Five Minute Friday: The Biggest Buying Mistakes Boutique Owners Make

Hey guys, it's Sarah with the Boutique Hub, and I'm here today to answer yet again another one of our frequently asked questions. How do I stock my store? What do I buy to stock my inventory? Well, first of all, we're gonna assume one thing, that you already know who your customer is, right? You've identified who he or she is, you know what they like, you know what their style is, what their comfort zone is, what their price point is. So you gotta know your customer first, but that's a whole nother video. Two, I'm gonna assume that you have all the proper licenses and requirements so you can actually sell at retail, right? We're all about building businesses here at the Boutique Hub, not hobbies. So primarily you want to sell at a profit. You wanna invest in products at a reasonable price and turn around and sell them for profit. So you can pay your bills, you can pay for more inventory, and at the end of the day, you can pay yourself, right? Well, that's all good and fine, but there's a few things you have to keep in mind in order to do that and to do that well and repeatedly over and over again to remain profitable. Yes, everybody has some luck and everybody finds that one product now and then that really, you know, brings money in. But the thing about retail is there's ebbs and flows, there's ups and downs, and you want to stay consistent consistent with bringing in the right inventory at the right time at the right price for your customers to set— be satisfied and continue to do business with you. So let's say you're unable to get on a plane and go to one of the major markets. You're just not able to get out of the store or get away from home long enough to go do that. So your alternative is to invest in inventory online through wholesale marketplaces you find through Google or through the Boutique Hub, or just through an Instagram search. There's many out there. I just wanna identify a few problems and a few things that you wanna make sure you're identifying before you give that credit card number out and place that order. One, what is the size runs? What are their pre-packs? Are they selling 222, which that means usually 2 smalls, 2 mediums, 2 larges? Or is their prepack a 1-2-2-1? Most wholesalers will group their inventory together in a prepack. Yes, that helps you. It lowers the price, right? It helps in their production. It helps in all of their deliveries. It helps them run a streamlined business, and that's awesome, but it has to work right for you and your customer. So making that assumption earlier that maybe your customer isn't a size small, Is that 2-2-2 prepack gonna work for you? 'Cause potentially you could end up with selling through all your mediums and larges and sitting on the smalls. So the number one question you wanna find out is what are their prepacks and what are those size runs? Next, when you identify those, find out exactly what is that small gonna fit? What is the medium gonna fit? Is that large gonna fit a size 8 Or is that large gonna fit maybe a size 14? Speaking of women's sizes here. Those are very important things before you start investing. And I guess I should back up and say, please don't fall in love with the product too early, right? That product that you're going to invest your money in has to satisfy many things. It has to satisfy the need of your customer. It has to be able to be delivered at the time your customer's going to need it. It has to be the right fit, function, fabric. All these things have to be needs met by this item in order to make it a good investment. All right. So we've determined that the prepack fits in your schedule. We've determined that the size is what you want, right? And the fabric is what you want. Now make sure you're able to see in that picture the front, the side, the back of the garment. I say this because there was time that I invested in an entire run of denim jackets only to find out that there was a tattoo print on the back. By the time I received it, it was too late to send them back. My mistake. So when you invest in the products, make sure you're seeing it from all angles. The next thing you wanna inquire about before you run your credit card and invest in these products is what is this company's return policy? Do you have 10 days from receiving it? To claim a return? Are there any returns? Are there restocking fees? All of these things help you to determine if this is a good investment of your money and of your time. So also, when you're investing in these items, does the inventory you're currently investing in tell a story? When you put it together on your website, will it make sense? Or when you're decorating your store, merchandising your window, does it tell a story? Is it at the right time? Are you getting this in at the right time that's relevant to your customer? All of these things are extremely important. Next, with the vendor, is there a discount for paying upfront?

Do you have 30—

could you potentially have a net 30 option to pay for the goods? Where are they shipping from? This makes a big difference depending on where your store is located and where their warehouse ships from, because shipping fees added in here can really, really take a big chunk out of your bottom line. All of these things that I mentioned in this video today are extremely important to consider and answer before you decide to put it in the cart and buy it. Because I can tell you the number one mistake that new boutique owners make is falling in love with an image first and then thinking about that purchase later. And what later usually means is 2 months into that item sitting on your website or sitting in your warehouse or on your sales floor and hasn't moved. And all of a sudden then you think, And maybe that wasn't the best investment. So slow down, look at things from all angles, understand the fit, understand the fabric, the function. Is it what your customer needs? And is it what your customer needs now? Answer all of these things. Price, that's a whole nother video. I'll get into pricing your video in— or pricing your inventory in another video. But understanding what the risk of your investment is, to become the very best investor of your time and money into your inventory, to turn that over as a profit, to make money for you to pay your bills, be able to invest in more inventory and pay yourself? That's what being a true retailer is all about. And here at the Boutique Hub, like I said, we want you to run a business, not a hobby. So where are you gonna find these items? You can find any wholesaler on Google, right? You can do a #wholesaler, #vendor on Instagram. There's so many different things out there, but do your homework. If you know it's a line that you love, that you personally wear an awful lot of, you can find them online, outsource them, give them a call, make a relationship with you. The bottom line is the better you become in a relationship with that wholesaler or brand, the better they want to serve you, just like your ultra VIP customer for your store. Yes, the more you buy, often the bigger your order, the bigger the discount can be. But please don't get caught on buying in discount thinking that you're going to turn that much more inventory. Open-to-buy planning and inventory turn is another video as well. We just want you to be mindful of the decisions you make and understand what you're investing in has to be able to be sold to a customer, right? You invest in a product to sell it at a profit. Right? You don't just invest in it because you like it. Is it what your customer needs? So like I said at the beginning of this video, I assume that you already know who that customer is. Now if this video has made you think, "Man, maybe I don't know who my customer is," let's step back and really identify who that person is, what their goals are, and how you can serve it. All right, guys, for more info or more questions that you might have, you know, let us know. Leave your comments below. Subscribe to this channel. We're here to help. The Boutique Hub is all about education and helping you network and collaborate together to raise your business to the next level, right? Thanks guys for joining us, and we'll be back again soon. Have a great day.

Hey guys, thanks so much for listening to Five Minute Friday. I love getting to hang out with you here on the podcast. As always, if you love this episode, send me a message, @Ashley Alderson on Instagram or @theboutiquehub, and I would love to chat with you, hear your feedback, and hear what you're doing while you're listening to the episode. If it was impactful you, please share it with a friend or subscribe and leave a rating and review wherever it is you're listening to podcasts. You guys, I appreciate you being here. Thanks for showing up. Have a great rest of your week, and I'll see you next week on 5 Minute Friday.