#719: The Power of Story, Style, and Sisterhood in Boutique Retail

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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 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 and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast this week. I am so excited. I've got two wonderful guests today with one incredible story to really share with everybody and kind of coming from a different retail angle than we've covered a lot on the podcast before. So, Casey, Caitlin, thanks so much for being on the show with me today.

Thanks so much for having us.

Awesome. Well, I would love to just dig into the backstory. Caitlin, why don't you start us off? You guys are a family owned business. You've got quite a history. Tell me how the business first got started.

My mother, Marie Widmire, she bought the store back in 1995 and about two weeks later found out she was pregnant with twins, which was Casey and I, we grew up in retail. It was really important for my mom to have like us involved in everything that she did. I think also even just in terms of like financial means, like she had to take us to work in order to make it work. And we just learned the tricks of the trade and after graduating college, expanded Marmalade to multiple locations and kind of here we are today with our little family empire.

Now that was a very brief overview. There's a lot of highs and lows that go into that entire story. So let me go back to the beginning. So your mom, Marie, you were in Coeur d'. Alene. That's how it started, right?

Yeah, yeah, we started in the, in the Coeur d' Alene resort, Marie's boutique. She actually worked at Marie's Boutique. Her name is Marie, started steaming clothes when she was 15. And she has quite an incredible story coming up from foster care, really now putting herself through modeling school at 13 and then steaming clothes and just being a part of the fashion industry because it's what she loved. And then got the chance to, to buy Marie's boutique when she was 28 years old.

That is incredible. That is a lot of perseverance. And so you guys saw this from the very beginning. I'm sure you feel like you grew up in the back room, probably had your own nap area in the back of the store. Yeah, right. I think there's a lot of boutique owners who can relate to that. Right. Like you. There's a whole generation of boutique kids that I see growing up. That's incredible. So how do you feel like even just that experience for you guys as. As children growing up in this industry shaped how you went through high school or going off to college? Like, how was your perspective different being involved in a family business from such a young age?

I think it also helped us develop a good work ethic. You know, we saw our mom working really hard, and so I think it. We were also in sports, so it helped us develop our work ethic a lot. And it also had us. We were really passionate about what we did. Our mom was really passionate about fashion. She loved what she did, and that energy fed into us and other areas of our life as well.

We also kind of were in an interesting time period because when we were in high school, we went through the 2007, 2008 recession. And so we really got to watch my mom, you know, she worked hundreds of days and in a row just to keep our store alive and persevere through that. And that was a crucial, like, formative time for us as, you know, 12, 13 year olds to watch my mom, you know, make us survive through that financial times.

It was an incredible time. You know, there was a lot of success stories that were born out of that time, which is, I mean, really a testament to the two of you and what you're doing right now. How do you think, having gone through that time, specifically, how does your perspective change when you look at what's happening in the economy today? Maybe you have a different outlook than someone who, say, hadn't had that experience would have.

You said that we were in high school, but we were actually a little bit younger than that.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah. I think it goes back to just making it work. I, like, have this picture of Tim Gunn in my head that says, make it work. So anytime that you have a challenge coming up, you kind of just figure it out. I think we're natural problem solvers, so I think it's just always making it work and figuring and, like, the spirit.

I think, of, like, doing it yourself. Like my mom, you know, we've gotten to periods during our boutique life where we've had a great staff where they could run the floor, they could run sales, and we could focus on buying and trend forecasting. And that kind of comes and goes in roller coasters. I mean, right now, the job market's kind of tough, and so Finding people to work is hard. And you'll see all three of us working out on the floor with customers at any given moment because we have to make it work.

We have to keep our doors open.

Yeah. There's so much resilience in just entrepreneurship. Right. That I think the general population doesn't always understand. We're kind of our own unique breed of individuals. Right?

Yeah.

Yes. All right, so fast forward. How did you guys tell me the transition story of going off to school, coming back, deciding you wanted to be a part of the family business, expanding the family business? How did that unfold?

We've always been very involved. Like, it's almost been a lifestyle for us, working in the store. We went out to college in South Carolina. Both we were doing business related degrees. I got a degree in accounting, she got a degree in finance. I always had it kind of in the back of my mind that I wanted to always be involved with the business, but I didn't really know exactly what it would look like because it was my dream to always move to New York and work in fashion. But we would work at the store in the summers during college. And after we graduated, we went back home for a little bit. I eventually ended up moving to New York shortly after I graduated college and was trying to navigate that. And then, of course, the pandemic hit. So that was like another curveball I had to figure out. And randomly one day I was googling retail spaces in Brooklyn, New York, because that was where I was living at the time. And I found a spot and I proposed it to my dad, who he runs all the financials of our business. So it's very much a family business. And so we honestly just like took the leap and made it work. And yeah, that's kind of the overview, I think too.

There's a little bit of our story that, like, as we said, we started a store in Coeur d', Alene, Idaho. So this jump to having a storefront in New York, I think was a lot of barriers of like, okay, so, you know, Casey and I see what my mom does in the store every year. In Coeur d', Alene, we have now at this point, two locations in Coeur d', Alene, a main street called Marmalade, and then Marie's boutique, which is the original boutique my mom owned. And I remember one day, like, Casey was working another retail job, and we would just compare and I would know the bottom line of what my mom did. And I kind of would be like, mom, you're kicking butt. Like you're making good money. Like, we're making more at this point than some boutique locations in New York City. And so I think that was what, like, lifts off this limitless mindset of, no, wow, we could own a store in New York.

And I think also, like, I really believed in her taste level and her talent that she had in fashion. And Coeur d' Alene is a great spot, but it's not necessarily a fashion hub, where I think my mom is really a pioneer in fashion. I think she's a visionary, and I think that I wanted more people to get a sense of her taste level and her talent. So that's kind of why I wanted to bring Marmalade and her story to a bigger place for more people to share.

I love it. So there's also a location in Savannah?

Yes, Correct.

Yeah. So many things. So when did the Savannah location come about?

We opened Savannah in June 2023. Okay. We. So we went to college in South Carolina. We fell in love with two kind of Southern charm cities, Savannah and Charleston. We would go on weekend trips, and we. We loved it there. I went on, like, a weekend trip in October 2021. I saw this space, and I, like, really liked it. There was another boutique there. I started following them on Instagram, and then fast forward about a year and a half, I saw that they were unfortunately closing. And I reached out directly to the boutique owner to kind of get a feel on the space. I wasn't really, like. It was more, like, curious. I wanted to see what was going on. And we ended up taking over her lease. We purchased all of her racks, her fixtures, her computers, everything, and took about a month after we took over to open up the store there. So. So I've always had it in the back of my mind that we wanted a store in the south just because it's a really special place for us. We went to college there. We have a lot of good memories there, and I think Savannah was the ideal location for us. The Savannah College of Art and Design is there, so it's a very artistic community. And we also like being able to support fashion students as well. So that was a very good. It was a good spot for us. And. And it sounds weird, but I feel like it makes sense for us and where we want to take the store.

There was a little bit of, like, a divine timing story with that. So Casey's off doing this research about this store. She's dreaming and all of this stuff. And we took a trip back in. Was it 2016. We took a trip to Savannah, one of those weekend trips she was talking about back in 2016. And our storefront actually used to be an old Club Monaco. And my mom took a photo of that location back in 2016 and goes, if I ever wanted to own a store, I feel like it would be here.

Oh, my God.

Fast forward to 2023. It's the spot that Casey's looking at. And my mom had to go back and look.

She was like, I'm pretty sure I took a picture of the store because I was inspired by it. Like my mom, my mom's a good artistic. She's like, she will find places and cities and be taking pictures of the architecture and just be inspired by it.

So she's just that type of. She's very much a dreamer. And so that's kind of how we run our business too.

So let's talk more about that because the most unique thing about your business and the thing that really I think has led to the success is it's very unique. The apparel that you sell is more high end, more contemporary. It's beautiful. I know your mom grew up, you know, like making pieces herself, if I remember right. Correct. So so many unique pieces there. I think, you know, we've had such an explosion in the boutique industry in the last couple of years, but it's certainly more on a lower price point of things more affordable fashion. And I think there's a miss in this mindset of, oh, my customers, you know, would never pay this or there's not a market for higher end contemporary pieces. There certainly is. So talk to me about that. Talk to me about some of the brands you carry, some of the price points, and how you really dug in to find your ide customer each time you expanded locations.

So we have a price point of about, I would say like 38 to 48 for T shirts, upwards of, you know, 800ish for like specialty coats, leather jackets. I think that as we've expanded to locations, it's also expanded our horizon on brands. And so being open to, you know, what the everyday woman wears in Coeur d'. Alene, New York and Savannah just are so different. We're such a diverse country. And so I think even just those locations have opened up our minds to, oh, wait, no, you know, women in the south, they, they want a high quality, nice dress for a wedding or a baby shower, and they are willing to spend the money for that. Casey, I don't know if she, she'll buy a little bit more for Savannah, and that's also even opened up our horizons this last year and a half.

Yes. I also think that part of our values in fashion is we want clothing that you're going to pass on to your daughters or something that's going to live for a long time in your wardrobe. I think we think a lot about sustainability in fashion. So I think we really are looking for pieces that are quality and are going to last you. We do have a good mix of brands in all of our stores. One of our best selling brands is Molly Bracken. It's also a family owned business. We love them. It does well at all of our locations. Their price point is mainly under a hundred dollars. So that's a little bit more of an affordable price point at our stores. But we also picked up kind of like fuzzy contemporary labels like Staad and we do really well with like wedding guest dresses. We have Rails, which does well at. Particularly while in Idaho, one of our best selling brands in Idaho. Customers just recognize the label. It does have that brand recognition, which is important. But then we're also trying to find younger, more up and coming brands that we want to support as well. So it's all kind of a balance that we want to mix into our stores.

I love that.

I think our Coeur d' Alene location is kind of offered a lot to the practicality of New York and Savannah. I think sometimes, at least we've noticed that our market, you know, women in Savannah and New York just have a little bit more money to spend, but that doesn't always necessarily mean the product is quality. And our life in Idaho, you know, we kind of talk about how like we wear our bags, we, we do the things, we get our shoes dirty. And so we have that environment to really test the wearability of these products.

Products.

I love that. So when you're, when you're buying, this is mainly project probably coterie. We talked about Magic New York a little bit.

Yes.

And Molly Bracken I think is even in. In Magic in Las Vegas, like on the main floor there. I love that brand, by the way, and their family story. So many quality pieces for a really great price point. So. And they've been a member of the hub too for a long time. So I love hearing that. How have you taken those pieces? And really, I think merchandising you guys mentioned is something that is one of your strongest suits in each location. Talk to me about the visual merchandising and how you're able to just tell a story with all of these pieces and give that very Unique, one of a kind experience in each of your locations.

So like we said before, my mom, she's very visual and artistic, but I also think coming from her background, she also has practicality in mind as well. So she has a very good eye for displaying things that are both visually pleasing and work well in the store functionally. So I think that's really how we merchandise our store. We want to limit the friction point. I know in a lot of contemporary and high end stores you might see only like one or two pieces out on the floor and then someone has to go in the back room and dig for it and then come back out. That's not really us. I think we really just want to be like having our customers digging through racks and we're pulling for them and we want it to be a fractionless experience. We do a lot of like styled displays. So it's putting an outfit together on a rack about how it's going to look or how you're going to wear it. My mom's very big on like the ying and the yang. She likes putting like chunkier sweaters with flowier fabric. So it's all balance and you have to move things around to stuff sells down and it's, it's always a work in progress that you have to do on the floor.

Okay, you've got to know about this if you have thought about being a member of the Boutique Hub or if you're already a member of the Boutique Hub. This year we added something that I just can't wait to get into your hands. Okay, so if you're a monthly member of the Hub. Awesome. Glad to have you. It's a great experience. But we were like people who are really serious about their business and growing it into the future. They don't just join the Hub monthly, they join for the whole year because it takes more than a month to impact and make real lasting change in your business. So this year we have updated our annual offer. For those of you who are our members are thinking about becoming a member and joining for the entire year. You want to hear about it? All right. If you're an annual member of the Hub, not only do you get access to everything the Hub has to offer from all of the education, live training, every single week, all of our exclusive, exclusive discounts, resources, wholesale brands, all the things. But now as an annual member of the Hub, you also have access to some of our very best selling masterclasses and handbooks. That's right. I'm throwing all of these crazy things in for Free if you are an annual member of the Boutique Hub. This includes our best selling Small Business Marketing Handbook, which is over 100 pages of content, calendars, live sale ideas, TikTok ideas, reel ideas, social media ideas for literally every day of the month, engagement questions for literally every month of the year, collections, event ideas to run in your brick and mortar, and so much more. The Small Business Marketing Handbook is a must have for every type of retailer, no matter what you sell. I guarantee it. We're also throwing in our Small Business Hiring Handbook, which is all the things you know to hire, train, onboard job descriptions, everything you need to know to grow a team. Plus our holiday marketing masterclass, our content Sanity masterclass, Best of our Boutique Summit, videos and so much more. There's over thirteen hundred dollars added in courses, masterclasses and handbooks just for you. Plus, when you're an annual member of the Boutique Hub, you get access to join one on one coaching calls with myself and several members of our team. We don't give out an opportunity to do one on one coaching anywhere other than for our VIP students in Retail Bootcamp or those who are members of Boutique Hubla. So this is a real opportunity for those of you who are a member of the Hub and you're like, hey, I just need to pick Ashley's brain for an hour. I need to pick Sarah's brain for an hour. What does that look like? You can book an annual coaching call if you are an annual member of the Hub. Did I say annual coaching call? I meant anytime you can book a coaching call only if you're an annual member of the Hub. So that's it. I'm excited. I'm rambling. I just want you to know if you're going to join the Hub, this is the best opportunity to get the most out of your membership. If you're already a member, reach out to our team@happypeopleboutiquehub.com we can get you upgraded to annual. If you're not yet a member, scroll all the way down to the join page at the boutiquehub.com and click annual to join us. Now I can't wait to see you inside and get you all of these extras. We're going to do a lot together to grow, scale, optimize and secure your business together in the next year. Let's get started. And how have you like when you think about these locations, right? And it's kind of like the marketing philosophy of Coke. Like a Coke is a Coke is a Coke. So when someone comes in Each of your locations, how have you standardized your training process, your customer service experience, the merchandising aesthetic? How have you standardized that? So everyone has kind of a similar brand experience in each of the three locations, even though the products are probably slightly different given the location.

We have a pretty tight knit relationship with all of our store managers. We try and get together and kind of get on the same page and talk things out. You're saying, like, the psychology of maybe a customer shopping. And then we, you know, utilize a lot of technology. We'll have some spreadsheets about what happened at the store. And so we have a good understanding of what is going on at any given day at all of the locations. And then I think we really try not to standardize too much because we want each location to have its own unique experience.

Experience.

I think that it's part of even just being a woman that adapts to our environment. You, you know, kind of when you go on vacation and you buy clothes for the, like, vacation version of yourself.

Yeah.

I think even when we went to college in the South, I had this, like, southern wardrobe that still instilled some of my personal style, but was for, like, the activities that you do in that location.

Yeah.

So, like, kind of leaving room for, like, the magic and rawness that, like, is each geographical location.

I also think in our stores, we have a common thread between all of them. So Marmalade originally started in a smaller location in Coeur d', Alene, and when we moved it to a larger location right on the main street, one of the big things was my mom really wanted a candy bar. So she was like, I love candy. We always, like, go to the mall candy store whenever we went to go shop together. So she was like, I have have to have the candy bar. Like, it has to be there. So that's something that we have at all of our locations. My mom also started these grab bags that she started selling in the store. Part of it's to share her story about growing up in foster care. And it's a little bit of an inspirational message. So she has, like, grab is an acronym for go, reach, achieve, and believe. So in the grab bag, we have, like, little accessories. We might have, like, a few left of that we need to clear out and get rid of. So it's like a $5 grab bag that you can buy, and it's a surprise item. So that's something that we have at all of our locations. And then also, we've always been into vintage decor. So all of our stores are Adorned with, like, vintage art and vintage display pieces. So it's more of that store style that is a common thread between all locations.

The vibes.

I love the vibes, and I love the grab analogy. I'm wondering how else have you worked just your family story into each of the experiences in the store and online?

Yeah, we.

We are kind of.

It's funny because I think that the Savannah store really solidified in June of 2020. Like, all right, we're in this, and we've really decided to, like, put our heads down and. And grow and build this brand because we just. We love. And even, like, watching people open up a grab bag. It's such a silly thing, but my mom, she would talk about how much, like, we have this thing, like, the surprise inside. And so, like, making sure that we have this continuity of a feeling is probably the most important to us.

That's so important. People don't remember what they bought from you, but they remember how you made them feel.

Yeah. And I think that's what helps them come back, too, is.

Yeah.

It's the psychology behind it. They want to feel good. So you want to create a good environment where people feel good.

What advice would you give to other retailers who are listening and they're considering opening a second or a third location and they're wondering, should I, shouldn't I? What do you think they should consider first? What would your advice be?

I think it depends where. Because if it's. I've seen in the boutique hub before that some people have talked about, oh, like, I might open a boutique, like, a little bit further away from where I live, or there could be another second location in your town. I would kind of.

We didn't go that route, obviously.

Yes. I think for me, I think inventory and easy inventory access is important. So we use lightspeed, and I think it really works well with multiple locations because we can easily transfer inventory back and forth. I don't know. What do you think?

I guess maybe, like, what are your goals? To expand within your town and expand your network? Or is it to get a little bit of taste of something different?

That's true.

I think that sometimes, like with Coeur d', Alene, Kezi talked about how it wasn't a fashion hub. My mom was such a visionary. And we would buy things maybe two to three years too early and then watch boutiques in our town buy the same thing three years later and sell out of it. And so what was our problem there? Our problem was we're a little too.

Ahead of our Times.

Well, how can we maybe establish ourselves as a leader in our town? And I think New York, was that how we communicated that Watching my mom thrive and succeed in what was known as a fashion hub has really kind of downstreamed to our business here in Coeur d'.

Alene.

Yeah.

And I think for us, that was more of an education expansion and not necessarily a business expansion. Like, it helped us see new sites and new horizons and.

Yeah.

What are your goals? Are your goals to expand within your community and expand your reach or accessibility, or is it to maybe like expand yourself as a business owner?

Yeah.

Very good. Well, and I'm assuming, do each of you live in separate. Are you're each like managing a separate location? Living in a separate location as well?

I live in. She lives in Coeur d'. Alene. I live in Brooklyn. And then we hired a manager in Savannah. So. Okay, definitely. I think if you aren't living in the town that you have a store in, definitely have someone that you can trust, someone who understands your vision and is a good communicator. I think those are all really important. For sure.

So good. All right. Well, are you guys. Your story is incredible. I've loved hearing this, by the way. Are you guys ready for some lightning round questions?

Okay.

All right, buckle up. Casey, are you ready?

Yeah.

I know. That was a week. Yeah.

She kind of was like, oh, I don't really know. Okay, here we go. So I give you guys two hours back in your day to work on income generating activity. What do you do?

Photo shoots. Like plan a creative photo shoot.

I would be working on listing items on our website.

Perfect. Getting it done.

Checking the box.

What is the unsexiest process in your business that is most impactful to your business?

I don't know if I find this unsexy, but I always tell young women who want to get into fashion that's a lot of manual labor. And they find that unsexy. Do you like ripping boxes open? Do you like new merchandise Is sexy. So I like that.

I agree. Very good.

Casey. I think the unsexiest is learning how different employees work and learning the different psychology behind how to manage them. And in managing people. Yeah, I have to.

That's my personal pick right there.

It is so hard to manage people.

Yes.

So hard.

Yes.

You still need to do it. Like, don't shy away and not hire someone because you're scared of having to manage them, but lean into the uncomfortableness of the process. All right, what has been the hardest business lesson that you've had to learn along the way.

I think it definitely would be over buying. Getting caught in the sexy part of market where you see all of the cute things and then your dad comes with a highlighted credit card statement that says, why did you spend this much? And you're like, it was all really cute. And then having to manage that.

So the old highlighter, Caitlin. I think sometimes, like, buying things too far in advance and having an idea about something and getting it in and being like, that's not going to work, and then having to make it work. Yeah, so true.

And I grew up in the Midwest, so I. When you were talking about, like, being ahead of your time in Idaho, all those things, I can completely understand how that happens.

And we'll emotionally buy sometimes and you'll get it in and you're like, oh, yeah, I don't know what I was thinking.

This was a me thing, not a we thing. Yes, yes.

If it is, I'll keep it right.

Take the personal items out and mark the rest down. What has been the best advice that you've received that always sticks with you?

I think my dad always says something where it's like, you don't get too high on the highs and you don't get too low on the lows. I think especially if you have a goal of longevity in this business, you can't get on the emotional roller coaster. So just keeping a steady, keeping a steady state of mind through each of those highs and the lows.

Mine's like, find what makes you special and lean into that. I think the things that you're bad at, you're just bad at. Hire someone to do that. Like, just move on. If you're bad at it. Like, move on.

You know what we always say? We say this in retail bootcamp all the time, but along the same lines, do what you do best and hire the rest.

Yep. Yeah, that's it.

Let it go. All right. What is one business metric? So it could be financial, could be whatever that you live by, and what's one metric that you wish you knew more about?

I think for us in more of the contemporary space, we're really looking at margins for clothing items. I think with a lot of the lower end brands, you're going to get higher margins on items that you're marking up three or more times, whereas if it's an established brand that has their own web presence, they're going to have their set prices and the margins aren't going to be as large. So I think, especially when I'm buying and bringing on new brands, I'm looking for brands that have a healthy margin, not the. I don't really look at brands that have just a double margin.

Yeah, I guess I love. We're expanding to new locations, like, month. Month to year, like, growth. I'm like, I live by, like, the growth percentages. And then I just think because things have been seasonal, I also think that's probably something that you shouldn't also die by because you have to take into consideration, like, what's going on in. In the state of the world or, you know, you just. 2021 is just like, not a year you can really compare to.

No.

Yeah.

So just some.

Those growth percentages.

Yeah. I think that's a really common place where a lot of boutique owners, especially newer boutique owners kind of fall down. Is. It's kind of like what your dad said, Casey. Like, you can't, you know. Right. Like, enjoy the highs too much or. How did you say it again?

Don't get too. Don't get too high in the highs and don't get too low on the lows.

Right, exactly. And to your point, Caitlin, like, just the tracking month over month, growth percentages, understanding note taking, what was the weather, what was the economy, what was happening in the news cycle? All of those things impact us. And sometimes I think people get so lost just tracking a sales number and saying, oh, I'm down compared to last month. Well, what have you done differently? Yeah, what did you do this, you know, this month versus this month last year? Like, there's so many different ways to analyze and make sure that the numbers are actually telling you a story.

And I think so. One thing that we implemented at our Savannah location is that our manager will send us a weekly report of everything that went on that week. So she'll have all of the girls taking notes about each day. They'll make a note about the weather, how many people came in, like any personal interactions. So I think that's been really helpful for us when we aren't there to have a firsthand experience of it. So we can go back to the Google Doc and it will say, oh, like this is what happened this week. This is why sales were this way. Yeah.

And what a great tool to have to go back to when you're buying for the next season or for the same time next year. You've got something to go off of. Well, this is so great, you guys. This is so powerful. And I just love the contemporary aspect.

Of all of this.

What other advice would you give to someone who's Considering bringing in more contemporary lines and really considering higher price point. I'm sure you see the same misconceptions out there that I do or maybe the same fears. Not necessarily even misconceptions, but what advice would you give to others that are considering making that switch?

What was one of our first brands, Casey, that we ever. Because we did make. That was a jump that we made. And I'm trying to think of what brand.

I think Rails was a big brand for us. That was kind of a bigger jump. Marmalee. We did start more in the under $100 range. And rails, their shirts retail for around 158 to 168. So it was a good little jump. I would maybe find a brand that has good name recognition that kind of helps to market, to bring people in to help sell it. I think that's really important. But also keeping in mind quality as well.

Yeah, I think that's a huge piece of it. And I'm seeing that across the board is just people demanding more quality at this point. The idea of passing down clothing from one generation to the next. Right.

It's.

You can't do that on sheen.

I also think denim is a really great place to start in this category. I think people might be willing to spend a little bit more on denim.

Right, Agreed. Well, this is so great, you guys. I have one last question for you, and this should be an easy question considering all of the family legacy that you guys have that I always love to ask people. You know, fast forward 30 years from now, right. Like, this has been a family business for the two of you growing up. Your mother's obviously involved. What happens when your family expands? And 30 years from now, you're all sitting on the front porch, friends, family included, and you're looking back at this family empire that you've built. What's the thing that the two of you really want people to remember most about who you were, the business you built, and how you lived?

So we have two nieces. My brother has two daughters that will come in the store. And then we also have our manager. Her daughters kind of also became my mom's, like, little granddaughter. Bonus granddaughter. I think for me personally, just having this essence of being a woman and being family oriented woven within our business and doing that successfully. I think, you know, the outside world sometimes doesn't love to see mothers and women win. And so just knowing that we can stay true to, like, our femininity and always have space where kids can play and be a part of the business. Yeah. Would be very meaningful to me.

I think really just staying true to ourselves too. And also I think having the confidence to share our story. I think in the last few years it's taken a little, it's been a little bit uncomfortable to share more about ourselves, but I think we're getting to the point where we're more open to sharing a little bit more about us, our story. Putting a little bit more of our personal faces out on our Instagram and forcing my mom to as well.

Well, I can't tell you enough how important that is, especially today where again, people want to do business with people, not companies.

Yeah.

And so it's story that becomes the glue that really holds the brand together and makes the brand memorable besides the brand itself. So that's incredible. You guys have have really an incredible business happening. Please pass that on to your mom as well. But thank you for joining me on the podcast today for being a part of our community at the Hub and I can't wait to see where you guys go next.

Thank you so much, Ashley.

This is great.

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.