Five Minute Friday: Celebrating 2.5 Million Downloads: A Special Giveaway & Top 10 Episodes

Foreign. Business can be a lonely game. But it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat, where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and I can't wait to chat. Oh my gosh, you guys, this is a very special version of five Minute Friday because we have some celebrating to do. Thanks to you for showing up. And wherever you are listening to this podcast, whether it's on itunes or Spotify or wherever you are finding it, I just have to tell you thank you because today is a crazy milestone for us. Um, we started this podcast several years ago and really like the goal was I just wanted to amplify the voices and the stories that I was hearing and seeing when I was going to market or what was happening inside of our membership groups at the Hub. And the thing that I take for granted so much about being in this position in the industry is I just get this bird's eye view of where I get to see so many peoples spotlight moments. I get to see so many people's wins, but I also get to see so many people's challenges. And so often I take for granted that you guys don't always know one another and I get to know so many of you. And there's been so many times where I felt like, wow, this person is challenged with this thing. But here's this other person who I know is really great at this thing. I wish I could put them together and they could learn from one another. And of course that happens in a group. And I'll try to make you connections inside of membership at the Hub and. But I thought, man, there's gotta be a way to amplify these stories on a larger scale so we all can learn from both the highs and the lows that so many of you go through in your business. And that's where the idea of this podcast first came from, back before podcasting was as huge as it is now. And I'm just so thankful because you guys, you tuned in so faithfully. You tuned in, you left reviews for this podcast, you reached out to these guests that have been on the show. I hear every single week from the guests that we have on the show. Wow. I got so many messages of people saying, me too. You know, that's, that's just like me or how did you get through this or that? You know, because I'm struggling with the same thing right now. So you tuned in, you listen, you left reviews, you reached out to our guests, you reached out to me, you sent suggestions on who else you would love to hear on the show. And I am just so grateful. So today I will be short and sweet, but I really wanted to come and say thank you. 2.5 million downloads is what we achieved this week together. And that's a wild, astronomical number for most people in the podcast space, myself included. Included. And I'm just so grateful that you guys made this possible, that you keep listening and you're so kind with your words and so kind with your feedback and encouraging in what else you want to hear on the show. So I wanted to do a little giveaway today, if you're okay with that. I've got lots of goodies I would love to send your way just to say thank you for showing up and being here with me in this space. So let's do it. I also want to share with you because this is kind of a fun stat if you're like, well, you know, which podcast, if I should go back and listen to old ones, which one should I listen to? We accumulated the top 10 podcasts that we have had on the show and I'm going to give you those podcasts. I'm going to link them up in the show notes so you can quickly access them. But I want to tell you what they are in just a second as well. But first, I've got some things to give away. If you have not yet snagged a Boutique Boss Planner, I'm going to give away three Boutique Boss Planner bundles. So it's not only the planner, which comes with the content creator inside, but places for you to plan all of your social media, for you to do all of your tracking, whether it's social media, your profit and loss, all inventory management, sales, month in review, all kinds of things, goal tracking, all inside this planner. It's like everything you could think of for a business and personal planner. Put in one plus a content creator and it's going to come with all the notebooks and things in the bundles as well. So I have three of those. And then I was going through my office earlier today and I have a small stack of books that I either have duplicates of or that I've read, I've loved, I want to pass on to you and I just want to get them out the door and put them in your hands. Someone who's going to read them and love them as much as I did. So I'm going to give away eight leadership books as well. So that is 11 total winners. So hopefully you've got a really great chance to win and it's going to be super easy to participate in today's giveaway. I just ask please leave us a review that really helps the show reach more people, helps us to know what you love, and we just appreciate the review. So please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. And then number two and number three, please come over. Follow me on Instagram. It's AJ Alderson. I really should have changed that handle a long time ago. My name's not A.J. it's Ashley Jean, but it's A.J. alderson on Instagram. Please come follow me there. And then where you find this post about the 2.5 million downloads. Please leave a comment or leave a comment on any of the content on AJ Alderson on Instagram. Bonus points if you want to follow the Boutique Hub if you aren't already, and leave a comment there as well. So very simple to enter. Leave a review, follow me on Instagram and leave a content or a comment on any of the content. All right, let's get into it. You want to hear the top 10 episodes from this podcast? It's wild, you guys. These are some of my favorite as I go back and look. All right, how to approach visual merchandising like a pro with Badia Jubea. I probably mispronounced her name because it's been a minute, but she's amazing. I've had a chance to talk to her a few times and the way that she really walks through merchandising was amazing in this episode, so that is definitely one of them. Growth, diversification and rebranding your boutique with Shelby Loveless. I love following good Babes co which is Shelby's business. She's one of the people I personally love to follow on Instagram, so I love this, like, growth and change that she's had in her business. It was a great conversation. Man. Molly Wilson. I love this. Molly is a true innovator in this space and this episode was what vendors wish boutique owners knew to be successful. It was a very good episode. All right. Oh my gosh. My girl Jasmine Star. How to create quality content that actually works with Jasmine Star. If you don't follow Jasmine, she is one of the top people when it comes to social media and marketing on Instagram. She is incredibly creative and smart. So that was a Great episode as well. Okay, two famous people in a row. This is fun. How to grow your e Commerce store with Neil Patel if you don't follow Neil Patel, he is one of the smartest and most well known and well followed digital marketers in the world. SEM SEO ads. This man knows his stuff and has a massive following obviously because of it. All right. Oh the next one. This is one with just you and me. What it means to be a brand new business owner in 2022. I feel like I probably need to reshoot that episode and make it more current, but I think a lot of the same logistics and tips probably apply from 2022 as they do today. So thanks for making that a top episode. Ooh, the next one was so good and I just collaborated with her again recently. This was the power of Pinterest Marketing with Kate. All Kate is incredible when it comes to Pinterest marketing and so there is an updated version of this episode coming soon with Kate and I recently was on her podcast as well. But so smart when it comes to Pinterest. Ooh, the next one was such a good episode. I know a lot of you love to follow her as well. And this was From Brick and Mortar to E Commerce with Carly Harris. Great episode about bridging between the two business types. Next was my friend Susan Bradley who is also a retail expert and this was how to grow a sustainable Business like an Expert with Susan Bradley. Great episode. And then finally, ooh, top episode here. Converting your Shopify store into a sales powerhouse with Kelly Vaughn. Kelly is a Shopify expert that was formerly a part of our community at the boutique Hub. Her development team has taken a bit of a shift more so outside of Shopify, but she is so knowledgeable. This was a really great episode. So all right, top 10 episodes there. Congrats to all those amazing guests who made the top 10 list again. I'll link those up in the show notes so you guys can go take a listen. But if you have episodes you think that I should record or guests you think I should have on the show, when you follow me over on Instagram @aj Alderson, just shoot me a message. I would love to hear from you. I appreciate hearing from you every week when you're like taking a picture of listening in your car or on a workout or with your children. I love seeing the children in the photos that you guys send me. So keep it up. Let me know how you love to listen to these episodes and also what you would love for me to cover and what guests you would like to have on. All right, that's it, you guys. Thank you. This is a little longer than five minutes, but man, 2.5 million downloads is wild. I am so grateful. Thank you for showing up, listening, and just being awesome. If there's anything I can do to support you and your business, you guys, that is what this is all about. So. So I appreciate you. Thank you for this huge honor. Huge honor. Thanks for listening, guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.