#721: What Happens After You Close the Doors? A Real Talk on Reinvention

Foreign. 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. I have been excited about this episode, Alinda, for a long time. I think you and I actually first talked about this probably like what, a year ago? I mean, it's been a long time. Because you have such a great story that I think so many people need to hear to share. So we've got to dig into it. Thank you for being here. Let's get started. First, tell me about just getting started as a boutique owner, how you came into the industry.

Okay, well, thanks for having me, Ashley. I actually came into the industry like on a total fluke. I actually had a couple other businesses and we had the opportunity to buy a rhinestone T shirt business. Honestly didn't want anything to do with that business, but after looking at the numbers, Mark's like, well, you're not doing much of anything else. Why don't you try it? And so I did it, I bought it and I was in it about six months and I was like, yeah, this isn't for me. I, I don't want to put rhinestones on T shirts. And so I just honestly fell into it. So I bought some packs of clothes and started a Facebook group and next thing I knew, I had two storefronts and we were going strong within like a year. It was kind of crazy.

Yeah, I mean, you did. I mean, you had a huge lifestyle business. You still have a massive community of people. I mean, just tell me about the roller coaster of building that business because it grew to be massive and you, you had lots of employees and management and all of that. Tell me about its height.

So honestly, what happened was we started with a really small storefront that was only like 900 square feet. And then real quick we realized we needed something bigger. And at that time, my daughter was actually in the salon industry and she was talking about opening our own salon. So we found a space and I opened a 2,000 square foot storefront. She did a salon. Then she expanded again to another salon, which made it even bigger. And we did have two storefronts for a year just because of the least part of it but they were only like seven minutes apart, so that didn't really work out. Trying to run a 800 square foot store and a 2,000 store storefront just wasn't the thing to do. And then what happened? Honestly, Covid. Covid hit. We were still doing live sales, like very little. Like, I remember having the conversation with Brandon and Leo from Andre by unit telling me that you have to do live sales, you need to close your storefront is pretty much what I was told over and over again. But honestly, Covid is what did it. Because we did not want the storefront to go down. So we moved the whole entire store to my basement, went live every single day. Grew 275% in that timeframe. And it just went from there. So opened a warehouse, just another warehouse added onto our storefront, all that stuff. So that's how it all kind of got started when you think about it.

I mean, Covid was such a driver for so many people because people were at home shopping. Like the whole rise of this new QVC era came about. But I think in order to do that, like, you had to be really good at knowing exactly who your customer was. You had a very specific style. You drew people in and were real and very authentic. Talk to me about why you think your business, you know, was successful in that way. What can other people learn from that who are maybe new to using live sales?

So I think what happened, honestly was that I had it all set up with comments sold. So I wasn't fully on comments sold, if that makes sense. Like, I had it set up to where we were using comments sold. But I knew that when we moved everything to our basement, I wasn't going to let it go down. And I knew I had the community of people that if I would just show up, that they would show up. And I think I also brought my family into it because I was like, you have to be on these lives with me. Because also people were bored to death at home. So they wanted to see what was going on in our household because we had our kids, our kids, girlfriends and grandchildren, and everybody was there. I actually hurt my ankle, ended up in a cast on the couch while people were doing lives, all that kind of stuff. So I think that just showing up and being in community with people, people to this day still say to me, you saved my life. During COVID It literally I was in a depression. I didn't see people. Like, when I hear people say that, I'm like, that's why we did it. That's why we did it. So. And I do feel like, like you say, like, I kind of had my brand and, you know, like, my sense of style. But even during COVID I kind of went a little bit out of that because I was just going to sell anything and everything to be able to make everybody be a part of our community. And I think that is what really made me realize that there can be all kinds of styles. I just have to be able to also incorporate my style, if that makes sense.

Yeah, that does make sense. And I, I think people get so hung up on that. Like, that's not as natural as you might think, think that people, you know, feel comfortable mixing that and get so hung up on the product. But I think you make people feel comfortable because you've made them feel welcome in your community. So let's stay on this topic for just a little bit longer because I, I don't think it's as easy as you and I are giving it credit. What it takes to build community. Tell me about the things you would do when you were on live or the types of content you were creating or the types of questions you were asking that made people feel so welcome there.

I think a lot of it came down to is we did a lot of communication, talking to the people on the lives. And I feel like the people on the lives, like our customers also became friends with each other. So we made it a community of, like, even to this day, people know people that they do not know. And I think that is so huge because they have friends that they know from the Internet, they know from our app, they know from my community of people. And it's just amazing also to see, because I've had events where all those people have come together. Even, like, people drive two and three hours to come to an event just because they want to meet this one person that they've met online, you know. So I think it's really important that we stayed in communication. We made sure we acknowledged everybody on there, if they were commenting, if it was somebody's birthday, if it, you know, whatever it was, if somebody just needed prayer, whatever it was, we knew that they were wanted and they were welcome there. And we always made it known that they did not have to buy anything, like, just be here for community. And, you know, we, we gave a lot of gifts away and personal gifts. Like, I, I, one thing that I still do to this day, if I see something that looks like a customer or something, like, I'll just send them a gift in the mail and be like this reminded Me of you, you know, And I think that's just. It's a matter of. That community is so huge. So, so huge.

Yeah. I've always looked at it like this, especially like people ask about Facebook groups. Do they still work? Are they dead, yada, yada. I still will go to my grave saying Facebook groups are so key because of what you just said. I think on every other platform, like, you're speaking to your customer, and maybe they're speaking back to you. But the thing about a group is now we can get them to speak to one another, and you just can't do that any other place and get them connected with one another and make them feel like they're a part of something. Because so many people, so many women especially, I think as their kids age and they maybe don't have a lot of hobbies, like they're taking care of everyone else instead of themselves. Women don't ever feel like they're a part of anything anymore, but you gain.

Exactly. And I think also that I kind of found my niche, too, as the age range, because we definitely catered to a younger crowd. And I. I sometimes don't know how to word this, but, like, the people that now have the money to spend are the ones that also need the community. And I think because their kids are gone, even they might have grandkids, but they're. Or they've lost their sp. Spouse or they. Whatever it is, they need that sense of community. And I think that that is definitely. And I've also was able to be able to get them to understand that it's now time to take care of them and then be able to purchase things that make them happy. And I think that is one thing that even the storefront was my favorite thing to do, to have people come in and be like, now it's about you. You're here for you. Even though you're thinking of your daughter, granddaughter as you walk by that top, we're here for you to spend money on you. And I think that's super important.

Oh, it's so key. And it's so funny when I think about branding, great branding. And we talk about Donald Miller and Story brand a lot and how every great brand does a couple of things, like you're the wise guide, and you're making your customer the hero, and the hero always has to defeat the villain. And in what you're doing, like, loneliness is a villain. And that's something that a boutique can. I feel like a boutique can help someone solve that problem. But Nordstrom doesn't really help anyone solve that problem. Like, that is such a big differentiation factor in our industry versus what big box stores agree.

Oh, totally. And I feel like that's something that, like, I would take stuff into the dressing room and be like, try this on. And they'd look at me like a deer in headlights. And then they'd come out, out, and you could just see, like, a glow. It was like, they just. They're like, I would have never put this on. And it's like, I know now it's time to, you know, let's step out of our box a little bit. So, yeah, it's huge.

So powerful. So if someone's listening and they're new to the idea of either going live or what it means to build community, what advice would you give them? Where do. Where do you start? Where do you focus if you're, like, new to that aspect of business?

So I think it's two different answers. Because, one, building community, I think is something that you just have to start. Like, well, actually, both. You have to start with lives. But I think for me, when I started my Facebook group, I was clueless. Like, I. The only reason I started my group, I was like, okay, if I'm gonna have a boutique, I better sell this stuff somewhere. I didn't have a storefront. I. You know, it was like, where am I gonna start? And so I think. And it just got to the point that I was like, share, share. Please add your friends. Please do this, please do that. And next thing I knew, it was huge. And I was like, where did these people come from? You know? So I think once we had the people, we just needed to cater to those people as far as going live, like, if you knew me back in high school or, like, out of high school, like, I was the person that would never stand in front of a room and do a speech without, like, people having to tell me, I better pretend everybody's naked, or I would, like. My voice would get all, like. I mean, my voice. I couldn't even talk. It would be so jittery. And so now to see me doing what I'm doing, doing is kind of comical because it's. It's just natural to me now. And that was not the case. Like, I even had one of my English teachers say something to me a couple years ago. She's like, I just can't even believe it. Because you were as shy as could be standing up in front of the class. I was very outgoing. Don't get me wrong. I was Very, very outgoing and, you know, very social, but standing up in front of a room was going to happen. So now I think for me, when I especially, like when I would have girls go live, like, I would not prep them, I would, I was like, come here, get on here now. Because there's no thinking about it. And I think that's one thing you have to do. You have to be you. One of the things that I will say that I have been told, and it's actually we kind of laugh because at one time it actually kind of made, it made Reddit. But hey, I always say if you make Reddit, you've made it, right? So, yeah, that, you know that I'm a little harsh as far as, like, because I'm not fake. I am who I am. Yeah. I'm not gonna get on, I'm not gonna get up there if I'm not having a great day, you're probably going to know I'm not having a great day. So I think I'm just very direct is the word that they used on, on there. But I think I am just, I'm a very direct person. You can, you. It is what it is. I'm. If I don't like something, you're going to know it. I'm not going to sell anything I don't like. So it's just kind of funny now. I think that's what's, that's what's endearing.

About you is like you always know where you stand and you know what you like and you know how you feel. And I think that can be a really great quality. So.

And I do think, speaking back on that, I mean to interrupt you, but speaking back on that, like, that Reddit comment, it was actually, that's a whole nother story I have to say sometime, but which is really a cool story in the boutique industry. So we, the girl that actually commented on that, I actually had a conversation with her about, about the whole situation and she said to me, alinda, I have been following you now for six weeks. I see who you are. I see. She's like, that comment should have never been made. And I said, that's okay. I said, I'm completely who I am and I am very direct. So it's not a matter of. It wasn't hurtful to me. I think it's just who I am, you know, so it's just one of those, those things. So kind of funny.

What's the saying? If you are giving them something to talk about, you aren't doing Anything worth talking about.

Exactly. Exactly. You got that right. Yeah.

Well, as I look at this, in the community you've built, the, you know, just the brand that you have, I think this is the most important thing for people to think about and remember is when you've buil build a personal brand and a community as you have, you can sell anything.

Right.

It doesn't have to be just your boutique and these products and this box. And you're living proof that it can be anything. And that's why I'm so excited to have you on the podcast today, is to have this side of the conversation, because eventually you decided, and actually, you were in our mastermind, and it was kind of post mastermind that you. You called and you were like, hey, I'm going to be doing something totally different. Tell me about the transition out of your boutique and how you made that decision.

So I think, honestly, it was just purely a God thing. I had been thinking for a long time, once I had my health, at one time with, I had had a heart attack. And so people were on me. You go too much. You do, you know, do too much. Da, da da da. I had a big staff of people. I had a great storefront. I decided to close the storefront just because online was so big and thought that that's where my focus needed to be. And once I closed my storefront, I lost my spark for what I was doing in the industry. I still had the same community, so, I mean, we were still doing the same amount of numbers, all of that. It was just the whole. It was just not the same. So when I had the opportunity presented to me to close my store and do, like, a merge, I went with it. And so I just really felt like it was the right thing to do financially. I thought it was the right thing to do. For my sanity. I felt like it was the right thing to do. I was going to get to do what I love from, like, when I took my. What I love about the business and what I hate about the business, I was going to get to be able to do what I loved about the business. And so I think that decision was very, very hard, but I made it very quickly, which made me think that it was the right thing to do. So once I did that, and speaking about community is, I did a huge, huge Valentine's Day party, and they had to pay to come to the event. So it was one of those things that we were like, okay, we're going to do a big event. And we announced that I was closing we had over 200 people attend this event. It was absolutely insane. And I think that night I was like, you know what? I'm doing the right thing, because I have all these people showing up who are going to still follow me. And even to the point that they were like, we're here. We're going to do whatever you. You know, we'll follow you wherever you go.

So.

So I think that that decision between my husband and I saying this might be the right thing to do. You know, don't get me wrong, in the end, I lost my identity, if that makes sense, because I was now not a boutique owner. I was now a. What? I don't even know how I want to say it. I wasn't an employee, but I just wasn't the owner, if that makes sense. So I think that. And we can kind of talk a little bit about that. But that's kind of think where when I finally made the decision, I was at peace with it. But don't get me wrong, it. To this day, I still wonder, oh, my gosh, did I do the right thing? But I'm in a great place. Yeah. That makes.

Before. Before we get to, like, where you're at now about. I just got to pause on that because I guarantee you 100% of people who are listening have thought about that, worried about that, or will face that at some point, because I think so often, and this is. I talk about this a lot, like the idea of being a CEO versus an entrepreneur. And when we get kind of stuck in the crux of being an entrepreneur, we make the business our sole identity, and we forget, like, there's life outside of that. And I can be a multifaceted human. I'm a wife, I'm a mom. I've got this hobby. I do these other things. Maybe I have other revenue streams. So what advice would you give to somebody who's feeling like, oh, no, who am I now if I'm not a boutique owner?

Right. I think for me, the number one advice I would give to anybody if you're going to choose to not be a boutique owner or any business, if you choose to close any business, is to make sure you're not putting all your eggs in one basket. And I think that is so huge because when I made that decision to close, I did choose to put all my eggs in one basket. And really quickly, I had to pivot, and I had to pivot hard, and I had to pull myself out of a rut that I never thought I would be in. And so I would say would be my number one advice is figure out who you are, who you want to be, and how many ways are you going to be able to monetize to be that person. And that's exactly what I'm doing now. And I think that's the one that is my number one advice. I say to anybody that I talk to, do not ever put your eggs all in one basket. And I think that has been where I'm very, very lucky right now that I'm able to monetize a lot of different things instead of just one egg, if that makes sense.

Yeah. And to get kind of technical and nitty gritty on that, as I see that playing out, it to me, that also means, like, my social media accounts aren't just Eye Candy Boutique, but they're a LinkedIn.

Exactly.

So just like the boutique of. Is a boutique of. But then you could follow Ashley Alderson. These are two separate and independent things, but they can support one another. Do you agree?

Yes. And that was one thing that I was very adamant about, that like, these are my pages. These are these, these belong to me because I just knew that that's what I'd worked so hard at and that I always, always needed to have them, which was my saving grace, to be honest. Yeah.

All right, so you made the decision to close, made the decision to move on. Where did you go next?

So I chose to move with. To merge with another boutique that just, just didn't work out. That's. I mean, that's pretty much, you know, that it just didn't work out. And it was low for. I mean, I was really low for a good two months, but I was able to pivot really quickly and pull put. I had. It was one of those things that I remember a friend of mine saying to me, she said, it's time to put on your big girl panties and get back to work, because there is not anything in this world that's going to bring you down, Linda. And I think that that is that one comment that she said to me. I was like, she's so right. I've always, always been able to figure things out. And so now it's time to figure out where I'm going. And I literally just started. I don't know if you really. I mean, do you want me to talk about the closet clean out stuff and how I'm doing all that different things? Okay. So I actually did a closet clean out where I was like, okay, I need to get rid of my own stuff because I'm a boutique owner. I was a boutique owner and you know how that is. We all have way too much stuff.

Yeah.

So I did a live sale, a couple of them with just selling my own personal stuff. And then I had a girl who worked with me who was like, can you do one for me? And then another person, you can do one for me. And now it's a full blown business. We do three to four a week and it's just absolutely crazy. So that's one part of my basket of eggs that I have going on. But I think that it was not an easy road. But I think that it was definitely what I needed because I now know that there's so many other things I can do out there and that's what I'm. That's what I've been doing. And I kind of told myself that I wasn't going to go do be a live seller for another boutique. But when I had the opportunity, I was like, absolutely the best fit I've ever had. And it's amazing.

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 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 bestselling 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 $1,300 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 Hub Black. 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, I 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. One more question on the closet cleanup, because we kind of just brushed on that. How do you charge for it? Who do you do it for and kind of how does it work? I'm sure people are listening. Like, what? What is that? What's that mean?

Yeah, so I really monetize my Facebook group and my page and right now, like, our group is still very big, but our page, we're really working off of our page as well. I don't know why, like I do agree with you. Pages are huge and I still post on my page but my are in my group but I can't go live in my group the two. So that's why everything is in the page. Well, I can go live but the comments don't pick up like they do on the page. So everything is done on the page. We went back to old school where we, we don't invoice or anything. They're just paying us directly through Venmo or PayPal. But so what I did was I created a kind of like a little business plan like we all need to have and I do a live selling fee. I have. I also get a commission if they go over a certain amount of items. I get so much per item they pay also for a shipping fee. So there's like all these things that go into play with it. They I do if they want to be on the live with me then they don't have a fee. But if we have to pay somebody to do the live with us because it takes three people because we have one person entering in all of the product who bought it and then we have somebody putting it in their numbers which is absolutely. The system has come up. It's amazing what we're doing because it's like a, we have. It's like a well oiled machine right now the way we're doing it. But then also they can ship stuff to us. So for example, this week I have two lives that people are shipping their stuff to me. And then Barb, who also worked with me in my store who also does live sales with me with the other boutique I'm with, she is also here all the time working on that end of it. And she just. The customer pays her. So the greatest thing about this is I'm providing a service for the customer. So the money does not go through me, it goes directly to the customer. And then they're paying me for the service. So which is absolutely amazing because I don't have to pay any. I don't have to collect the money. I don't, you know, as far as what the customers are buying. So the customer is collecting it and then they're paying me for the service which is great. So I'm a service provider, not a retailer, which is great.

So it really is, it's such a unique way to use a skill that so special. And I'm sure a lot of people are just so thankful that you can offer that to them.

Yeah. And it's crazy. Ashley like Our lives. We did one on Sunday, and we did one Tuesday night. The one had 178 items. We sold everything but three items. And then the other one, the other night, we had 160 items. We sold everything but one item. I mean, you can't do a garage sale or do Facebook Marketplace that you're going to sell your stuff like that, you know, so. And I will also say, too, it's also a sense of community. We have so many people that hop on those lives just because they want to see their friends. Last night we had a live that I have a really good friend who is not doing well and has cancer. And so we did her live last night. She couldn't be here. We were going to be doing it at her house, and we ended up doing a big switch and having it at my. I usually do them at my house, but we were going to do at her house because of her situation. And in the middle of the day, she's like, I can't do it. And so we went and got all her stuff. We did it here. And, you know, literally during that live, the first 10 minutes, I was like, I cannot continue to do this live without praying for her. Like, this is why we're here. We are a sense of community. We are community. And they're here, they're showing up for her, and they know her, and it's. You know. And I said, I'm not going to give you any. It's not my story to tell, but we need to. If you. If you're a praying type, please pray for her because she needs it so bad. And so I think the messages I received this morning were like, I was on that live for a reason. I wasn't on there to buy anything, but I knew that there was a reason I got on that live and that was to pray for her. And I'm like, that is what this is all about. This is what it's all about. That's what it's all about.

It's not about the products. I just feel like money loves a purpose. And the more you have purpose in everything that you're doing, like, yeah, the money will follow, and you can make a business out of it, but you can't lead with the money and then find the purpose. So opposite.

So true. So true. Yeah, yeah. It's hard because you want to be like, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. But at the same time, it's like, no, this is not what it's all about. This is not why we were not why we're Doing this.

Yeah, absolutely true. So you now have also found another business to life sell for. And you have. You're just, like, glowing. Every time I talk to you, you're so excited about it. You're glowing about it. This person's a great person. Tell me about that relationship and how you found this person.

So, Jenna, with Generation Boutique, we actually just kind of first found each other on social media. We were actually kind of laughing because we just. Because, you know, in the boutique world, you become friends with people just because they're a boutique owner. And there were times she would slide up on my stories, I would slide up on her stories. And then it just happened to be, like, one time she. She loves Disney. And I had found, like, some little Disney Betsy Johnson earrings that in TJ Maxx or something. I was like, I got to get these for Jenna. Like, just, you know how you think of things like that. And so we ended up in the Mastermind together. Your mastermind. And the first day we sat together, and just from there, we just instantly became friends. And I think that that's the greatest thing about this industry is all the people you get to meet and through social media, and then you see them, and it's like you've known each other for years. So Jen and I was. Jenna was one I spoke to before I decided to close my storefront. Well, actually, I had already made the decision, and I told her what I was doing, and she's so funny because she was like, I don't know, girl. I think you better think about this. I don't know, girl. And I'm like, it's already done, Jenna. Like, it was kind of funny just, like, to hear her intake, you know, just take on it. And so then when she kind of saw through social media what I was going through, which, I mean, I don't think I was very good about hiding what was going on with just my. You know, it's just hard when you're on social media, and people know when you're down. They know when you're up. Just like you said. You can tell now. I'm going. I've found my spark again, is what a lot of people have said. Yeah. And I lost it for quite a while. So she just texted me one day and said, hey, you want to chat? And I was like, yeah, let's chat. And next thing I knew, I was working out a plan with her to be able to go live for her, go to markets, do all this. And it just. It's been absolutely amazing. She is a Gem. And she respects me. Like, you can tell that she understands that. For one, I'll say this time, blue in the face. We're both women, and that makes a. We're both hustlers. And I think that when you. When you have that same personality, you connect. And you know that as well as I do. I think all the boutique owners these days that are women and understand the hustle and the grind and all that, it just, we connected. And so same thing. Like, she just was like, whatever, let's do this, let's make this work. And it's. It's so amazing. So amazing.

Yeah. So how does that, how does this setup work? Like, if someone's so curious, how could I work for somebody else? Because you're going live to her audience, but also to your audience. Correct? Right.

Yeah. So I still own all my social media, but I am very, very on tune of like sharing everything that I do on Generation. I also share on my social media. And so, like, so, for example, I'll be live today at 2. So I have a Facebook post that went out that is not a generation post. They do their own post. But I share everything from generation. But then I also do my own stuff. So it's like my own, you know, so my people. I'll even go live maybe, like sometimes I don't do it every time, but I'll go live on my Facebook group saying, hey guys, I'm going to be live in 20 minutes on the Generation Boutique app. Just so my people are coming over. And that is one thing. I think that a lot of boutique owners that are thinking about bringing on live sellers, like I. It is, it's a gold mine when you really think about it, because you're bringing that following with you. So it's like paying for all these ads that you never are going to have to pay for because the customers are coming. And I think that is one thing that you, of course the customers are going to come and you have to keep them. But I think that is a. I always say for the boutique owner. Like, I spoke to a boutique owner the other day who's looking for a experienced life seller. And I told her, I said, you can find the best experience life seller out there, but if you're not bringing their following with them, it's not really going to benefit you that much because of the fact they already love your live sellers. You already have. You have to bring their people along to help build that up. And I think that's one thing. When you look at the amount of People that have followed me to generations. It's. It's crazy, crazy, crazy. So. Which is awesome, because that's great for Jenna. She now has new customers. But I'm also. My people are on my lives, but her people are also on my lives. That. That make, you know, so.

You know what's so interesting about that, Alinda? Is your style so different. Like, when I think about your two businesses, like, your style is very different. And so to watch how well it's gone is such a testament to, like, the community that you both have, the trust you've both built. But then, like you said earlier, like, you're able to style things so many different ways, which I think is such a cool gift. What advice would you give to somebody when they're trying to find the right live seller to come on board?

So I will say that's a great thing to say, Ashley, because my friend. Actually, my friend Jo Beth and I were just talking about this the other night because she said to me in September, she was like, you need to go work for Generation Boutique. And I was like, I don't know. We're our styles way off. Like, she. We just had this conversation two nights ago, so it's kind of funny you bring this up. So I was like, I don't know. Our style is way off. Dah, dah, dah. And I said. And then when Jen and I started talking, I was like, you know what? She does have people that would probably love my style. I have customers that would love her style. It would be really good to merge them. And so having that conversation with her was a big decision maker because we are so different, but we're so much the same at the same time because of our. Just. Because the way we feel about the community and the customers and all that. And her customers have said, you know, oh, my gosh, she's bringing a whole new world to generation. But we're still staying very, very core to who Generations. Generations is. And so I think that that's important. You have to be open to be able to bring new stuff in, but stay true to who you are. And I. You know, when you're talking totally different style, we still wear some of the same things. We just style them differently. And I think that's. Like, I say that to Jenna the other day. Like, I showed something that sold very, very well, and there was still some left. And I said, jenna, you need to show it, because the way you style it, it's gonna sell. And of course, it was gone because of the fact that we both wore it, but we wore it differently. And I think that's very important when it comes to marketing and branding and just showing different. I mean, like, this. This is a Generation T shirt. This isn't probably how she would have styled it, but, yeah, she has this. She wears this T shirt, you know, So I think it's just a matter of being open. And also, it's fun to see the vendors see, because vendors are like, who are you with generation? You guys are night and day. And I'm like, it'll be okay. It'll be okay. And now they see it. Like, I actually had our sales rep from Paul say that to me when we were in Vegas. She was like, this is really working. And I'm like, it is. It's working, you know, so, yeah, so it's good. You just have to be open, and if you're not, and you also have to be willing to let that person come in. Like, Jenna's very, very good at whatever you want to, Linda. If you think it'll work, try it. And if it doesn't work, it's not going to work. But she had. You have to have that person that's willing to say, go for it, and not be in their own little lane, the way things have always been.

You know, that's a really good point, because I think when you're, like, once you're an owner, right? Like, you're an entrepreneur, you've got so much pride in what you've built. I could see how some personalities would not work because they would be such a micromanager, and you can't. You both have to be so open to allowing this to just flow and allowing each of you to really step into your respective lanes and have ownership over those lanes for sure.

If you're going to do something different like this, you have to be open and willing to try different things. And that is one thing that Jen and I had that conversation many times was, if it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. We will always be friends, and we will never let this go between us because. And if something doesn't work, we won't try that again. You know? And I think that there will be no hard hurt feelings over it. And I think in business, sometimes there can be a lot of hard hurt feelings. But you also have to be willing to go both ways. If I would go to Jenna and say, hey, what about this? And she said, no, I don't think so. My feelings aren't going to be hurt. And so I think that you have to be willing to do. Willing to do that. And I mean, same with the whole market thing. She wasn't a big market, live seller platform or she wasn't pre orders as far as like getting stuff in early. And now she's open to it because it's a whole nother business plan and you have to be willing to. When you're bringing a whole nother business plan, you have to try new things out.

Yeah, that's what I love most about this industry. And I feel like, and you and I have had this conversation, but I feel like I have such a unique vantage point and I think you have the same vantage point now kind of coming out of the industry a little bit is there's not a one size fits all answer. There's not one business plan. There are so many different ways to make money and to build a brand in this industry. All of them are different. And you saying I'm going to be a carbon copy of so and so who I think is successful online and build a business like they did, that doesn't work. It only works for you to do what is going to work for you and feels good to you and your customer. So yeah, you and I have been getting these phone calls and it's people who are considering selling their business or considering, you know, maybe this business isn't working. But I want to stay in the industry. What could I do to stay in the industry? What advice do you give to somebody who's kind of trying to consider what options are out there?

My number one thing I ask them is why are you choosing to even think about what you're doing? Because I think a lot of times their reason for even thinking about it isn't really the reason that they would choose to close. I think right now so many people financially are strapped and trying the hamster wheel is just going like this over and over again. It's like the same thing over and over again. And I feel like when I talk to those people, what the reason they tell me they're thinking about it by the end of the conversation wasn't the true reason that they're. That they're thinking about it. And I think for me, that is a very, very important question to ask them because you've got to get to the bottom core reason you want to close. I jumped because I saw it was going to be easier financially. I thought it would be better for me. I didn't look at the whole entire picture of why I was choosing to close. And so that's the number one thing I ask people, because if I can get that. That answer, then we're going to be a whole different conversation. The second thing I would say is, ask them, are you ready to lose your identity as a boutique owner and who you've been for the last 6, 8, 10, 14 years? However, you've been doing this because it is a hard. It's a hard thing. It's like. It's like when your kids go to college or they get married. Like, you now lost this identity of who you really were because now your kids are gone, they're married, somebody else is now they're one. You know, that type of thing. So I think you really have to ask yourself, are you ready to lose your identity and take on a new identity? Which is what I have done, which I'm fine with that. But a lot of people, the answer will be no. They're not ready for that. And so. So those are the two main questions I would ask them. And then also the third question would be, is, what do you want to do if you are not a boutique owner? And a lot of times they don't have any idea, Ashley. They're clueless. They're like, I don't know. I would like to do nothing. That is not the case. I can promise you, if you are a boutique owner and you've been a boutique owner, you're not going to be okay not doing anything because you've. That's all you do. Live, breathe, sleep, eat it. If you were doing it the way most boutique owners do it. Yeah. So, you know. Yeah. And I think those conversations I've had with people have been like, they really don't know why they want to close. There's no core reason. You know, it's just, you know, oh, that looks like fun. I had somebody tell me, well, it looks like you're having fun. Well, come on. That's not the reason that you want to do this.

No.

You know, and you need a plan in place.

Yeah. Do you think sometimes people, too, are chasing. There's got to be an easier way to do this and stay involved. And easier doesn't always mean better.

Right. And I think there's a lot of people right now that could scale back and lean down and probably love what they're doing. I was in a position that I was such a people pleaser when it came to the big staff I had and everything. I didn't want to lean down. I didn't want to get rid of people. It was. I mean, I wasn't paying myself at times because I didn't want to get rid of people and I just didn't want to be that person either. So I think it's. It's. You just have to make be. I wasn't a very good CEO when it came to all that, but I also don't think I could have somebody do it for me either because I'm not a very good person that tells me what to do.

You know, Nothing wrong with that. Yeah, no, I. I hear the same thing. Like, I hear so many people having this conversation. And what it usually comes down to is bigger isn't always better.

Right.

You know, Covid got us in this weird comments.

Sold.

Who's the number one seller Trap of being the biggest, thinking you're going to be the best. And bigger's not better. Better is better. And I see.

And I've heard you say that a lot. You've said that a lot. You know, it. Just because you have, you know, a million dollars in sales a month doesn't mean that you're making a million dollars in sales. It's all the bottom. The bottom dollar. And I think that that's so, so many people need to think about that. And I had a conversation with somebody this morning about that. You know, just kind of like. Like what if you moved it all to your basement, you know, and then you lost this, this, this, and this to. And now look for how much you've leaned down and you could do it on, you know, and she was like, oh, you know, so I think there's a lot to think of before you do make that big decision. But also there is so much life after the boutique that you can continue to go. But I chose to do that. There are people that I know closed and don't want anything to do with it anymore. But I wanted to stay in the industry. I knew it's what I love. I eat, sleep and breathe it. And so I'm just not a very good person not to do anything. And so I've monetized very, very good from not only from the closet clean outs to working for generation. Also I do TikTok also. We have a graphic tee business. So there's definitely stuff that I'm continuing to do that are able to keep me in the field. And I think that because I'm not going to be able to not do anything.

Absolutely. I think it's so good. If I could sum it up, I would say the answer is always no, unless you ask. So if you're curious, you need to ask the question. Do some digging and figure it out, because there's a great answer out there for you somewhere.

There is. And I think that that was one of the questions people I just had. Somebody actually messaged me when I was Vegas. Ask me, how are you doing what you're doing? You know, how do you get to go live? And then I had a new boutique owner, how do you get to go live at Market? And I'm like, you just have to ask. There's no special trick to any of it. You just have to ask. And I'm sure they're not going to tell you no. So just ask. And especially with if there's a boutique that you are thinking, if you're thinking about closing, there's a boutique you'd love to partner with, just ask them. They might not be open at first, but I'm telling you, once they see other things and see how it works, it definitely can be. Be very, very good for them.

Yeah, totally agree. Well, Linda, I have one last question for you, and I hope everyone who's listening, of course, you know, we'll put your social media in the show notes if you want to give Alinda a follow. I know you guys are going to run into Alinda at Market, probably going live in a booth. So smile and wave at her and stop her. She's always willing to chat. But I have one last question for you, and basically this is the big question. Just like you said, we're in this business not just to sell products and widgets and whatever, like, it's such a bigger purpose, as you mentioned. So when you think about this, like, years down the road, 10, 15, 20, 30 years down the road, and you look back at the life you lived in the multiple businesses that you created, what's the thing that you want people to remember most about Alinda and how you lived and how you made people feel?

I think this is really funny because I've listened to your podcast over and over again and knew you were going to ask me this and forgot you were going to ask me. I hadn't even thought about it. Oh, my goodness. So. So I think the one thing I would really want people to remember about me is that I never gave up, no matter what life threw at me. If it be, you know, financially, if it is just business wise, if it's health wise, I never stopped and I just kept chucking along and I. And I honestly feel like that is something that people can say about me now. So I sure as heck hope that's what they're going to say about me when I'm gone. And I want my kids and my grandkids to know that life is hard and it's probably never going to be easy. But you just have to keep going. You have to keep going because nobody's going to do it for you. I can tell you that right now. Nobody. And they shouldn't do it for you. You should do it for yourself.

Absolutely. So good. Alinda, this was awesome. This surpassed my expectations. I'm so glad that you came on the show today. I know you're gonna be like hitting exactly what a lot of people need to hear. So I really appreciate you and your message and just your openness into sharing your journey. Thanks a ton.

Well, I appreciate you asking me.

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.