#815: The Secret to Getting New Boutique Customers Everywhere You Sell

Welcome to the Boutique Chat Podcast, where we're gonna help you build a profitable, sustainable business without you having to sacrifice your profitability, your family, or your sanity. Each week we're gonna dive into real conversations with retailers who have been exactly where you are and industry experts so you can learn and know exactly what to do next, all in community over competition. Whether you're just getting started or you're growing past an 8-figure business, you're in the right spot. So let's get into it. Welcome to this week's episode. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast this week. Angie, I'm so glad that you're here. Thanks for joining me.

Thank you for having me.

I love it. If you guys are watching on YouTube today, Angie's got this beautiful wall of JessLee shorts behind her, so I'm loving all the colors and the things that I'm seeing.

Angie, I'm ready for summer with all the bright colors.

I know, amen, right? Gosh, well, I am so excited to talk about lots of things in your business today. You have definitely worked on diversifying different revenue streams, new ways of finding your customer. Um, but before we get started, take me back to the beginning. You've been in business about 5 years. Tell me, what made you decide to start, uh, this business?

I grew up in a metal fabrication shop, so that is all I had ever known. I'd always liked little boutiques, but I never saw myself doing it. And then my dad passed away 5 years ago, and we sold the family business. And so I was like, what do I want to do? Like, the possibilities were endless. And about that time, a friend had a t-shirt party, like on Facebook, where you could order t-shirts. It was in the summer, and she's promoting like Halloween t-shirts. And I was like, there needs to be somewhere you can go like on Halloween and pick out a shirt for that day. And so I was like, how about I do a graphic tee— what they consider graphic tee bars now. Um, and I wanted to do boutique stuff, and people were like, no, you know, you're in a small town, you wouldn't be good at that. And so I started with just the graphic tees, and then it has grown in the last 5 years, and I love it.

Oh my gosh. Okay, we have to talk specifically about the graphic tee bar. Um, I'm gonna ask you about that in just one second. Before I do though, tell me, and everyone who's listening today, just more about the, the shape of your business, because it started with the graphic tees, but Then, you know, so much for your friends saying the boutique stuff will never work because now it's grown. Tell me about all the, the revenue streams, right? The different ways that you market your business. Where are you all set up at?

We have our main storefront in a very tiny town and then we bought a boutique trailer when we started doing more events. We love doing events and meeting new people and going new places. It's something different every day. And then about a year ago, we opened in a marketplace and it's the town we live in, but outside of the town our store is in. And then we recently added another marketplace a couple months ago.

Awesome. So new customer acquisition coming from 4 different places, really.

Yes. And we just added a website in October. Like I waited way too long on that.

Well, good. Okay. So we're adding a 5th. This is perfect. I think that's one of the most important things about business, right? Is the opportunity to diversify. And the mobile trailer is so great for meeting new people. How do you, so going back to the graphic tee bar, because I think that's something that sets, you know, so many businesses apart right now is those who are doing events and experiences, things like charm bars, graphic tee bars. I mean, it was hat bars for a while. It was all the things. How does the graphic tee bar work? And tell me more about the marketing of the graphic tee bar and how your customers experience it. Experience it?

They come in store and I have their scrapbooks, like the big 12 by 12 books, and I have all the prints in there and they're sorted by category. Like right now I have a huge one for baseball and then spring and summer and one for teachers, one for mama prints, one for all the seasons. And they pick out their print, they pick out their shirt. I have over 1,000 t-shirts in stock. Um, wow, they pick it out, I press it right then, and they take it home.

This is awesome. So do you ever take that on the road with any of your mobile events as well?

Not yet. My husband wants to, but we have so many shirts and so many prints, I'm like, ah, that's a lot.

Yeah, that totally makes sense. How about like, um, it's obviously an everyday, like anybody can come in and do this, but do you also have like events and things focused around the the tea bar as well?

Um, not so much with that. We do events with like our hat bar, and we have a perfume bar, some stuff like that. The tea bar is just everyday. Okay. It was like even a thing, so people were so confused. They were like, what are you doing?

It was a— it was an experience before experiences were the trend. Tell me more about, um, the perfume bar and the hat bar and the events you host around those.

The perfume bar is the Mixology that we learned about in the HUB showroom.

I love them.

Um, it's fun, it's something different that I don't know that anybody in our area does. And so it's easy to take to events, and we could do private events with it as well, like if somebody wants to have a birthday party or something. And then in the summer, I have the hat bar set up all the time in the store, or we'll take it with us on the trailer on events, and I end up putting it up in the winter because we don't have enough room in the store.

Got it.

It's a slower time, so we kind of take it away, but it makes them excited because they're like harassing me now, like, is it time?

Is it time?

Is it coming back?

Yeah, that's awesome. Okay, so perfume bar. It's funny that you mentioned— so kind of one of our goals in Dallas in the Hub showroom is to every market— Samantha Connor does such a great job of this— setting up a different type of experience or a different type of bar. Like we've had bag bars and Twilly bars and all the things. So I love that you took that and Mixology has been such a great member of the hub for so long. So I love that you took that experience and then duplicated it in your storefront. That's perfect.

We've done several from what we've learned in the showroom and we have the Twilly bar and the scarf charms and things that you had a couple months ago. We've got a very small charm bar. I need to grow that. Um, but we love the experiences. Like when we come to Dallas, it's one of our stops is to see what's new.

You get the star student award. Samantha Connor is going to be listening to this episode like, Angie is the star student of the showroom coming in and implementing everything. But thank you for doing that.

Yeah, I'll make it fun.

Yeah, thank you. Well, it's fun to have you guys in the showroom, you know, and I think it's such a great way to network and meet other people when you're in there. Food, education, all the things. Uh, but Angie, you're also another star student of Retail Boot Camp because you've been in Retail Boot Camp how long?

I started last June, so I'm in my second course.

Okay, perfect. Um, well, I know that also can be very overwhelming. There's a lot of content in there, right? So hence taking it again and again. Um, but tell me about your experience, like when you first came into boot camp to now, what has that experience been like?

I wanted to join before I did, and I put it off because I thought I wasn't ready. I wasn't far enough in my business. I needed to do more first. And I'm glad I finally jumped in because then I learned it doesn't matter where you are because you can focus on one thing. And so in June, I focused on the website. I was like, I have to do that. And so that's the part of bootcamp I really focused on was that and my numbers. And so then this time I'm getting something different out of it because now I have a website and Yeah. I've already done some of the basic things from the first course.

Yeah. Isn't it, I mean, do you feel like when you go through, obviously anywhere in business, there's so much to focus on. Like we're all squirrels. We're just always chasing the next thing and the next thing. Do you feel like Retail Bootcamp was helpful to help you decide like and prioritize what to focus on first?

Yes. It gave me a dedicated time each week. I knew like I'm going to have class on these two days. And so I did. The homework ahead of time, but then it helped me prioritize, like, this is what I need to do right now, and then this is something I can work on later in 6 months, a year, or whatever. Um, it helped with the overwhelm and not thinking I needed to do it all, or— yeah, the progress over perfection. Yeah, yeah, progress over perfection, you know, for sure.

Yeah, it's a huge, it's a huge thing because it's easy to just get overwhelmed with all the things we have to work on. And then default to what's easy or comfortable or familiar versus, I mean, building a website, that's a huge deal. Did you do it by yourself?

No, I used one of the, um, Hub's recommended companies, Make Them Chat.

Oh, perfect. Awesome.

Yeah.

So do what you do best and hire the rest, right?

Yeah. Because I kept thinking everybody said it was easy, so I was like, I can do it. I can do it. And 4 years later I had not done it.

Yeah, sometimes it's just the time. It's, it's done is better than perfect, but it's also maybe I just need somebody else to help me with this for sure. Um, was there anything that surprised you about Retail Bootcamp when you went through it? Um, I'm not sure.

I think just the quantity of what was covered, you know, every little part of business was covered. So. And like the book, you know, it's like, what's that, that thick?

You know what's funny? You know, when you go to like college and you have all these thick textbooks, you kind of loathe the fact that you have this thick textbook. But once you're a business owner and you take a course and you're like, oh my gosh, like this workbook was this thick, it has the opposite effect. It's like, wow, I actually have all this information that I can use in it versus all this useless stuff that I got in college and I don't use anymore.

Right. And I still flip back through it cuz I see something new every time cuz there's so much in that workbook.

Yeah. Is there any advice you would give to somebody, um, thinking about going through the program, thinking about going through the 6 Layers of Business? Any best tips you could give them?

To just do it, get started and don't worry that you're not big enough or at a good enough place in your business or that you don't have the time. And prioritize it and just work on it in little pieces at a time.

Hey guys, you asked and we are gonna answer. For years, Retail Bootcamp students have told us how much they love the program, but it can be overwhelming. There's a lot of content to consume. It takes time to implement it. And they keep asking for more Ashley and Sarah group coaching time where we can get directly to your questions and get them answered. So Sarah and I put our heads together and we've been building and we're so excited to invite you to the Retail Bootcamp Accelerator. Accelerator. It's a brand new membership available at the Boutique Hub as we retire the former Retail Bootcamp. Inside of the Retail Bootcamp Accelerator, we're actually reworking the entire 6 layers of retail modules so we can get you deeper, faster, and quicker into implementation in your business. We're actually doing year-round, 52 weeks, that's more than double what was available in Retail Bootcamp, of live small group coaching. You're gonna get Sarah, myself, and tons of industry experts each and every week all year long. We're also adding the BOSS AI operating system. That's Boutique Hub operating system, or BOSS, so that we can take everything that you've trained your AI agents on, plus your actual data, and pair that together with all the knowledge of the Boutique Hub. And daily on your dashboard, you'll be able to log in and implement everything that you're learning as you go. And now last but not least, we also wanted to make your membership as clear and simple to use as possible. So we're actually including the Boutique Hub's general membership with this Retail Bootcamp Accelerator membership. You guys, it is going to be awesome. You'll have access to the full community, the tools, the discounts, everything at the Booty Cup, plus all the lessons you love most in Retail Bootcamp. So please, you are invited to come and join me inside of the Retail Bootcamp Accelerator. I am so excited to see you inside. Do you feel like, uh, I think the time is such a huge issue for a lot of people. I don't have time to work on my business, right? Because Sometimes we're just flying by the seat of our pants as a business owner. The schedule, right, is just a revolving door. Do you feel like you've changed your train of thought in terms of being like a busy entrepreneur to a more strategic CEO? And has that led to you scheduling your weeks any different? Like just like setting aside dedicated time to bootcamp or to your numbers or to whatever the project is you're working on?

That's one thing I still need to work on. I try, um, I have it in my head I could do it all, which is not true. And like, I wake up early in the mornings, but then I waste that time. And so I've been trying to focus on your Tiger Time, as you say. I'm like, I'm productive at 4 in the morning, so I might as well do that. And then I can be lazy at night when I think I need to catch up.

Yeah, so true. Finding what works for you, right?

And so focusing on like, I don't have to be the one that does all the little things. I need to focus on what actually matters.

I think that's such a common— I mean, I would say 9 out of 10 retailers that I speak to, we're all control freaks and we all feel like, oh, I can just do it DIY, right? I can do it myself, or I can do it better, faster, easier than hiring somebody to do it. But then eventually you become the bottleneck of the entire business and things just sit and don't get done and you can't scale. Have you found that to be true? I mean, obviously by hiring out the website, what other ways do you feel like you've worked on shifting kind of from that hustling entrepreneur control freak into more strategic CEO?

Uh, I'm still really working on that one. It's mainly just me and my husband and my daughter. That work our business, and so they constantly tell me, they're like, I can do that, like, I can take over that. I'm like, but what if? Because I always think I could do it better.

Done is better than perfect, Angie. Done is better than perfect.

I know, and I really struggle with that one, but yeah, I'm at the point where I have to.

So yeah, we all reach that point, definitely. Um, well Talk about your mobile trailer for a minute. I, I think that there is so much value in going to shows, setting up at events, meeting new customers just like you're doing. When you are getting ready to plan your schedule for the season, what are you looking for in terms of the shows that you wanna set up at? Is there any shows you try to really gravitate toward versus some that you try to avoid? Or how do you plan your schedule with the trailer?

And we look at whatever local events are around us, and then is it our target market? And like, there's one local event that— it's a great event, I love it, it's a beautiful location, but it's not really our target market. So I have to remind myself, like, just because I love the event, it's not always what I need to be at. Yeah. And so I just kind of look at like who's going to be there, how many people The weather has a big deal with outside events.

Yeah, it definitely does. It definitely does. When you're looking at just like kind of measuring success, right? And your ROI on the event. And then should I go back to that event next year? How are you looking at that? Obviously sales is a big piece of it, but beyond sales, are you also measuring whether it's capturing emails or brand recognition or other things as well?

We do a lot of brand recognition and I've just started doing emails a month or so ago as we went through Retail Bootcamp again. I was like, okay, that's my next piece. Right. So now our events, I'm working on emails. In the past, it was just getting them to join our Facebook group. And so I'm changing how we, you know, target what we need from them. To get more long-term ways I can contact them outside of events or where I could email them and say, hey, we're coming back to that event you went to that you loved. Come see us again.

I love that you mentioned just adding emails on because, and then months ago adding the website, because I think that's the idea with events is just overall getting people into your sales funnel. You meet them at the event, you get them in your group or on your list, then you can drive them to the website year round. Until you come back to that event again the next year. So very strategic. How about, um, what's your best advice for people setting up at events in terms of just, you know, being able to catch people's eye? So whether it's signage or lighting or merchandising or, you know, how you set up, what have you learned about kind of that setup and merchandising aspect?

Um, signage and branding is huge. Um, and then we do a lot of bright colors, move stuff around. Um, you always think at an event, oh, you see different people all the time, but every time we move something, it draws somebody else in. And then in the last year, we added different bags from, um, Jaylee Bag Co. Yeah. And I was like, okay, they're cute, I like them. But I didn't realize, like, the first event we did, they took our bag to the front and put it at the ticket counter. Because everybody was like, where is that place? If their bags are that good, their stuff inside the bag is even better. And so people were hunting us down because they're like, you're the bag people, you have that bag everybody's walking around with. So once they see it's a bright teal and hot pink, um, they're like, well, everybody here has a bag, I better go see what they're all getting. And so then they hunt us down because of the branding.

You know what's so ironic? We just had this conversation about bags, so I'm so glad that you bring this up because at events, I mean, you have to have branded bags at events. People are walking around, they wanna see what is that? And then when they take your bag home and they want to, oh, I love the things I got from this boutique. Obviously I wanna shop it when I get back home. Yes, there's the package insert, but the bag also has your store information on it as well. So I love that. That's a great tip and a great piece of advice.

Like, I knew the quality was good, but I didn't think customers would pay attention. But they come in and they're like, oh, it's so nice, I can give it as a birthday gift, or I'm not going to throw that away, it's too nice, I'm going to reuse it. So they— a lot of them work at the school and they'll take something to another teacher in the bag. And of course it has all our, um, QR codes and website on it, and so they're reused where our bags before, people just threw them away because they were just cheap, plain. They had our logo but nothing— people didn't love them. So, and now I gotta keep that.

We're gonna need a picture of the bag so that we can put it in the show notes today so everybody can go see what they look like. So I'm gonna get a picture of the bag for you so that we can do that.

I love it. I love them. Our logo is a phoenix, and so it's like all the bright colors in the bird, and it's like hot pink and teal. So it's fun. Yeah.

Well, so besides managing all the inventory that you have in the trailer for all these events, plus the storefront, plus the two marketplaces that you have, tell me about just merchandising at the marketplaces as well and keeping inventory fresh there. You said one of them was more established, one was newer and kind of not yet established, but do you have any tips on just maximizing those marketplaces that you're in also?

And the one that's more local to us is easier because we can run by every couple days or at least once a week, move stuff around, straighten it up, change the displays, and also have our branding there where they know we have a store as well so they can shop with us other ways. And we switch it up a lot. And the hardest part is I move my inventory around so much, and so then I have to keep track of what's where so I can promote it like on social media.

Yeah, I think that's a solid, you know, when it comes to just success at a marketplace, being able to be there often and remerchandise, because there's money in merchandising. You, you said this very same thing when it came to your mobile trailer. When you move things around, it attracts new people. And it's funny because in Retail Bootcamp, one of the like favorite lessons that we do is the merchandising lesson, because people typically will go back, put those lessons into use the very next day, whether it's remerchandising their website or remerchandising their storefront. And they're like, wow, like it attracted new people in for my windows or attracted new people in because I took photos, videos of it, whatever, for social media. Um, and eye level is buy level. They saw new things that maybe had been sitting for a month and now all of a sudden those things are selling. So there's so much money to be made in remerchandising and that's so powerful for marketplaces as well.

Yes. Yeah.

Gosh. Well, Angie, any best advice for retailers who are listening who want to diversify their revenue streams and meet new customers, you know, in multiple different places like you're doing?

Just get out there and try new things. And, you know, it took a lot of different events or different places to see what worked for us and what was worth the time and energy. To it. Yeah. And we've learned, you know, we can't say yes to everything. So now it's which ones are top priority that will benefit us and our customers the most.

Yeah. Everything going back to that perfect customer, right? And that's the beginning of Retail Bootcamp too, like really honing in on who she is doing. I'm assuming you did the customer surveys probably both times. I've only done it once.

I keep thinking, oh, I need to redo it this time because I loved the results last time. So it's On my list for this week. I'm behind on bootcamp this time. It's all right.

It's all right. We'll catch you up. Gosh. Well, Andrea, are you ready to do a lightning round? I've got some quick questions for you.

Sure. All right.

Okay. First question. Um, if I give you 2 hours back in your day to work on income generating activity, what do you focus on first?

Making better content or doing a live. I don't do lives often enough, and we don't have a ton of people that comment on them, but then they'll come back later, or even that same day come in the store, 'I saw this in your live in the background,' or yeah, whatever. And so I'm like, I really need to spend those 2 hours on that.

Yeah, they— those lurkers, right? There's money hiding with those lurkers who are watching and not commenting. So it's valuable to keep showing up For sure. Um, what's been the hardest lesson that you've had to learn in business?

That you can't please everybody and not every customer is your ideal customer. So yes, I have a hard time saying no to people if they want something that's just not where I know I need to focus my time. I still would say no and then I put it off and then they're not happy because I've taken forever on it and And finally, I've just learned I just have to say no, that's not something I can offer at this time. Yeah.

Oh, that's a valuable lesson for everybody for sure. Um, what do you think in your business is the unsexiest process that drives the most impact?

Moving inventory around, probably. My car stays full of inventory because I'm moving it from the store, the trailer, the marketplaces. But it's that switching it up and remerchandising that makes the biggest difference. So I've just— my car is going to be full of totes of clothes.

I mean, and being sweaty in the Texas heat while you're remerchandising and moving inventory, right?

Yes.

Oh yes, for sure. Um, you said that your, your dad, you had a, had a successful business. You grew up in the family business. Um, what was the best advice that you remember receiving, whether it was from, from him or from somebody, you know, another mentor along the way? What's been the best advice that always sticks with you?

No, hard work and honesty, I guess, will pay off in the end. And how you treat people will make more of an impact than anything else. They'll remember how you made them feel. And I don't know, my dad gave me a ton of business sense, and so I think that's helped me a lot.

Yeah. Is there any— is there a story, like, if you go back, like, growing up in the family business, um, is there something, you know, a time or an event that you remember that you're like, oh, okay, this is how we handled this, that now you reflect on owning your own business?

Not so much, but he spent a ton of time there, and I was always like, oh, he puts that first. But then later, after he passed, I was like, he put all that energy into it for me. And so I try to balance now being in the business so I can, you know, leave something for my kids, and then actually spending time, which my kids are all pretty much grown. The youngest is 17, so Yeah.

How did you, let's talk about that because do you have 6 kids? Is that what I, is that right? Yes.

My husband and I together have 6.

Okay, got it. So holidays are fun. I grew up with, there's 6 in my family, so I can appreciate a big family. So how, I know they're grown now, but along the way, as you, you know, were growing the business, starting the business, you know, and still wanting to be involved with them, whether they're at home or college or away, How did you manage time doing both? How did you make decisions so that you gave yourself time to be both places?

Um, pretty much Sunday, I'm like, no, we don't do events on Sunday. We don't do anything like that's family time. And I've had people say, oh, but Sunday's the only day I could come shop. And I'm like, nope. And so I try to really limit like social media on Sunday and responding to messages and everything on Sunday. Um, And then just if there is something important, we will close the store a little early or something if we need to, because it is me, my husband, and daughter that run it. So I try to remember, like, family is the reason. So luckily our schedule is flexible on that where we can be there.

Yeah, I love that. It's just setting a boundary. I think that's, that's a hard lesson to learn, but it's so valuable. Like, there's so much, and, and it's Just like you were talking about your Tiger Time in the morning, like knowing when you're productive and knowing when to, you know, work on the business versus in the business, all those pieces. And that kind of ties into that CEO mindset. So would you say that there's like one like CEO strength that you've developed along the way, be it from Retail Bootcamp or from anything else, that you're like, oh, okay, this is where I know I'm acting as a CEO versus a busy entrepreneur?

Focusing on the $100 an hour jobs versus the $10 an hour jobs. You know, I was the one always like— we, for our t-shirt bar, I roll all the t-shirts and have them sorted by color and size and all that. And so I would spend all my time folding t-shirts, and I'm like, this really doesn't matter. You know, it does matter, but I don't have to be the one doing it. So I've been trying to focus on that, that where is my time best spent. Yes.

Oh my gosh. We have a member of our team that always says, "What is the highest and best use of my time?" And that always sticks with me. It's that whole $100 an hour job versus $10 an hour job question. And sometimes it's nice just to have a break. Like, it's mind-numbing, I think, to fold t-shirts. So I can appreciate that. But there's so many other things you could be doing to generate income. So agreed. Well, Angie, I've got one last question for you, and it's kind of the big picture question of life and business. So let's just fast forward, you know, 20, 30 years down the road and whether the business is sold or your family's taken it over or whatever has happened. Um, but you're sitting on the front porch with your family, your kids, grandkids, all the things at this point, and you're reflecting on this life that you lived and the journey of business that you've been on. What's the thing that you really want them to remember most about you?

Oh, that one's hard. Strong morals and honesty and putting family first.

Yeah, I love that. You talked about hard work, honesty, integrity, family— all super solid values along the way.

That's very important to me. Yeah.

Well, Angie, this has been so great. Thank you so much for jumping on the podcast with me today. It was awesome to have you. And you guys, I will link up picture of Angie's bag for sure in the show notes today, um, and all the links if you want to follow along Angie's journey as well. Angie, thanks so much for being a part of the Hub, for coming to the showroom, being in boot camp, uh, and for being on the show today.

Well, thank you.

Hey guys, thanks so much for listening to this week's episode. If you found it helpful, please share it with a friend or feel free to subscribe. And I would always love it if you would leave a rating and review. Hey, if you want more tools, education, and just support head on over to theboutiquehub.com, or if you have feedback or episode ideas, DM me personally, @ashleyalderson, on Instagram. Thanks so much for being here and listening to this week's episode. I'll see you next week.