#265: How to Run a Successful Business with Your Significant Other with Brooke and Brandon Riley, Owners of Re-Fabbed Boutique

It's time for episode number 265 with Brooke and Brandon Riley of Refab Boutique. You guys, if you're into power couples, this is going to be an awesome episode for you. 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. Okay, calling all couples. If you have thought about running or operating or starting a boutique or a business together with your significant other, today is going to be an awesome episode for you. Today I'm interviewing two of my friends, Brooke and Brandon Riley, that have built an amazing business together. That's not just a single revenue stream or a single channel, if you'll call it that, but it's multiple. You see, Brooke first started a DIY business which turned into an area of influence, we'll call it, and then morphed into a boutique later on. And fast forward, her husband Brandon came to join the business and to operate the boutique side of the business. Man, this is a power couple, you guys. And I have to tell you, I have not met a nicer, more genuine, humble, loving, giving couple in a really, really long time. They've been partners of ours inside of retail boot camp. They've taken the program and have remained in contact because I think what they're building is just going to be so long lasting and impressive. I hope you love this episode as they talk about the ins and outs of their growth and what it took to build a brand, not just a single business. And where the future is going for from here for this couple. You guys, Brooke and Brandon are so awesome. I hope you'll give them a follow and also check out their business refabbed because they are doing some really incredible things that I think all of us can take a page out of of their book. Hope you love this one, you guys. All right, guys, you have a two for one on the podcast today, which I always love. I think that so many times we aspire to. Well, maybe some of you aspire to work with your spouses in business. So today we're going to tell that story. We're going to talk about how that's possible, but also bring you a really, really cool business, a really cool boutique and a Couple that's definitely making some waves in our industry and serving people as they go. So meet Brooke and Brandon Riley, the founders of Ref Refab Boutique. You guys, I'm so excited to have you on the show today.

We're so excited to be here. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you, Ashley. We're really excited to be part of this.

Oh, I have loved getting to watch you guys from afar and learn more about your business and. And your story and, like, see the inner workings as a part of boot camp. But you guys are. Are really a force to be reckoned with, and I hope everyone has a chance to come and follow you and see what you're up to, but also be really inspired at the same time.

Thank you. We absolutely love what we do. Like, love it. It's a passion. And so when you're living your passion, it makes working seem easy, makes it not feel as much like work, and getting to work with your spouse is that much better. So we're excited to share our story.

Awesome. Well, let's bring it back to the beginning. I always love to hear the origin story of how Refab first started and how you guys got to where you are right now.

Okay. Well, I love talking about that. So back in 2015, May of 2015, so it's been almost exactly five years, I had a dream and idea to start an online blog for diy, decorating, renovations, stuff like that. And so I started my Facebook page, my blog, all the things at Xero. In May of 2015, started Refab, which is refab.com, and my Facebook community refabbed. And so getting started, we had moved into a foreclosure home that needed a ton of work. It needed complete gutting from top to bottom. We were living there. We had done the whole renovation ourselves, and I wanted to share before and after pictures and wanted to just start kind of telling about our journey. So I started the blog, and it has kind of just blossomed from there, but we started knowing nothing. I started this with just a dream and a goal to share my story and share what I was up to and some of my talents that I didn't even know I had. It kind of just got started doing that and staying up all hours of the night trying to learn the tricks and what to do. I had no idea about starting a website, no idea about running a Facebook business page, no idea about anything. As time went on, we're five years in now, and things just kind of progressed over time. Things started growing. You started learning by trial and error. Brandon was working Full time. When I started the blog and I was working full time, we were at two different electric companies and working from 7 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon at our day jobs and having two young kids, which were babies at the time, and then coming home and trying to be a family and then staying up all hours doing the blog, which is a lot of people's story, you know, honestly, they work all hours trying to make it happen and live their dream. And that's the same as it was here. He was supportive. It was kind of my thing, but he was totally supportive of everything that I was doing. And then about six months in to the blog, we made the decision together for me to come home and pursue the blog and that part, that business full time and leave my good career and benefits and all the things to be able to come home. We felt like that was God's will. We prayed about that. We knew that it was the right decision and, and so we made that choice. And then fast forward just a little while. Still a ton of work, grinding day in, day out, getting up, doing what you got to do with your family and your business. And we moved into a single wide mobile home on 20 acres to build our dream home. That's why we moved out there. We left the foreclosure home, which the blog was started in, and headed out here about a year and a half into blogging and, and that was a very strange transition. That was a hard transition for our family, in all honesty. We had left a 2,500 square foot home where we were comfortable and then came to a single wide mobile home on a bunch of land which is exactly what we wanted. We knew we could build our dream home one day. We hoped. Once I finally started making some money, we were hoping because things were still just, you know, a lot of money was going back into the business like it always is, and not near as much was coming in, that's for sure. So we were in our mobile home, our single wide, and I was going live and trying to share any projects I could from my kitchen table and in that small home. And right in front of the kitchen table was my desk, right beside, right beside the refrigerator. And everything was right in that little compact kitchen. And we were making ends meet, doing what we had to do to make the business thrive when things were less than ideal in our surroundings. But my community showed up and they loved seeing what we were doing. They loved seeing that we were just real everyday people trying to live our dream and trying to make it happen. And in those circumstances. And so I think it actually drew the community a lot closer together through that time. And so it was during that time that we were in the mobile home that my community on Facebook with Refab was really growing and starting to really expound. And people were asking, you know, where'd you get your shirt? Or where'd you get that necklace? Or this and that? And I'm like, oh, you know, local thrift store, like, three years ago. Like, you know, whatever. I was just. I mean, that's just kind of how it was, to be honest. Or I'd be like, Gap four years ago or whatever. I had, like, no, you know, they couldn't go get what I was wearing because I. I'm just thrifty and kind of just flying by the seat of my pants. Who knows where anything come from. I'm throwing it together, but they liked it. And I'm like, man, I wish I had some kind of way to be able to serve them and them actually be able to get what I'm wearing without having to constantly be providing affiliate links that you would get, like 2%, you know. And so that is where the boutique was born. Three years into Refab being a business. Two years ago in May. May must be our, like, total. Like, I don't know, because he came home May of the next year. We started in May and the boutique started in May. So it's kind of crazy. We decided to start the store part of it, and just to serve our people, you know, just to be able to. If they said, brooke, where'd you get your shirt? Well, let me tell you where I got my shirt. I got it from the Refab boutique, you know, and be able to provide that link to them and be able to let them purchase these items, too. And it's been amazing to watch that happen and watch that grow and watch them thank me for giving them items to buy, because they love that. So it's been just a crazy whirlwind of a tale and just saying this real quick, and I'm sure we're going to hit on this, but in that small mobile home, we started the store like I just said, and we started out drop shipping only. That's just kind of where we started. We had no clue what to do. We had no idea about market and what to do or how to go to market or how to buy wholesale or how to do anything at all related to boutiques. Anything. We had heard of the boutique Hub. We did not know anything. Like, we're just like, little. I Don't even know out there. Just wandering around, trying to find our way and. Which I love to look back on because I just see how far we've come. But. So we started drop shipping, and that went really, really well. But we couldn't meet the needs of our customers in the way that we wanted to doing that. Time frames were long to get their products in. Sometimes the products didn't meet our standards and all that. So it was a learning experience. But about eight months into dropshipping, we dropped it completely and went to wholesale. Buying wholesale and selling retail from our home, from our mobile home. Little tiny playroom. We had it full of clothes. And we started from there, right there in that same little mobile home, all doing everything. Refab. Refab Boutique. Everything right there from that little tiny spot. So it's. It's been a crazy journey. I know there's gonna be lots more questions about how all that came about and everything, but that's kind of in a nutshell, kind of how it happened, so it's pretty crazy.

I love origin stories because just like the humility of it, all, right? Like, everyone starts with a dream, like this wild idea that you just don't feel like you don't know if it'll work, what's going to come of it. But so often today, I think, especially with social media, it's easy to compare your beginning to someone else's middle or feel like you've got to be somewhere that you're not. And I think that discourages a lot of people from starting, honestly, because they feel like it has to be more glamorous in some way. So I think you breathe a lot of life into what it's actually like to start a business.

Absolutely. And what you said is so true. You know, we compare so many times. Like, you know, even we can still be guilty of doing that. Even now, looking at your beginning and looking at someone else's middle and comparing those two, and there's no comparison. And we're all on a different journey. We all have a different path. We all start at different places and end at different places. And so comparison is just simply the thief of joy. And. But it's so easy to do. It's so easy to do in business and in life in general. And I think when people do hear from start to finish, like, overnight success was not overnight success, you know, it was years in the making. And that does give people hope and encouragement to do it themselves and to realize that. That what they're seeing now was years in the making. You know, so I think these stories do just give people hope.

Absolutely. What's the one small thing I can do today that's going to impact my overall dream? I think about, like, your. Your community. You've got over half a million in your community just on Facebook alone, and they're incredibly engaged and active. And I think today there's this buzzword, especially in, you know, coronavirus land, that we live in, and that's authenticity and just how hungry everyone is for real people and real stories and like the newscasters coming live from their basements with no makeup on. I just love that. Yes, you were so authentic from the beginning of your journey, and you built a community and eyeballs before you had a product to sell. Can you talk to me about what that was? Like, how did you show up?

Authentic?

Authentically. What type of content? How often did you go live? Like, what did it take to just be present as you yourself before there was something to sell?

Yeah, absolutely. Well, first and foremost, being real and being authentic is all I know how to be. Like, I don't know how to be anybody different than what I am. So it made it very easy to just do that and to just be myself from start to finish. You're not having to try to cover anything up or keep up some Persona that's not real. But when I started the blog in general, it was all writing. You know, everything was a written story, and it was my own self through my writing. And when I was posting on Facebook, it was still my writing. I was not doing video when I first started. The first two and a half years of my blog was only written format. I was scared to death to go live. I was scared to death to do video. I was scared to show my face. I don't know why. I just was. It was just a fake fear. And I was scared of public speaking. And I realized that if I ever wanted to connect on a deeper level with my people, because I was already getting engagement, I was already creating a community. But I knew it was lacking what it could be, and it was lacking the depth that it needed. I knew that I had to put my face out there. I had to connect with them on a real level where they could see. See me one on one and I could interact with them. So when I started doing video about two and a half years in, that's when everything in the community changed. That's when the engagement started skyrocketing. That's when the business started growing and the followers started growing, and I was always showing up, posting on my page, you know, four to five times a day. Engaging content from the blog or just from things that I thought would inspire the people that had to do with my page. All staying within the realm of what I was there for and not deviating from that. Sharing my faith, sharing who I was, sharing a picture of my family, stuff like that, where they got to know me. But once my face and video form came out and they really saw me and they saw who I was behind the writing, that's when we connected on a deeper level. And it's like, hey, I'm Brooke. Like, you can say, hey, I'm having a good day. What about y'? All? I'm out here, you know, fishing at the pond or whatever. And then they're like, oh, that's cool. That's fun if you're just writing that out. But if you're doing a video and there you are with your fishing pole and your hair pulled up in a top knot, and you're just real, and you're like, hey, guys, I'm out here at my pond. They're like, they just connect with that that much more. And so I started seeing that, and I started trying to go live and do video more and more. When I realized the connection and what. How that was growing the page, and that was growing the interaction, and that was growing relations. And so I would continue to post like normal. I still posted three to five times a day. Engaging content that would get people to interact, and I would always, always, always respond to comments. And I tell people this in my coaching group all the time, because I have a coaching group of a little over 600 women. I'm like, make time to engage with your people by responding to their comments. If they're going to comment on your stuff, make sure that you take the time to respond to them and make them feel valued, that they took the time out of their day to tell you that they love what you did. And I thought that was so important, and I still think that's important. So I always did that and just went live and just chatted with people. I just shared of our lives. I wasn't scared to share family. I wasn't scared to share failures. I would go live with no makeup. Sometimes I would cry on camera, sometimes not purposefully, but it tended to happen. And it just. Just, you know, it just brought that raw and real factor of kind of what you mentioned just now with the reporters going live from their basement with no makeup, it wasn't intentional. It was just real life. And because of that there was that instant connection, and people just knew, you know, she's just real. And when they see that day in and day out, year after year, you realize, like, she's not pretending, or that would be one really hard lie to keep up. You know what I mean? Like, they see the same person every single day for years, and they just see, you know, that's what's real. And that's, you know, people who know me in person and people who know me on the Internet, they know that it's the exact same person. And I just think that authenticity and that realness is what builds a community, for sure.

Oh, man. I completely agree. And I think about, you know, like, putting myself in your shoes. You start. And at the boutique hub, too, I feel like I started, everything was free. Right? Like, you talk a lot about service above self and truly serving your community, and then monetization comes later. But I feel like a lot of times today, people have it backwards and they feel like the second they start something, like, immediately I have to monetize it. But you're such a great example that it doesn't have to be that way. And it wasn't that way with the boutique hub either. Was there ever a turning point or, like, a challenging moment that you faced early on where, again, you're doing all this for free and you're serving people, but, like, you just hadn't figured the business part out yet. You hadn't figured the money part out yet. How did you start to bring in early revenue before you transitioned to the boutique?

And Brandon may want to say something about this, too, from a different perspective. My perspective was during all this, and what his was maybe slightly different, but I'll answer that first, and then I'm pretty sure he's itching to say something. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. The first probably two and a half years, you know, yes, money was coming in, but the first, when I left my job six months in, I might have been making $300 a month. I mean, there was nothing. And that was going right back out. That was not profit. So it's not like we left be I left because I was rolling, you know, and. But to make ends meet, like, I would paint furniture for people. I would come do a decorating job for $75 for, like, a gallery wall if somebody wanted it done. Like, all of that was, like, truly no profit and no big money to speak of, but it was enough to keep things going and keep a little bit coming in on my behalf that I felt good about what I was Doing and it just kept me motivated. And I think I just kept doing anything that I had to do to make a little money. I would sit down with my little notepad and be like, what do I need to bring in this month to cover this, to make this worthwhile? And I would just make sure I made that money. Somehow it looked different every month. I may would sell a craft kit and I may do a little online class. I may would have an in person class locally to paint door hangers or make a craft or I'd paint a piece of furniture and try to resell it on Facebook or, you know, and I was still trying to build the blog and making a little bit of blog revenue and just anything I knew to do that could bring in some kind of money, I was willing to do it. Even if I knew that wasn't my overall goal to do that in business. It's what I had to do at the time to make money, to keep the dream alive and to keep going in the direction that I ultimately hope to get in. And I'm sure he's got something to add to that too.

Well, I think like what she said, she, she did what it took at the time. Like we were blessed to have, you know, my job to fall back on. So we knew we were financially stable. We had, you know, I had a good job, we had insurance, we had all the good stuff. So we had that, that we knew we could have. But we were used to living a lifestyle that was a little above that because we had two good jobs, we had some extra income. And once she left her job, that extra income sort of dwindled away. So we did what you had to do. I had always kind of redone houses, so we picked that up a little bit. We got into rentals a little bit. Just whatever we had to do to keep going so that she could follow this dream. Because once, once she got started, we could both see what it could be in the future. We knew that you gotta work hard to get it off the ground. You got to sacrifice. You got to take those, you got to take those or not take those trips. I should say you should. You know, you got to be able to do whatever it takes to get by until you get to that situation. And then when we got to about two and a half years into it, or was it three and a half years into it? Anyways, when we, when we decided it, we was May of 18 when we started, right, started the, started the Boutique May of 18. So right prior to that, in May of 18. We kind of had a discussion where it was basically, you know, I know you love what you're doing. I love what you're doing. We know it's got potential. We know that it's really blessing people. We know the community is there. But in order for us to do the things such as build a house or take the trips or do the extra stuff that we really wanted to do, the financial side had to pick up. And so it was either going to be, you know, her pick up a public job at that time, or we were going to have to find a way to increase the revenue that business could bring in.

And I remember that conversation like it was yesterday. Yeah. Because he said that, and. And it made me mad. It ticked me off, because. What do you mean? Like, no, I'm not going anywhere. You know, you can imagine, you know, and I. I could see so much, and I knew he could, too, but, like, I. It was my baby. I'm like, no, I will not go back to public work. I mean, nothing against public work, so please, nobody take that wrong. But I knew I was designed to be an entrepreneur, and I was supposed to do something more. And I know he did, too. But still, like he said, we. We moved out here not to stay in a single wide mobile home forever. We wanted to build our dream home. And for that to happen, we love to travel. I mean, we like to do the extra stuff that people like to do. And for that to happen, the money had to be there. So it was one of those moments as a couple that he laid it out there and he said, look, your dream is awesome and amazing, and I see the potential, but the money has to be there. And I think even though I was working so hard, it was a turning point in my mind and in my mindset and, like, a shift and a pivot where I'm like, I'm gonna prove you wrong. Like, not that, no, but it was just like, I'm not doing this. I said, you give me till the end of the year. I said, and if I have not done what we need to do by the end of the year to make this sustainable for me to still keep on this track without going back to public work, then we will talk and we make that decision, and I will do it. I said, but in my mind, and I prayed and I prayed and I, you know, just kept working hard, and I'm like, this won't happen. I will make this happen. And we did. But it. It sometimes takes that hard conversation or that hard truth to be like, okay, this is all well and good and dreams are all wonderful and dandy, but if there's not money coming in to support that, then you have to think, you know, about your life and your future and your kids and the things you want. And if that's not happening, you've got to make that shift to make it happen or you got to switch gears. And so that shift happened in my mind and I just went hardcore into making sure that whatever I had to do, it would work. And he saw that in me. And of course he was still as supportive as ever. And by the end of that year, we were already talking about him coming home. Like that's how much things changed.

You know, it's critical when you hit those so called walls that you're just willing to do absolutely everything that it takes to get through it. And that's where it got to. It's like we knew that in order for it to be. Because we have both always been entrepreneurs at heart. We have both always had that in us. We've always had side businesses or side hustles, whatever you want to call it. We've always done that along with public work to make the extra money, to be able to do the things that we wanted to do and still were able to spend the time with our family that we went to. I mean, we just did. We just stayed up all hours of night if that's what it took. So we've always had that and to see that passion in her and to see that drive in her. And it was hard for us to have that conversation. But when we did it, it just. The whole business as a whole refab. And then once we started the boutique, it just, it just blew up. Really.

I. I get goosebumps when I hear you guys story. And again, I cannot wait for like the four of us, including my husband Eric, to meet at some point because we had that exact same scenario, like hustle, no money, have to have a crucial conversation, pivot and move forward. And I feel like one thing I learned through that, and I'm curious your guys take on it is we had such different communication styles. Like I was so lost in this dream and idea and the hustle of it, which Brooke, I mean that's, that's where you were, you were doing your thing. But I feel like Eric was the analytical and he was like, okay, show me your numbers plan, like financially, where's that at? And Brandon, I'm just knowing you, I'm.

Assuming that's where that was coming from too.

So that was the conversation. Exactly.

Yeah.

How did you, like, how has that conversation impacted your marriage and how you communicate today? Because I feel like there are so many boutique owners that are going to be listening to this and I hear it all the time in the hub that are like, my husband just doesn't understand. They'll say things like that or, you know, like, I'm doing my thing and.

He needs to know I'm just not.

Going to make money for the first five years. Which I think that's a complete lie. It's just you have to face this hard truth and have the conversation and start thinking speaking one another's true languages.

Exactly. Oh, my goodness. I, I think it like when you start working together. And even at that time we had that conversation, we were not working together as far as both working the business full time as our full time job, but we've always worked together through it, obviously, like you and your husband. But that conversation, and once it happened, like, it's not all rosy, you know, it wasn't like, oh, he's so sweet to, you know, tell me I need to, you know that I got to the end of the year before I had to go back to a cubicle. That is so precious. You know, it was not like that. It was like, I am tired of him trying to not act like my dream's gonna be a reality. You know, you get mad and you get bitter there for a minute because that's just the natural reactions that you're gonna have. And you have these feelings because it's your dream and your passion and all that. But. But I think when you can work through those hard times together and you can see, like you said, he's the analytical one, I'm the dreamer. And we're actually both dreamers too, but he is far more analytical and numbers minded. He's like, yeah, you say you made this money, but on paper, where is it? And I'm like, it's there, you know, just trust it. Trust the process, you know, and all this. But it has helped me, working with him, that to understand that he does have our business the best in mind for our business. You know, he wants what's best as much as I do. We just see it different and from different lenses, you know. And I kept telling him, I'm like, He's like, well, what is your goal? And I'm like, I can't tell you my specific goal because the way I see this, as it grows, opportunities come up that I don't even know exist yet. And so it's so hard for me to tell you where I want to end up at that point in time. When we had this conversation, the boutique was never thought of. It came into the picture six months after this conversation. And then six months later is when we were already talking about him coming home after we had had the boutique for six months. And it was doing great, and Refab was doing great, too. Like, it took off when the boutique did even more. And so I think just finally understanding that you are different. You speak different languages, you have different love languages, and all the things that all come into play, and just knowing that the other person in the business does care just as much as you do, you just have different ways of showing it in different ways of putting it together. And. And all that is what's helped me. Like, when I get irritated at him, which, you know, is so seldom irritated at him or something, or I think he's being whatever, I just have to truly remind myself, you know, he loves this. He loves our family, he loves our business just as much as I do. We just have to come together to come to an agreement on how we should work through this or that or whatever. And sometimes he has to remind me, like, this is all great, but if this. These numbers aren't adding up, then it doesn't make sense for us to do, you know, And I think it just takes both people coming together and working together through it. And I'm sure he's got stuff he wants to say about that. And I just want y' all know I'm extremely easy to work with, and I never cause any issues.

No, just to add to that, I think it. You know, she kind of said it without saying it, but it's just appreciating each strength. You know, we all have different strengths, and, you know, we come to realize, you know, maybe not necessarily at that exact moment, but as we kind of went through that moment and then the next one and we. And as things kept progressing, we were able to see that, you know, what my strengths are, aren't is what hers are, but her strengths are better than in some areas of what I am. So it all kind of meshes together. And then one thing, you know, like, as far as what you said about within the marriage, is that we've always had a strong marriage. And, you know, not that we don't have the little spats and everything that everyone has, but we've always knew that we were always going to be there for each other and always trust each other. And, you know, so we never let the Business. Even though we may have a, you know, a disagreement on the business side of things, we never let that spill over into our marriage. Now we may have to stay separated for a little bit of time during the day just to make sure we don't let that spill over.

But no, take a lot of long baths.

We honestly, it just works. And like one thing, we really got blessed and an opportunity. And I look at it as a God thing. Right as we were able to start the boutique right when we, it was kind of taken off.

That was from May to October.

Yeah. And so like I, I tore my bicep tendon. So when I tore my bicep tendon, it was in July and then in August I had surgery. And after we had that surgery, I was off work for eight weeks. So during that eight weeks starting in August, I was able to be full time within the business, day in and day out. And so during that time we were able to be able to build our business relationship even stronger. So we were able to test the waters, so to say we were seeing the business as a whole explode during that time. And I was able to be there during that time. So I know God, you know, he works things sometimes in a strange way. Maybe not ideal in our minds, but I look at that moment as if we didn't have that eight weeks to work on it right then in the so called practice working together, we wouldn't have been, it wouldn't have been as easy to make that decision whenever we came to make it. Because sometimes you do question whether you'll be able to work with your spouse on a day to day basis and still treat each other the same and show each other the same respect and the same love that you do previously. But we really have never had any issues with it.

Yeah. And that, that was definitely a godsend when he came home. Like he said, we were only a couple months into the having the boutique and at that point it was still all drop ship. But things were taken off with that and taken off with Refab. And I was feeling like he didn't totally understand what I was doing all day, every day. You know, I was home and he was at his job. And I did feel like, and I feel like a lot of women can relate to this, that I was working so hard. And while he knew it, I felt like he wasn't seeing it, you know, and he come home and the house might not be clean and he didn't say anything. Listen, he knew, but you know, I felt like I just wanted him to See what I was doing all day so he could see how hard I was working. And then when he had to be home for eight weeks, I think that opened his eyes even more too, to see how hard it was to keep all of it going by myself on the day to day basis. And then all of a sudden he's like, I think we need to get you some help on this and this. I'm like, hallelujah, praise the Lord, she's saying, you know, so it was just a godsend all the way around. Like I felt like it finally just showed him that much more the work that was going in on the day to day basis that you wouldn't see because it's all that background stuff, you know, and that's just as important as the front lines. But it takes so much time. And so that was a big turning point when he had that surgery and had to be home. And. And like he said, it definitely did ease us in to knowing that we could do that and we could work together. And after that eight weeks, it was like, you don't have time to go back to work. He still had to, but it did feel like, how in the world did you have time to work? So it was kind of crazy. It worked out really neat.

She tried to convince me just not to go back. And honestly, we probably could have at the time, but I was kind of like, I think I heard someone else on your podcast talking about. We took the next six months or so to really dial in what the business was doing financially and what we were able to live on the business and to make sure it was all there and, and just to really, really crunch those numbers and to make sure that we were making a smart decision, that we weren't going to sacrifice a career that I enjoyed. I mean, I enjoyed what I did. I was a lineman at the time and I enjoyed doing it. I loved all my side jobs, but also liked being there. So, you know, we knew that it was going to be a life altering decision and it would be something that we wanted to be 100% about.

And I want to say this real quick because I think this is important for any men that are listening too, because I know men listen to this and him coming home to be with me. Everybody had only seen this as my business. They never gave him any recognition. They didn't know what all he did behind the scenes. It was Brooks thing. She sits home and crafts all day. You know, that's what they thought like, you know, and it was Brooks business, Brooks this, like nobody Saw it, like, it really was. That was just people's perception. So for him to make that choice to come home, it's like, oh, you're gonna go home and work for your wife now. You know, she's your boss. And, like, if people still say that all the time. So I know that was hard for him because I know that was something he. You know, no man wants to feel like that. Like, to feel like that's what people are seeing. But I think it's really admirable, truly, that he put all that aside because he knew it was our business, no matter what the perception was from the outside world, and he came in and just gave it his all, and he's never looked back, and he has supported it 100%. And he gives me so much credit, but there's so much more credit that he should be given that he never receives. And I just. I've always really admired that about him, that he would come home and just take this on. And, you know, he's the one in the boutique cup, not me. You know, like, he. He's the one that gets in there on those calls and is one of the only men, and he's taken, and I just think it's really admirable that he does that. So I just wanted to make sure to give him kind of a shout out on that, because I know, you know, that sometimes it can be hard on your ego, maybe, to come home, and people think you're coming home and working for your wife or doing crafts. And, like, that's not it. We work. He doesn't come home and work for me or I work for him. We work together on this, man.

I think Brooke, actually, I think Brandon and I were having this conversation on a call not too long ago because, same thing, people, especially men, I would say more than women, have said that to. To Eric and said, oh, you work for your wife. What's it like to work for your wife? But I. I agree. Like, every night when you lay your head down on a pillow, you're talking it over your partners in this business, whether one gets credit or one doesn't. So, man, just to encourage everyone that's listening, to really rely on your partner and to have that conversation about what it means to work together in your business, whether it's on paper or in public or not. It's always a partnership.

Absolutely.

Yeah, for sure.

As you guys are working together, I'm curious, because I feel like we had our ups and downs in this area. As Brandon, as you were getting settled into Your role. Talk to me about what's one mistake mistake you guys feel like you made as you were identifying who was going to take what role and how you communicated with each other on a daily basis.

I think the biggest mistake is that sometimes we expected each other to know what's going on in every aspect of the business. And so we, you know, we would, like I would be taken care of, whatever it may be, on the day to day, and then I would go to talk to her about it and I'd be like, how do you. How do you not know what's happening here? You know? Or she would. And she would be live and have all this stuff going on in the conversations there. And then she'd come up and be like, did you see what happened? You've got to realize that each of you have your own role and that each person is going to take care of different aspects of the business day in and day out. And you got to trust that person. You got to trust that they're getting it done. And then whenever it comes through, they can give you an overview of what's happened. And so I think the first mistakes was just that we expected each other to know every aspect of the business. That's just not going to happen.

Yeah. Brooke, do you feel like you had to in some way. I don't want to say give up control, because I find that to be negative, but I think as like entrepreneurs, we feel like we can do it all and at some point we have to just rely on being able to hand it off to somebody. Do you ever feel like there was a time where you had to learn that lesson in a new way, working with your spouse of like, relinquishing that control and handing it off?

Yes. Because from day one, even though he. He was a vital part in everything, you know, he still went to his nine to five each day. And it was me that was doing all of this stuff at home. And so it was me grinding in this thing day in and day out and thinking it and breathing it and. And he wasn't breathing it like me, you know, he wasn't. And now he is and everything, but it was me that was like giving it my all and having these dreams and goals and started it with a passion and all this. And so it was my baby. I've said that before, but it was my baby. And when he did come home and we started working truly together on the business, 100%, both of us all in, it was very hard to give up anything to anybody else, not just Him. But even employees, when we would hire people, because you feel like nobody's going to do it as good as you're going to do it. And that's not always true at all. In fact, a lot of times, people can do it better, but you've been the one doing it. You know how you want it done. You know how you've been doing it. You know all that stuff. And to give that up to somebody even thinking they probably can do it better was really, really difficult. And it was a hard transition for me to be like, okay, you can handle this now, or you can handle that now, or, okay, I'll let you do that. Like, it was hard. And, you know, there was conversations along the way where it was like, brooke, like, you are gonna have a nervous breakdown if you do not give up something because you are doing too much. And when you're trying to do too much, there's things that aren't getting done as good. And that's just the way it is. And I did. It was really hard for me to give up any of it because I didn't. I didn't want to. It was. I wanted to still do it, and I still felt like I could do it better. You know, like, that's just the hard truth of it. And I think a lot of people have probably been there. But I will say this. Even though it was hard to give things up, it was the best thing I ever did to give things up, because then I could breathe. And I always tell my coaching group, in business, you need to focus on the things that only you can do. You need to do the things that only you can do. Only Brooke can do this. Only Brooke can go live and share her craft, or only Brooke can. Can do this or only Brooke can do that. But there's a million other things that other people can do that are not Brooke or that are not you. And those are the things you've got to be willing to delegate. Because if you are not delegating and you are not letting other people take over different areas, then everything's getting about half done, and none of it is as good as it should be. So it was definitely a learning experience and has helped me realize, even as we hire people, that it's like, okay, I can give. I don't have to write this exact email. Somebody else can craft this email, and I can teach them how to word it. That sounds just like me, and that looks just like me and the way I would word things, because I still want to have that personal touch. But I don't have to be the one doing this exact email that's going to go out to our email list or, you know, whatever. That's just an example. And so being able to do that freed up a lot of time to do other things that were not getting done to their fullest potential. Because I was trying to do these other things too, that I didn't actually have to do. So. So that was a really good thing to learn, and it's definitely helped me be able to breathe a little better and ease some of that overwhelm that we as women can get ourselves into way too often. Yeah.

How do you guys take that same concept and manage your time with your family? I'll say you've got kids, you're busy, you're doing all the things. How do you set specific time, I guess, for your marriage? Date night where you're not talking about business, but then also time with your family as well.

Yeah. So, like, I think like, with our family, we're just really. Because we do still run our business here on our property. So we, we actually have a warehouse that we ship out of on our property, and we actually work within our home. So we, we run our offices inside our home that we have now. So we're here with our kids. Like, even through this covet, we've. We've had our kids here day in and day out. So we just. Throughout the day, even, we might not set a specific time, but like, throughout the day, we may stop for 15 minutes here and spend time with them and. Or they may be out fishing at our pond. And so we'll walk out and spend 30 minutes with them fishing or, you know, they may want to get up and cook breakfast that morning. So we're really flexible in that. So we're able to be able to keep that bond with them just current and just day in and day out. And then at night, we always try to shut down for at least, you know, an hour or two to step. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but we try to shut down as much as we can to spend just time with them, whatever they want to focus in on, whether it be play a board game, whether it be they want to watch. Our kids love to watch movies.

We watch a movie every single night. Every single night.

Every night they turn on the movies. So we do try to spend that time with them as often as we can. Now, we may be working on our phones or have the laptop in our lap while we're doing that, but. But we.

Not very often, though. We try to make sure we don't do that.

We just want to. We just want to let them know that they are more than. More important to us than our business now. You know, they. They know that we have to work, but ultimately, our family is number one. And, you know, as far as date nights, we don't do them as often as we used to. We do try to.

So we're tired of each other. No, I'm kidding. I'm joking.

Set, you know, time apart. You know, that we can just get out and have dinner together. And luckily, we have parents who are willing to watch our children. When we just all of a sudden decide on a Thursday evening, we want to go out and have dinner together, and we just say, hey, and they love to have them over. So I think it's just being intentional. It's.

With anything, it's all being intentional.

You can fill your day up with whatever you choose. And, you know, I talk to people a lot about when they're talking about working out, and they say, I don't have time to work out. Well, you have time to watch 30 minutes of TV or you have time to watch an hour of TV, so let's swap that. Let's go work out for that time period, you know, so it all applies to everything. You choose what you put in your life.

And I think it's important, too, like, the kids see our work ethic, and I think that's good that they see that you got to work hard to, you know, reach your goals and to do whatever in life, that it takes hard work. Nothing comes easy, and nothing comes free or handed to you. So I think that's good. But then I also think it is a hard balance that we're constantly working towards is, you know, we don't want to be workaholics because that can be our tendency. You know, when you are, you know, you look at the enneagram, we're both threes, and that's kind of crazy to be married to the same one. But that's like the achiever and like, that. That's kind of how that's what we both are. And so we do work really hard. So it is intentional. And like he said, everything in life's intentional. But to make sure our kids always know, you know, no matter what. Like, you come first, God comes first, then family. And we've got to keep that in the forefront of our minds all the time, or it can easily slip to where you don't even realize that your whole day is gone and you haven't taken time to do the most important things. So it's just keeping it literally right there in the forefront of your mind at all the time and making sure to be intentional about that time that you spend.

You know, that's something I want to add real quick on that. Just, you know, with business owners, don't be afraid to let your children be a part of the business. You know, we have a six and eight year old and they, you know, go out and help the girls package stuff sometimes. I mean, they, they want to be part of it. And at a young age is a very crucial time that they're learning everything. And so if they want to be a part and they want to help, allow them to. You don't have to make them. They want to be a part of what's going on.

Yeah, absolutely, man.

Same thing here. You guys, it has been such a pleasure to talk to you today. I admire what you guys are doing. I admire your mission in the world. I love watching your growth and your success and just your authenticity through every single stage of this. One last question before we go, though, and this is usually my last question on the podcast because I truly believe, you know, this is the reason that we're on this earth. And it's not to run a business, it's not to sell a product. You know, we all are called to such a greater mission than all of this. And so I'd like to know. You've got kids. Let's fast forward 30 years down the road. You've got grandkids, and you're sitting on the front porch and this beautiful dream home that you have now, and you're talking about the life that you lived and the businesses, plural, that you built.

Right?

Because there's many. What's the thing that you want them to remember the most about what you created and what's the thing you want them to tell their grandkids about who you were?

Oh, gosh, this is going to make me cry. I mean, honestly, that like you said, it's the most important thing to think about is what you're going to leave this world. Are you going to leave it better than you found it? And you know, what I want to be remembered by is someone that loved Big and gave her all in everything that she did, she always put God first and family and community and was a giver and made people feel valued and made people feel loved and that that's what the business stood for and that the business was not there as something that was bringing in a mighty dollar but it was there to bring community together and make people feel valued through everything. And if I were to die tomorrow, which is possible, you know, we don't ever know, then I want people to look at me and say, she made my life better just by being there. I told you I was gonna cry. But they can't see it. They can only hear it. But you know that she made my life better just by being there. Like, whether it was a craft or a motivational speak or a hug or, you know, whatever it was, she made me a better person just by being around her. That's what I would love to know that people. People said about me and my business, when it's all said and done and, you know, my family, I want them to look at me and say, no matter what happened in her business or how much success she found in the form of worldly success, she never deviated from who she was. And she was always mom and friend and wife and child of God and put us first no matter what. Always before money or fortune or fame or anything else that came from this world.

Yeah, I think just to add a little on that, you know, I think most importantly, you know, I want everyone to know that I love Jesus and that he died on the cross to forgive me of my sins, and that from that I try to live my life to be like him in order to serve others, to make them better. So that what we're doing is not about us. We want. The boutique itself started as a way to serve the people. Yes, we did have that conversation about monetizing things, but the vision of the boutique was not about how much money it was going to make. It was about, can we provide them with things that they're wanting? What are they asking for? And so we're always looking to try to serve in everything that we do. And I hope that more than anything, that's what people see, is that we are there for them. And I hope that's what we're seen for.

You guys, what a beautiful, beautiful testimony. I appreciate who you are so much. Thank you again for sharing your life and your journey with us today on the podcast.

Thank you so much for having us. We really enjoyed it.

I hope you guys loved this episode. This is one of the coolest couples that we've had the opportunity to meet and to work with inside of the boutique hub. And we wish them all the best success in the world. You guys, I know lots of you have sent me messages asking about, how do you work with me or how to work with The Boutique Hub and also questions specifically about Retail Bootcamp. So today I want to drop a link for you inside of today's show notes so you can learn more. You know, our time has become become so precious as the Boutique Hub has grown. So our time for one on one coaching has become quite limited. So the best way to work with us at the Boutique Hub is our highest level signature training called Retail Boot Camp where we literally walk through every single angle and corner of your business for 12 weeks. We do 12 weeks of live group coaching plus a digital program with 12 modules that step by step in row A, our signature series cover every aspect of your business. We also bring in over 25 guest experts because I'm a firm believer, you guys, if we don't know something, we're going to find the answer from someone who does or we're going to get you a different perspective. We also wrap up our time together inside of Retail Boot Camp with a trip to LA called the LA Experience. And we give you all kinds of tools, checklists, templates and downloads that can help you in your growth. Growth experience, you guys. We only run this program two times a year, semester one and semester two. And all of our students get lifetime access. So even Brooke and Brandon and many other past Boot Camp students will join us again in just a couple weeks when we open semester two, 2020. So if you'd like to learn more, you don't have to click anything to sign up. You can just simply learn more. I'm going to send you the details as the program becomes available and we're even going to have a free training all about Retail boot camp on July 8th. So check the link in the bio in the show notes and you're going to find more information delivered right to your email inbox. And if you've got questions, DM me anytime. I'm AJ Alderson on Instagram or Boutique Hub Business and I would love to answer your questions. 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 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.

Ra.