#830: Stop Treating Your Boutique Like a Hobby

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. Megan, I have been looking forward to having you on the podcast. Thanks so much for joining me today.

Oh my God, thank you for having me. I have been counting down the days since the email came over.

Oh my gosh. Well, it's so funny. So we have to maybe— well, let's start here. We'll share the story of how we first met. Maybe you can share the story of how you met the Boutique Hub, but I remember my first time getting to meet you and seeing you in boot camp, and I was like, You, Megan, message me. I want to have you on the podcast. So give me the backstory of kind of how you met the Boutique Hub, and then we'll get into more about your store as well.

Awesome. Yeah, so I found the Boutique Hub through this podcast. So full circle moment for me. I was looking for podcasts, um, to help me grow the business, and you were one of the top 2 that came up, and I joined and instantly got hooked. You were my back and forth to work every day. Anytime I was on a long car ride by myself, I threw on the podcast and I would take voice notes. I would be like, hey Siri, take this note for me. And then I would review them after. But from there, then I obviously realized that the whole Boutique Hub existed. I got online, I joined the Hub, and then I joined Retail Bootcamp. And I'm really excited to be here. And now I'm part of Accelerator. So cool. So yeah, my little journey over the last about, maybe about 2 years now.

Yeah, I mean, it was fast. Like, you just, you joined Retail Bootcamp recently, and then of course the Retail Accelerator is brand new. You're part of BOSS if you're part of Retail Accelerator.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, so many new things. Well, I love that this is a full circle moment, um, and we'll get into kind of what the conversation was that you and I had in Retail Bootcamp that I was like, oh, we need to talk more about this. But before we get into that, uh, tell me more about your retail journey and the store that you own, where you're located and what was happening in that time that you found the podcast, because you were making a big transition from corporate to your own business. So give me the backstory of how you got into the business.

Yeah. So I'm Megan Healy. This is Different Strokes for Little Folks, and we are in Bayonne, New Jersey. We are a skip and a hop over to Manhattan. So we're pretty close to all the hustle and bustle. The store I'll tell you about first before my journey, The store is a 48-year-old business. It was owned by 2 sisters previously, and I worked for them in high school and college. And that's kind of how I found my love for retail. They were my first mentors, and I just learned everything from them. So I went to school for business management and entrepreneurship, and my actual last, like, project, I guess your college thesis, was to build a business plan. So I built an entire business plan on opening a boutique. And it was my goal by 30 years old to open a boutique. And I had all these dreams. And at the same time, Target threw an internship at me and I had to take it to graduate. So I did that. And then they offered me a full-time job. So I got sucked into big box retail, you know, some dollar signs hanging in front of you. And I would not trade that experience for the world because I learned so, so much. But how I ended up finding the podcast was at the time I was traveling back and forth to work a little over an hour. I was running a store down in South Jersey. It was pretty far from us. It was a little stressful, a little hectic. Um, so while I was, um, working at Target, I still shopped at the store because it's a local legacy and I had my young son. So I was in here shopping for his first birthday and the owner said to me like, hey Meg, this is it. This is our last season. We're retiring. And I was like, oh no, you, you can't do that. We can't lose Different Strokes. And she knew it had always been a dream of mine. And she always joked like, when are you going to buy it? When are you going to buy it? So she said, hey, it's real. Like, let's talk. So I did it. Me and my husband ran some numbers. We jumped in, we bought the store. And at first I was doing both. I was still at Target. I was here. My brain was at Target. My heart was here. And nothing really connected. Nothing was getting 100% of me. So when I was driving, I found the podcast because I was looking for better ways to improve the boutique. I was like, I need to learn more about what the boutique is because in my head I knew everything retail and the worlds are so similar, but they're so different. So when I found the podcast, I was taking notes and I was doing all these things, but ultimately it helped me gain the confidence to really say, I think it's time. I think I need to do it. And I realized how unhappy I was. in my job with all the changes that were happening and the travel and being away from my son. And, we did it. We jumped in. I left and now I'm here full-time. Since then, we had a second son and this is now where my heart and brain is. And, the Booty Cub has just helped me so much with that.

Oh, I love it. I'm so glad that we got to be a part of your journey. And, I'm sure there's someone listening right now, Megan, who's commuting back and forth to a corporate job or whatever pays the bills, and their heart is really longing to start their own business and to have, you know, the freedom and flexibility of being an entrepreneur. So I love that you're able to tell that story because it's possible, and so many people do it. You know, they make that transition just like you did. But you'd said something earlier, you know, you were thankful you had gained so much confidence and knowledge, of course, in that position to take the leap. into starting your own business. Uh, what advice would you have for somebody who's listening that, you know, is really wanting to make that transition from corporate to owning their own business? What advice would you give them?

I would say it definitely has to come all down to your confidence. You know what you're doing and you obviously have a passion for this. So I think one of the things that you guys had said once that made it click in my head was stop treating your business like a hobby. It's not just some little store that you do on the side. If that's where your heart is, it could be so much more. And the growth that I've had business-wise, metric-wise, since kind of doing that and stopped treating the store as a hobby and just, you know, paying the rent and ordering pretty clothes has really shown. And when you start to see those things that connect— so being from corporate, our entire life was metrics. Everything you do at Target is measured from the time it takes you to walk through the door to greet that first customer.

Yeah.

It's measured. So I found metrics that resonated with me. You guys have a scorecard. I kind of built it off of there and I used ChatGPT to kind of build out what made sense. And once I started running those metrics every week and seeing it all come together, my corporate brain clicked and it was like, hey, All of this can be your reality. You could still take all of that knowledge that you had and put it over here and stop giving your brain to somebody else. Stop working for somebody else. Stop making money for somebody else and put it into you.

I love that. This episode of the Boutique Chat podcast is brought to you by She Profits Now and the Financially Fabulous coaching program. If you're a retailer or product-based business owner who's tired of financial chaos, And overwhelmed by your numbers, or maybe constantly wondering where your cash flow is actually going, it's the Financially Fabulous podcast that was created just for you. Hosted by Christine Gray, the founder of She Profits Now and Financially Fabulous, each episode features real conversations about profitability, inventory, taxes, and cash flow. Christine knows so much about financial leadership and building a business that supports your life. Not consumes it. Because financial success isn't about becoming an accountant, it's about becoming a stronger CEO. Search for the Financially Fabulous Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and start leading your business with greater clarity, confidence, and strategy. You can listen now at www.financiallyfabulous.com/podcast and join Christine to learn how profit and purpose can help you lead with grace. What has been, since you made the transition and became an entrepreneur and a business owner on your own, left corporate, what's the thing you're most grateful for when it comes to being an entrepreneur? What do you love most about the opportunity to own your own business?

I love being able to be authentically me. When you work for a big box retailer, you have to not put on a facade, right? You're not faking who you are, But you can't genuinely put your heart and soul into it because you're representing somebody else. And now I represent me. So if I want to donate to a women's shelter, if I want to go out and organize a kids event, if I want to, I don't know, you know, dye my hair hot pink and be, um, you know, my fun punk rock self that I used to be as a kid, no one is looking at me sideways because I'm representing me.

Yeah.

And I'm just, it's just Megan and different strokes now.

I love that. You be Punky Brewster while you're at it. I think that's the most beautiful part of owning a business too. And it's funny because if I look back even on my own journey, I feel like when I started, I had this belief that I had to try to be, I don't know, I was putting myself in this box of I felt like I had to be so professional and have it all together in order for people to take you serious. I don't know, I was just trying to be this thing and this person. But what I've really realized in my own journey, but also watching so many businesses like yours, Megan, is the more you are truly your most authentic self and you let it fly with who you are, who you serve, how you show up, the more successful you are. People are so attracted to somebody who is clearly confident and just being completely authentic themselves. Do you agree?

Oh yeah. You know, even on social media, social media has been something that I've been consistently posting for 59 weeks now on Instagram. But even when you see on there, like when you post something that has your face and your heart and your voice in it, it gets so much more traction because people want you to be real. And I think that that's the number one thing that if you, even if you scrolled our Google reviews, people always say over and over again, The interaction I had in the store was amazing. You could tell you genuinely cared. I mean, one of our big things is communion dresses, um, and they're like mini wedding appointments at this stage of the game. And last year I was 8 months pregnant, crawling on the floor measuring people and sewing beads and doing all of that. So when you are genuinely you, people are just attracted to be almost your friend, right? And even if it's not a friend in person that you're going out to get coffee with, you're their, you're their Instagram friend and they, they love it.

Yeah, I think it's like building a personal brand, right? Like the more that you— and I love the countdown, I love the 59 weeks, uh, but the more that you're showing up and you're building that relationship and reputation, then honestly it doesn't matter what you sell. You know, it could be the communion dresses, it could be children's clothes, you could start a whole nother company selling something else. But the fact is you've built these relationships, you've built a community, and people trust you. And so they're going to follow you wherever you go. I think that's the thing that most people realize, like—

Right.

Oh, I'm not just trying to sell a product. I need to build the relationship first and then the sales will obviously follow.

So very good.

Tell me about selling children's clothes. And I think you've got gifts and I would love to know more about the product mix in your store, but that's a business model that, you know, the margins can sometimes be limited. And so you've gotta have a really great strategy in order to grow, maintain, and really make that business thrive. Tell me what you've learned, you know, since you've taken this store over, um, your strategy for just continuing to grow the children's business.

Yeah, so margins are different than the women's field, and I never knew until joining the Hub and seeing, um, what some people get to do in women's. But for me, um, again, it starts right in the beginning. You're gaining a customer right at the start of their life, and it's so cool to see. But For us, we are huge on apparel. Obviously, we're mostly apparel with a little bit of like toys and trinkets mixed in there, but we're a huge gift store. So people know our iconic wrapping paper. So when you go to a baby shower, if they see the gingham printed paper, it's pink on one side and blue on the other. They know that it came from Different Strokes. So we're a huge destination for gifting. And then a lot of— now we're on to like second and third generations of kids, which is really cool. So for me, when I first took over, I was trying to please everybody. You know, I knew that they had some long-term customers, and if that customer told me that they wanted white knee-high socks, I ran out and bought 30 pairs of white knee-high socks. And I tried to please everybody, but over the last 2 years, I learned you, you can't please everybody, and it doesn't make sense. One of the things that I gained from the Boutique Hub was finding Management One. So they helped me really nail down assortments and figure out where my money was selling and not just basing it off of like heart or instinct or thought, but the data behind it. So with doing that, I was able to really find what makes sense for us. And we know that our specialty wear, christening, communion, coming home from the hospital, Those things are always going to resonate with our customers, but they still want both ends of the spectrum. We have our moms that want clothes that can be everyday wear but prove the quality. And then we have the other side where the grandmas come in and they want that real one really special outfit that they're going to wear for pictures, Christmas, Easter, whatever that might be, but that really special high-end outfit. So we kind of have— Both ends there.

I love that. You know what's so interesting, and I think a lot of people can learn from this no matter what you sell. You talked about when you came from corporate, right? You had all of the metrics and the numbers and the analytics. And then pairing that with Management One, I think that there's some kind of underlying fear in retail that if I do an assortment plan with Management One, or if I have all of these numbers, that it's going to somehow limit my creativity. I think people like tell themselves that false story, but when in reality, like you just demonstrated, I think the more metrics and numbers you have and the inventory assistance you have in really understanding what's selling, what's not, I think that's where your freedom comes from. I think that's where creativity blossoms because you know this is what's gonna pay the bills. Let's double down and be as creative as possible with these specific things. Do you think that's really changed how you market your business as well?

Oh yeah, for sure. Um, and I think that, you know, when, when I knew that we were doing this, I talked with my Management One, um, consultant and we were going back and forth over some of the things that has changed in me over the last year of working with them. And she said, you know, when you first came on, you were bought into the idea, but you were not bought into the changes. And I was saying like, no, it's a 48-year-old store. This is always how it's been.

Yeah.

And she was like, once you really connected those dots with the metrics and brought it into the heart, that's when you were willing to take a chance and make a change. And for me, it was about, like you said, doubling down on those things that do make money for you, but having that little bit of play to take a chance. So being that I still had that little bit of margin over here, that I can play with, that's where I was able to say like, okay, let's build in that creativity and meet in the middle and kind of meld them together to make it work.

Yeah, it— you're really in an interesting situation because, you know, a lot of retailers will come in and they're brand new, like they're starting from ground zero trying to figure all this out. I love that you had the base of a store that was established, but you're right, that could also be very limiting because you can believe, oh, I have to maintain what this always has been. I'm curious, so 48 years, let's fast forward 2 years and you're going to be celebrating this business's 50th anniversary, which is remarkable in retail.

Yes.

What's the vision that you have for this store when it turns 50? And have you thought about how you're going to celebrate it yet?

So being with my involvement with the city, I really want to make it into a street fair. So I want to really make it into a huge, like, Hey, this business has been around for 50 years. We would do a new, um, like ribbon cutting with the mayor and all of that. But I don't wanna just celebrate me. I wanna celebrate all of the little business owners that have come along on this journey with me over the last year. I've made so many friends in town and, you know, again, a big thing that you guys talk about is community over competition. And that's been a huge thing that I've been trying to build into Bayonne. We're a small town. We're 3 miles by 3 miles. You can walk from one end to the other.

Yeah.

And people still don't know that some of these small businesses exist. So how can I celebrate my 50 years but also say to the community, hey, Union Grounds Coffee is supplying our coffee, they're located at this area. Hey, you know, um, um, Zap by Mama is doing permanent jewelry from 1 to 2 PM, stop by and see her. But if you can't make it, make an appointment downtown at this time. So different things like that where we can make it into a huge community event so people can see, hey, if these businesses are supporting each other, it's okay for us to— one day I get my coffee uptown, one day I get my coffee downtown, one day I buy, you know, a shirt from you and/or a toy from the toy store a couple miles away or something like that.

That makes my heart so happy. Like, that is what it's all about, and that's what grows. I mean, we're going to talk about economic development, community development in a minute, but That's what grows communities. I think retail is the heartbeat of small towns and big cities, not only across America, but around the world. But it takes the retail business owner and the small business owner to have that belief of community over competition in order to really make that community thrive. So kudos to you on this. I love it. You just mentioned something, and this is when I first met you in Retail Bootcamp, I was like, Megan, you're coming on the podcast. Because one thing that you did so well was when you came in and bought the business and, and started to operate the business, you got deeply involved in your community and starting with the Chamber of Commerce. And again, everyone who's listening today, I'm sure has an opportunity to do the same. Some people feel very strongly, positively about their chambers and local economic development efforts. Some people don't. But I think no matter what side you are on, we all have an opportunity to make a difference. And make it better for everybody involved. So tell me about your journey, how you first got into, I'll say, community development, and then it's unfolded into several layers from there. Take me along that story.

So I had just left Target and I still was nervous about not having a paycheck, but the store wasn't able to sustain paying me a salary yet, or so I believed. I've come to learn with the Profit First method, um, that there's ways to make things happen. But I ended up going to a Chamber of Commerce event to try to see what was going on in the city, um, and some of the things that were changing. And I ended up becoming friends with their office admin. And I just— over time we built a relationship. And one day I said to her like, hey, do you guys ever need any help? Like, I'm looking for something part-time that I can do. You know, remotely help with emails or whatever that I could do from the store to just get a couple extra dollars in my pocket. And she was like, actually, yes. And then she ended up getting a position full-time somewhere and had to leave. So I kind of fell into her role as office admin, and that kind of grew from office admin to helping with some of the events that the chamber does and different social media things and things like that. And then I became friends with our Urban Enterprise Zone coordinator. And from meeting her, I ended up joining their board and sitting in on meetings to learn what they're doing for the town and what they do. It's a state-funded organization, so we have to do grants and all of that and propose how we want to spend money and what are we doing to help the community. And then from there, She realized that I really had a passion for it and I really truly wanted to do more. In the midst of all of that, I had built a Facebook and an Instagram chat with small business owners throughout the town for us to just stay connected. You know, not every— like you said, not everybody's fully bought into the idea of the Chamber of Commerce, and some of them were not. So I said, you know what, let's build a free avenue just for us to vent, to talk about what we're going through, to see what we need, to see what you want from the city, because then, hey, I'll bring that information over to them. Yeah. So I had— I started to build this community right there. And the Urban Enterprise Zone Coordinator, she saw my passion. She saw that I was doing those things. And she said, hey, there's this thing— I'm sorry, there's this thing called a Special Improvements District. Do you know what it is? And I was like, well, I've heard of it from like other towns. She said, did you know Bayonne has one? And I said, no, I didn't. She's like, that's because it's been sitting dormant for 8 years. So she explains it to me, like what it is. So if you're out there and you have never heard of it, what it is is a stretch of the town where every landlord actually pays a tax automatically. It's built into their taxes and it goes into a fund that's supposed to be used to better that area, specifically for small business. So for 8 years, this tax has been being collected and no one's using it. No one is organizing anything. So we started the process about 9 months ago for me to become the executive director and president of the Special Improvements District of Bayonne, New Jersey. And we finally just got our EIN number, so that is going to hit the ground running this fall. Um, and then I'm really excited to see what I can do with that because that is essentially a bank of money that we're not utilizing. Um, so different things that we can do are like facades, we can help people get new signage, we can help, um, redo sidewalks. Um, for me, my 3 things that I presented to the council for for me to spearhead with this were around safety, around community involvement, and around, um, like the overall presentations. And if you want a little bit of the whys behind those, one of the things that— or a couple of the things that the people in our town always say is that our Broadway is not what it used to be. It's, it's dirty, it's not safe. I don't feel comfortable walking with a stroller with my kids. Um, and I think some of that is exaggerated, and I just I want to help everybody see the different things that we can do. So we have some really big plans coming and I'm really, really excited for it.

I love this. And there are so many— again, backstory, Megan, this is why I nerd out on this topic. But for everybody listening, before I started the Boutique Hub, my background was in economic development, small business development. We had a small business development center and a chamber of commerce in our building, which I helped oversee. And so there are just so many opportunities like this, like a TIF district. I mean, there's a number of different ways to slice and dice this conversation, but a lot of people don't know these tools exist and they have access to them. So let's talk a little bit more with these funds. Are you able to— is it grants that you're going to be able to give out? Is there a financing component of it, or how will businesses in the district be able to access the funds that you guys have access to?

So to start, we're going to build out some different, like, programs where I can bring in people to help teach. So I've already started to talk to our state funding, our state coordinators, and see, like, can we bring somebody in to help teach Google? Can we help bring somebody in to help do a Canva class or different things like that so that businesses have resources that they either didn't know existed or That they just don't have access to right now. So we're starting with those things around education for small business. And then a big part of it, like I talked about before, is community involvement. So how do we have different events to help build that community together? How do we help maybe the restaurants that are along the way? We open up outdoor dining for the fall. Do we help them get some tables and chairs so that they are able to do it? Do we help them replace their awnings? And then a big part of it was around safety. So one of the things that our Urban Enterprise Zone just did was they actually had cameras installed the entire length of our shopping district.

Wow.

So making sure that if something is to happen, you're protected in the sense that there's cameras that we can tap into. So how do we then build upon that? Do we look at for major shopping times, We hire, you know, off-duty police officers to walk the street, different things. One thing that we did start to talk about so far was around the holiday time. Do we look at having some type of like extended nighttime shopping on a specific Friday, Saturday, where, you know, if you're going on Broadway at this time on this day, all of these businesses are going to be open with stuff outside and kind of make it into like a night market, a winter night market, so to speak?

I love that. Cool. Something we did with ours, Megan, was we did a storefront grant, like a match program. So I want to say it was maybe up to like $1,500 if somebody was going to improve their storefront in some way— windows, awnings, signage, whatever— like we would match that. And then we also had like funds that we would put aside for flowers, hanging baskets, benches, trash cans, just the other aesthetics of the area that made it more appealing for people to come along with the events and things that you're hosting. If you guys are listening to this podcast, I would love it if you would send me a DM on Instagram or wherever and send me what your community does that you love. Because Megan, you and I have already talked about this, but I just have a heart for, I wanna get all of us that are involved and have a passion for community development together, because I think there's so much all of our communities could learn from one another. So I'm curious, Megan.

Oh yeah.

What other best practices would you say, again, whether it's through what you have planned in the special improvements district or Chamber of Commerce and otherwise, what other best practices have you had in your community that you think have really made a difference?

Hmm, let's see. So one of the things that I did start doing with the Chamber of Commerce was around like business spotlighting, and it goes so far, right? One, the business feels appreciated, and 2, you're getting your audience out to a whole nother world. We did it on our own as well, um, not with the, the Chamber of Commerce, but that small business group that I talked about last, um, Small Business Saturday. We did a thing where if you popped around town, you got a discount, and we had like a flyer. You had to go to the first store, they gave you the flyer, and then you knew where else to go for that discount. But we ran it on social media and we did it as collaborators. So now if you're collaborating with myself and the coffee shop down the street, you're getting both audiences that are getting to see that information. So I started doing that with the Chamber of Commerce. So a business spotlight, and then I'm going to invite you as a collaborator. Now your whole entire feed is going to see it. My whole entire feed is going to see it. And the algorithm is just going to say, hey, people are loving this. Let's keep pushing it out. So that's one of the big things that we start to do is just to show how many businesses are around. Because we're such a small town, it's not all on one strip. You know, you can't just go to one area to shop. That is where the majority are, but we have so many side streets. Like, my store actually right now, we're on a side street. We're not directly on our main avenue. So even though we've been here for 48 years, I still get people that walk through the doors that are, you know, in their 30s, and they say, wow, I've, I've been raised here my whole life. I never knew you existed. I'm so glad I found you. So different things like that. I think exposure is one of the huge pieces that we're going to start with.

I think that's a big piece of it. I mean, it really, it's for me, that's the roots of community over competition is coming from community development. That's where it all starts is how do we raise our voices together to make this entire area stronger? Because wherever 2 or more like businesses come together, you become a destination. So that is definitely, that's the idea. What advice would you have for other business owners that are listening on how they could get involved in local community development, any type of program? What actions do you think they should take to try to make their community better?

I think for me, it was really just around learning what was out there and just doing some searches and seeing what it was. If you know your Chamber of Commerce is having a meeting that a non-member is $20 to go to attend, go to it. You know, invest that little bit into it. Give it a couple hours to see what they're all about. And if it doesn't resonate with you, and there's a reason why it doesn't resonate, tell them. You know, like, hey, I would love if you guys did this. And that's kind of what has been happening around here. And you could see the change. You could see the spark. bark at everybody now. And I think that's exactly where it starts, right? Just getting yourself out there, meeting new people. Um, for me, a big thing too was I've had the same friends since grammar school. Um, we're in a small town, right? That happens a lot where you kind of grow up together and not a lot of people go away to college. You kind of commute since we're in such a commutable area. So you don't really build those relationships that you see some other people build. So you keep the same friends forever. And being that, not all my friends are entrepreneurs, I'm the only one. So no one really understands what I'm going through. So as you do these things, you start to meet people that are in the same boat as you, and you start to realize how normal it is for that problem to be a problem. I think that you sometimes think that you're on this lonely island and I'm going through this alone. And in reality, You know, everybody's trying to figure out social media. Everybody's trying to figure out AI right now. Everybody's trying to figure out finances and money and how to pay the rent in such a, you know, an area where we're right, we're right next to Manhattan. Things are really expensive around here. So everybody is facing those issues together. But how do you start talking about it?

Man, that is what it's all about. I, I'm, again, I feel like such a proud mom. That's what it's all about for small business owners. Like, I love, I hope The Hub is that for the boutique industry, but I hope you and everyone else who's a part of this industry can take that message back and resonate it in your own community. A rising tide does lift all ships. I mean, just like you said, it's dang lonely being an entrepreneur.

It is.

So to have the rest of your community to connect with and collaborate with and go through this journey together, I mean, that means an awful lot. Megan, this has been so great. I am so thankful that you took the time to come on the podcast today to share your story about starting the business, but also to share how all of us can get much more involved in our local community. I do have a couple of lightning round questions for you real quick before we wrap up. Are you good?

Oh yeah, let's do it.

Okay, all right. First things first, if I give you 2 hours back in your day to focus on income-generating activity, what do you focus on first?

Hmm, you know, I should have known this was coming because it's a go-to. Um, no, I think that I would use that time to plan, plan, plan, plan, plan, plan. I have so many ideas in my head and not all of them make their way out onto a piece of paper or somewhere. So I think that I would take that 2 hours to really just jot down all of my ideas and then see which ones can actually come full circle. How do I expand those and, and put them into play? Instead of it just being an idea that I start 10% of the way, which ones can I take 100% to actually generate income?

I love that. What's been the hardest lesson you've had to learn in business?

Ooh, the hardest lesson I've had to learn in business. Not everybody is in your corner. I think that one of the things I had to learn Was, you know, not everybody understands what you're doing. Not everybody is going to be able to support you in the way that you would support somebody else. And I'm, I'm very much an empath, so I feed off of other people's emotions. And when somebody doesn't show the interest in something that I'm telling them about the business, I'm like, oh, I guess, I guess it didn't matter. But no, I have to check myself and say like, no girl, it matters. Just because they don't care, like get over it. So yeah, I think that I had to learn very quickly that some people that are around you that you think would be into it and really excited for you, maybe they don't understand it or maybe they don't care, but that's okay. And you can move past it.

Girl, preach. I'm going to give you this microphone right here because every single business owner goes through that. And it's hurtful. Like, we think that the people— it's just so common, the people that we think are gonna be our biggest supporters often are not. And support comes from really unpredictable places. So, um, I, I can empathize with you for sure. Uh, all right, you said that you loved metrics. You were big on metrics coming over from Target. What is one metric that you live and die by in your business right now?

Oh, okay. So what do I live and die by? I mean, obviously we love a good profit margin, but one thing that I had to really fix when I got here, and this is a story I'm so proud of, and maybe no one outside of the podcast will understand it, but when I bought the business, they were still pen and paper using carbon copy receipt tape. They had no POS system. It was so old school. So I had to build out what our inventory was, I had to build out a POS system. I had to build out a scanning system. So a lot of, a lot of legwork in there. Um, and then with that, found out how much dead inventory was in the building. So at one point, we were sitting at probably 1.5 times as much inventory as we should have. Um, so double plus inventory that we should have. And, um, now I'm right at the exact love that like sweet spot for the sales that I'm going to do. So over the last year and a half, I've been able to eliminate a lot of dead stock, or rotten bananas as we love to call it in boot camp, um, by definitely just saying like you don't have to hold on to that to get that, get that margin. Just because if it's been sitting around for some time, you know, throw a sale at it, do a mystery bundle. We're actually in the process of moving locations right now, um, which is super sad but super exciting because we'll be on our main strip Um, but I've been doing mystery sales like crazy and my customers love it. They'll come in to pick up their mystery sale and they'll grab a couple of other things at regular price, so it all balances out. And that's a big thing that you learn. Um, so yeah, I'm really proud of inventory reduction right now.

You should be. That's a big deal. Moving from pen and paper with a business like that is a huge undertaking, and so congratulations. That's really a big deal.

Okay.

Last one. What's been the best advice that always sticks with you? Best advice you've received that always sticks with you?

Ooh, best advice that always sticks with me. I think I'm going to pull a little bit of a lesson that I learned at Target over to the boutique world. And I touched on it a tiny bit before, but one of the things that we used to have to do was a 30-second commercial. And you used to have to say who you were and What's like your top win and what's something that you're working on? And one thing that I was always prided on was how I was not afraid to take a chance. So take a risk, but fail fast, but always have that backup plan. So if the risk is going to be something that fails immediately, have that backup plan ready to go so that, you know, you're not just jumping into the risk. There's always plan A, B, and C to counteract it so that it helps. That helps a little bit with that creativity piece, right? Being, knowing that, hey, I'm going to take a chance on this piece, on this line, on this whatever, but I have that backup plan or that other line that will counteract that margin that won't put me in the gutter. That makes a big difference. So don't be afraid to take a risk, fail fast, but have that backup plan.

I love that. That's great advice. Great advice for anybody. All right, Megan. Well, last question. Again, the big question, and you've been listening to the podcast for a while, so you know this question, but let's just fast forward 30 years from now. The store, the store is, whether it's still cooking or you've sold it on to the next generation who's going to continue to carry it forward, but you're on your front porch with your family, your kids, your grandkids, and you're looking back and reflecting on this journey that you've had. What's the thing, as you tell that story, what's the thing that you really want them to remember most? About you and how you operated and how you lived this journey?

I think that the number one thing that I want people to remember is that I put my heart into everything. So if I'm doing it now, it means something to me 30 years from now. I mean, my 2 boys are raised in this store and my 4-year-old son, bless his heart, he tells me how he's going to take over mommy's store, but he's going to change the name to Luca's Little Strokes. Instead of Different Strokes for little folks. So whether that happens or not and the legacy lives on or it ends with me, I want people to remember that from the time that I, you know, hung up that red and khaki and came over here for fun, fun clothes, every single thing that I've done has been from my heart and truly means a— makes a difference. And Every person I've met along the way has changed me in some way, whether it be positive or not. You know, because there are some bad interactions in retail, but every person has touched me and changed me and made me who I will be in 30 years.

I can appreciate that. Well, Megan, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Thanks for taking a chance and listening to the podcast in the first place, and then the journey that that sent you on through boot camp and now through Excel. I'm just so proud of you and proud of your story and the fact that we get to share it. So I appreciate your time today.

Thank you so much. This was amazing.

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, AJ Alderson, on Instagram. Thanks so much for being here and listening to this week's episode. I'll see you next week.