#278: How to Run a Successful Plus Size Boutique with Letitia Young, Owner of Honey's Child Boutique

It's time for episode number 278 with my friend Latesha Young, the founder of Honey's Child Boutique. 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.

Hey, you guys.

Since the very beginning of the Boutique Hub, my friend Latisha has been a proud member of all of our Facebook groups and a Boutique Hub member. And to watch her business grow has been nothing short of amazing. Today, I'm so excited that Leticia's on the podcast to talk to you about what it means to really be a successful curvy plus size boutique. And not only that, but she digs into what other boutique owners can learn from selling to the curvy customer. How to start to private label and even create some private cuts of your own pieces and serve one of the fastest growing segments of women in the United States and around the world today. Leticia is so humble and so kind and it's amazing to hear her success story and tons of tips and takeaways that I know you're going to find today. Get ready to listen to my friend, Leticia Young, the founder of Hunter Honey's Child Boutique.

Hey, guys, welcome back to the podcast this week. I'm so excited to talk about this topic today because I feel like this is something we get asked about a lot inside of the Boutique Hub, and it's probably something that your customers have been asking you about a lot too. And that is the topic of plus size and curvy clothing. So joining me today is my friend, Latecia Young, the owner and founder of Honey's Child Boutique. Leticia, you've been a part of the Boutique Hub for quite a few, quite a long time. As long as I can remember, I think.

Yeah, I've been there for, I want to say about five or six years. I've been a part of the Boutique Club and I love it.

Oh my gosh. Well, I'm so excited. I'm so excited we finally get to chat and share your story and I'd love to hear about your business journey because I can't imagine how much your journey has changed in the last five years knowing how much ours has changed in the last five years. So let's get started with that.

Okay. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely. I always refer to it as a journey because that's exactly what it's been. I've been in business for a little over nine years now and but for the last five years, I call that my growing up years. It's really been formative. Like I said, the boutique hub definitely has been a large part of the growth that I've experienced in this journey. Just starting out, not really knowing about platforms to use for my e commerce store to brick and mortar chips and things like that, social media, marketing. I definitely was introduced to a lot of that through the boutique hub and that I attribute to a lot of the growth that I have been blessed to experience over the last five years. It's been amazing. You know, just the different things that we've had an opportunity to do that I just really didn't know about, you know, and so, yeah, it's definitely been a great journey. I'm not going to lie and not be transparent, say that it was all easy because it wasn't. You know, we've had several storms that we've had to weather, you know, with changing of the guards when it comes to employees and, you know, dealing with vendors and just all of those different things. But, you know, we're still going strong and still growing. So I'm very grateful.

I love it. And lots of exciting growth happening right now too.

Yes, definitely.

Take me back to the beginning. I'd love to hear the origin story. How did you get into owning the boutique?

Oh, my gosh. Well, you know, when I graduated from college with my master's degree, I went into finance with a large investment firm and I just really didn't feel like I fit in, you know, into that world. You know, I was an intelligent person, but I just really didn't feel like I fit into corporate America. And my husband and I was celebrating, I want to say our sixth or seventh anniversary or something like that, but we traveled to New York City and we had so much fun. And I had so much fun shopping as a plus size girl. You know, it's so difficult to just be able to go on a shopping spree. You know, it's hard to find sizes. It's hard to find things that fit. And if they do fit, they're ugly. And so when I got to New York, we just shopped till we dropped. I mean, I had so much stuff, I had to ship it back to St. Louis and I was just like, man, it would Be so awesome if I could have this kind of experience at home. Like if I could bring this, this New York feel of shopping and fashion and stuff like that back to St. Louis. So I started doing research and, you know, started working on my business plan. I told my husband and my mom I want to open up a plus size boutique. You know, at the time there was only maybe one or two that I knew of throughout the US that was totally plus size. And so there was an open market for it. And I did research and, you know, started getting designers and vendors together. When I first opened, I was very plus size designer heavy and working with a lot of indie designers and just kind of evolved over time and started to see more brands and stuff like that enter into the market and so had an opportunity to work with them. But yeah, it was just like just this kind of light bulb that went off when I got to New York and came home and just worked really hard. It took me about two years to put it all together and put my own money into it. You know, we didn't have any financing or anything like that. My husband and I emptied out our 401ks from our job and sold my wedding ring.

Oh my gosh. You went all in.

We were all in, honey. I mean, like, we were. Like I said, this is what I want to do. And we did it. And my husband was super supportive. Still is, very supportive, very much a part of the business. And so, yeah, girl, that's how it all started.

How did you have the confidence and the foresight? I mean, that's a, it's a big step for anyone starting a business. But I mean, to gamble your future in the way that you did and even your wedding ring. Something sentimental.

Yeah.

How did you overcome that fear, you know?

God. Yeah, I put my faith in God. I mean, like I, I tell people all the time I'm a church girl at heart, but not just a church girl. I'm a faith girl. And I really, really had to put my faith in God. Like, it was just no way. And the funny thing is I worked in investments with stocks and stuff like that, and I never got into investing in stocks because I just felt like it was too big of a gamble. But when it came to this, I was like, oh no.

That'S irony.

Isn't was such irony. I was like, you know what, I'm putting it all on the line. And so, you know, I don't know, it was just, you know, I just kept praying and asking God, you know, for direction and, and guidance and he definitely did just that. So I can't come up with anything other than God in that regard.

Oh, that's so good. And I think so many of us would attest to that in our own journeys. There's things you just can't explain.

Right, right, exactly.

So so many of the listeners today, they're going to hear, as we get into the conversation, they're going to hear about your growth and the business that you have today. But I love hearing the climb. So talk to me. You got started. You were one of the very first, you know, all plus size boutiques. Did it take off right away or did it take you a while to figure out your strategy and then to see the growth come later?

Yeah, it definitely did not take off right away. Like I said, when I first started, I was 100% brick and mortar. And just looking back for my own self, you know, I kind of wish that I would have started online or at least had online when I first started because it took long time. I think my first year in business, we made $15,000 and I didn't have a job, so I had quit my job 100%. And shortly after I quit my job, my husband was laid off for a few months. And so we were struggling, you know, we were struggling big time. And so, no, it did not take off. It was a great idea, but just I didn't know how to get the word out for real. And, you know, you have those. Sometimes you have those people who kind of pounce on you like a lot of these advertising agencies. And, well, you need to put 1500 to this and 4000 to this. And just in marketing mediums, that wasn't going to reach my ideal customer. And so I have really had to kind of go back to the drawing board. One thing that was very significant is I started in a suburban, suburban area of St. Louis. And even though it was a heavily populated area, it just was not ideal for my customer. My space wasn't ideal. The windows, you know, were really small. And so again, I took a gamble to move to downtown St. Louis. And, you know, just a very, very different type of space, a different vibe, a different type of person that lives and travels down here. There was a lot of clubs and bars, restaurants, shopping, and things really began to take off a couple of years later when I moved downtown. So location is everything. I learned that the hard way. I kind of feel like I not necessarily wasted two years, but I definitely spent two years in business spinning my wheels and trying to figure everything out.

Man. Well, two things you mentioned that I think are so important to highlight one those advertising agencies, they're like wolves at the door. Right. Not to say that everyone's bad, but boy, it is really easy to get taken advantage of. So I'm so glad you mentioned that. Kind of everyone that's listening, have your. Have your head raised. Right. Your ears raised listening to that. And I think going back to this idea of if you teach a man to fish, you'll feed him for a lifetime, right?

Exactly. Definitely.

And I think you demonstrated that like you had to dig in and figure it out on your own, what worked for you and not trust that you're just going to give someone all the money that has all the answers. But it's doing the work to get there.

Yeah.

And then I love the location is everything. And that's also a gamble that I feel like so many boutique owners take is do I move? Yes. It's going to cost more money, but what's the opportunity cost here? What's the traffic I can pull? How did you make the transition from. All right, now I've moved downtown. I've got this better location. I've got more foot traffic now. I know I need to get this business online so I can reach customers nationally and globally.

Well, I had a friend who was the owner of a local magazine here, and he and I are still very, very good friends called Deluxe Magazine. And he came to me and he was like, hey, why are you not on social media? Why are you not online? And I was like, this is when I was at my own space and I had no idea, like I was personally on Facebook. Instagram was kind of just taking off at that time. And so he told me about Instagram, he told me about Facebook. And I immediately started researching and got on there and started posting and I started seeing a little bit of traction and more and more people started to learn. And so I just really, you know, with my background, with my MBA and in marketing, I just started making a big deal over our move. You know, I knew that we were going to have to close for a couple of months while, you know, we got the new space built out and everything. And we really just started pushing and getting the word out. We did some old school guerrilla type marketing and taking flyers to beauty salons and all that kind of stuff and did all of that. And by the time we opened our new location, like the grand opening day, we had a line out the door waiting for us to open. I had never experienced or seen anything like that. And so, you know, it Just was kind of going uphill from there. But it was just that one investment into tapping into social media. And you know, we started out just posting on Facebook, posting on Instagram. Sometimes when the memories come up, I'm like, what in the world did I post that for? That picture was a hot mess. What did I say in the caption? But, you know, at least I was doing something back then. And so trying to grow my business and get followers and get my name out there and everything. And so, you know, nine years later, here we are. And it definitely, I don't think we would have started to see any type of growth without social media.

Oh, man. So talk to me. Fast forward to 2020. You've had this steady incline. Do you still have the one storefront or do you have multiple? I forget.

No, I have one storefront and then I have an online distribution center where we do all of our, all of our e commerce business. Perfect.

So E commerce took off, we get into the pandemic. And 2020, despite you know, what it is, has still been a strong year for you. Talk to me about how the business has been this year.

Specifically this year definitely has been not what I expected. I mean, you know, of course you never planned to do bad, you always hope to do good. But we have been blowing it out of the water and it's been just absolutely amazing. I mean, we've had so much support from our customers and then even a lot of the boutique hub members when we were going through this whole. Not even just going through because we're still kind of in the thick of it and I think we will be, but just a lot of support behind supporting black owned businesses. It has been phenomenal. Like, I just can't even begin to tell you how our customers are just supportive. I mean, like they order every single week. We have 67% of our customers are repeat customers right now. And so it's just been amazing. And then just not only that, but I've seen such a large growth in vendors offering plus size. So my options are so much wider than they used to be. And then just being able to create, you know, private label pieces and things like that, it's just been, just everything is just compounding and trying to stay up to date, trying to stay current, trying to stay, keep it moving just because we're growing so fast and I want to be able to keep up with it. I mean, oxymoron. But yeah, it's just been amazing. Like everything has been. Sometimes I'm very speechless because I just I know, you know, you plan for it, but it just. It's just kind of just taking off. I don't know.

Good problems to have, right?

Good problems to have. For real. Yeah.

So today we were talking about years ago. I don't even know that it was really years ago or that long ago, but you taking some buyers to, I think it was to Magic, you had mentioned, and you set them loose to go find pieces, and they came back with, you know, virtually nothing.

Just about how.

How that shift to plus size has really taken off.

Oh, girl. Well, I'm telling you, it's been like, in the last, you know, maybe four or five months that it's taken off. We went to Magic, I want to say in February, but, yeah, we went. And each time that I've gone to Magic, unfortunately, like, you know, they give you the booklet or they give you the app, and you can search for plus size, and there's vendors that show up there. But then you get to the booth and there's no plus size. Or you get there and they. They're like, you know, oh, your plus size is managed to the back of the booth, all the way in the corner on that one rickety rack, you know, and so it's. It just is really, really discour to go to Magic. I mean, not to mention that they size you up when you're walking towards the booth. Like they don't want to help you and they don't have anything to offer. I mean, it's very, very difficult. And it seems like once somebody finds a booth that has a decent amount of plus size, like, we're all crammed in there at one time trying to get all the pieces. And, you know, we don't really get to benefit from, you know, having we all pretty much carry the same thing because there's only a few vendors that's going to carry plus size. And, you know, so either they don't carry plus size, or the plus size that they carry is too small, or they create packs that are not conducive for how plus size buys, like the 211 kind of thing. And so, yeah, when we took our buyers there, you know, they were super excited about being there. I was very excited about taking them. This was my first time taking buyers with me. But they came back and they were just kind of like, man, this was a bus. Like, we were. We went looking for jeans. Nobody had jeans. We went looking for this, we went looking for that. And they just couldn't find anything that really piqued their interest. Like I think we walked away with writing maybe 10 orders, maybe less than that. Yeah, it was very, very disheartening, very discouraging. You know, I made mention to it and, you know, wrote emails and stuff like that, but I don't know if that's going to change anything. But yeah.

Talk to me about where it's come, you know, kind of since then or what steps you've taken, because I know there's a lot of, there's a lot of vendors and retailers, I feel like, that are kind of in this middle of the chicken and the egg, like they want to create it, but then is it going to sell? And there's boutique owners that will try to sell it, you know, because customers are asking for it, but then customers don't always buy it. So you're kind of left with like, someone's got to hold the bag on buying this inventory so that we can start to get some traction. So you kind of took matters into your own hands and started to do some private labeling. And I know that's a question a lot of people ask about. How did you start to go down that track and just say, look, if I can't find what I'm looking for, I'm gonna go create it?

Well, you know, I work, I started off working with vendors that I already had a good relationship with, you know, that I was already buying multiple packs from, you know, frequently purchasing from them, writing large orders with them. And so I kind of already had this rapport that was built with them. They already kind of trusted me and knew, knew that I would purchase, knew that I was actually selling based off of how much I was already buying from them. And so it got to the point where I'm very bold and confident and I really like to ask for what I want and get what I want. And so I just kind of started off with, hey, you know, do you think you can add pockets to this maxi dress before you send it to me? Or, you know, can we, can we make the armholes a little bigger? And just started making tweaks to things that I was getting since I was getting such a large amount and then just move into, well, I need this many pieces or, you know, can I need this, but can I get this color? And just trying to make sure that I differentiate my items from other boutiques, you know, and so it just was kind of a gradual, over time kind of thing. Another thing is I've had a lot of the vendors that I work with reach out to me directly and ask me about doing A small batch run of private label items, you know, and so just making sure that I negotiate, okay, if I do this, is it just for my boutique, Because I don't want to create a small batch, you know, and give you an idea and then you go sell it to everybody else. So it's just like, you know, just trying to manage those kind of things. But, yeah, I definitely got to the point where, you know, I wasn't finding what I needed on LA Showroom or on Fashion Go, and so just started to try to have some things made on my own. And it definitely worked out. I mean, we had a duster set that we had created and I just restocked it again for the third time. Like, it's been crazy. And it's something very simple, very basic, but very trendy and stylish that, you know, a lot of times people say plus size girls can't wear crop tops or things like that. But just taking a chance on how I know my customer will react and how they all appreciate having something stylish and taking a gamble with my money to produce it and, and bring it forward. So, yeah, that's so good.

That's so good. So helpful. If someone's listening and they're like, hey, Leticia, how do I get started in that? Or I guess maybe if they asked you what's the mistake that you made when you got started in that, what advice would you give them how to go down that road?

You know, I would definitely start with who you have a relationship with. The conversation will be easier. You know, you can definitely negotiate a smaller batch and not have to commit to 3,000 pieces like some manufacturing companies want you to do. If it's something that you really, really want to get into, work with vendors that you already know. A lot of times if you're writing a larger order, they will do it for you, especially during this time, because so many of those vendors are so hard hit, you know, right now with the pandemic. They'll do just about anything to stay afloat. They'll do anything to keep money coming in. And so I would definitely start there, you know, start with. With companies that you already work with. Perfect.

It's good advice, just building that relationship from the start. Your customer, you know, your customer so well. Like you said, you know, how she's going to wear crop tops and everything else. Right. And inventory is really your, you know, the key of what's making you stand out. Talk to me about your inventory like you're buying in your release schedule and kind of how you set each week up for success through growth. Because I think a lot of people get to the period where they're like, oh, I'm growing and I can't keep up with it. I don't know how to continue to order through the growth. How have you seen that change in your business?

Well, you know, to be honest with you, I am, I'm kind of like in a crossroads right now. I'm. I've been buying and we release new arrivals every week. And so, you know, that is one thing that we definitely have been doing. We do a photo shoot on Wednesday or Thursday. I upload the new inventory to my website and then we do a SMS push to our VIP customers on our SMS list on Friday and then do an email blast to our email subscribers and then start posting on social media on Saturday, the new arrival. So we do that pretty much like clockwork. We always have something coming in so that we can make sure that, you know, our customers are pretty much used to seeing us drop four to five new styles every week. So we stay consistent with that. But as far as buying, you know, right now I am kind of in a crossroads with like, okay, I gotta. Because we're selling out so much. So I'm just signed up to work with Management one and they're going to be coming in and helping me with my open to buy and creating those buying plans. Because really, honestly I don't have a buying plan besides just saying knowing that I need to keep bringing out new styles every week. And so it's kind of. I'm always constantly buying for the boutique and that's great. But then again, it's not the ideal situation. And so I know at this point in the boutique journey, it's time to bring in some professionals and get me set up for long term success. Things are working now, but in the long term I definitely want to be in a place where I'm making the right decisions at the right time. So yeah, that's kind of our process right now. We keep new things painting the floor, new stylish things. The boutique is dress heavy because I love dresses, but just things like that, that's really what we have been doing. And our customers love the fact that we have new pieces every week and bring those out every week.

You talked a lot about text, right? And text being a huge factor in your growth. Do you have a text provider that you love or a strategy that you love when you're sending text messages?

So let me tell you, I do. Right now I'm using SMS bump. And I know that there's been like, you know, some good feedback from SMS Bump, bad feedback. They are ideal for me. I love them and I've been with them for a little over a month. But I tell you what I was able to do during the, the pandemic, we started being bombarded with, you know, try this demo, try this demo. And I can honestly say we were not doing SMS marketing heavily until March of 2020 of this year. And so we started off with another company and they were doing okay. We had two different ones. One for when customers would first come on our website and to recover their abandoned carts and another one for long term. But we just started trying out different companies. We tried Attentive, we tried emotive, we tried Tone, but we ended up with SMS bump. They were just the most ideal. So that's who we're with now. And I can tell you, Ashley, SMS is one of our biggest triumphs of this year. Like, it has been a game changer using SMS marketing. SMS and email marketing has been a game changer. If you're not doing sms, you need to be doing it, man.

Isn't that the truth? I read a stat, I think all. What was the stat? Text messages are read, 99% of them are read within the first five minutes.

Something like that.

Yep.

Yeah, just that little Daisy can't put down.

Yeah.

Oh, gosh, Leticia, as you look back at the growth of nine years, right, A lot of people are like, man, nine years in business, that's a long time. And it is in this business because it's an easy in, easy out kind of business.

Definitely.

If you think about like one of the greatest lessons you've learned along the way, that really sticks with you, that you want to share with others. What would that be?

Give the people what they want. Give the customers what they want. If they are, if they're bold enough to ask you for it, you know, even if it's not your style, at some point you have to give your customers what they want. I think that's the key to staying in business is, you know, if you don't service your client, if you're only self serving, then you're not really interested in growing your business, you know, just to say it bluntly. And so that's one thing that I've learned. I love dresses, but my customers love jeans, they love crop tops, they love, you know, graphic tees. And so I have to give them what they want. And you know, I have to make an effort to find those things and push beyond my comfort zone and my own safety, style and Persona that I put on the business and, you know, give them what they want. It's nothing wrong with asking them, you know, hey, what are some pieces that you must have in your wardrobe for the fall? You know, what are you looking for us to do for you? How can we help you? How can we serve you? We have a very big servant attitude with Honey's Child Boutique. Like, I push that out to my girls all the time. You know, we want to stand by our policies and things like that, but we also want to take customer service to the next level. And we do that just by making sure that our customers are 100% satisfied. They want very, very stylish clothing. They want, you know, the stuff that they see available in the smaller sizes. They want us to bring that to them. For example, we've had, you know, the majority of my inventory is 1x to 3x, because that's what vendors give us. But I have been bombarded with customers saying, you know, well, why don't you carry a 4x or 5x or, you know, is that the largest size you go to? You all need to carry four X's. And so I started working with, like I said, my vendors that I'm already buying from to do private cuts. And those private cuts include a 4X. And so that's just like, one of the things that I've done to try to meet the demand that my customers is asking of me. You know, I don't want to turn a deaf ear to, you know, if they're wanting a 4x or turning a deaf ear to being more size inclusive and just saying, well, you know, my vendor doesn't offer it, so I can't offer it to you. You know, find a way to accommodate them and meet their needs, and it'll pay off in the long run for sure.

Coming from a girl who sold her wedding ring to start a business, I.

Mean, that's saying a lot.

Did you get a new wedding ring? I'm dying to know.

Girl, you need to ask my husband that, because I have not got one yet, and our anniversary is Monday. So.

What's his phone number? You better give me that.

Right now.

I love it.

Okay, I think we're doing good. You can give me another win right now.

Yeah. It's time. You survived 2020. It's time.

Yeah. Oh, man.

All right, well, a couple of. Couple of quick questions in our lightning round that I love to ask. Number one, what is your favorite trend at the moment.

My favorite trend is floral. Floral and tie dye. Like, I'm seeing florals and tie dye on just about everything. I know people are tired of it, but I just cannot get enough of it. I love it.

Is there a trend from the past? Like a blast from the past you wish would come back?

I wish that fringe would come back. Like, I've seen a little bit of fringe, but I wish, like, fringe, everything would just come back. I love fringe. It's so forgiving and it looks good on just about everybody. And so I'm talking about, like, that old slapper style fringe. I wish that was someday. I love fringe.

I do love some fringe. I'm with you on that. I like that. What about your biggest fear? Snakes, Payroll or Internet trolls?

Girl snakes. And I'm a country girl. I grew up in Oklahoma, but I hate snakes.

I'm with you. Snakes and spiders. I'm telling you.

Yes.

Oh, gosh, Leticia, I just have to. As we kind of wrap up our time together today, a couple things. I've got one more question. I always have a final question, but before we get there, I wanted to take some time today to say thank you. I know you mentioned 2020 being a crazy year. You know, just we're all surviving this together, but also just the conversations about Black Lives Matter and the change that's happening in our country. And I want to thank you for being such a good friend and ear and support, you know, when I. When this all happened, you know, and I've been very vocal about. I'm the white girl from North Dakota. Right. And I had lots of questions, and I know that's not on you to answer them, but you did and supported me in a way where I really needed it. And so I just want to take some time on the podcast to thank you.

Well, I appreciate that. Thank you. I appreciate that. And I appreciate you even opening up the dialogue to wanting to have that conversation. So many times that topic is swept under the rug and people kind of shy away from it, especially people who are not black. And so opening up that dialogue with me directly and even with the group, I think was very big of you to do. And I think it opened up, it exposed a lot of things. It definitely helped educate a lot of people. And I think it's not just a one time thing. And that's what I really appreciate is that you're committed to keeping this going and keeping the conversation going and keeping the growth going. I mean, I think that's the only way that we're Going to truly be a unified country is to continue to have that dialogue, to continue to talk about those difficult topics, continue to face those things head on. I think that's what it's all about. So my hat's off to you as well, Ashley, for even bringing that to the forefront. I think I've been a part of several organizations and several groups who have yet to say anything about what's going on in this country. And you would have to definitely be blind to not see it or just, you know, don't want to deal with it. And so, you know, just the fact that you even brought that up and continue to bring it to, you know, bring topics to the table and all of the things that you're doing with the boutique hub and personally and with your own business, I commend you on that as well. So I really appreciate that.

I thank you, thank you for being here as a part of this entire journey. Seriously, that, that means a lot. And it's, this is not an easy thing. And I tell you, I'll be the first to admit it's not going to be done right 100% of the time. There's things that are just not easy answers and not easy conversations. And you wish you could satisfy all parties. But I'm so glad that we're here though, and we're able to have this conversation. And I think it's doing meaningful work for sure.

That's right. Totally. I'm in 100% agreement.

I love it. Well, I'm so glad for this conversation today and in wrapping up, let's, let's kind of bring it back to the final question. And the final question is always the first question, really, in life and business. And that is, I know you and I both agree that we're in business not just to sell widgets, right. Not just here to sell plus size clothing, but we're here for a much greater purpose than that. So I would love to know, as you think fast forward 20 years down the road, 25 years down the road, and you're sitting on the front porch with family and friends and you're talking about the life that you lived, the business that you created, and the mark that you left on the world around you, what is the thing that you hope people will say and the thing they will remember the most about what you did and who you were?

Oh, that's a loaded question. You know, aside from having my boutique, I want people to remember that I was a person who cared about them, that I was a person who would fight for them who would champion their cause, you know, and not to make a martyr out of being plus size, but having been plus size my whole life and just the things that I've had to personally experience, I hope that as a boutique owner and as an entrepreneur and as a person who celebrates. Celebrates body positivity, I hope that people remember, you know, she stood up for us. She went to bed for us. She offered us an alternative to style, to fashion. She was a champion not just for plus size, but for women, period. You know, for women who dream to become entrepreneurs but don't know how, don't know where to begin, don't know how, just are afraid to even take that first step. I want to be that champion to those women, to those individuals who may have been discriminated against. I feel like my journey has been one of breaking down a lot of barriers. And so being an African American woman, being a business owner, being plus size, there's been a lot of things that people could consider would be strikes against me. But I've taken those things and turned them into stepping stones to greatness and to success. And I hope that that's what people remember the most about about me. And I hope this what they use to encourage them to do the same.

Oh, my gosh. That's a beautiful answer. I absolutely love it. Absolutely. And that's what you are doing, 100% using those as stepping stones. Stones. Well said.

Thank you.

Oh, Leticia, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. You guys in the hub, make sure to reach out and say hello to Leticia again. She's. She's been there since the hub was the hub. So say hello.

I'm a hub girl.

I love it. All right, Leticia, thank you so much for being on the show today.

Okay, thanks, Ashley. You have a good one, girl.

Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast with Latisha. If you want more tips and tricks specific specifically for the holiday season, I want to make you one quick offer. As we enter into the fourth quarter and the busiest time of year, holiday prep is one of the biggest, I'm gonna say, not only to do list pieces, but things that keep us up at night that happen to boutique owners. So if you would love more information about how to prep for the holiday season, including what events to run, the difference between sales and promotions, how to create holiday landing page pages and holiday offer funnels, plus grab all of my holiday engagement strategy graphics and captions and this or that polls, and all the things to keep your customers engaged. Throughout the season. I want to invite you into the Holiday Marketing Masterclass. This is a program that has served nearly a thousand boutique owners and helped them create some of the most profitable fourth quarters yet. Our goal for the entire program is simple and it's to help more boutique owners find profit and peace for the season. Because it's far too easy for us to get into the fourth quarter and always be chasing that gross revenue goal. But that may come at a cost of increased inventory and overstock, or maybe it's increased staffing hours and expenses. And we get to the end of the fourth quarter finish line and we feel a drained and exhausted and like we had to miss out on all the family activities we really wanted to experience this season. But B there's no money in the bank. So let's find more profit and let's find more peace. Join me at holidaymarketingmasterclass.com. 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.

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