#824: The Power of Showing Up: How Live Selling Built a Loyal Customer Base

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. I'm so excited because, Sel, I love your story and I'm so glad that you're here today. Thanks for joining me.

Thank you for having me.

Oh man, I've loved like this front row seat that I've gotten to watch you in your business over the last year has been so fun and to meet your family and just to see the impact you have on your community. So, We've got to dig into it. Take me back. How did you get started in boutique world?

Yeah, so I actually, um, I was a teacher for 5 years. I was teaching English in high school, um, and then, you know, my daughters got— I have 2 girls— they got very busy with extracurricular activities and cheer and dance, and it was a lot. All right, so at that point, my husband had a very, very good job, and he was like, you know what, you can stay home and you know, be a housewife and take care of the family. And so I was doing that, and I've always loved, um, as you can see my room back here, paper crafting. I love playing with paper. And so I would do paper things for family, stationery, invitations, back in the day when you would get a physical invitation to go to a party. So I was doing all that, and then in 2012, I guess that little side hustle got a little big, and so, um, I decided to open up a 700 square foot little brick and mortar with stationery. And, um, I had that for 6 years. I was attending other type of markets. I was going to the stationery show at the Javits in New York every year and just ordering lots of stationery and, and gifts and all that. So that's when I was really introduced into the world of markets, right? I was going to Dallas for their Home and Gift and also to the stationery show in New York City. And so, um, I had that business for 6 years. I ended up closing it in 2018, but reason being was because in that business, you know, it was a lot of paper, right? But I also wanted to do a lot of monogrammed gifts. That was when, back then, it was when, you know, people were monogramming everything, you know, they were embroidering, you know, all sorts of things, right? Everything had a monogram in it, especially here in South Texas. We love to monogram stuff. So So I, um, purchased an embroidery machine. So when I purchased that embroidery machine, we were embroidering Easter baskets and backpacks and all sorts of gifts for kids, and towels and robes, and doing bridesmaids, you know, gifts and stuff like that. It was so fun. Um, and then people started asking my husband, can you embroider my work polo and my jacket for work, and can you put this logo on it? And so that led from 1 machine to 4 machines. And so then he opened his embroidery business. And so in 2018, I felt like that business needed me more than the paper business. And that was when digital invitations were coming out. People were making their own invitations, you know, digitally. And, and it was no longer getting a paper invitation. It was just like a text, right? Like, that's what— that's how it started. So I ended up closing that business, and I was a little sad, but also I was very excited because his business was growing and he had a lot of work and he really needed my help. So I was helping him, um, but I still felt like I wanted something for myself, you know, like I want— I love fashion, you know, and so I was like, I want to do something for, for me, and, um, you know, just something small. So inside, because now he has his brick and mortar, right, in 2018. Brick and mortar. And so, um, I had a teeny tiny little table and a rack with clothes, and that was Dragonflies Boutique. That's how it started. Um, and so he would do a lot of, um, apparel for teachers, right? And so the teachers would come in and order their work clothes, and then they'd see the jewelry on the table and the graphic tees hanging on the rack, and, and then they're like, oh my gosh, Dragonflies Boutique! So like, really, that's how I started, in this small little table. And then Eventually I started to take up more space in his brick and mortar, and he was like, okay, what is this, a boutique, or are we embroidering things? And I'm like, I don't— I mean, they just love it. They love the fashion. So that's when we decided, okay, um, it got so big so fast. And so, um, we still have the embroidery machines. He still does do a lot of embroidery for people, but it was— it's not like it used to be in the past, you know. He works 100 100% now for Dragonflies Boutique. So, um, when he has time, he'll do embroidery. But, um, it's, it's crazy. That's really how we started in 2018. So we've been in business for 7 years.

I love that. I love that story so much. And, and the fact that the both of you get to work together. And we love David. We've got to meet him.

I'm asking him so much.

Yeah, it's a gem. I love that there's men in the group. Yeah. So amazing to see how it's grown. Now, a big part of, I feel like your growth has also been, you've been super consistent about going live.

Yeah.

Like you have such a personality. It's obvious to see why when people come into your space, they adore you. But that exploded when you started to go live as well. So tell me about that addition to your business. Yeah.

So in 2018, um, when we, oh, when I had my little section there, um, I started to do live sales on Facebook, you know, just like selling stuff, right? Um, yeah. And it was go, it was getting kind of sort of out of hand because, um, people would comment like, sold this and this, but then several people would comment at the same time. And then there, and David and I are like, oh my God, well, who are we gonna give it to? Who's gonna get it first, right? So, and then we were sending manual invoices through PayPal, and sometimes they wouldn't pay, and it was such a struggle. And then that's when I, a friend of mine told me, hey, there's this boutique selling, um, live selling, but she uses a system. You have to check it out, YouCommentSold. And I'm like, oh, okay. My best friend actually told me. So I was like, well, let me check this out. And so yeah, I signed up for YouCommentSold that day. I was like, I need this in my life. So we've been on YouCommentSold. We have the app, we have the website, and we live sale. We live sale all the time through YouCommentSold. So, but yeah, we really started you know, the traditional way of lifestyle back in 2018 on Facebook. And then once I got the Commons sold, it was not through an app. And it was so, um, it was kind of a struggle to like learn this new technology. I don't like reading instructions. I don't. I'm not an instruction person. Like, don't give me a manual. I don't really like to read how to do things. I'll figure it out myself. And then, um, heck, you know, like, uh, you know, it's just not how it used to be.

And this is so—

this was so new. So I was like, how do we do this? So I really had to study the whole common sold, you know, world. And, um, really had— it really changed, um, our business, the common sold. And also, um, we were live selling a ton more during COVID So during COVID is when we really, really grew. When we started, it was just really our customers locally that would watch our lives, right? But during COVID it was like everyone was home, so everybody was just telling their friends, you know, like, of this boutique, she live sales, and you need the app. And so that's really, like, I know, like, COVID was so hard for a lot of people, uh, but COVID really did, um, help my business in a way. It really did. I mean, people were shopping through our live sales and we were shipping out all the time, and it was crazy. It was a crazy, crazy time.

I think that anyone who's listening who had a business through COVID, they're all like, yeah, yeah, it was crazy. Um, we call it like the great boutique boom because Literally everyone was at home shopping. Yeah. And so many boutiques who really, I mean, similar story, who hadn't gone live yet, that was a time where they started to experiment with it and it absolutely exploded. So yeah, what an opportunity. And now ever since, I mean, now we're back to the normal cycles of the boutique world. It's like, yes.

Yeah.

So much ups and downs. So if you look at that, like, traditional boutique business, right, like, there are so many ups and downs. How have you felt like you've maintained a steady business or maintained a sense of calm when there's days that are good and there's days that are not good? What keeps you What keeps you going and what keeps your business steady?

Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, I just, I realized early on that not every day, you know, people are going to walk in through the door. You know, I kind of experienced that already with the, with the paper boutique. I called it a paper boutique. You know, it's, it's hard. You know, we're not Walmart and Target. We don't have that constant flow of people walking in. So we're just super consistent on posting on Instagram, you know, what's new in store to get people through the door. Uh, my team does a wonderful, uh, job of posting on Instagram and social media. I also try my best to, to do that, but you know, I— it's just you have to just accept it early on. You know, some days you're gonna make money and some days you're not gonna make money. Um, we used to also do a lot of pop-ups, a lot of pop-ups. Uh, we would— I would take everything from Dragonflies Boutique back in 2018 all the way through COVID. We couldn't do pop-ups anymore, but I would attend so many pop-ups and I would take my table and my clothes and jewelry, and we would just like show up and sell. And sometimes nobody would walk to the table, and sometimes the people was packed. And so you just have to like— you can't let that, um, get in the way of like you showing up. You have to show up. You have to be consistent. Like, that's just, that's just how it is in retail, especially in retail.

I think it's a— it's like you said, it's a mindset thing, first of all.— and knowing that that's normal in retail. Yeah. Because I know you and I both see this, like there's so many new boutiques, right? Always coming in and— hi, there's probably a lot of you that are listening. And I think it's important that you learn that lesson early on, that that up and down, that's a normal part of the business and not to get discouraged by it. Because it's easy to say, oof, this is hard, I don't want any part of it and jump out. What other advice would you give to a retailer who's maybe just getting started and listening and they're like, I don't know if I'm ready for the uncertainty of this business at times.

Yeah, I will definitely be consistent. If you're gonna be doing lives, you gotta show up. I mean, I have shown up sick, sick, and my husband would tell me like, "Stop, like, you're gonna kill yourself, you know, like, you have the flu, go lay down." And I'm like, I can't, I, I have to show up for my customers. I, I hate to let people down. That's something about me. I don't like to let people down. If I'm gonna be there, I'm gonna be there. I'm gonna show up. And so I've, I've, I've done lives sick, um, and it's okay, you know, like it is what it is. That's the part of being a, a, um, a business owner. You gotta show up, you know, and it's hard to take a personal day or a sick day, you know. That's, that's where you kind of have to really learn that you got to show up sick or not sick, like Yeah, yeah, it's tough sometimes, but it's worth it in the end. Mm-hmm.

Something you've done really well, besides like the consistency of showing up, is I feel like you have a very like specific brand and style, and you've done such a great job of staying very true to that. How do you feel like that's influenced your success as well, is just saying, this is who I am, this is how I dress, this is how, you know, my brand appears to the customers. How do I continue to maintain that as well?

Yeah, well, I feel like it's all about being your true self, right? Don't lose sense of who you are. Um, don't try to be the boutique down the street. You have to be who you are. And if people love your sense of style, they're gonna buy it. They're gonna buy it. They're gonna love the way you present it to them. Um, you just have to be who you are and just stay consistent on that too. And again, don't try to be another boutique just because you see that other boutique is so successful, if you copy them, that doesn't mean you're going to be successful, you know, because you're not doing it authentically. So I've always stayed authentic to who I am, what I love, um, you know, and really that's how I buy when I go to market. I buy based on what I wear this. Yeah. And for the most part, yeah, they— what I buy, it sells, and my customers love it. So it's been working. So just be yourself. Really, really be yourself. And, um, you know, I— going to— going back to the whole market, um, when I go to market, it's like, you know, there's money on the line, right? So I really have to think like, is this gonna sell, you know? And, and that's also something that's super hard because there, again, there's money on the line. And yes, I've bought stuff that no one buys, you know, and then we've bought stuff where, oh my God, we didn't buy enough. But Yeah. You have to be just super honest with yourself when it comes to numbers and when it comes to being, you know, who you are. Don't try to be someone else.

I think that a good example of that is you and I were just together in Minneapolis for our Mastermind retreat, and one of my favorite moments was you and several other girls all went up and, and Java, I should say, girls and Java all went up to do live sales together. One of the nights.

Yes.

And everyone in that room, their style is all totally different. But what a cool experience to lean on one another, to support one another, to share each other's customers, really to promote each other's brands the way you did. But also everyone has a little bit different twist on how they do it. Like, take me back to that night and share with others, like, what did you learn from that experience? And like, what, what lessons really like hit home once you had that opportunity?

It was so much fun. We did a live sale with shoes, uh, with Naughty Monkey. She was my roommate, Jane, and so she was like, I'm taking some shoes, do you want to do a live sale? And I'm like, okay, sure, yes. I, I've never sold her brand, but I know, I know that my customers would like that type of footwear. And so then, uh, she— there was another boutique owner, Serena, and Serena also said yes. And so we're like, you know what, let's just do it together, like, we're gonna have so much fun. So we all got together in room. Um, there were probably about 8 of us in there, other boutique owners, and they were cheering us on. They were even shopping. They were shopping the lives. It was so much fun. But what I learned from that experience is that, first of all, live selling is so fun, especially when you have an audience there with you. And sometimes I do have live sellers that come and help me also, and it's just more fun when there's other people involved. Um, but I also learned that, you know, we have to support each other. We have to support each other no matter where you live. We all have different customers, and— but you just have to support each other, you know, because this is not an easy business. It's not an easy business. Retail is not for the faint of heart. And so you just— you have to support each other. You need to find that community of boutique friends. And, you know, I have some here in my area where I live, and we talk about a lot of stuff, you know. But you, that's what I learned from that experience, that it was just like, you know, you just need to support each other.

Yeah, that's so true for everybody. If someone's listening and they've never gone live before and they're like, so I am not putting my face on camera, like I'm not gonna do it. Um, what advice would you have for them?

Man, well, I, I thought the same way, honestly. Like, I don't put me in a room to speak in front of people. Like, when you all ask me stuff at Mastermind, I'm like, Uh, I, I am not the type. I'm not a public speaker. I even, I even had a hard time teaching because there was eyes on me. But, um, you know, I never thought I could do it. Honestly, I never thought I could do it. I just thought it wasn't for me, you know. They're not gonna like me. I'm so sure people are gonna make fun of me. They're gonna judge me. But at the end of the day, if you're just yourself, whoever likes you is gonna show up and they're gonna shop with you, you know. So don't— if you don't live sale right now, you need to live sale. You have to. You, you're— and, and another thing that I love about the live selling is that the customer gets to know the owner, me, because I'm the owner, right? They get to know the owner of the business. And one of the best parts is that there's a community now involved, right? So there are customers that shop my live sales. I call them my friends. When I show up, I'm like, hi friends, you know? And they don't even know each other, but they talk to each other on the live sales and they ask each other about their kids and their vacations. And I mean, it's, it's a community. It's a community. And it's like As women, you know, I feel like maybe sometimes we can get a little lonely in the everyday and doing the same thing every single day. And I feel like these live sales are like an escape for some people. Yeah. You know, like when I, when I don't go live for a certain amount of time, cuz I'm traveling, they'll be like, oh, so I was so bored. I didn't know what to do with myself cuz I'm so used to watching you at 8:00 PM and I didn't know what to do. And so I feel, I'm like, Okay, like you could have, I don't know, like gone bowling, gone to a movie, but they're just so used to seeing Sal at 8 PM. And so it's like a, it's like, um, I don't know how to say it, like a, like an escape for them from the everyday, from the husband and the kids. And you know, it's just their time, it's their time. And so I love that I, that I can do that for, for ladies. I love that I can do that for ladies. You know, and then they all like, you know, some of them are even friends now in person because, you know, because of these live sales, they see each other, they go have lunch. I'm like, whoa, like, I love that there are friendships that have been created because of Dragonflies Boutique. It's, it's amazing. It's the best, best feeling.

Oh man. And just the opportunity to build community, like you said, like that's what makes your brand so sticky, but it's the thing that creates an emotional reaction with people and that's what keeps you top of mind and keeps them coming back. So what an opportunity. Community, I guess, you guys, if you're listening and you haven't taken advantage of going live yet, do it, try it, do it scared, get in there.

Oh yeah, you'll be fine. Yes, you will be fine.

You will, you will not have a heart attack on camera. What other tips would you say? Okay, so I'm a new person, I'm going to go live. Okay, Sell, I'm going to listen to you, right? How often should I go live? What do I need? What tools do I need to go live? Do I have to use CommentSold immediately? Or what are the, like, the tools and the tricks of the trade for someone who's getting started?

Well, I will say, I mean, CommonSold is a great tool. It is a great tool if you can afford it. Absolutely start using it. You can definitely go the manual route and send invoices or have people call you to give payments, um, but that's more work. CommonSold takes that work out, right?

Yeah.

And so, um, uh, live selling, I mean, you It's— you got to be prepared. You don't want to look like an organ— like a disorganized mess on a camera because that, that pushes people away. Um, I'm very organized. It doesn't really look like it back here, but everything has a place back here, I promise.

Chaos. I like it.

But I, I'm a very organized person, so before I start live selling, there is a lot of organization involved, you know. Um, um, It— you just have to be organized and you have to be prepared. Nobody again wants to shop from somebody who doesn't, who doesn't know what they're doing, right? But honestly, like, show up and just start recording and just start selling. Just start selling. Just make sure that your product is organized behind the scenes, you know, every— like how you're gonna show it off, because that's how I do it. Everything has its place, um, in the way I'm gonna show it, um, in the order. But And on camera, just be yourself. Just be yourself. But I mean, it doesn't take a lot. Get a ring light, your phone will work, you know, just flip that camera and press record and or live and just start live selling and introduce yourself. Um, you know, tell people also you need to share your life. People love to know what's going on in your life. It's so weird, but my customers know so much about my life.

They do.

And they ask about the dogs, and they ask about my daughter that lives in Austin, Texas. And they know so much about my life, you know. I mean, I do try to keep things privately, some things, but, you know, they know about my family, um, and they, you know, it— they, they want to know who you are. So, you know, you got to talk about that everyday, um, family life because You know, that way there could be a connection between you and your customer.

Yeah. I think that's a big part of it, right? People, like your customer, wants to see a reflection of themselves in you. And I think family makes that possible. Your girls have been involved in the business along with David. So tell me more about you guys all as a family working in the boutique together. What works? What doesn't work? Right. And where's the boundaries that you set between, okay, this is work life and this is family life, if there are any?

Oh, so that's hard. It really is hard. You know, I mean, it's a struggle because I work with my husband, but he is my best friend and I don't think I could maybe— I don't know, it's hard.

It's—

you have to have a supportive husband, supportive partner, for sure. For sure. I mean, because if they're not supportive, it's kind of, it's, you know, there's going to be a struggle.

Yeah.

Um, but David is, you know, he's very supportive, even from the paper idea, you know, from the whole, you know, invitations and paper crafting. Very, very supportive. Um, and but it's still a struggle because you, you, we, he goes with me to markets. Um, he, he's with me all the time, basically all the time, you know. He runs the boutique, and so when I'm there, he's there too, right? And then we come home and We try not to talk about work. We try not to talk about work, but sometimes it's hard. It's hard because this is our livelihood. So we talk about everything, the finances and all that. So it's a struggle, but we don't forget that we're husband and wife foremost. We are husband and wife first. We are husband and wife. And so that's important. We take trips together alone. We do a lot of things that are not work. Work-related, you know, like if we're gonna go to Dallas and there's a football game, we'll go to the football game and do some husband and wife time, and then we'll go to a baseball game, you know, husband and wife time. It's not just all about work, right? Um, so yeah, so I mean, if you have a supportive partner, put him to work at the boutique, you know, put him to work, right? I mean, that's what we did with David, and he loves it, he loves it. And sometimes he'll complain And I'm like, do you want to go back and be in the oil fields in South Texas in this 110-degree weather? Or do you want to be a boutique boss? And he'll be like, okay, I'll stick to the boutique boss. I'm like, yes, you know. And his friends, you know, they make fun of him, but he's like, I'm living life, you know. I am living the life, you know. Yeah, he's got a great life and he knows that, but he's very, very, very supportive. I think that he believes in me and he knows that I can do this. And, you know, we're 7 years down the road, and, you know, it's great. And then my oldest daughter, so she is 22, she just— we're 23— she just moved back to Texas, but she used to go to UCLA. She graduated from UCLA, so she used to live in California. But, um, she has seen the business grow, right, since we— since 2018. And she was right there next to me when we were selling during COVID because we couldn't go anywhere. So she saw, like, she's seen the growth, she's seen the success, and she's in marketing, so she always gives me great marketing tips on how to grow the business. And, Mom, you need to do this on TikTok and this and this. And I'm like, oh my gosh. Um, I actually took her with me to Vegas Magic, um, this past August. Um, I took her with me for the first time. I— she's been with me to Dallas Market, so she'll help me make some buying decisions. But, um, I took her with me to Vegas and she was so fascinated with Magic and, you know, off-price and the markets out there and the fashion. And she was so fascinated with it. But yes, I took her with me and she was behind the scenes, you know, recording and making some videos and some reels, you know, because she's young and that's what the young kids are doing, right? So yeah, I took her for that. And then my youngest daughter, she's 20, and she actually worked works at the boutique. Um, she's been with us for a couple years already, uh, and she's very, very helpful. Our customers love her. Um, but this is not something that she wants to do. She wants to go into nursing, and I respect that. I respect that, you know, that's a great career. She's a very caring person, so absolutely go do your thing. I wish she would take over the business But she doesn't want to, you know, and she sees the success and she sees how fun we have doing this, but she wants to be a nurse. And I'm like, okay, I respect your decision. You go out into the world and you do what you want to do. Um, but she does help us at the boutique. She works almost daily. Um, but yeah, it is a family business. Um, but yeah, we love it. We absolutely love it. Even our pets are involved. Patches is like our store mascot. Um, people love him. He's a little weenie dog. And yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

Oh my gosh, I love it when your business and your life can intersect so much. Yeah, you know, I feel like that for Eric and I and our kids at the Hub too. Like, every— it all blends together. It's all one. Eric and I obviously work together as well. And I mean, there's great moments, there's so many things. There's also moments we want to kill each other and like bury the body. But you know, like, you survive and it's all worth it because I, I just feel like what an opportunity to teach our kids. And I feel like that with the girls, like, you've been able to like show them firsthand your hard work, your perseverance, your dedication through the good times and the bad, showing up even sometimes when you don't want to. Those things they don't teach in school today.

Yeah, they absolutely do not.

Yes. So I mean, your girls are going to have— they're so smart already, but what a head start they're gonna have in life because of all those lessons that you taught them.

Thank you, thank you.

So good. All right, well, so I've got some lightning round questions. Are you ready?

Okay.

Okay, uh, first question: I give you 2 hours back in your day to work on income-generating activity.

What do you do? Income-generating activity? Oh my goodness, uh, probably marketing. Probably marketing, sending emails. Oh yeah, sending emails. Um, and, um, that's what I would do for sure.

Okay, I love it. Yes, me too. Um, what do you think in your business is the unsexiest process that has the most impact?

The unsexiest with the most impact?

Yep.

Uh, I think Being at the warehouse and like unboxing and just— it's messy, it's so messy, uh, but it, it has to get done, it has to get done. And it's like, I mean, it's impactful. Yeah, yeah, being at the warehouse, hot sweaty South Texas, unboxing, all the things.

Yes. Um, what's been the hardest lesson you've had to learn in business?

Um, the hardest lesson would have to be, um, delegating things to people because I sort of like to be in control of everything and if it does not get done correctly, yeah, I kind of sort of get very upset. And so, um, I've had to really, really work on that, like letting other people do things. Yeah. And you know, Hopefully it gets done the way it's supposed to. And, but that's really hard when you like to be in control, which I think most business people love to be in control, right?

We're all control freaks. Absolutely.

We are. We are. And that's hard having people do it. But my dad told me way, like when I started the business and things started getting a little bit outta hand, he's like, you need to let people do things for you. You need to hire. At first, I was so scared to let people into the world of this boutique because I was like, oh, they're gonna learn our secrets, they're gonna go out there and do the same thing as me. But my dad's like, you know, you, you have to, for peace of mind, for, you know, your sanity, you've got to let people do things for you. And so, yeah, I mean, I have a great team that does a lot of things for, for Selle. Um, but yeah, letting— I've had to work on that for sure.

It's such a huge, that's a huge lesson for every business owner. I know. Um, I feel like, you know, they can learn all the things and they can try to replicate you and start another boutique, but the fact is they're not you.

Yeah.

No one will ever be Sel. And that's what makes your business your business is, you know, Sel sets Dragonflies apart for sure. And I always laugh at this too. Sarah Burks always says this. She says, done is better than perfect. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, oof, sometimes I need to hear that because it really slows down the process of delegation when you're just hung up on it being perfect and it doesn't really need to be. It needs to just be done. It's done. Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, all right, well, two, two questions back to back. Um, what is one metric in your business that you live by? Like a number that you really love to keep a really close eye on. And then what's one metric that you're like, I don't really have a handle on that at all. But I'm committed to learning more about it.

So the first one would have to be my weekly sales goal. I have a weekly sales goal and it's like I have to hit that if so I can pay everything, right? Pay my employees, pay our overhead. I have to hit that sales goal.

Right.

At the beginning, I really didn't even look at numbers. You know, people would ask me, oh, how was your live? And I'm like, Good, it was fun. Oh, but did you make money? I don't know, but it was so much fun, right? Like, honestly, my friends would ask me that and I'm like, I don't even know, I didn't even check numbers, you know? And, and sometimes to this day I don't even look, right? But at the end of the week I'm like, oh, oh, okay, we hit our goal, or oh my gosh, we're not there yet. So yeah, I, that's, I always look at that number.

Yeah.

Now the other numbers that I don't look at I don't care about. That's David's thing. He's CFO, and so he keeps a very close eye on a lot of numbers that Sel could care less about, right? And it would be a lot like, um, inventory. He looks a lot at our inventory numbers. He's constantly checking those waitlists and seeing what's waitlisted so we can restock. And yeah, but I'm like, I don't really look at that, you know? And that's really his department, you know, because I'm doing other things, you know, I'm doing other things for the business. And so he knows that he'll be looking at those numbers. But yeah, that weekly sales goal is, you know, yeah, my— yeah, it's huge. Yeah, it's— yeah, I have to, I have to hit it. And if I don't hit it, it's okay. You know, it's not the end of the world. It's not the end of the world. And I have— there's times where I don't hit it and I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Right. But I always— you have to have a goal at the end of the day. You know, this is a business. Um, if it's a hobby, it's not a business. And this is— my hobby is back here playing with paper and getting creative, but, um, this is a business. So I've had to treat— I've had to learn to also treat it like a business because I'm not a business major. I didn't go to school for this. My major is psychology. And, and, you know, I have a master's in library science, which is to work at a library, because I always thought working in a library is sort of like owning a bookstore. It's like retail, right? You're picking out books. And so I wanted to go into that, so I got a master's in it. I never got to work in the library, which makes me kind of sad, but, um, but yeah.

That's so— that cracks me up. I didn't even know that you could get a master's in library science. I didn't even know that was a thing. Arts. Yeah, you maybe have tied Sarah Burks, in my opinion, of like the two most random master's degrees degrees that have nothing to do with owning a boutique. Yours in library science and hers in landscape architecture.

Oh my gosh, I love that. Yeah, I love that degree. I would like that too. I love landscaping.

Yeah, if you have any questions about plants, you just ask Sarah. And if we have questions about books and libraries, we'll ask you.

You can ask me. Yes, so good.

Well, this is, this is so fun. I'm so glad you could join me today. I have one last question, and it's the big question, right? So I know you, you know, family woman, you know, you're, you're building this amazing business and, um, space for your community. But fast forward with me 30 years down the road and you're on the front porch with David and the girls and maybe whoever they bring home, right? And grandkids and all the things. And as you're sitting and talking with them and you're looking back on this journey you've been on and all the businesses and all the lives and all the things, what's the thing you really want them to remember most about you? And the way that you lived and this journey that you've been on?

Um, I think that I would want them to remember, um, first how hard, uh, Mom and Dad worked to give them what they needed in life. Um, that, you know, there were struggles and there were lessons learned, you know, and I just want them to remember that, you know, that we were successful in our businesses. We didn't give up. We didn't quit. We showed up daily. And that's what I, you know, would hope that they would do in their lives, in their jobs and with their families to teach them that. And just that, you know, I always tell David, if, If I don't see tomorrow, I've had the best life. I've had the best life. This boutique life has been wonderful to us. Um, it's taken us to places we— I mean, I just went to Minneapolis. I've never been to Minnesota. It's beautiful. I've seen, I've seen so much. My eyes have seen so much. I've learned so much. Um, but you know, it's, it's worth it. At the end of the day, it's worth it. It's a struggle. Mom struggled, Dad struggled, but you know, we, we, we we got through it, we got through it, and, and we're okay. Um, so yeah, I like that. 30 years down the road.

Yeah, all of that, the good and the bad, but the perseverance through all that, the perseverance of it all.

That's important.

That's beautiful. Well, Sal, thank you so much for joining me, and seriously, thank you so much for being the light that you are. Any room I'm ever in with you lights up. You have such a beautiful smile. You are so kind and warm to other people. Um, and you just have the best energy to be in your space. So I'm so grateful for you being here, being in the Hub, being in the Mastermind, all the places. Um, but I look forward to all the good things to come too.

Thank you so much, Ashley. This was so fun. Thank you for having me.

You bet. 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 and 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.