I start to play my investments accordingly. But it's just, it's like those baby steps, those small hinges start to swing a big door when it comes to hiring. Like you said, Amanda, even just putting out the ad, right, to see what you can get and what kind of return that's going to bring in the long run.

Yeah, I agree, definitely.

And being small too, it's hard because you don't know exactly what you know. You need someone, but you don't know exactly what to have them do all the time, if that makes sense.

I think it's just a learning curve of making a list and starting with like, what's on your list? You've probably heard me talk about the four part to do list. What's on your list every week that you love to do? What's on your list that brings in revenue? It's revenue generating activity. And what's the busy work that's holding you back from doing more of that income generating activity and then finding the right people more than the position? And I think this speaks to what you were saying, Amanda. I've always heard people say, as long as you have the right people on the bus, you can put them in any position. You can always rearrange what they're working on, but you have to have the right people first.

Yes, Right.

I totally agree with that. You need to find the right person. And that's where we're kind of struggling too.

All right, let's play some business lightning round questions. Sound good?

Okay.

Yes. Okay.

I'm gonna ask you both the same question and you just shoot with your best answer and like a quick why on that answer. Sound good?

Okay, so hopefully we don't interrupt each other. Summer. Okay.

This isn't like we're just gonna show with the buzzer.

Family Feud.

Family Feud. Yes.

Okay.

Best promotion you've ever run in your business.

Beard sales. Urgency is the best thing ever. When you create urgency with your customers, they're going to spend more money than they even could have time to think. About true.

And we have a big crazy days in July. So July is actually our biggest month.

Which is crazy to me. When she said that to me last week, I'm like, huh, that is crazy.

That July is your biggest month.

Yeah.

Even through December and November, it's July.

Wow, that's awesome. Okay, so on that note, because July is typically everyone else's slow month, what is one thing that you always do in a slow month? To grow your business?

Oh, that's a question for both of us.

To grow it or to help with sales?

To grow it or help with sales? Just to keep it going, keep it moving forward.

Surprise bags. Oh, yep. Boom. We did it. Perfect.

Surprise bags.

Yeah, Surprise bags. Like, you have crap that you just can't move anymore. Hey, if people will spend whatever. Like, here, okay, Here's a. Here's three tops for $30. You don't know what you're gonna get, but you're gonna love it. And they. They sell well. Girls love surprises. You know, I think about all the, you know, the FabFit fun box and the Ipsy and all these, like, these subscription boxes that we sign up for. And I just cleaned out my bathroom closet the other day of all my stuff, and I was like, I really need to cancel these subscriptions because I have so much crap that never gets used. But we just love surprises.

You know what? I saw your post about that the other day, and I laughed because we're in the process of moving, and so I just, like, packed up my bathroom and I was like, where's all this crap coming from?

Exactly. I know.

Yes, I subscribe. Subscribe to those also.

Yeah. And so. But yeah, that's why we do it in the. In at boutique. I'm just like, okay, well, like, I know we all love it, so let's. Let's make. And even with shoes, like, a lot of times, like, I don't know, sometimes I feel like I should have just stuck. I mean, I should have, like, never even gotten into clothing and just done shoes because I have such a problem with shoes. And I buy all the shoes, and I want all the brands, and I just love all the shoes. But so, like, we'll even do surprise bags with our shoes, which. Which is kind of. That's a little tough because shoes can run so differently and how they fit, depending on the brand, but it still works. People. People love it. People love surprises.

All right, what is your biggest traffic source and how do you continue to grow it?

So for. For us, our biggest traffic source would definitely be our VIP group on Facebook and growing it. I mean, I. I feel like it's one thing when you talk about Instagram and TikTok and all these places. Like, it's just. I have to let my employees do that because, like, for me personally, my VIP group is my bread and butter, and that's where I'm most comfortable in, and that's where I feel the closest to my customers. So I like to just. I like to put things out there. Like, last night, the Bachelor was on, and so I made a post about it, like, who's watching? Or I'm cleaning out my closet and look at all this crap that I have. Or, oh, my gosh, you guys, look at my laundry. Keeping things like that, just being very transparent, making people remember that you're just a real human at the end of the day is so much fun. And it doesn't all have to be so salesy. So I think that's how we grow it. We just try to have fun, and then we find people are just adding their friends to the group just because we like to goof around and. And, yeah, it's definitely a huge. It's definitely our biggest traffic source.

And I guess ours is in store.

I just.

I started in store and just interacting with those customers, that's really my favorite part. And, you know, and then getting them to come in, we do it through Facebook, so, you know, they'll see something new or, you know, we'll post something we've had, you know, bring in a top, and we'll match a cardigan to it. So we try to do fun events. We did a painting event. Just things that aren't so super related to clothing and selling and trying to do some fun things in here too. But that's kind of where we grow the most, is in store.

Awesome.

How about. What's your favorite way to use video?

Not at all.

I would be like, can we ask my photographer to join in this phone call? It's so bad. I just, like, I feel like sometimes you just. Ashley, you know how it is. It's like you. You can't do everything. And so, like, video to me is like, I don't personally do it. I feel like it's. It's. My employees are way better about doing it. And we've been trying to do TikToks and stuff like that to be fun lately. But. So, yeah, I think that's a. That's a bad question for me to answer because I just don't. We do. We. We do, but I don't So I don't know. That's terrible.

You both bring up a good point. And some are even saying not at all. You know, we talk a lot about the power of video, but you both are great proof that you can have a growing business. And maybe you're still not on video yet or you're intimidated by video or whatever it is like it just shows. I was going to say different strokes for different folks. I mean, it's all relative, right?

Exactly. I mean Will and like I think the one problem that we is that is just consistency and how I know it's so important in a business to be consistent and with like live video and live sales. We. It's just something that my team and I struggle with because it's like, okay guys, we really need to do a Facebook live. And then it's like, oh yeah, we'll win. Oh yeah, okay, we'll talk about that later. And then just never gets talked about again. So it's just, I mean, thankfully, I mean sales are still great. It's just. Yeah, we just need to be, we need, I mean it's something that we know we need to be better about. We haven't jumped on getting back into it until we know we can be consistent with it.

Totally get it. Okay, next question. Email marketing. How many emails do you send a week and what's one automation that you have set up?

I feel so stupid here because this would be like, okay, I'm a photographer. Because she's not just a photographer, she's our creative director. And so she does our emails. She does our marketing too. So I mean, I would say I know she sends four to five emails a week but when it comes to like the lists and the segments and all that stuff, like that's something that she does. So Summer.

Well, the creative director, meaning me.

We.

Do three a week. But our biggest one I think and then I get the most responses from is our welcome email or a thank you I always get. You know, we just send out a general. I guess it's not quite general. We, you know, we put our own kind of quirk into it. But the thank you email that we send out to each customer after they make a first time purchase, I get so many emails back that are like, oh you are so welcome, thanks for being here, things like that. So just kind of pulling at the heartstrings a little bit I think, you know, and then that's just in their brain for the next time showing appreciation. I think you can't show enough appreciation because they're the only reason why I'm still here. You know, if they're not coming in, then I can't be here. So that's the been. Been the biggest one for me.

I love that.

It's so authentic and real and you're building a real relationship with them and that's what shows through your market. That's super smart.

Thank you.

Yeah.

All right.

What is one report or piece of data that you use every single week and is most important to you?

I so I here again, I would say that myself and I thought you.

Were going to say your photographer.

I know. Well, I will. She. She looks at things that I don't really look at as much. Like when we go into our Facebook ads and or the Google Analytics, like I'm still so dumb when it comes to that and I haven't given my chance or myself a chance to really learn it, which I someday I really need to but. And then our coo, she has her stuff that she looks at. One thing that I really focus on is and it's our market to boutique app that we use. It's where all of our inventory is inputted anytime we order. So it's, it's where we keep our budget. Our budgets in there. How much money we've spent this month, how much money is left to spend. Like there's so many things in there. And so it's a good reminder to me. I look at it a lot just so I know what can I buy? What shouldn't I buy? What is our budget still left for dresses and which is. It's. I feel so smart saying that now because a year or two ago we didn't have a budget. You know, like we just like oh that's, that's cute. Let's buy it. And so now we, we've really streamlined everything. Well, this is our budget for tops, bottoms, dresses. And we just really try to stick with that. And so I've been especially when it comes to finances and just trying to get everything to a good standing to where we're not relying on other ways of helping or getting us. Your help getting us like lines of credit and all that stuff. Yeah. I've just been really focused on that and trying to stay on trust or task. So. Good.

Yeah. So having your, your business, your classification structure.

Right, right. Yes.

Earn your inventory on hand, your aging and now you have a budget and know what you can buy into. Absolutely.

Exactly. Exactly.

All right, Summer, how about you and.

I also look at those things. But most of the things because we're small. I already know what we're putting out. And then I always look at every single thing that we sold for the day. So that kind of gives me a general idea of what I need to order. You know, what's selling well, what, you know, maybe we need to push those kinds of things. And then obviously my bank account app, because I'm a cash only, so, you know, I always check that, see how much is coming in and then going off to the other. What I need to order to have coming back into the store.

Absolutely. So you. Same thing. You have a great idea and you know what's turning so you know where to fill holes.

Yes.

Awesome. All right, what is your most, I'll say, like, must have app that you use? It could be an app on your phone. It could be a Shopify app. It's like a tool that you can't live without.

Market to awesome. Market to routine market. Yes. I. Yeah, I want to. I mean, I want to say TikTok, but because it's fun. Summer. Go ahead. Sorry.

You're fine. Canva is a really good one, just because I make all of our marketing stuff off of there and I had another one, but I can't remember.

No worries. Canva is a must have for sure. All right.

That was my other one.

What one?

Lightroom.

Oh, Lightroom. And talk to me about this. I know there's always so many questions about presets. Did you buy some presets for Lightroom or how do you maximize it?

I have kind of the creation cloud, so which you pay a monthly fee.

And I.

So I have Lightroom, I have Photoshop because I'm my own photographer, so I had to learn all that. So on my phone, I did purchase presets, but on my laptop, I can make my own, so which is super simple. So depending on where we're at. So right now we're obviously inside because it's wintertime. So I have a preset on there for our white background, and I can just click that button and I barely have to make any adjustments to it. And then when we go outside, I can make a new preset for, you know, say if we go to a park and it's, it's. It's a little bit cloudy. I can have a preset for like a cloudy day. I can have a preset for a sunny day. So in there I know how to make my own. And then on the app, I just purchased some presets that work really well for me, and I pretty much use the same Preset, So all of our Facebook and everything look the same. I don't jump around with different presets. So it's kind of all the same formation and all our same brand.

I feel like that's important too, when you have a staff of people who are all uploading pictures, whether it be selfies or flat lays or. Or. Or whatever it is. If you. With something like Lightroom, if you have presets in there. So ever, anytime you're editing a picture, if everybody's. So then it doesn't look like it's coming from seven different phones anytime you post a picture. So, yeah, the presets are definitely really nice.

Yeah, I love it. I know that's probably. I couldn't live without that. More than Canva. I use that every single day.

All right, tell me about your favorite podcast, mentor, and book. Where do you go to fill your cup?

Summer?

My. Well, it's the Boutique Hub. You're the only podcast I really listen to.

Woohoo. Yes.

And mentor. Honestly, it's been Amanda. Anytime I have a question, anything, you know, I ask Amanda, and I know she's gonna tell me the truth. She's always been open and honest about everything. Or, you know, if it's something dumb, she's like, don't do it.

And book.

That's a terrible question for me because I honestly don't have time with four kids and, you know, the store. I don't. But I did listen to Profit first on through an ebook. So I have. It's kind of like reading, I guess. And I did like that.

Perfect. That counts.

And Mike Michalowicz is awesome.

Yes, I love him.

He's great.

Man, Amanda, that's so cool. Can I just pause right here for a second and say this? We get so many questions in the Hub, often about where do I find a mentor? And I think that's kind of an overstated word. A lot of the time you just need a boutique bestie. Like, you need someone who's raw and real and honest with you and doesn't give a crap about what you think, but wants the best for you. And that's what you guys have demonstrated today. And I think that's super awesome.

Right? And I mean, I know there's people out there who have tried to. Well, I always get so many questions, so I'm just gonna start charging. Well, I would like, if you can help somebody, just. Just freaking help them. Like, don't let them go through the same mistakes that you went through, and a lot of it. Yeah, Just be very transparent and open, and I feel like I. That's how I've always been. I'm a very honest and open person. And. Yeah, just it's. It's just silly to. To try to. To do it on your own without somebody to talk to or to pay somebody to be your mentor when you could have somebody that would. Is going to be more honest with you. Yeah.

And you will always get what you give.

Exactly.

Always. All right, tell me yours. Favorite book, podcast and mentor.

I haven't read a book since 50 Shades of Gray, but I have, and I didn't finish it. Oh, my God. I just have it. And I have books. Books on my nightstand. I have Mindset and I have. Oh, gosh, what is. I have Profit first and an intermittent fast steam book, because that looked interesting, but I haven't cracked them open. I'm really interested. I did also get Mindset on Audible, and I try to listen to it when I'm working out. Same with podcasts and, like, books and listening to stuff. It's hard for me to shut my brain off long enough to listen. The only. Like, Ashley. I mean, I. Please feel flattered. Today, while I was showering, I was listening to your podcast with Alana with Eleven Oaks, and I'm just like. Because that's like, the only time you can listen. Or if I'm driving in the car for a long distance. Otherwise, like, my staff, they have so many murder podcasts and stuff that they listen to. And I've tried, but, like, if I'm typing an email or if I'm doing something on Facebook, I. Ten minutes goes by, I'm like, what the heck are these people even talking about? I can't even keep up. So, yeah, I definitely listened to the boutique chat. And then I really love listening to Rachel Halas. I've gone to a couple of her events, and I actually signed up for a half marathon in December that she's putting on. And I haven't ran a mile since, I think, sixth grade, so it's going to be really interesting, but I'm just like, hey, why not? Let's do this.

That is amazing. Number one, the marathon is amazing.

Yeah, why not?

Yes, absolutely. And number two, can I just say, usually people come up to me and they're like, hey, I fell asleep listening to your voice last night, but you just topped it because you were listening to me in the shower, so thanks for that.

It's the only time I can, like, focus. I just mean otherwise there's, like, kids and dogs and Husbands. Husband, I should say. I don't have more than one. And there's just people and distractions everywhere and it just gets crazy. So, yeah, mentor. I couldn't even like, I don't even know if I could say one mentor because I feel like I talked to so many people. Like boutique besties. Otherwise, I definitely listened to a lot of Gary V. And Rachel Hollis. I know I said that already. I guess they're not necessarily my mentors. Don't talk to them one on one. Yeah, I just have a whole handful of people that Summer, for example, Katie Iverson. I mean, there's so many. There's so many of them.

I love it. All right, Summer, second to last question. I know we've monopolized both of your guys time all day today, technology failures and all. We're still kicking. Second to last question. I know you're both moms, right? You both have busy lives. And we talked about the reason that both of you really got into this business on some level had to do with balance, which I hate the word balance, but you know what I mean. You have things that you're juggling. Summer, you've got four kids talk to me about, you know, you bring them to work with you. But how do you feel like you get the most out of those relationships, both with your family, with your customer, and feel good about where you place your time throughout the day. That idea of balance, where does it come from?

Yeah, I don't like the word balance either. I think it's like a coexistence. If I. I just feel like we need to be part of all of it. So my kids will come here and they help, you know, and then we'll be at home and, you know, we'll help them. It's just kind of, I guess that's the balance. And some nights I'm here late, sometimes I can be home and pick them up from school. So it's just, it's a forever changing every day depending on the season, what's happening, if we have an event going on. So I just feel like making the kids a part of it is. Is kind of our balance. Making my husband a part of it, you know, so we get to see each other because sometimes I'm here a lot and he. We have another business, so he's in that. And so it's just, it's making the kids involved so that they can see us working and know that that has to happen in order for us to be able to have a fun weekend, a getaway or you know, taking them to their cheer or whatever. They know that we have to work first in order to be able to do that, man.

So true. They learned so many lessons early on, right?

Yeah.

And I guess our one thing that really we try to do often is to sit down and have supper together. That's kind of our thing. And then my husband and I will cook dinner together and have a beer together while we're cooking dinner and talking about our day.

Love it. How about you, Amanda?

You know, balance is something that I feel like can. There's no right answer to that. I know. I feel like it's something that's brought up all the time, especially I see it a lot in the hub on, you know, on the Facebook group and everything where people are asking, asking how they can find some kind of balance in their life with business owning and family and friends. I don't feel like there's one right answer. I feel like everybody's different. What works for somebody might not work for another person. And I feel like the trick is to just figure out what balance looks like for you and your family and how it's going to work for you. I have four kids and they're all over in ages. I have an 18 year old, 15 year old, and then I have a 6 year old and almost 4 year old. So there's the teenagers and toddler life is so crazy in its own because like there's, there's. They're always doing different things. My husband's in the military, so that's a huge factor for us because he's gone a lot. He has drilled and I mean it's, it's crazy. But like Summer said, one thing that we make sure to always do is eat together every night. And when we do, we. Phones are put away and it's just time that we can have to each other where there's no distractions and we can talk about the day. And I took one of my, my older boys to market with me in August, which was very interesting for him, I'm sure, but I'm not sure he would ever want to come again. But it's something that is a goal of mine. So like, I want you all to come with me at least once because I want you to see what I do. Because sometimes I'm like, do you even know what I do? Like, do you even. You have any idea? And they're boys. They think they're just like. And they're teenagers. They're just their heads in the clouds. But yeah, just keeping them Involved as much as you can. So they know exactly, like, why you're working all the time, what you're doing on your phone all the time. No, I'm not just chatting with my friends or sitting on the phone talking to my girlfriends. And I think. But one negative, I guess I would say is having friends is really hard, especially friends that you had before owning a business to keep those friendships. It really takes a lot of work on both ends to make it a priority to try to still meet up or grab lunch or whatever it might be. I found that now a lot of my friends are my employees, which I know is a big no, no, but. But I just can't help it. And then customers of mine, like, there's so many people locally that I've met that are now really good friends of mine. And, yeah, I don't know. I think, like I said, it just. It changes for everybody. It just depends on what is important in your life and your family and just do whatever you got to do to make it work.

Absolutely. All right, well, last question together, guys. Again, I know we came together today just to talk about kind of two businesses again. Same area started, same time, just different paths, but really so many of the same philosophies now that we talk about all of this, and I love hearing that from you guys and the way you lean on one another. I just want to close today with kind of leaving everyone with the greatest piece of advice that you wish you would have known earlier in your business. What's one thing that you just want to leave with those who are listening today about your experience and something that you wish you would have known that they now can take home with them.

I feel like a broken record in saying this, but bigger is not better. Smarter is better. Better is better. Like, don't rush things. Do not rush things. If I could just tell myself that six years ago to just not push it and just let it scale on its own. And. And if it got to a point where it seemed like it was. The ball was rolling too fast and I needed to slow it down, I needed. You need to learn how to pump the brakes a little bit. Otherwise you can get sobered out so fast and make so many mistakes that it could end up costing you your business. So, thankfully, I've learned from everything, and I feel like that's important. But, yeah, if I could go back, I would just tell myself to not rush things and just let it go organically. I guess the best way I can say it.

Yeah, have peace for where you are. Right now. Right. Not compare your middle to someone else's height or your beginning to someone else's.

Exactly, Exactly.

Awesome. How about you, Summer?

I would definitely say, you know, just from that last part, it just popped another thought into my head is to, you know, enjoy the moment of where you are. Because nowadays I feel like everyone is just so busy and I feel like time just passes by so quickly. And my other points would be stay in your own lane. That I think is super important. Trust your gut and be consistent.

I love that. All of them. And being consistent so many times. Don't you think, Summer? You know, when we are in that mode of we are going to try this because so and so is doing it, or we are going to try this because we heard it was a great idea, but we. We try it once and then we don't stick with it and then we don't ever see the results that we're looking for. But just going back to being consistent and letting it play out, then we start to see those results that we're after.

Yes, exactly.

Yeah. I feel like you have to. I know in our business, like, we've made it a point that we need to try everything for at least 30 days, you know, make it a consistent thing where we're trying it all, like keep. Keep with it for at least 30 days. Like, we started doing a 9 at 9 on Saturdays where it's. It's nine new arrivals that we're going to be getting in on Saturday mornings because sometimes Saturdays are at least online, are a little sore because people are busy. And so that was just something like, let's try it. We're going to give it four Saturdays of a nine at nine. And if it's successful, we'll keep doing it. So. And even sometimes, depending on what it is, you might want to give it more time than just a month. But, yeah, you have to stick with stuff to really know if it's going to make a difference next. It's all about training your customer. And if you only do it once, they're not going to. They're not going to be trained in you doing that or know to look for whatever that is because you're not sticking with it. So.

Absolutely. Well, Summer, Amanda, thank you both so much for the idea and for leading by example for so many in our community. And you both have been a part of the hub for as long as I can remember. You've been huge, very active parts of the hub. So I just want to commend you and thank you for that.

As well.

And thank you for sharing your stories today.

Yes. Thank you so much for having us. It's been. It's been awesome.

It's been so great.

Awesome. Thanks, guys. Hey guys. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and and review down below for a chance to be one of our featured listeners each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.

Sam.