#314: How to Achieve Freedom in Your Business

Hey guys.

Welcome back to the podcast.

This week I'm so excited to be joined by Faith Parker, the owner of the Boho Bungalow.

And today we're talking about all things non apparel in your brick and mortar boutique and also how to have a business that can operate without you. This week as we talk to Faith.

We talk about her journey. Starting out selling vintage goods and moving into home decor and non apparel items in her store. But also how she manages to deal.

With do that while she's traveling and.

Spending most of her time in Costa Rica.

We talk about SOPs and hiring great.

Team and how to build systems that allow you to scale your business.

I know those of you that feel like you're busting your butts busy are going to appreciate this and those of you that maybe don't sell apparel in.

Your store as well.

So grab a notebook.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Get ready to meet my friend, my friend, Faith Parker.

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 and I can't wait to chat.

Hey guys, welcome back to this week's podcast. This week we are again both on podcasts and we have a video version of this podcast on YouTube so you can catch this episode however fits you best. But I'm so excited. My guest this week, I think we're going to nerd out on a lot of, like, very unsexy things in business. Faith, I'm pretty sure we're going to go down this rabbit hole of all the nitty gritty details that not everybody loves to talk about but are essential to running a great business. So please meet Faith Parker. She is the retail therapist and founder and CEO at the Boho Bungalow in Sonoma County, California. With a couple locations and tons of great experience under your belt, Faith, thanks for joining the podcast this week.

Ashley, thank you so much for having me. I'm such a fan and I have learned so much from all of the generous things that you offer in your podcasts and in the Boutique Hub. And even with the planner, there's so much wonderful content and I'm so very grateful to have you.

Aw, thank you. Thank you. I love getting to connect with the boutiques that are in it every single day. Right. Because I feel like I get inspired by hearing your stories through the podcast or in the group and. And I get even more motivated when we get to talk about the really nerdy things of business and how we can make it even better. So I'm excited for this opportunity to chat today. A couple things as we get started. I would love to do just kind of a quick run through. I think listeners always love to know. Okay, Faith, tell me more about your business so that I kind of have an idea of who you are and where you come from. So couple quick things. Three locations, roughly how many employees and how many years in business.

So right now we have eight employees and I started as a solopreneur in 2012, so it's been about nine years now.

Perfect. And as we'll talk more about the backstory, but a couple quick lightning questions as well. To begin with, main systems like e commerce system, point of sale system, or any other systems that are most important to your business.

For me, Clover is our point of sale system that I absolutely love. It barcodes everything. It allows me to track all of the important numbers. So Clover is very. It integrates with my second favorite app, which is Homebase, which is where everybody communicates with each other. We can publish all our schedules easily, trade shifts with each other. But yeah, Clover and Homebase are probably my two top apps that I use in my business. Perfect.

And your biggest traffic source, probably Instagram. Awesome. All right, well, let me back up from here. So you started as a Solopreneur in 2012, and as we were chatting, you said you started in vintage. I'm curious about your start start and how you kind of evolved from vintage into the more lifestyle boutique that you are today.

So, yeah, I just really had an obsession for mid century modern furniture and it really excited me and I enjoyed finding it, I enjoyed selling it, but I reached a point where I wanted to have more freedom to source things. So I like to find an item that sells very well and know that, okay, we're selling about 30 of these a month, so I can order in advance. Whereas when you're doing just vintage, you might find one great seller, but then you're not going to find it again. So it really allows me the flexibility to scale my business when I have a consistent stream of inventory.

Yeah, absolutely. You're doing all the same amount of work to sell one item that you could be to sell 10 items, right?

100%, yes.

And you moved into more of a lifestyle and decor space. Tell me about how you started just originally sourcing products and really testing what your customers loved, because there's a lot of rabbit holes you could have gone down. There's a lot of inventory options that you could have brought in under that umbrella. How did you test and repeat that process to get the right mix?

Well, I like to say that the customer chooses what we sell in the store. They vote with their dollar every time they enter my store. So, yeah, they get to choose. I mean, their dollars are boats.

I love that. What are some of your main categories today and how do you continue? I guess this is maybe the nerdy part of all of this, right? The reports that we dig into and the strategy that we dig into by feeding the greatest animal on our sales floor. How are you looking at that inventory on a weekly basis and continuing to feed those bestsellers?

Yeah, so whatever is hot is what I order. So I can take a look at, you know, my sales. And if I find that 5% of my sales were within this category, then I want to make sure that 5% of my budget goes to buying that. And those numbers just to really even out so that I. If I spend 10% on something but we only sold 5%, then maybe we need to put that item on sale. But yeah, I want everything to just be in alignment so that our budget is serving the customer.

And yeah, yeah. With a decor and like a lifestyle business, you have so many more categories than a traditional apparel boutique would. You know, typically an apparel boutique is going to have some sort of top as a bestseller, and we've got some denim and bottoms and some accessories. But I love that strategy of breaking it down by percentages. How are you, like, when you think about merchandising? Are you trying to provide that same, like, square footage in kind of a similar fashion to what those top categories are?

It's. I don't know if it works out necessarily that way, because sometimes, like jewelry, for instance, takes up very small amount of square footage. And that's one thing I actually learned when I was selling furniture is how enormous, like a sofa can take up so much square footage. And if it sits there for two or three or four months, you just paid rent on that square footage and you got nothing back from it. So it's interesting because jewelry and candles and there's. There's some things that are very small and they have a high dollar amount and they sell quickly. So those are the things you want to focus on. And then the larger things that are just kind of sitting there are not going to help Help you pay the bills.

Yeah, yeah. You had talked about vertical integration and just, you know, another step on the way to being more profitable and really looking at those sales numbers is understanding, you know, what am I selling but then also what's my cost of goods sold and how can I lower that cost of goods sold to always build more margin into my business? How did you start to go down that path and where did you start to find those opportunities in your business along the way?

Yeah, so I think when I started using profit first, it really helped me gain this greater perspective with this like 10,000 foot view so that I could see everything laid out in front of me and really go after that low hanging fruit, if you will. So my largest expense is always going to be cost of goods sold. And if I can help shave off percent here or percent there, it's really going to add up dramatically over the course of a year. So one of the reports that I love to read is my, my top five selling items. And consistently I was seeing that candles were two of the top five selling items, which is bananas. I mean that's crazy. I have thousands of things in the store, so the fact that they would show up as two of the top five is really crazy. So the customer is sending a clear message that they love candles. So what I was able to do is create a candle line. It's called Bohemian Botanicals and it's made in house and it reduces. I mean our margins are so yummy and juicy on those and they really help us get through those rough times because we can, we just have such healthy margins on those. And because people are loving candles so much, we've started a candle subscription club, which I'm very excited about. So it's like a wine club, but it's for candle lovers. And it's a new scent, seasonal scent, sent to you each month. So that's something that I'm excited to share with everybody. It's kind of a new thing. And jewelry is another category that has like you can produce it for low margins and then sell it for very high margins. So I travel frequently and I've learned to integrate my travels into jewelry production trips. So I take a suitcase of supplies with me, like chains and clasps and jump rings and I spread it all out on a table and I will hire some of the local girls and I'll sit down and I'll teach them how to make jewelry. And then I come come home with this suitcase of gorgeous jewelry to put in my stores.

How did you start to do that. How did you start to find local artisans to help you with that? And do you usually find the same ones if you're traveling to the same locations? Yes.

Yeah, actually. So I started. Well, I. I lived in Costa Rica for many years, so I already have, like, a friend base there. So it was, you know, just friends that I had coming to help me. And then in the Philippines, there's a local surf team, and they're always fundraising and stuff. So I was able to reach out to the coach of the surf team there, and we had some of the girls come over, and it was great because they made money and we had, like, a big pizza party, and then I get to take my jewelry home.

That's awesome. That is so awesome. Gosh. I'm just thinking about that process of understanding those opportunities in your business. Did that start when you just had one brick and mortar? Did you feel like you really had to get your arms around and optimize this one business that you had before you started to expand? Because sometimes girls will ask, you know, is it time for me to grow another location? And sometimes the answer is, honestly, no. Wait, you're not ready. There's things we have to get worked out here first. What was that process like for you to get your arms around and decide when to get bigger?

So when I could afford to pay an employee to be at the store full time, and then I was still, you know, paying myself in addition to that, that's when I knew I could open another location.

Talk to me about some of the analytics that you went through or the reports or how you made some of those projections for that second location.

Well, it's a lot easier to make the projections. Once you have all the data or several years of data, then you can, you know what your labor costs are going to be, you know what your cost of goods sold is going to be, you know what your operating expenses are going to be. So, yeah, just plugging those into a spreadsheet, you know what insurance is going to be. So that part is pretty simple. And then the more you grow, the more hats you can take off. So a lot of people say, oh, my gosh, how do you travel several months of the year with three stores? But the reality is that the more hats you're able to, you know, the more stores you have, the more income you have, and the more you can hire out. When you're a solopreneur. Solopreneur, you're doing everything. But if the more you grow, the less you. You can. You have to do you can write yourself out of it.

Yeah. You know, I love hearing you say that because I feel like that's a soapbox. I get on a lot talking about an entrepreneur versus a CEO mindset, which is exactly what you're demonstrating. Sometimes it's easier said than done. Some people don't like, they're scared to give up the control and turn things over. Tell me about that process for you. Is there times where that's a little bit intimidating or how did you start to take some of those hats off and pass them off to others and feel good about it?

Yeah, I mean, it's a compromise. You know, I feel like you have to give up an attachment to perfection, which you should anyways, because perfection will not serve you. So is it going to turn out the way you would do it? Probably not. Is that okay? Yeah, that's probably okay. So, you know, just letting people take on tasks and put their own spin on things and ultimately giving up a little bit of control.

Hey guys, you've heard me talk about Management One and you know they're the leading provider of merchandise intelligence, planning, business insights and education for thousands of retailers around the world. For nearly 35 years, M1 has leveraged its ability to collect, process and analyze retail data to build reliable growth and profitability plans for its customers. And as the number one provider of merchandise intelligence for retailers, they combine not only industry leading data platform, but also proven retail consulting to help put you in control of your inventory and your business. If Covid's taught us anything, you guys in retail, it's that adaptation is everything and smart inventory planning is key. We can never change those fundamentals of retail success. So by combining Management One with the boutique hub, retailers have grown their business to new heights with increased cash flow and reduced inventory burdens overbuying under buying and all the struggles that come with managing this key aspect of the retail science in your business. Guys, reach out to Management One for more information on how to manage your inventory, your cash and project your profitability.

In order to grow and not be in every location every day. And to have these employees, right to take over these hats, you had to become a master of your operational game plan. Whether that's your handbook or your operations manual or SOPs, which I get so excited talking about. I know you built a beautiful system around this. Where did you start building out these systems and processes?

So yeah, I think we just kind of figured it out along the way. You know, you kind of grow into it. I like to say you're like a hermit Crab. And it's like the hermit crab is always looking for a new shell to grow into. And at first that shell is going to feel really big and really heavy and really uncomfortable because he's just going to be dragging it along. But ultimately he grows into it, and then eventually the shell's too small. So as we grow, our. Our, you know, our standard operating procedures grow with us and they get more detailed and. Yeah, so we have Google sheets. We have Google sheets for everything. Arriving, inventory, damages, where our sales goals, supply, needs. So we're all on the same page. And our employee manual is really cool. It's got all the information, and I have recently integrated it with my YouTube library of training videos. So our employee manual is hyperlinked to YouTube videos, which is pretty useful and effective way of training people.

Yeah, we were just actually talking about this inside of retail boot camp and the importance of using video. Because it's one thing to read and, like, sign your name at the bottom of a handbook, it's another to watch your video and fully comprehend. And gosh, I think that's so true with not just what's in the handbook, but again, all the training. Some people come to our teams and they might be just out of high school or college, and really, do they know how to sell? Do they know how to serve our customer? Do they really understand the mission? Are they bought into it? In your. Like, as you've built out this library, what do you think are some of the most important videos that you have that, looking back, you would tell others do this first.

So aside from operations, just like how to run the register and how to sell a gift card and how to do a return. Hi. Make videos about how we make our customer feel, because that's the most important thing that we can do is acknowledge our customer, make them feel seen, build a connection with our customer. So those videos, I want my new employees to start with that and just kind of share our culture with the new employee.

That's so good. And it. And it takes time. Do you also. This is maybe silly question. Let me refrain. What is your ongoing training system besides the videos? Are you guys meeting weekly? You said you're communicating in basecamp. How else are your employees receiving ongoing education?

So, yeah, we do communicate on home base with each other on a daily basis. We have weekly zooms. But to be honest, I don't. I try to make those not about work. I try to make those a place where my employees feel seen and heard and important. And I try to make it like a little Mastermind, Honestly, like where I shine a light on them and they get to share and they feel supported and they feel a part of a community, I think that's really important. I want them to do that for our customers and so I think it's important that I do that for them. So we'll do a little breath work, we'll do a little journaling and we don't talk about work. We just kind of solidify our bond and our relationship as co workers and human beings.

I love what you just said and really what I hear you saying, what this comes down to is that you're more interested in the well being of your team and your people than just the performance of the company. And I'm assuming that that bodes well for you and it increases the overall performance of your team because you know, or they know you're that invested in them. Is that kind of what you see it as. As well?

Absolutely. Yeah. I feel like, you know, as their leader, I want them to. I care more about what they do when, when they leave, about them and what they do after they leave me than how they perform in my store. Like, I want them to feel supported, I want them to feel seen and heard. And I think that's so valuable because they're going to do their job better when they're part of a bigger picture.

Yeah, absolutely. We were just, our team was actually just talking about this and how some people are big thinkers.

Right.

And other people are so task oriented that they can't get past just the task that they're completing. And so we always, we ask our team, okay, take the task that you're doing and then ask yourself why or so what, three times to get to the root of why am I doing this thing? And how does this support the overall mission of the team or the qbr? You said you've read Profit First.

Yes.

Mike Michalowicz has another book called Cloud Clockwork where he defines this qbr, the Queen B roll. And I love that whole system when, when you're thinking about your team, how are you also rewarding them based on performance? Do you do some bonuses and incentives or how are they tracking ongoing progress in your stores?

Yeah, so we've always had commission, so we have an interesting setup, but they definitely get a piece of the pie. And yeah, we reward them not just on overall sales, but then we have like different rewards for them. So each store, if they meet their goal, then everybody gets an additional reward for that month. Yeah.

So they have individual commission plus an overall goal. I always hear mixed reviews on commission, so I'm curious on A, how you track it, but B, some people work more hours than other people do. You get kind of any battles between your team wanting to work more, con more hours so they can earn more commission, or how do you, like, make that an even playing field or an opportunity for people?

Yeah, I've actually been able to give everybody the shifts that they want, so that's never usual. That hasn't been a problem. But we. So they don't. Their commission starts at a certain dollar value, so I make sure I break even before I start paying them commission. So they have to reach an X amount of dollars before they're able to receive a commission. Because if I'm not making money, then they're gonna make money.

Amen to that. We talk a lot about that internally as well. Just how, you know, bonuses are structured. The company has to win first in order for everybody to win.

Right, right.

Exactly right. What's been maybe the biggest mistake you feel like you've made in hiring your team and building out multiple locations? There's probably some growing pains in there somewhere.

Oh, for sure. So I would probably not recommend hiring a friend because you. A relationship with an employee is going to end. I mean, they're not going to work for you forever. I mean, it's very unlikely that they'll be with you forever. So you have to think about that. And, like, if they maybe have a different style of doing something that isn't compatible with your vision for the store, it's not personal. But because you're friends, it might end up being taken personally. So to avoid that, I would avoid hiring friends. I think I might have learned this in Boutique Hub, but hire slow fire fast, you know, when it's not a good fit. So don't drag it on. Like, just pull that band aid off and move on. Because there's somebody out there that's going to be a better fit for that position. And the faster you move on, the happier everybody's going to be. Because if they're not doing a good job, they're not happy. They don't want to be there either. So just pull the trigger and get them out.

That's such good advice. It's kind of like, why do we discipline our kids? And I am guilty of saying this to my kids all the time. I discipline you because I love you. And if I didn't love you or didn't respect you, I would just let you get away with this crap. But I love you too much. To do that. And I heard on another podcast the other day something similar. They were talking about, obviously, the importance of your company culture, which it sounds like you've got this, you know, you've really invested in your people. And they were saying, when there's an issue and someone is a cancer to your culture, if you don't take immediate action on it, two things happen. Either your team thinks you look weak because you're not strong enough to have a confrontation, or. Or they think you look stupid because you are not smart enough to recognize what's happening in front of your very own eyes. And the faster you can take care of it, the less damage those two assumptions are going to do to your business and your reputation. When I heard that, I stopped dead in my tracks. That is so humbling as a leader, but inspiring to be able to step up and go, this is an issue. We've got to fix it.

Absolutely. And it's not fair to the rest of the team. If there's somebody that's not pulling their weight, that then, yeah, it just devalues their work. I mean, they're like, why am I working so hard when this person's just skating by? It is toxic to a team.

Yeah. So obviously with three locations and a profitable business, you've had some growth strategy. Talk to me about two of your top growth strategies that have helped drive new customers into your storefronts.

You know, a lot of our growth is just organic. I think people, people telling people, just solidifying that connection with our existing customers and really focusing on them and let them bring us new people. Let them, you know, they're going to do a better job of singing our praises than we ever could. So having our customers attract customers is basically our strategy.

Are you with any big rewards or like loyalty programs or do you ask them to check in or like take a picture and post on Instagram when they're with you, or is there a way that you continue to encourage word of mouth?

Those are all great ideas. And I don't do any of them. Yeah, no, but I should start to do that. Yeah, perfect.

If someone's listening right now and they're like, man, this is inspiring. Like, Faith Scott got this cool lifestyle business going on.

What are.

What's one or two tips you would give to a listener today that if you were in their shoes, you would be like, ah, do this. Take action on this. This really helped me.

So profit first, I would say, you know, get that going immediately because it does give you that 10,000 foot view. It allows you to make really strategic decisions in your business with your money, which is everything. I would also say, you know, grow your team. You. You are not. You can't do this on your own. You're going to want a vacation and protect your time. You can't be working all the time. So, yeah, grow your team, protect your time, and use profit first.

I love that. All right, Faith, I always have one final question that I think is so important because I think we're very much on the same page, that life and business are not about the products that we sell.

Right.

Or the money that's in the bank, as great as that might be sometimes. But think about your business and your life 30 years from now, and you're on the front porch and you're with family and friends and grandkids, if that's it, and you're talking about the businesses that you've built and the life that you lived. In that conversation, what is the thing that you want people to remember the most about you and the life you live?

Well, I think it's all about the connections that we made and the relationships that we built with, you know, Boho Bungalow is just a space, and it's all the people. It's about the people that we attracted within our space. And, yeah, all the connections and the relationships that we built and just being able to grow our community. That's what I'm most proud of.

Looking back, I love that. And you're absolutely right. And it sounds like you're leading your business in that spirit. And I just have to acknowledge just talking to you, I can feel that warmth about you and how genuine you are and how invested you are in those relationships. So I'm sure your customers are coming back and using word of mouth for those very same reasons.

Thank you.

Well, Faith Parker, thank you so much for joining me on the show today. We will definitely link up your business in the show notes. We'll link up profit first as well, because I know you mentioned that, and that's so important. I couldn't agree more. But thank you, too, for being a Boutique Hub member and for sharing your story with us today.

Thank you, Ashley. It's been an honor to be here.

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.