#638: Building Community, Balancing Chaos, and Embracing the Entrepreneurial Journey

Are you somebody who battles with ADD or adhd? Or maybe someone in your family is battling ADD and adhd? This has been a new journey for the Alderson household. I'll say it's been something two of our kids have definitely been on this journey with for a number of years and this year it really came to light with us in a way. I'm going to tell you about today on the podcast, but as I've been walking this path, I've been so thankful for others who have walked this path, who have shed light and shared experiences and given me tips and resources and all the things and and one of those people who reached out and shared a ton of information with me was an amazing member of the Boutique Hub, Danielle Resigui. Danielle is a very familiar face in the Hub. She is such a giver and somebody who answers a lot of questions and just inspires so many other members. And so I couldn't wait to get her on the show today, not only to talk about what it means for her to live in community over competition as she does, but also as an entrepreneur. Tips and tricks and strategies that she's found to help her with this ADD battle as she's also been battling with her own family. So come on in behind the scenes, this entire conversation about life, business and family. I hope you guys find a ton of value from today's conversation and I just want to invite you if this is something that's near and dear to your heart, as I'm sure so many of you have personal stories here. Jump into the main members group here at the Hub, those of you who are members of the community and let's keep that conversation going. I'm going to have some threads and some posts so we can keep coming back and sharing resources with those of you who really need it most. Or as always, reach out to us on Instagram at the Boutique Hub or AJ Alderson and I would love to personally keep the conversation going there as well. All right, with that, let's get started. I can't wait for you to hear this conversation with Danielle. Business can be a lonely game, but it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat where we explore community over competition and how to score scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and I can't wait to.

Chat.

Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast this week. If you are a member of the hub community, this is going to be a familiar face to you today. So, Danielle, thanks for joining me on the podcast today.

Thank you for the invite.

I love it. I always, I appreciate when I go through our Facebook groups at the Hub and you know, there's only so much like our team can catch in the comments. Like, we try to answer as many as we can. And a big part of the Hub is it's all about the community. It's all about who you know and connecting with people and community over competition. And so when I look at the groups and just, you know, who's commenting and who's sharing, you're always on the list. You are such a giver in our community and I appreciate that and I know the members appreciate that. Sometimes people just need to hear from someone like, that are in their exact shoes in situation right now. And you provide that to a lot of people. So I couldn't be more excited to have you on the podcast today. This is going to be great.

Thank you. I feel like every time you say that, I'm like, oh, I'm such a chatty Kathy. Like I was the girl getting in trouble for that on my report card in school, you know, and now I'm like. And I feel like because my name is so recognizable because it's weird that, like, people definitely know when it's me and they know my weird name, but.

We, everyone needs that. Everyone needs a person they can trust, right? Like, you've built that trust. You've built that rapport with people. I think that goes a long way. And I mean, it's the mission, it's why the group is there. Imagine if nobody answered anybody's question, right? Like, I just am a big believer of like, you get what you give. And so if you aren't showing up to give someone else hope or inspiration or an answer to a question, why would you expect anyone to do it for you? Sure. So with that, we've got a lot to cover today. A lot of different squirrel topics that are going to be impactful, I think, to a lot of people. So before we get there, take me back. How'd you get started in the business?

So I started in the MLM world nine, nine and a half years ago almost. I think I said in our like pre interview notes, like, I, I've done every iteration of this business, right? I've done like the MLM thing. I've done it in my house with little kids. We Had a trailer at one point to make events easier. And then we moved up to a mobile boutique for bigger events. And then Covid hit and then it was all at home. I was there when like live selling really started. So we've done that and I've burned out on that. And now we have the brick and mortar. So we went independent and opened the brick and mortar. Well, we went independent three years ago. The brick and mortar took way longer than expected. But we opened in September 2022. So we're located in our little historic village. We're a big town that likes to pretend they're still a small town.

Yeah.

But we aren't like on the main drag where all the big boxes are. We're in our little historic village.

I love that. So tell me, tell me a little bit more just for everyone listening about what you sell, kind of what your team looks like. Tell me more about what the brick and mortar in the business looks like right now.

Yeah. So right now we. Yeah, like I said, we have a brick and mortar. We have about 1500 square feet. I have three part time employees. One is like my right hand girl. And then we have a couple other that just kind of fill in as needed. We, yeah, we're located in our little brick and mortar in our little village. We have mostly women's clothing, accessories, gifts. I am a big reader, so we've kind of incorpor over the last couple of months. I started a book club in January. I have a friend that does like the mystery blind date with the books for us. Those are selling like hotcakes. So like, I'm bringing that part of my personal life into the business too, you know?

Yeah.

Bookish gifts and stickers and buttons and all the, you know, bookish things. So that's become a part of it too in the last few months.

I love seeing the two of those things kind of crossover. Right. Like the apparel side of things, but also like the gift, especially if it's personal to you. Things that you really can relate to. Crossover.

Yeah. And you know, we don't have a lot of small owned shops in town where we're a sleepy little village, but we're getting there. And so I want to be the spot that people can come for unique gifts if they don't want to hit the big boxes on the main drag. You know, like I want them to think of. Of me for those little kinds of things.

Yeah, absolutely. All right. I don't think I've ever asked anyone this question before, but I think it's A question people want to just like they just want to know the background. I want to know a day in the life of a boutique owner. I want to know a day in the life of Danielle. What does it look like?

Day in the life. So for me I, we are open 10 to 6 Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday, Monday is my weekend. But on those weekdays that my kids are here and need to get to school.

Right.

We just started summer break. Today is the first day of summer break. But typically I'm up at 6 to get my kids started. They are in three different school buildings. So we have three different like bus drop off times. So we get all the kids going. My husband's going to the gym and getting himself ready. I get myself ready, head to the shop. There's so many hats that we wear as boutique owners. I mean it's like I said, we have a small staff, so I'm still social media and I'm doing the backgroundy business stuff, updating the website, making sure emails are going out, sourcing products. I have my right hand girl, like I said that she has gotten really good at like writing the product descriptions and kind of passing off some of those tasks within the shop. So like as far as getting things online and taking pictures and all of that, she has really stepped up and been able to help with a lot of that stuff. But I feel like for me and I like the nitty gritty techie stuff, I feel like that's a lot of the questions that I answer in the group, like shopify, nitty gritty kinds of things. I enjoy that. I've, I guess I've always been kind of techie so that's like a fun part for me is figuring out all that background stuff. I'm working on SEO since like February. I took a class on SEO, so I've been doing like a lot of that background stuff. But I'm typically in the shop like four to six hours a day and then home with the kids for all the things. We have four kids, so all the sports and things.

Yeah, I didn't realize that. What are the ages of your kids?

Yep, we have a nine year old little girl and then three boys, 13, 15, 17.

Oh man. Okay. There's a lot of things happening in your house.

Yeah. Three teenage boys and a little one. Yep.

Yeah, totally got it. I love it. All right, so I, I love that you just segued this perfectly for me. But a conversation that I find us having a lot in the groups. You have the conversation I've been having the Conversation. It's just there's a lot to do as a business owner, and I think sometimes, like, we feel so scattered trying to do it all. So we have this conversation about ADD adhd, how to just like, keep yourself on track if that's how your brain functions. Because as a business owner, I think naturally a lot of us are squirrels anyway. Like, we're all chasing all the shiny objects. And so just for someone that you know, has personally battled with ADD adhd, how do you set yourself up for success with all those things going on every single day?

So I guess I learned kind of early on, number one is like, our family calendar always comes first. That, that always goes on the calendar first. And then I work around that. I just. This hustle culture thing, like, I've been there. I probably was too far into that at one point. Having the brick and mortar really helps me separate work life from home life. This room that I'm in now, that's my husband's office, used to be the boutique room. And it was really hard to kind it off at the end of the day. So for me, having it physically separated is really good for me. I come home and I'm home. I'm. I don't work until 1 in the morning, a lot of nights. And you know, I used to do more of that, but our family calendar always comes first. And then I, I fit work around that. I knew right away, like I needed to hire. I probably hired, I think within two months of opening the brick and mortar. Like, I wanted to get my feet under me, just see what the foot traffic and daily tasks looked like before I felt like I could hire someone, before I felt like I knew what I needed somebody else to help with. But I, but I absolutely schedule them around my family life. And then I'm. Because of my add, I'm not great at coming up with the processes, but I, I like crave them. I know I need processes that help and work. So like, when I find the thing that works for me, like, I stick with it. And I feel like my ADD hacks are like, crucial to my success. Yeah, Google home was like a game changer. We got a Google home. I don't probably like eight years ago now, but just little things like when I'm making dinner and my hands are covered in chicken goo, like being able to add things to the grocery list just by saying, hey, add this to the grocery list. Because if I wait until I'm done making dinner and then grab my phone and then there's some notifications, Like I'm lost, I'm gone. Those like voice reminders for everything is a game changer for me. I have this remarkable tablet which I recently purchased which again game changer. It's such a silly little thing and I put off buying it for so long but just knowing where all my notes for everything are in one place. It's game changer. Instead of having post IT notes and 16 different notebooks, I have them all but they're all right here. These techie kind of things that how I don't know what I would have done if I existed in the world 25 years ago because there wouldn't have been all these helpful things. But yeah, figuring out kind of those, those tricks that help me stay organized. And on top of all the things that's.

Yeah. Are there other apps that you also like are like must have apps whether it's like on your phone or on Shopify that you're like, oh, these things also are game changer just to keep me organized.

So yes, on my phone I have an app called Stay Focused. It's available both Google Play and it literally blocks Facebook. You can choose which apps you want it to block. I have it blocking all the social media apps. After I scroll for 10 minutes it turns them off and you can customize the little screensaver basically that it gives you. But it's like do something productive with your time. Time is time is valuable. Do something more important than this because I will totally get lost. But that's saves me. I have a thing on Google Chrome that blocks the news feed. Like I can still access my group, my page, but there's no news feed. I think it's called Kill feed is the Google extension. But like I need those so I don't get lost in scrolling for days and days. I have, I have to be on Facebook because that's where my business runs. But I can't get lost in it.

So that's really helpful. What about your team? Like have you also set your team up? Because I feel like half of the battle is like not only what can you manage but like who are you surrounding yourself with and how can they also support you? Because their brain works different than yours does. So what does that look like with your team? How have they also set you up for success?

Yes. So I got, I got super, I don't know lucky. The first person that I interviewed is my, my go to girl and she, when she interviewed she also cleans houses and I was like ding ding. I am not good at staying on top of dusting and all those little things. So I was like, okay. She's like, oh, I love organizing stuff. I'm like, check. Like, you are who I need. So she is so good about keeping me on top of all those kind of little things that I just don't even have to worry about so much of it. Like, the back room, if it gets messy, like, Mikayla will take care of it. If, you know, the behind the cash wrap things are kind of scattered because you grab a pen and then, you know, there's all those little things that get kind of stuck behind the cash wrap. Like, Michaela will clean and take care of all of that and, like, done. So, like, having somebody whose brain works totally different than mine, she. I'll tell you the funny story. When within a month of her working, she turned and looked at me and she said, do you have add? And I was like, yes. What did I do? She said, well, you said you were going to build this bookshelf, but you went in the break room and now you have a bowl of chips. And I was like, right. So I thought the screwdriver I needed was in the break room, but then I saw the chips, and you're right. Now I'm having a snack at my computer instead of building the bookshelf. Like, I totally. If you give a mouse a cookie right there. Huh. So she even saw it so fast. But she knows how to kind of, like, keep me on track and level. Yeah.

You know what's so funny? I feel like that I think there are more entrepreneurs that have ADD than even recognize in themselves. Right. Like, to me, that's the trait that allows you to be an entrepreneur because your brain can jump from one thing to the next, and that's like an essential task. But there's this book called Rocket Fuel. I don't know if you've read it. It's from Gino Wickman. It's the whole, like, Eos family of books. But he talks about the relationship between the visionary of the company, which is you, the owner. Right. And then the right hand person, the integrator. And essential that relationship is because one is that, like, ah, we're gonna do all the things, and the other person's like, here's how we're gonna do all the things.

Yes.

So I think essential for everyone listening, like, if you don't have a right hand, even if they're part time.

Yes.

Find somebody who can be your integrator. Would you agree?

Yes, absolutely. And I'm such a pencil and paper person, which is why the remarkable works for me. But at the shop, we literally just have a paper notebook. And when I'm in the shop and I'm doing things, but I notice a task that needs to be done, but I don't have to do it. I mean like I go immediately, I write it down in the notebook as like a task from Danielle. And then I know that when my staff comes in, they check that and they can get those things done on the list. You know, just like, oh crap, the plants need watered, the jeans need restocked, you know, because I was helping a customer and I realized, I know we have more of this style, but they're in the back underneath of three other things. Like I can write that on the list and they will handle it when they come in because I'm doing this other stuff. So yeah.

Hey, can we meet up in person? It is one of my favorite things to do here at the Boutique Hub. To get to meet you face to face, to hear your personal business story and your journey and what you're working on, but also to put you in contact with and to build friendships with some of the most amazing business owners from around the world. Boutique owners, wholesale brands, industry service providers and experts. All of us together in one room. And that's what we do at our annual Boutique Summit event this year. I would love for you to come to Dallas, Texas, of course, on June 8th and 9th for our annual Boutique Summit. Our theme this year is the summit and your business completely reimagined. And I think it's time for that theme to take effect. Right. We have been through some crazy highs and lows in this industry and I think going into 2025 we are all ready to reimagine what's possible in this industry and in your business personally. So get ready for detailed hands on workshops. Not just you listening to speakers, but you actually getting things done, pulling out your Facebook ads account and building some ads or planning out an entire quarter of content, maybe doing some social media audits with some of our most well listened to experts in the room along with fellow boutique owners. It's time to dig deeper into your business. And that's what we're going to do together at the Boutique Summit in Dallas, Texas June 8th and 9th. I hope to see you there. It is our biggest and best and favorite event of the year. And it's time to take your business to the next level. Let's do it together. Do you find that just like with feeling scattered, I know, this is how I feel anyway, having like data or stats or a scorecard or, like some kind of running metric that every single week, I know I'm accountable to. To me, that's been something that's really helped me to stay on track, even if my brain's like 10,000 different places. Is that same for you? Like, do you have, like, data metric scorecards that every single week, you're like, okay, I know I'm on track because I'm accountable to these numbers.

We do, yes. So we. We've had a couple of iterations of it because as we go, we learn other things. But again, like a paper. I have one right here. We have a paper tally sheet of customers in and customers and orders made and sales for the day and what our conversion percentage is. And we've been keeping track of this since the day we opened. And then I have somebody else that puts it all into a spreadsheet for me and makes it look pretty so I can understand it better. But yeah, we keep track of this for every shift. And I get, like. Because I'm a pencil paper person, writing it down makes it go into my brain better somehow. If it's just on the computer, no. Good for me. I have to write it down also. But in bootcamp, which I've been in, I don't know how many since the beginning, I think almost three years now, because I joined the bootcamp before we even opened the shop. But you guys have, like, a tracker, and I've added things to it over the years, and now that's just routine. Every week, I write down these metrics in the bootcamp, and I write down, you know, our Facebook followers, our Instagram followers, our Pinterest, all that stuff. And then I found a way to code it so it makes it either green or red based on the week before, whether it's gone up or down. Because just being able to quick see that green or red makes more sense to me than reading a black and white text. Yeah. So, yeah, So I do that every week. I mean, bootcamp ended a few weeks ago now, but I stay on top of that. And I've added other metrics that matter to us. Some SEO stuff that I've been working on. I want to see that growth now. It's so helpful.

And so for those of you who are listening and you're like, what is she even talking about? Retail Bootcamp is. It's like a. I'll call it like a college for boutique owners.

Agree.

A fair explanation of it.

Like a boutique ownership course. Yes, yes.

And the cool part about it, like you said, is you've been a part of it for so long, you join once, you pay once, but then it's live group coaching twice a year, two semesters a year, every year, for as long as you want. So it's pretty crazy because your business is really only as small as it's going to be today, right? Like, it's always going to change, evolve. But that is one of the first things we talk about, is it's so easy, I will say, especially as a female, but also as somebody. Like, that's scattered, right? Like add, to rely on your emotions to tell you, how am I doing this week? And you can get a very skewed response based on how you think you're doing this week, unless you have a, you know, definite CEO dashboard scorecard that you're accountable to. So that's the first thing we teach. And we give everybody this scorecard. You fill it in every single week. You make it your own. And the green and red numbers also very, very helpful. So you can instantly see it. I love that you've done that. I'd have to steal it back from you. You're coded version of it.

Sure.

All right, so tell me about this. So there's life for us as entrepreneurs, and we get it right, like that. The add comes with the territory. I have found that outside of this world, there's a lot of people who don't get it, who don't think it comes naturally. So I'm dying to hear your answer to this, but let me just set you up with a story. So our daughter Hadley is now just going into high school. She's going to be a freshman. When she was in the third grade, her teacher, she was struggling to read, couldn't figure out how to read. We thought she was dyslexic. All these things were happening. Her teacher came to us at Christmas and showed us her test, test scores. And right in front of her, Danielle, right, like, Hadley is sitting at the table. She slides his paper across, and she's like, look at this is where her scores are. This is what's normal. And look at where she's at. And, like, showed her how far behind she was. And I'm like, woman. So we sent Hadley out in the hallway. We have this conversation with this teacher, you know, about Hadley's learning and what this looks like. And we don't know what this is. And she's like, well, it's okay. You know, there's trade schools for kids like that. And I almost like fire probably Came out of my eyeballs and my ears. I almost lost my mind. And I started to rattle off to her, like, Richard Branson and Gary V. And all these very famous entrepreneurs. I'm like, do you know who any of these people are? Like, these are Steve Jobs. Like, all these people. These were, like, C and D students with learning disabilities that struggled. They were add. They were not straight A students. I said, straight A student does not mean anything in the entrepreneurial community. Like, there is such a life out there for people like us.

Sure.

So I know you're having the same battle with your own family and just, like, trying to advocate for them, as I know so many people listening are as well. Yeah. So talk to me about this journey. You've had your own journey, but now your family's walking through that. What does that look like?

Yes. So my husband and I were both diagnosed with ADD as adults. I always knew my husband had it. And I was going to therapy when some of our. When I think when our boys were little, when they were finally in preschool for half a day, all of them. And I was like, I have three hours. And I was going to therapy. And my therapist said to me very. Again, very quickly, she was like, do you think you have add? And I was like, me, no. My husband has add, but it looks very different on women, on men, on adults. And, you know, so over the years, I mean, I think it's been. Been almost 10, probably 12 years since I was diagnosed that I've done a lot of reading and research about it and how. How it presents so differently than what we think it is. I have one child who is very classic squirrely, Always tapping a pen, always making noise. He never sits still in his seat. Like, he is more clear, and it affects him more in school. I have another that I know has ADD because my husband and I have walked it, but his teachers don't see. Because he does well enough. And what I realized is when other people set, like, the schedule for me, like, I could. I could manage it because I was told where to be and they got me there, and I. The bell rang, I knew where I had to be next, and. But when it was up to me to create those schedules and processes, like, it's completely overwhelming in a totally different way. And then I'm responsible for other humans who are also struggling with it. So, yes, we are walking through diagnosis for some of our kids right now and what that means. And I think one of them feels like, well, if I get a diagnosis and I get medication, then it will be fixed. I'm like, well, it's also not that easy. Like, you do have to teach yourself tips and tricks that work too. Like 1. Finding the right medicine is not easy because I've been through this for years now trying to find something that helps on that end. But I've also along the way had to teach myself tips and tricks and find things that help me. I have to put my phone across the room because if it's in my hand, I will look at it and get lost in those notifications. You know, like you can't hold it in your hand and think you're going to get other things done. You have to learn to put it away. But that's a self control thing. That's not your medicine. A diagnosis is not going to help with those things. So yeah, we kind of have all spectrums of it going on in our house. Our poor children were doomed with both my husband and I having it. But yeah, we've, we've walked through lots of different pieces of it.

Yeah, that's the same here. I know you've, you've heard this part of my conversation as well. Now our youngest is going through it, who's turning 10 this summer. And hers has been very different as well. Like every kid is so different. She also like the emotional side of things. She's either very, very happy or very, very mad. And you could snap your fingers and she could switch to the other one instantly. Like huge personality and huge life, which I know will be her superpower someday. Like truly it will. But to manage it and to get her where she needs to be, figure.

Out how to work with it. Yes. I have a couple friends that are way better at seeing their, the gifts of ADD than I am. Like, I, I still have to work really hard to like get over the criticism of it and the kind of like lifelong shame of it. Like being late for things. My, my aunt say like such hurtful things to me about being late or like how disrespectful I am of other people's times. Like my brain literally can't. Like I have time. Blindness is a huge thing for me. And so that, that shame of, of, of, of like the people think I disrespect other people because of being late for something or missing a thing I was supposed to do. Like, it's just, just it's my, my brain does not work that way. So getting through that and seeing the gifts of it has been more difficult for me that I think some, some other people have great like ease of accepting the gifts that it is, because the creativity and the ability to switch and ideas and dream up all kinds of things and then make it happen. Like, that's the beauty of add, but it's. It's a process to get there.

How have you learned to talk to your family about it and your kids about it? Like, I'm sure as an. As an entrepreneur and being surrounded by so many other people who I know battle with it, how does that change your conversation with them so that they don't find themselves, like, in a shame trap along the way as well?

Yes. I mean, I think it's. For us, it's just a conversation of, like, we've been there too, and, like, look what we've been able to do and build. Like, you. You can have all the things that you want. It's just a matter of figuring out what works and for you. I. I visited. I did field day with my daughter school the other day, and there was a child who obviously had some special needs. And one of the little girls said, oh, but he's a special kid. And I was like, we're all special kids. And she goes, oh, no, but he has special needs. I was like, we all have special needs. And that was such a, like, light bulb for me. Every single person learns differently, has different needs. It doesn't have to be, like, such a stigma thing, even if you don't have any diagnosed, you know, reason, like, we all learn differently, we all see things differently no matter what, you know, so that's a conversation we have.

That's a big. That's a big conversation. It's just I. It's such a, like, different way of thinking.

Yeah.

I'm so glad that you mentioned that, because I. I don't know, like, growing up, not realizing, like, what this was or what that meant. I feel like people talk about it so much more now than they ever used to, but it's still not enough. Like, there's still so many. And I'm not. I'm not dogging on teachers. I really love teachers, but there's still a lot of teachers who don't see it as, like, the gift of what it could potentially be someday. So definitely still more education conversation to have.

Yeah.

Any other, like, tips, tricks, strategies that you want to share on the topic?

I don't know if there's anything else jumping out at me right now.

Okay, well, let's jump into some lightning round questions. So you're gonna laugh because my first lightning round question is applicable to this conversation. So first lightning Round question is, I give you two hours back in your day and you work on income generating activities. What do you work on?

For me, my Facebook is still. That's where I live. I'm an old lady. I got a Facebook account when you had to have an Edu email address. Right. We're both about the same.

You're an elder millennial.

I'm an elder millennial. So I still live on Facebook. My business really started on Facebook because that's where I was and I didn't know any better. I've just learned along the way. But yeah, my Facebook is still prime for me. So posting in my group and on my page, I'm still battling with figuring out what works better. My group is still super active, so that's where I tend to go. But I'm trying to move it to the more public page. It's just a mindset shift of what I post where. But yeah, going to Facebook and posting like available stuff, doing little fit videos, that tends to get a huge, huge response from my, from my customers. I did like 600 on week, so we closed Saturday night. We closed Sunday, Monday. It was the weekend, obviously it was the holiday weekend. I was like, well, I don't know what people are doing, but I did 600 Saturday and Sunday just, just posting stuff on Facebook.

So yeah, Facebook's not dead. That's certainly not.

That's a quick win for me almost all of the time. Even on a holiday weekend, graduation weekend, you know, all the things.

Perfect.

Yeah. All right.

You mentioned earlier that processes are really important. Systems and process are really important just to keep you on track. So what do you feel like in your business is the unsexiest process that has the most impact on your business?

Unsexiest process. It's, I guess for me, like, it's really that techie behind the scenes stuff like making my website work easily and beautifully is because I, because I'm shopping a lot right now. I'm shopping for the summit next week. So I've been like in some of the groups looking and I go to a website and if I can't search by size, if I can't, I'm like, I'm out. Like, I, I'm not clicking on 16 Things to Find out. So every time I shop somebody else's website, I'm like, oh, make sure your website is better at that than that one was because people are turned off. So yeah, for me it's like figuring out how to create filters on my website and making sure it's Searchable for people. The SEO stuff. And watching my SEO, my, like, Google Analytics, like, oh, it's totally growing. Like, I'm getting so many more views and random customers from out of state that have no friend connections because I'm a stalker. And when somebody buys for me and I'm like, who is that? I've never heard that name before. Washington. I'm like, do we have any mutual friends? Facebook. I'm like, nope, they just came from Google. Like, aha. The SEO stuff is working. So for me, I mean, it's. It is unsexy, like, getting into the coding and that really nitty gritty background stuff. But I kind of love it. Like, it's like, it's like a challenge for me to, like, see if I can figure it out on my own and then see it grow.

It's so funny because I, I feel like when I watch your comments, like, I can see that in you. I can see, like, okay, I really, I dug into this thing and you are so nitty gritty about it. That's where the fruit is. I think that our world, like, we have such an instant gratification world. We all want what's quick and easy. If this business were quick and easy, if this were a get rich quick business, like, no, good luck. That is not what this is. It is.

You have to. I think a lot of people think it is.

Yeah, it's not.

I could go on about too, because I think people think like, oh, I'll buy some stuff, I'll get a Shopify site, I'll use some stock photos and people will find it like that. No, none of that is how this works, Daniel.

This is a whole nother podcast.

Yes, I could do a whole other podcast.

I know, I know. And yeah, we could go down this road. But I am going to say, like, if you're not willing to dig in and do the hard thing and figure it out, it's going to be a rough road.

So.

Certainly true. Okay, Best business advice that sticks with you.

Best business advice. I guess just being a learn it all has really helped me through the years. Like I said, I mean, every version of this business, if it's not working, pivot, figure something else out. Be willing to learn and embrace those challenges. I mean, I went to school to be a teacher, so I think that that's part of where this comes in is like, I went to school to be a teacher, so I think that's where, like, I don't know my coaching ness in the group. But yeah, being able to Learn it all. Pivot, keep going. Like, I look at those as, like. Like a challenge I want to beat instead of, like, getting beaten down by it. Does that make sense?

That makes sense. I love it. Like a challenge to rise up to.

Very good. Yeah.

Oh, man. Well, Danielle, this is awesome. I have appreciated this conversation so much, and I'm sure there are people at home like, ah, yes. Like, I need. We need to talk more about this. So, yeah, just as an invitation, of course, I'm gonna have your information linked up in the show notes. You're in the group for our members to find any time. But you guys, if you're listening and you have feedback, you've got thoughts, you've got questions, like, send it our way, whether it's on Instagram or in the groups, but we'd love to keep this conversation growing. Danielle, I have one last question for you before we end. So. And this is like, the big question, right? So, yes, you sell clothes. Yes, you sell products. All books, all the things. But fast forward 20, 30 years from now. You're on the front porch. You've got these four amazing kids, you've got grandbabies, and you're looking back at this journey that you lived and the businesses you created and all the things that went on. What's the thing that you want them to remember the most about you and how you lived your life?

I have been kind of mentally preparing for this question because I know you always ask it. I. I want my kids, my family to know that I prioritize them, but that I worked hard at something that mattered to me and something that mattered to other people, too. Part of the reason that we opened in our little village is because we, both of our hometowns in Georgia had these bustling downtowns with all these little businesses and restaurants and shopping and gathering opportunities. And I feel like we've missed that here. So I want to be a part of growing that, and that's so much bigger than me. Like, that's for our community, for where we live, like, bringing joy and events and gathering to. To the people that live here. So, yeah, I think it's about working hard while still prioritizing my family and growing a thing that's bigger than just me.

Yeah. So good. And lifting a lot of people up along the way as you do, hopefully. Daniel, this is. You definitely have. Thank you so much for this. Thanks for being on today. And just keep shining your light. It's a bright light. We all appreciate it. Keeper. Being the person that you are.

Thank you. Thank you. For inviting me to be a part of this. I. I enjoy it.

You're so welcome. Thanks for listening guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.