Boutique Chat #213 |Creating Engaging Live Sales & Building a Memorable Brand | InStyle Auctions

Ah, you guys, if you do live sales and comment selling, you're gonna love meeting today's guest. It's time for episode number 213 with Alison Albritton, the founder of InStyle Boutique Auctions. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works, from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts, experts and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat. Hey, guys. So since 2012, our friend Allison at InStyle Boutique Auctions has been working in the boutique industry. And honestly, she's a boutique that I remember following from way back, even before the Boutique Hub because she's always done such a great job with her marketing and branding. She's built a tremendous following, over 230,000 followers on Facebook. I know she's got a huge Instagram following and she's done a great job with her marketing in the sense that she's always had similar models that have really given a face to her brand and a certain aesthetic to the type of clothes that she sells and the type of customer that she's marketing to. Now, if you were joining us in Atlanta earlier this year when we had a Boutique Hub meetup, Alison joined us on the stage for a live boutique chat interview where we talked about all things surrounding her business, what it's like to grow this company, an online company doing live sales and being new to comment, selling what it takes to build a brand, what it takes to build a team, and where she goes for mentorship and ongoing growth. Because, you guys, even someone who has built a successful business and has been around for a while is still always trying to fuel her fire and look for the next best idea that's going to continue to drive her company forward. She's been here, she's done that. I know you guys are going to love her because she is as sweet as they come. So please help me welcome you guys. Today's guest, Alison Albritton, the founder and owner of InStyle Boutique Auctions. Hey, Alison, welcome to the show.

Hi. Thanks for having me.

Oh, my goodness. I'm so excited for. For those of you who are listening that were in Atlanta the last time you and I got to chat, we had so much fun.

It was.

And kind of a lot of impromptu back and forth from stage But I can't wait to do it again today.

Absolutely. Me too. I enjoyed it, man.

So you had so many nuggets of wisdom that you dropped from stage. I could see people nodding their heads as you spoke and taking lots of notes. So before into those nuggets of wisdom, let's take a step back. Talk to me about when you got started with InStyle Auctions. It was back in 2012, right? Kind of give me the evolution and backstory.

Okay, sure. So InStyle Auctions was born basically because I have two little boys. They're seven and nine. I was on bed rest with both of them. And so the way I shopped is one was actually through the Christmas season. And I'm very independent. I wanted to do everything myself, so I did everything online. And. And I came to realize that while there's lots of larger companies and big box stores that you can shop with, there's not a whole lot of boutique type clothing. Smaller businesses, especially in 2012, that were online that I felt connected to, that I could shop with. Obviously, I was shopping for little babies, and I found these, like, little children's smocked clothing sites on Facebook. And I thought, wow, you know, that's really cool. And there's a real need here. And 2012, there were not a whole lot of women's boutiques offering the same thing. So that's kind of how the concept came about. And, yeah, here we are, what, like six and a half years later? And so, yeah, it's. It's a lot of fun, and we've been blessed, man.

I. I was telling you this before, but I remember, like, way back then, that's kind of when my love of boutiques kind of started too. And like you, I was like, where are all the women's boutiques? But from a shopper's perspective, I was like, I want to shop them and. And kind of like, pull them all together. So I know I've been following you for a long time. Tell me about the evolution. You started to find a couple of wholesalers, you started the boutique, and it began to grow primarily on Facebook, correct?

Exactly. Yes. We really just started on Facebook, and then we added Instagram, we added a website, and just last year we added an app. We've had that for about a year now. So, yeah, that's kind of the way it started. Straight through social media. I had a background in pharmaceutical sales, so for two years, actually did pharmaceutical sales. I would run home, get my babies fed, throw off my shoes, and change clothes, and I would start into the side gig, InStyle and finally took the full plunge into InStyle and never looked back. It's been good, but, yeah, we have primarily on Facebook and our app and our website.

Awesome. And today you do comments sold as well as another checkout option, correct?

Yes, we do.

Awesome. So tell me about your customer back then and how she's evolved to today and kind of what your brand is today. However you would describe that and the style that you sell today.

Sure, sure. So I feel like, in some ways, Ashley, I look back at our customer base, and I have so many that have been with me from the beginning, and I'm so grateful for that. So I guess they've kind of grown with me too. But I would say that our core customer base is anywhere from 20 to 45 years old. She's usually a working woman or a busy mom that, you know, I put myself in their shoes. We. We need clothes that can go, you know, styles that can work from the office to the playground, basically. So I love pieces that I can bring to my customer that are versatile. You can wear them with shorts, but you can also put them with some dress pants and run out the door. And I kind of like to think that that's the customer that loves to shop with us, man.

As I think about that customer and your brand over the years and how she's evolved but yet come along with you. I think about how many boutiques I follow that maybe started around, you know, 2012, 2013, somewhere in there, and some of them made it and made it big, you know, like I would consider you to have, but a lot of them didn't make it.

Right.

Would you say that there's something, you know, I think, about your brand. You always had the same models, and your brand became so recognizable. Would you say that, among other things, has helped you have that staying power and that consistency over the years?

Definitely, without a doubt. You know, we've stayed true in the beginning. I was even scared to change my logo. It was so basic. But I didn't want anything to change because I felt like that's how our customers knew me. In some ways, that held me back at least as far as the logo and the marketing materials. But I have had one of the most consistent models, I believe, in the industry, Kaylee. And she's been with me for several years, and I think that has really. She's been great for the business, and we work well together, and that's just been a blessing all the way around because people do. They see her and they know her and now that I've started being on the camera, I feel like people are starting to know me on that side of the business as well, which is fun.

That's so much fun. Would you say that was a hard transition? Was it strange for you to get in front of the camera for the first time?

Yes, And I'm still not 100% used to it, but I really just look in. It's a phone. We video on my phone, and I look into it, and I feel like I'm just chatting with friends because so many of them, again join us day after day for these lives, and I feel like I know them now. So it's. It was really hard in the beginning, but I feel like it was unimaginable, actually, in the beginning. And I know there's so many other boutique owners that feel the same way. Nobody wants to be on camera, but when you start really making those real connections with your customers, it changes everything. And I actually enjoy it now. I have fun doing it, man.

There's a lot of truth to that. I have even. I feel the same way even about the boutique hub. Like, man, sometimes you're just to death to hit that button. But when you picture it as the person you're talking to is a friend and they're just right there with you, so much easier to do, right?

Absolutely. Absolutely. I feel like there's so many other maybe boutique owners listening that might be so scared to take that plunge into a live shopping show like we do, or just speaking in front of others. But you just have to remember that we've all been there before. It's. And getting uncomfortable can be a blessing. It really can.

So true. So true. So talk to me about your Facebook Live sales, because I would love to know, how often do you do them? How long do they typically last? How do you build engagement? What's been some of the, you know, trial and error along the way to help you figure that out?

Okay, look, if you saw the first one we did, Ashley, it was pitiful. Pitiful, pitiful. We didn't even have a holder or, like a ring light. And so one of the other girls in the office was just holding the phone, so it was really wobbly. We were all over the place. I was scared to death. But, you know, we did it, and then we did it again and again and again. And finally I feel like we don't have it perfected by any means, but I actually just get out there and enjoy it, and I'm real about it. You know, it's. There Are times that this would just happen. A couple of weeks ago, we couldn't get it to connect. Right. And I'll be darn. You know, we were just like, okay, forget it, guys. Sorry, we can't do this today. And that's just part of it. Everybody has technical difficulties. So I think our customers understand that, and they like it for that because we are so real. I feel like. So, yeah, we actually go live. We started going live only on Sunday nights, and now, though, we actually go live every day. And last week, we went live twice a day, which was tough.

Wow. How did you see your numbers change with that? I'm just so curious, because some people have this fear, honest to God, I hear this all the time of, I don't want to overwhelm my customers. And so the fear of what their customer might think holds them back from the marketing they might do.

Well, I'll tell you, Ashley, I just feel like right now, with the way social media has gone, only a certain percentage of our customers are seeing it anyway, and they can choose to tune in or tune out. And the great thing about a live video, through comments sold, the way our products link up, they can choose to watch it later or, you know, watch it while they're on the treadmill, Whatever works for them. So I feel like, you know, we put it out there, and if our customers choose to watch it, that's great. But I like to think that we have a way for every customer of ours to shop, and that's, you know, Facebook, you can shop our post, you can shop our live sales, you can shop our website, or you can shop our app. So in terms of overwhelming out there anyway, from other boutique owners, from other businesses, you know, they can choose to watch it or choose to, you know, check out our styles in a different way. But, yeah, there's always that. That fear of overwhelming a customer. And hopefully we're not doing that just yet.

I love it. Well, I've got to tune in now that you're doing twice a day. I love seeing, you know, just so much strategy has changed for so many businesses doing live sales in the last even, I'd say two months. So that's really exciting to hear. Talk to me about how else you're. You're doing new customer acquisition through social media, because I know that's another struggle so many people have. How is it that we're constantly attracting new customers? Is it Facebook ads or influencers or what's kind of been your favorite thing to work on there?

I'm a believer In Facebook ads, I know that people would probably, you know, there's certain ones that would disagree, but I think that's really important part of the sales funnel. It brings folks in. But, Ashley, in my opinion, I think it works so many different ways. I feel like we, you know, bring people in. Our customer service is amazing, and that just spreads like wildfire. You know, people say, oh, tune into this. You'll see this cute shirt or whatever, and then they'll tune in, and then they tell their friends about it. And so I really do think that it's a combination Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and once they shop, the most important thing you can do for your customer is offer them amazing customer service, and that'll bring them back and they'll tell their friends, man.

And a lot of people forget that, that that's such a key part of the sales funnel. That's really, really important to note. Kind of on that topic, the last time you and I got to chat when we were in Atlanta, I think it was the week that we were there, maybe a couple of days before we were there, that Facebook had its outage. So part of our conversation was, how should a boutique owner really consider diversifying their marketing strategy? Right now, not just selling on Facebook solo, but really thinking about this omnichannel strategy, was there anything that you sat down and considered, you know, when Facebook went down for 24 hours, how'd that affect you? And how did that kind of change your perspective on marketing?

Absolutely. Well, Ashley, I'll tell you. I saw it years ago when the algorithm changed. So I was a part of Facebook sales whenever everybody who was a member of your page saw your post. I mean, it was the good old days. You know, we survived through that major dip when the algorithm changed and no one saw it. So it hit me hard then. But I realized in that moment that we had to have other sales channels. Not only that, but we had to capture every email of every customer that either a shopped with us or wanted to share their email with us. And we. We did that years ago, and we've maximized on it now. We send emails. We also have a text club that our customers can join, and we send out text. A couple of times a week, we send out texts. And I think it's just important to maximize that. Start promoting your app, your website, other channels I still get. You know, Facebook is still a bread and butter part of my business, so I'm not going to bite the hand that feeds me. But I do think it's important to diversify yourself and your.

Yeah man. So good. Would you say along the way of kind of riding that ups and downs of the algorithm but still, I mean you've managed to have great growth over time. Could you pinpoint, is there a biggest growing pain that you think that you had along the way that you were able to overcome?

Oh goodness, several growing pain. No doubt about it. We actually had a lot of problems with high volume fulfillment and order errors. So we have this, this warehouse. It's not huge, but we had a lot of inventory in the warehouse and you can only have so many blue striped tops or pink striped tops, whatever it may be. And what I found that you know, my employees were my pickers and my packers were choosing the wrong items. So that was a huge growing pain. We had a lot of errors there for a little while and so then we, we implemented a barcoding system through comments sold and, and it ensures that every order is correct. So that was a huge growing pain in terms of the high volume fulfillment and order errors that we had through those ebbs and flows of growth.

How does your team now, I mean you've got the barcodes so you can guarantee that. Tell me about kind of the team layout and structure. I know so many boutique owners love to compare this inside of the hub, but just kind of the layout of your team, what does that look like?

I have. Okay, so Kaylee, y', all, everybody knows Kaylee. She's been the model with me for the longest and but she is also my office manager and she also like ensure oversees like the shipping coordination. I guess I, I should call her shipping coordinator. And so she helps me with the employees that also pick and pack all of our packages. And I have a few girls that actually five high school graduates, we celebrated their graduation today, lunch. But so they come in every day when they get done with school and they usually get out early like at 10 o' clock in the morning and so they come in and pull and pack. That's the way our shipping goes. That's been a huge hurdle for us to overcome that and just as soon as kind of they get the hang of it, we get a new set of girls in here. And that's okay too because I always have Kaylee there to help. And then I also have another girl who's been with me since her junior year in high school and she's a huge help as well just in terms of pulling. She deals with some of the more complex orders that we have. And then I also have an in house photographer who's also a model, and she's also in charge of social media marketing. So again, when I said we all wear many hats, we really all wear.

Many hats, man, I. I was laughing because you and I were talking before we started to record, and I was like, you have one of the most efficient teams I've seen, because you truly, you do. I'm just curious how in the world your high schoolers out of school at.

10Am so seniors, if they have enough credits by their senior year, so they basically worked ahead. If. If they're employed, if they have a job they can. They get done early. They basically only go for one class maybe. And then most of them are actually already working on college credits. Oh, awesome.

Everyone else in the country that's listening is like, what? I'm going to start lobbying for this.

Yeah, it's great. It's great. There are girls, though, so I'm real proud of them.

That is awesome. What has been something. Because I find even with the hub, as much as we've grown with team, the most surprising thing to me through growth was just how complex it is to manage a team. You know, there's just, you know, you start a business and I'm sure you would agree, Alison, you start a business because you love it and you want to. You want to fulfill your skill and fulfill your customers. But then the more you grow, the more you realize, man, I need to spend my time working with my team versus the thing that I really loved in the first place. Is there any tips and tricks you've learned along the way to help manage that?

Oh, goodness. It's trial and error, Ashley. I'm not gonna lie. And I'm not the best manager. That's one of my weaknesses. I'm not gonna lie. I work on it every day. And I think it's real important, though, to be upfront with your employees, your entire team, tell them what you expect. I'm learning that more and more. Put it on paper what. What your expectations are and what they can fulfill. And so I think that's important, especially when, again, we all have so many different roles here. But I'm not gonna lie. You know, the management side of the business is not my forte. It's not my strong suit. So it's certainly something that I'm working on every day.

Have you found good resources to help you along the way? Like someone to talk to, a boutique bestie? I feel like it's always good to have someone just to run some of those thoughts and questions.

Well, without a doubt. And I mentioned this before the. The podcast began, and this is just a huge kudos to you guys. The Boutique Hub has been amazing in that respect. Two things. Not only is, you know, the retail Boot Camp and the training you get there in terms of management and expectations for your team, but it's also the Boutique Hub pages that you can be a part of and realize that, hey, I'm not alone here. I'm not the only one having these things, issues or these problems with my team. And let me see how someone else may have handled it. It's an amazing resource that I can't thank you enough for.

I wasn't expecting that answer, and I'll flip you 20 bucks later, but thank you.

I'm not being paid, I promise. I mean, it's true. I speak that from. From my heart because for years I wanted a place where, you know, I had a mentor, had other folks to talk to that were in the same situation that I'm in. And it's truly, I found that in the Boutique Hub. So it's. It's amazing in that way.

Well, I, I appreciate that. And I appreciate, like I said before, that you're someone who's been in business for, you know, some time and you've grown a great business. But I am really thankful to hear that there's still something there for you. Like, there's still value for you, even when you've surpassed, you know, what most people would consider to be a big goal, that there's still something there for you and that you've taken part in Retail Boot Camp. All that I think is so cool. So thank you for that.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, it's. I mean, we're all still learning. I don't care what level of business you're in. I mean, I don't know, maybe somebody has it all figured out. I don't know. But whatever level you're at, we all have problems, we all have issues. They just vary at a different level and they might get bigger and then something might go away that was a problem and another one creates itself. So I think that's a great point, though, that we can just all come together, whether it's Retail Boot camp or the Hub Facebook page, and know that we're all there, we've been there. This is how I handled it, and this is how someone else handled it. So it's a great resource.

Thank you. So, kind of. On that note, I'm curious again, someone with perspective. Talk to me about, you know, number one, what do you think has been the biggest change in the industry since you've come into it. And where do you see there's so much shift happening right now in how boutiques operate, but also how we buy wholesale. Where do you see the next shift in the industry kind of moving toward?

I definitely think that the individual connection with our customers is just going to continue to grow. Customers expect that, they deserve that. And we're even seeing a trend where some of the bigger box stores or major chains are when they have the ability, they're buying the smaller stores that might have that great customer service or that great customer connection. I don't think that's going anywhere. And if there's something that you could invest in, it would be a customer service representative for your team. And you know, Kristen is another employee that works remotely for us. But anytime you email supportopinstyle boutique.com that is what she's doing. She's the one answering those questions. She is fully dedicated to customer service. And so I think that that's only going to grow and I think that that's only going to be an area that everybody can improve upon. And I certainly think that there's a lot of room for growth there with everybody out there.

Do you see that in the wholesale side of things too? I mean, because when, when I saw you last again, we were in Atlanta at market and I know you've been going to market forever, so I'm sure you've got tips you could share just on that alone and buying strategies. But do you see the wholesale industry changing in that way as well?

I do. It's all about relationships. I know that there are certain brands that I would choose to purchase with over others only because I can either a call them up, shoot them a text or when they tell me something, I believe them. They'll say, we don't have that right now, but we will have it late June. Do you want me to put you on the wait list? Well, sure enough, come late June they're going to call me back and say we've got it now do you want it? And there's that integrity piece there that is needed between the wholesale buyer and the wholesaler.

Do you feel like again, because I see this question all the time and the question is, you know, is it is an in person market still as important as an online shopping experience in wholesale?

Absolutely.

And perfect. That was my question. I know a lot of people change, like how often do I go to market, do I go to la, where do I go to buy? But it sounds like for you still going and Seeing that person in person is really important.

There's no substitution for going and touching and feeling the product. We've all been the boutique owner that has ordered something online and gotten it in, only to find out that it's made of paper, basically. And so that's definitely the aspect of it. But I think you, I think as owners we should be combining the two as well. As I have wholesalers that text me almost every day a few pics of their new arrivals. It doesn't even need to be on a model. I can see it on a hanger. And I think it's important for wholesalers to also have that connection with us, just like we have with our customer.

Yeah, I think that's forgotten that it's such a partnership, you know, that has to be a win win. Like just as much as you want relationship, they want relationship to know if they can trust the order that comes in. And it's not going to get canceled tomorrow. Right?

Absolutely.

Perfect. All right, so if there was one piece of advice you wish someone have shared with you earlier in your career and in your journey, what do you think that would be?

Okay. I actually had a connected with another boutique owner, an Alabama boutique owner, earlier this week and she actually asked me that, you know, she was like, what can. We were talking back and forth on messenger. You know, there's several things. Number one, and this is not another. You can edit this out, but it's the boutique. Seriously. I've known about it years ago. I would have joined years ago. And it's just a great chance where we all have our struggles and you can go back to that and, and see where other customer or other boutique owners may have handled it. But I think it's also important just to do you, you know, like other boutique owners need to be true to themselves, be real. And as long as they keep that in the core of their business, I think they'll be successful. I really do. I think it's always important to continue learning as well. Improve yourself, improve your business, man.

So lifelong learning. Totally agree. And I think that, you know what, what you also said basically stay in your lane. And do you. I think that goes back to. From the outside anyway. One of the reasons watching you, I feel like you've been successful is you've been so consistent to what you wanted your brand to be, not, you know, what you thought you should be compared to someone else who's done well online like you have literally done you and that's paid off. And I'm assuming over the years You've had plenty of people come in, and they've tried to do Alison. They've tried to be in style.

Right.

But it never works.

Well, you know, it won't. I mean, I am who I am. I kind of feel like I'm an open book. You know, what I say is or how I am. It's just who I. I am. I'm pretty transparent in that regard. But, you know, you never know what. There's so many shoppers out there, and whatever attracts a shopper to me might not be what attracts the shopper to another boutique. So I think that's always important to just be yourself, be who you are, and try to meet the needs of your customers, make them feel good about the clothes that they're buying or the accessories that they're buying. It'll all work out in the end if you keep that, if you stay true to yourself.

I like it. All right, talk to me about mom life, because I know you've got. You've got two boys, and then you're a busy mom. Talk to me about how you balance, which I hate that word, truth be told, because I think it's like this illusion. But how do you manage, let's say, life with your family and the business?

Yeah, it's tough. It's, you know, balance. Yeah, I kind of hate that word now, too, because I wish I had more answers for you on that. You and I both know, as the owner of your business, you're constantly working. There's hardly a weekend that goes by that I'm not doing some work on the sides. But you. You have to. I guess I have to make some tough choices at times, because on the weekends, when there's maybe a trip with friends or a party with friends, that might be the time that I have to say no and choose that time with my family. So it's just trying to work it all out, make those pieces fit together. My husband is a business owner as well, and so we work a lot during the week. So on the weekend, we really and truly try to disconnect as much as possible from work, but then choose that time to be our family time. And at the end. At the end of the day, I feel like our children know that they're loved very much, and that's what it's all about. And it takes a village to raise them right. I mean, we have grandparents and friends and family that certainly help us, but it's all tough choices. And I don't know that there's ever an answer for balance. But my kids are happy and my husband and I are too. So that's, at the end of the day, what it's all about.

I like that. I heard a quote the other day, someone said, life is about choosing what you want most versus what you want right now.

Sure. Oh, I like that, Ashley.

Right? I thought, man, that is like our family life summed up like it is all about the tough choices like you said.

It is.

It is. Talk to me about what your daily schedule looks like. Like, do you have. Because I'm always curious and I think other people are too. Like, you know the book, like Habits of Highly Successful people. What is. What's your routine as you go throughout the day?

I wish I could tell you, Ashley, that I get up at 5am and do a cross workout class.

Not true.

It doesn't happen. So, no. I always say that every night before I go to bed, I'm gonna get up early and exercise, and it doesn't happen. But my thing is I like to have a cup of coffee before I do anything and then I get my kids to school. Kind of our morning routine is a good time to connect with them. And I take them to school every morning and I typically work through lunch and pick them up every afternoon when possible, I make those hours in the office count. And then when they go down at night, I pick back up working a little bit more. And so again, it's about making those choices and working around their schedule.

Yeah, I. I like that. We have a very similar routine here. I think it's funny too, don't you? When people are like, okay, in order to be successful, you do have to get up and you have to do X, Y and Z and all these things. But then life is so chaotic. Sometimes you're just trying to get by in the morning. Right. To get things done.

And that's another. Okay, so we talked about the lives before we were doing lives every day. Dry shampoo for five days straight. Let's just be clear. And now that that has thrown a kink in my routine because I'm washing my hair every day, getting dressed up instead of just leggings coming to the office. But, you know, that's okay. That's just part of it too. So, yeah, life is crazy. And you just go with it and again, enjoy it as much as you can and. And go with it from there, right?

Go with the flow, man, that. I don't even know what it'd be like to go back to washing my hair every day, man.

Big props.

Oh, man.

Okay.

So couple of lightning round questions that are kind of related now. Similar boutique question. So number one is, what is your favorite trend at the moment?

My favorite trend. Okay, so I love the snake print. I'm wearing it right now. I love it. And it's, it just flies out the door down here in Mississippi.

I love it. All right, what about, what trend do you wish would die?

Oh, that's hard. I mean, I love, I love being trendy. So I'm trying to think. There's so many that after they've died, like call me in a year and I'll probably say snake print. But no, it seems like when it's, when it's gone away, I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I wore that. Like the chevron, the palm prints, you know, all of that kind of stuff. But I don't have just anything that I don't love right now. Maybe. Oh, I know the, the, the shorts that are high waisted and really short. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, I don't like that trend.

Yes.

But it could be because I'm, you know, a mom and I don't wear short shorts.

I'm with you on that. It's short season is tricky for moms, isn't it?

Uh huh. No doubt.

I'm with you right there. And romper. I love a good romper.

I love a good romper.

But it has to be a decent length. Like why do so many rompers have to be like Daisy Dukes at the same time?

Exactly. I know, it drives me insane.

I need to bend over at some point throughout the day.

Exactly. I know, I don't get it. I don't understand that trend, but I'm sure the 18 year olds do.

Truth, you know, and you live in the South. This is what I always wonder. So you're from Mississippi. And I mean, I'm from the Midwest, which I. Boutiques are still catching on in the Midwest. You know, it's so funny to see how that changes across the country, like from a high level overview. But in Mississippi and Alabama and Louisiana and Arkansas, it is boutique. And Texas, Texas is the number one. But the boutiques down there are. It just amazes me. What is it about the south that makes boutiques so popular?

Oh, wow. I think it's the, the need to be, I guess, individual clothing. You know, we don't want to shop where everybody else shops and you want to have something that not everybody in church is wearing, that sort of thing. So I think that that certainly is What? Got it going. We love to shop down here in the South. Us ladies like to look pretty and dress up and I mean to the nines a lot of places. So not me so much, but I think a lot of people do just like to dress up even to go to Walmart. So I think that's part of it.

Man, I like that. You know what? The Midwest could take a little bit more of that. Like, we're moving that way, right? That's great.

That's great.

Okay, one last trend question. What trend do you wish would come back?

Trend I wish would come back. Oh, Ashley. I don't know. I'm trying to think of what's gone away. I feel like I live and breathe this stuff and I can't think of anything that has gone away because everything that goes away will come back. Right?

Right.

I don't know. I've seen the Neons come and go and I would love to see more of that. So that's kind of. We're trying to incorporate that a little bit more.

I like the Neons. On that note, we've had a lot of discussion lately about biker shorts as a trend. How do you feel about that?

No, ma'. Am. No, no.

I love the honesty. All right, how about if you had to pick one or one that scares you most? Is it snakes, payroll or Internet trolls?

Payroll, no doubt.

Truth be told. Second to last question. Because we always have kind of a similar wrap up question. But before we do, if there was one thing, you know, there's a lot of boutique owners that are listening today that are, you know, they're hustling. Right. And I think we're all on the same journey of creating a business that isn't about clothes. Obviously there's so many more things that go into our why in the mission that we're on. But if there's one thing, like someone was listening that you'd be like, hey, I want you just to pick up this one thing and run with it. Or if there's one truth that you want to share about this industry and the. And the mission that you're serving, what would that be for that boutique owner to pick up and run with?

Yeah, sure. So if you're another boutique owner watching or listening to this, I would definitely say to one thing that I feel like I wake up every day. There's hardly ever a day that I feel like this is work. I think it's important to have fun with what you're doing. It shows through to my customer, and fun and happiness is Infectious. And I think if you can make somebody feel good and feel happy with what they're wearing or make them laugh, that's just a key component to enjoying just anything, any situation you're in, but especially work, for sure. So enjoy what you're doing and the rest will follow.

Yes. If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.

Exactly. Yeah, I love it. I mean, that's truly the way I feel. I have so much fun with it. It's. It's my baby, and I truly enjoy it every day. And that's why it's hard to answer the question like that balance question, because I love it. It's my hobby as well as my. My living. So it's. It's what I love to do. And I think that my customers see that and they know that I care. I think that's, at the end of the day, what it's all about.

Yeah. Well, and truthfully, when we're talking about balance and your kids, too, that's a more valuable lesson than they can honestly probably learn in school. Just seeing that from you and understanding that if they do love something and they're passionate about something, just how much that's going to serve them in their life versus just trying to fill a box that's going to give them money.

Absolutely.

All right, well, last question. And I. I just have to say this before we wrap up, but thank you. Thank you so much not only for sharing your time today, but also while we were together in Atlanta. I mean, I just love getting to visit with you. I feel like you have such a connection that I really, really appreciate. So thanks for sharing this wisdom.

Thank you so much for having me. As I said before, you know, I've just really enjoyed getting to know you as well and everybody in the Boutique Hub.

I love it. Well, last question. And this is, your boys are grown, and I want you just to picture yourself as a grandma. You're sitting on your front porch or you're going to the beach. You're talking about beach vacations with your grandkids, and you're having this conversation about the life that you lived and the business that you created and the thing that you want people to remember you by the most. And I'm curious, as you're telling them that story, what is the thing that you hope people remember you most by?

You know, I do everything with my kids in mind. They're at the back, you know, they're at the front of everything. Every choice I make. And I would like to think that I have given them the. The life skills to move forward. Maybe one day they'll be running this business. Maybe they'll have men's clothes going. I don't know. But I would like to think that I've given them the life lessons to go forth and. And create their own business or run their own business and do it with. With the passion that's necessary to. To run your own business. So I really hope that they're happy adults that have that ability to love what they do in life. Life.

I love it. Perfect. Well spoken from a good mama, right?

Oh, thank you. Yes.

Oh, man. All right. Well, guys, if you want to follow Allison, we will make sure to leave all of her links and instyles links in the show notes. But you can also connect with her inside of the hub, inside of retail Boot camp. And we're going to be seeing you at the summit as well.

Yes, I'm looking forward to it.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Alison. Have a great rest of your day.

Thank you. You too.

Bye.

Bye.

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