FTV: Marketing to Your Audience on a Personal Level with Erica Kelley, Whiskey Darling

Okay, so a couple years ago, more than a couple years ago now, I can remember first starting to really speak on the topic of building a personal, authentic connection with your customers. Building a personal, authentic connection with your customers. Let me say that again. When I first started to talk about this several years ago, we were still kind of in this phase of marketing and retail where we felt like we had to hide behind a brand name. Right. It was the time of the rise of the pink lily and the red dress and the blue door and, and all of these boutiques who, we knew the name at the time but we really didn't know the person behind them yet. Right. Some of them have changed and evolved. And so when I first started to talk about that, people were like, oh gosh, I would rather like build my boutiques name versus my personal name. But the statistics were showing the more your customers could really get to know and trust and resonate with you as an individual, the more they were really resonating with your. And so in today's throwback episode, I had this conversation with Erica Kelly, the founder of Whiskey Darling Boutique, because this is something she's done really well. She's built a tremendous personal brand with her boutique. She has brought in other faces, so she's brought in other models. She's brought in her brother who's part of the business and she's been able to tell this cool story and build this connection and this community and this group of like minded people along with having a very specific like brand identity for Whiskey Darling and what that brand, brand identity really means. So I wanted to bring this episode to you because it's still so relevant today on how do you really elevate the voice behind your brand, whether it's yours or whether you're going to bring in other supporting voices. But the fact is people want to do business with people. People don't want to do business with companies. It's just a different level of authenticity and trust. So I hope you love this episode and getting to know Erica Kelly. She is incredible at what she does. All the things behind the scenes at Whiskey Darling Boutique, 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 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 today on the show, I'm really excited that our friend Erica Kelly, the founder of Whiskey Darling Boutique, is going to join us. Because not only is she on the show, but she was recently also on our marketing panel. It was called From Moms to millennials at the 2019 Boutique Summit. Erica and I had an opportunity to talk a little bit before the panel about her strategy with branding and photography and Facebook ads and just why it is that she thinks her boutique has taken off like it has in the last two years. Specifically, you see, Erica serves a very unique demographic of customers, and you may not realize it at first glance when you visit her store, but when we talk about self love and body issues, I think it's really easy as a whole in society to lump people into different groups. Meaning you think people that have curves are the ones that mainly have body issues. But the truth is that body issues and self love and having. Having curves and having muffin tops comes in all shapes and sizes, even someone that you might perceive as small. So today we're going to uncover the type of marketing that it really takes to drill down and get to know your customers so you can serve them on such a personal level. We're also going to talk about Facebook ads and photography, what it's like to work with your family, and what it means to really serve your customers on a personal level every single day. Guys, I'm so excited about this episode. Erica is an awesome person, great business owner. I know you're going to like this one too. All right, you guys, we have such an awesome guest today. Erica Kelly, the owner and founder of Whiskey Darling Boutique, was our guest at the Boutique Summit, also on our marketing panel at the Summit, and we heard such great feedback on what she was able to share with the community that we wanted to bring her on the podcast so you could get to know her even more because she's got a pretty cool backstory. So, Erica, thank you for being on the show today.

Hey, guys, thanks for having me. I'm super excited.

Awesome. So let's get started here like we usually do. Talk to me about Whiskey Darling, about what it is now and how you got started in the business and how it grew to be what it is today.

Yeah. So Whiskey Darling has definitely come a long way. The last two years have really taken off for us. We currently have nine employees. We have an amazing group of girls, and one awesome boy. That is our photographer. He's my brother, so we have a lot of fun. And I have, like, the best work environment with, like, like, the most amazing employees ever. So it definitely makes coming to work every day, like, so much fun. But how it started is actually kind of funny because you would never have thought, like, where I came from in high school, as far as how I dressed, you would never think I'd be where I was at now. And in high school, I was not, like, the most fit. I wouldn't say I was, like, super overweight, but, you know, I just wasn't comfortable with my body. And I tried to dress the way that all the other cool girls dress. The popular girls wore, like, tight jeans and, like, these tight, fitted shirts, and I always tried to, like, fit in and dress like them, but it didn't work for my body type. It just wasn't me. It didn't make me feel comfortable or pretty. So after I graduated high school, I actually, like, lost a little bit of weight. And I think it was, like, all the stress from high school is, like, why I was a little bit heavier. And then once I graduated and I, like, wasn't around all those girls all the time, it kind of just, like, fell. And I started shopping through stores on Instagram and Facebook, and rather than going to, like, the stores in the mall, and I was talking with my family, they own three businesses, and I'm like, what can I do? What do I want to do? Like, I always knew I wanted to own my own store, and it kind of just fell into that. I started buying clothes that fit me, that were loose and cute and comfy, and I just, like, my attitude changed completely. So. So that's kind of how the store started. I started dressing for myself. I'd post pictures, and people were liking it, and it's evolved from there. I'm a big part of the company's face, and when I talk about how I have muffin tops and my arms are, like, not as fit as I want them to be, but I'm wearing this outfit because it makes me feel good. That's where customers can relate. And they're like, you know, I have a muffin top too, and if Eric has a muffin top, let me try that shirt. It'll probably make me feel more comfortable. So it's kind of evolved into, we have more relatable stories to share with our customers. And when we started to become honest and open and raw about how we were, why we choose these clothes, why they look good on us, and then more customers were able to relate. So it's awesome to see how far we've evolved. And now every Time you go on our Facebook page, you see so many girls of different shapes and sizes posting pictures, feeling so beautiful and confident in their clothes, and it literally just puts a smile on my face every time.

I think that's really important to talk about because so many people, I would just say that so many times today you see people with body issues or self love issues. Right. Was there a time when you were at first in your business scared to share that topic with them or maybe like share your own insecurities that you had about your body? Did you ever hesitate sharing that initially with your customers?

100%. So everybody has this idea of I have to be perfect, I have to look 100% all the time. And yes, I will be the first one to admit I will not go on a live video or a photo shoot without full makeup. That's just who I am. And I always want to be presentable. But at the same time, it was hard for me to like let go and say, you know, hey, sometimes I size up in a pair of jeans because when I sit down, I don't like how my stomach rolls over them. But the second that I was able to convey that to my customers, they're like, holy cow, I see this. They see a beautiful girl with eyelashes and hair extensions and tanned skin up on the video and she's talking about how she has a muffin top and they didn't take it as like, oh, she's not being real. I was 100% real. And once they ordered the clothes, they got them in, they're like, wow, she was right. I don't have to wear a sexy bodycon dress all the time to feel good or look sexy. And for me and my, like one of my day to day life, I wear like loose clothes. I like to tuck my shirts in, I like to wear jeans and then have my shirt tucked in or knotted. And that's just me. And when I was able to, you know, tell them that not everybody is a stick or feels confident. I mean, even people you would think have the perfect body, they don't. So just being able to relate and letting go of that, I'm perfect. It has been phenomenal to kind of relate with a lot of other women.

I love seeing that unfold, like in society in general. Just how important authenticity is in marketing, because it's not at the end of the day about you selling a product. It's about you providing a service. Right. Or you filling somebody's need. Is that something that you think is going to continue to change in terms of marketing in the next couple of years or how do you see authenticity becoming more and more prevalent?

I think it's like the first way to go. Being real and being honest. And my customers know that I wear my clothes, I'm wearing them, I love them. So whenever I bring them something, they know Erica likes this. So I'm going to like it because it's. It's real. I'm not selling them fake stuff. And I source clothes that fit that kind of body type. The person that's not perfect, that doesn't have muscles and isn't like the fittest, but still wants to dress cute and feel cute when she goes out, you know, and has that. Once you feel good and you put your outfit on, your body language changes, your mood changes, you just are more confident. And like, that's the best thing that I feel that we bring is bringing smiles to girls faces when they get dressed. Because I remember when it, like, I would have tears in my eyes trying to get dressed to go to school to look the best, and it just never fit. It was never me. It just wasn't. And once I let that go and found what fits my body type, I started to realize there's more people that are like me than there are the girls that I went to high school with that were super skinny and fit. So I think the more. And then also, what's also the funny part is I kind of like fell into this. Like, we started doing Facebook lives, and I'm just. I like to be funny and real, joke around. And I would joke about, oh, my, like, muffin tops showing in these pants, and I sized up and like, it kind of just turned into, like, just being funny and real. And then the more real I am, they laugh. And it's entertaining and it just makes the mood of the video better. They comment more. They're laughing with me. They're like, yeah, me too. So just being real and being yourself is like the main piece of advice I could give anyone that's the face of their brand or even the models.

So there's also someone else that seems to get a lot of interaction on your Facebook lives, and that's your brother. Talk to me about working with family in your business.

Oh, my family is like such an integral part of my business. I wouldn't be where I was at if I didn't have them. I have a super supportive family. My aunt actually works in the warehouse one day a week when she has off of her real job. And chase, my brother is actually our photographer. So he has been through the woodworks. When we used to photo shoot outside in 100 degree weather, we'd fight the rain. He's been through thick and thin or he's dealt with me calling him last minute saying, oh my gosh, I have to take pictures really fast. Like, let's go. And he's like, I had plans. And I'm like, you gotta help me. And he's like, fine. So he's been awesome. He has a great personality. We get along very well. Like we're two peas in a pod. And then he actually made his debut on one of our Facebook live videos. It was kind of a joke because everybody's like, who's this mystery man Chase behind the computer? What's he look like? And Chase and I look really similar. So the other model on our video, Corey, she's like, just picture Erica with no makeup and she chopped her hair off as a boy. That's Chase. So he actually made his debut and the girls love him. They eat him up. And I tell them all the time, like, you need to come on the video more often. They want to see you.

It sounds like a professional dating service. Like, bring Chase on the video and we'll find him a girlfriend in the audience.

Right, right. They'll comment on the video and they'll say, oh, my daughter's single. And you know, so and so. And then sometimes they think we're him and I are together. But Chase does have a beautiful girlfriend now, so he's taken. But all the ladies on the video are like, dang it.

It'S too cute. One other thing I wanted to ask you about, kind of going back to your background too, that we didn't cover yet was your career as a professional cheerleader. And I'm curious as I'm thinking about your story and like evolving with body issues and just like self love. Was it after high school when you started to get into like fitness more and just owning your body type that you started in cheerleading or how did that part come about?

Yeah. So after high school, I can't remember exactly how many years after high school, like I mentioned the kind of the stress from just like trying to be perfect. It was kind of the opposite for me because I know some people that get stressed out and they kind of just like the weight falls off of them. I was like the opposite. It held on and as soon as I graduated, I kind of just like started eating better. The weight fell off. I tried out for the Lightning, which is a professional hockey team in Tampa, and the Lightning Girls are the cheerleaders for the team and they were all into fitness. We worked out three times a week and so it kind of just fell into that mold. But at the same time, there are still to this day and back then there are things about my body that, you know, I didn't like and I feel like everybody has about them. There's something that you wish you could change, but starting to own it and realize that everybody has something they don't like is kind of what pushed me through. And I cheered for the Lightning for four seasons and had a blast. It was some of the most amazing memories I'll never forget. And I think it definitely molded me into the person that I am today. But my last year as a, well, I didn't realize it was going to be my last season. CHEERING I was going into my fifth season hoping to be the captain and I was the oldest vet on the team as far as seniority wise and kind of just assumed, you know, it would be my year to be captain and it didn't work out that way and. Or it didn't seem to like it was going to be working out that way. So at that time I was just praying and, you know, trying to decide whether I wanted to start another season or. Or start Whiskey Darling, you know, full time. And the Lord kind of pushed me into, you know, it's your time to stop. You've done four seasons and let's focus on Whiskey Darling. And I can't even tell you how amazing that decision was for me. My business completely took off after I stopped cheerleading and I was able to focus all my time on Whiskey Darling. We within the next six months after that, I hired my first employee and then ever since then it's completely grown and now we're in a 4,000 square foot warehouse that we're already like bumping, needing more room. So it was the best decision I could have made, but it definitely did mold me into who I am today and has helped me with being able to be a good boss. I feel like it taught me a lot of responsibility and leadership for sure.

So with your customers today, man, I bet you have a lot that have been through a similar story as you, come from a similar place as you, probably a similar age as you, but I know you have a diverse group of customers of all ages. So talk to me like from a marketing standpoint of how, how do you approach marketing on a weekly basis to reach all of your age demographics and different customer demographics that you serve.

Yeah. So once we, when we first Started with marketing through Facebook. We had, you know, just myself and there was another model that helped at the time, both size small. And we did get a lot of comments like, oh my goodness, you know, get like a real model, you know, and it's a little bit offensive because I am a real person, even though I'm smaller than, you know, some others would consider like a regular model, I guess. But like I mentioned, once those customers that were seeing those pictures, they started following our page. They gave us a chance and started watching the videos. And when we became more real, they realized, you know, okay, this boutique does cater a lot of sizes. We currently only carry up to size extra large, but we do have a lot of clothes that run loose and flowy that can fit. So some, a lot of girls that are a size large can size down to a medium. And what better feeling is that than being able to size down one size? So once we like portrayed that it's kind of grown from there and a lot of it has to do. I think with our photography, I hold myself to a really high standard to make sure our photos look very professional and like something you would see in a magazine or something from like a multimillion dollar store is where I always wanted our image to look. And once we started grasping those customers, the core customer group, and I would say the age was probably between like 25 and 30, was like where we first started and they started purchasing, they started posting pictures in our group. And then once our group grew from our Facebook ads, those customers were seeing real life photos of all sizes and ages. Posting pictures, wearing our clothes, looking happy. I mean, you can tell the looks on their faces. They are so happy with their outfit. It's not fake. Not just to get some attention to post a picture on a, on a Facebook group, it's truly they're happy and they're excited that the outfit looks great on them and they feel good in it. And then going back to the age. We recently just did a Facebook video, I would say about a month ago, and somebody commented about how she's 56 years old and she loves our clothes. And so many people were commenting saying, I'm 62, I'm 35, I'm 48, and I love their clothes. So I think being able to be real, it lets those customers that are 56 that don't shop online, once they see their picture, they're like, you know what, if she's wearing it, I can wear it too. So it's kind of like a domino effect. Once you get that core group of customers that love your brand and love the employees and the whole business and they start posting pictures, it's just like a waterfall from there.

It's all about having that 100 super fans right versus a thousand followers makes such a huge difference when they feel so connected and included. So one thing, when you and I were chatting at the summit, at the VIP party the first night, we were talking about branding and photography and just how important it is and you were, you know, telling me some of your story then and even that you'd outsourced a lot of your other social media, just like some of the day to day stuff so that you could focus on this. So if there's someone listening that maybe feels insecure about their own photography skills or feel like they haven't nailed their brand quite yet, what would you suggest to them about the hack how of photography and what they should be looking for?

Okay, so if anybody out there is listening and feeling bad about their photography, just scroll back to even a year ago on our Facebook page and you'll just be blown away by how far we've come. I just the other day search in our group and saw these old pictures. At the time I thought they looked great and I'm like, what was I thinking? You know, they're not great. But one thing that I would recommend is Google is your best friend. We started with a camera that is a cropped frame lens, which I didn't even know what that meant, but apparently that's what like, you know, rookies or people that aren't real photographers get. And it's easier to shoot. Well, Chase and myself, we searched on Google, we watched YouTube videos, how to make pictures bright, how to blur the background, how to edit photos. And it has been a learning struggle. But finally I feel like now we've gotten to a place where we understand it, But Google and YouTube have done so much help for us to figure that out. If you're not using Lightroom, I highly recommend using Lightroom. It's so easy to edit pictures once you get the hang of it. And if you're taking pictures in the same kind of room or environment, you can copy the edit. So if you edit a picture, you can copy that edit and paste it to the next photo and then it's easier to edit. So you can copy and paste and then you can adjust, you know, the lighting or the darkness or the contrast. And then if you find that you found like a setting that you really like, you can save that as a preset and then Every time you go in and edit your photos, you can click that preset to be applied to that picture. And it's a preset, is almost like a filter. So if you think of it as that, but it's not a filter. It's called a preset. So search presets or anything like that in Google. That helped us. And this is going to sound really, really silly, but it's been very helpful for us. We painted our photography room super white. The all the walls are white and the floor is like concrete, so it's lighter. And the color of the wall or the background is definitely going to affect your photos. I always try to. If we're outside, I try to go for a sidewalk, something that's white, or the background to be light, because I want the outfit to pop, so I want nothing to be distracting in the background. I want the outfit to pop. And that may sound silly, but I'm telling you, white paint has been a game changer for us.

I love it. White paint. And then if anyone could just borrow Chase for a while, they would be all set.

There you go. Chase is a little butthead, though, let me just tell you. We get in arguments all the time, just like little arguments over the photography. And I'm like, chase, the background's not blurry enough, or Chase, the brightness isn't bright enough. What are you doing? He's like, it looks. Looks fine. So, no, but he's awesome. If you can find someone that you can train for to take your photos, I would recommend that somebody that's going to be invested in it, or if you and yourself, you and your friend, or the model, Corey, our other models, she's definitely helped out with photos. Her and I would swap between the camera, we'd model and then take the picture. So just having someone that can help you or even an employee that you know is good with Instagram or social media, that might be something that they're interested, that you can, you know, train them, and then they have, like, a new job or a purpose that they can grow into learning.

I think Sarah always says in bootcamp, do what you do best and hire the rest. Right? And that's the only way to grow, is if you understand what your strengths and skills are and you can figure out how to train your team to effectively, you know, take over that task off your plate so that you can go back and figure out the next thing.

Right?

And then your team is carrying the weight of the daily operation so you can continue to see the forest through the trees and Grow how? Have you also done that in terms of social media?

Yes. So actually, that statement I didn't really understand until beginning of this year. I had somebody reach out to me that I was friends with a couple years back and hadn't really had touch with her for years. And she reached out and she's like, hey, I do social media now. Are you interested? And I'm like, awesome. Like, send me an email. You know, I wasn't really sure because that's something like, that's your baby. That's what people see the most as your social media. And she sent me an email of, you know, what she does, what she offers, how much she charges. And I could tell just by reading that email that she was the one for us. It was a godsend. I really don't know what I would do without her. She has taken so much off my plate. We now have posts regularly throughout the day. She responds to emails, she responds to Facebook messages, Instagram messages. She's amazing. And once I let that go, it kind of just went from there. And I'm like, I'm good at editing our pictures. That's one thing that I haven't been able to let go of. But I know that I'm good at it because I know what color the clothes are, and I try to make sure that the photo matches the color of the shirt in real life. And that's the main thing that customers see. So when I create a Facebook ad, that picture is what's gonna draw the customer in, and I want it to be perfect. So right now, that's what I know I'm best at. So that's a job that I keep, and I have delegated out the rest. We all have jobs here, but all of us also know how to do everybody else's job in case, you know, someone's sick or, you know, somebody has to go on vacation or something like that. So that's one thing I would recommend, too, is finding what you're good at, doing what you're good at, delegating what you can let go of, but also making sure that your team knows how to do everyone else's job in case that, you know, one day they'll have to pick up slack from someone else.

Else, man. Absolutely. So one thing that you've kept on your plate, as I understand it, because you have to delegate, just like you're talking about one thing that's yours has been Facebook ads.

Yes.

Talk to me about your Facebook ads, how you dove in. Understood. Because so many people are intimidated by them. How did you dive in, Understand how to operate them, and then just talk to me a little bit about your strategy.

Yeah. So actually, I was not really familiar with Facebook ads, but if you can find someone, like, especially through the Hub, the Hub is like an amazing resource. And I actually heard Laina from Eleven Oaks Boutique talking about her Facebook ads, and the way she was doing them was very similar to how I was doing them, but I didn't really understand what I was doing. It was creating engagement posts and, you know, boosting it for a couple days at a time, setting the budget. I think her budget was very high. Mine at the time was not as high. Maybe $20 a day or something like that. And so at that moment, I started researching Facebook ads, and I actually had somebody that does Facebook ads. I hired her to help with the Facebook ads. Once I started understanding them, it was kind of funny. Once you spend. I believe this is how it works. I think once you start doing Facebook ads or you spend so much money a month on Facebook ads, Facebook will assign you an ad expert. They work for Facebook, and they'll contact you regularly and walk you through the new features or kind of understanding things. And for me, my biggest learning curve was understanding Facebook ads. The business manager or ads manager is kind of like reading Chinese if you don't know what you're reading with campaigns and ad set level and budget and catalogs and all kinds of stuff. So I would recommend starting with someone. And the Hub does have experts in that you can hire. I worked with someone, and you can hire them through the Hub. She was very cheap, and she kind of taught me the information that I needed to, like, get started on my own to where I knew what I was doing and I wasn't reading Chinese. And then at that time that you feel that you can do it yourself, Facebook will assign you an expert, and then you can talk to them and they can walk you through things. And after you get that understanding, I promise you, it's so much easier than it seems. It's just kind of getting over that initial hump of learning.

Yeah, absolutely. It feels intimidating. Like you said, reading Chinese at first. Do you find. When you're in Facebook ads, let's just speak kind of like in generalities. There's three parts of the funnel, right? Top of funnel, middle funnel, bottom of funnel. You know, cold, warm, hot. Is there one area you tend to focus in more often?

So of recent, I actually just reached out to Shoelace, which is a retargeting ad company, and they work with the hub as well. So after talking with them, it kind of like that, like, light bulb switch went off in my head, where Facebook ads are a perfect way to reach cold audiences or warm audiences. So cold audience is somebody that's never heard of your store, has never shopped with you before, and has no idea who you are. So converting someone who is a cold audience is not likely to happen. That would be like you seeing an ad on Facebook. You never heard of them before, but buying something for their store, yes, it does happen, but it's likely not to. So if you can get that cold audience, the person who's never heard of you before, to at least like your Facebook page or engage with your page, click into the ad, then you can turn them into a warm audience, because once they've clicked into it, then the ad will show it to them again in maybe seven days or so. And then a warm audience is hired to convert or at least, you know, join your Facebook group or like your page, comment here and there. And then after you have that warm audience, if they click into like a link to your website, having the shoelace, which is retargeting ads, they view your website and then you have another ad coming through shoelace to show them, hey, remember us? Like you, you looked at our website the other day. Look what's really cute we have back in stock. So it's kind of just like figuring out that path, like the funnel you had mentioned and having them. And then once you convert them to a hot audience, they're more likely to become one of your fans that's gonna comment and engage regularly on your page and turn into a lifetime value customer. And that's kind of where it grows, is just making sure that you have all that funnel constantly going. It's a constant circle cold. Get them to your Facebook page, get them to your website, and then they convert. And then also I like to consider them friends, because if you're having a bad day and you have all these amazing girls in your Facebook group and post a picture, like reading their comments, I swear, it's just like, make sure they'll say, oh, my goodness, you look so beautiful. You're so pretty. I love this. I love that. It's just a really awesome group to have. Once you have those fans, man, all.

About building a community around your brand, right?

Yes, exactly. A community. Friends. And, you know, sometimes I, I don't even like calling them customers because it doesn't feel like that's what they are. It doesn't feel like a customer just seems like someone you don't know. They're just somebody that spends money and, you know, but it's not. We have a strong relationship with majority of the people who purchase from us. I'm. Sometimes girls will purchase twice a week when we have new arrivals. And actually a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned on one of our Facebook lives that, you know, Facebook's crazy, and the algorithm is so hard to understand and it's expensive to show people who like your page, your post. And, you know, if you have 100,000 followers on your Facebook page and only 3,000 people are seeing them organically, it just, you know, kind of stinks a little bit. But I mentioned to them, you know, if you're on Facebook and you see a picture of like a page you follow or even a friend's post, comment something on it. And then once you comment, it kind of tells Facebook, hey, I like, want to see your stuff. And it helps us out. And I had mentioned that. And now going through our Facebook page, it's so sweet to see, like, they're actually. They listen, they do it, they comment, and they're excited. So. So that's one other thing that you can promote to your fan base or your customers that ask them to engage with you and show them what you're meaning and how it can impact your business positively.

For the most part, I'm sure you would agree. You found that your customers and women online in general that you've made friends with have been so awesome and so supportive. And I always ask this question to guests about what do you feel most? Snakes, payroll, or Internet trolls? Because there's always those days where someone says something that just kind of knocks you off your feet. And I'm curious if that's ever happened to you and how you deal with those types of situations when they come around.

So I would. I'm going to knock on wood right now. I would say we have been very, very blessed that we haven't had to deal with a lot of negativity. But when it does happen, which is, you know, few and far between, I take it so personally, it hurts my feelings. It's like, you know, I work so hard to make everything great, and I want to be the best customer service person I can be, and I want to, you know, do the best I can. And, you know, when you have that one, it's so hard not to take it personally. And I tell myself this all the time. You can't please everybody. Like, you can be an apple and somebody's not gonna like apples. They just. It's inevitable. But having that mindset to remember that out of that one person that doesn't like you, you have a thousand people who love you far outweighs it. So just try to focus on the positivity. And I. We never respond or, you know, comment back on something that's negative. We either hide the comment or we'll delete it if it's, you know, inappropriate or something like that. But. But just try to remember that the. There are more positive things going on in your business and in your life than that one negative comment. Somebody called me, said I looked like a boy the other day on our video, and I know that's not true. They're just. There's people that are just mean and rude and weird, and you just have to remember that and kind of laugh with it. I took it as, you know, it was a joke and it was funny. And then, you know, the girls on the video are like, oh, you don't look like a boy at all. And I'm like, I know. Like, it's fine. So just remember that. You can't please everybody. And there's just some people on Facebook that are just mean and want to spark, like, fire for no reason. So.

Man, isn't that the truth? All right, so speaking of sparks, Lightning round, what scares you the most? Snakes, payroll or Internet trolls?

Okay, this is so weird that you're asking this. I'm gonna have to go with snakes. Literally yesterday we went to take the trash out to the dumpster, and there was a five foot black snake by the dumpster, and we're all freaked out now, so definitely snakes.

Oh, I don't know how you do it. Like, that's the thing. People that live in the south have to put up with snakes and spiders on a whole new level. I hate the snow in the Midwest, but at least it kills scary things, so I'm good with that.

Yeah, no, snakes are terrible. I just. And I don't even like lizards. It's just. It's not good.

All right, how about your favorite book?

Favorite book. So I don't read very often, so I'm just gonna have to pass on that question.

All right, how about favorite podcast?

Oh, the boutique Hub business. Duh, duh.

20 bucks.

Cha Ching.

You got it. Favorite app?

Favorite app? I would say Lightroom. Cc.

You're the second person that I've interviewed recently that says that, so spot on. Favorite or not favorite. But let's say, what is your best success? Habit. One habit that helps you more than.

Most I'm gonna just go with getting a coffee from Dunkin Donuts every single day, because if I don't have it, it's just not a good day.

I could agree. Favorite trend at the moment.

Favorite trend. I would say distressed mom jeans.

Ooh, I am with you. My favorite as well. Is there a trend that you wish would go away?

You're probably gonna like, hurt me for saying this, but flare jeans, I, like, just can't.

I like flare jeans. It's like the oversized bells I can't handle. And I'm so glad I gotta go back to your favorite trend. I'm so glad that you said mom jeans, because, you know, we were talking about muffin tops, and I've got three kids. I definitely have a muffin top. So anything that will tuck that stuff in for you is a perk in my book.

Yeah. And that looks trendy at the same time. Like, it's a win win. I mean, my brother has pointed out the fact that my behind doesn't look very good in mom jeans, but we're just gonna IGN that fact, right?

Ignore it. And then also realize they can double as a bra as you get older. So there you go.

There you go.

Yes. All right, One more question kind of before we wrap up. Obviously, there's tons of boutique owners, right? And wholesale brands that listen to this podcast. And so I always like to ask everybody, you know, for everybody who's listening, what is one thing that if you could just give this one piece of knowledge to everybody listening, what's one thing that you think everybody should go implement in their business right now?

I would just say, like, fight for it. It's not going to come easy to you. It has definitely not come easy to me. There's been days that I've let myself get really down because looking at other, you know, other owners and other stores, it just looks like, you know, the success comes overnight, and it definitely doesn't just put in the work. Fight for it and fight like, it's not going to be here tomorrow. Or even if you're on top of the world and sales are great today, tomorrow, they could be terrible. Never get comfortable. Fight for what you want. And having a team behind you that fights for it as well is the best thing that you can look for. Whenever we hire, we don't look for the most qualified person who's been in retail forever or is, you know, graduated with all these degrees. We look for someone that fits in with us and has a great work ethic and has a personality that wants to have fun and work hard. So. So that's kind of like six different things to take from that one question. But just all of that.

Those are all good takeaways, though. Spot on. All right, last question. And I love asking this last question because I know that you agree with me in that business isn't about selling a product. Right? It's not about making money. It's about being in business. So like you said, you can affect people's smiles, you can affect people's confidence. Like, the much bigger picture of why we're here. So I'd love to know, as you think about the legacy of what you're building right now and what you hope to continue to build. Let's pretend that it's, you know, 30 years down the road and you're married and you've had kids and now your kids want to start having kids, and you're sitting on the front porch one day talking to grandkids about the life that you led and the business that you built. If you could hear one thing from them, they would say one thing to you about the legacy that you left. What would that be?

That's a good one. You gotta hit me with a tough question at the end.

You can take your time and answer it.

Yeah, let me think. This is probably the most simple answer that comes to mind. But I just want them to be proud of the life that I led and having them see that I've positively impacted women's lives all over the country. And for girls that didn't feel comfortable like I did, and to let them know, like, they're not alone. And no, you don't have to be the fittest person in the room to look your best or to feel your best, because I know that's, to me, 110%. Because when you see me dressed up and, you know, full makeup, cute outfit, yes, I look great. I'll be the first one to admit that I look good and I feel good. But underneath it, there are so many things about me that I wish I could change. But having the confidence through my clothing and appearance has been amazing and just something that I wanted to be able to give to other people that feel. Feel the same way, that aren't always confident, that don't feel good every time they get dressed or they cry when they go to pick out their outfit. Because I have been there. I've sat on my closet floor crying because nothing looked good, nothing fit me. It was too tight, and it just is uncomfortable. So I've been there and I want them. I want them to be proud that I was able to impact other people's lives positively the way that I've been able to overcome that struggle that I have had growing up.

I love that. Very well said. Well, Erica, thank you so much for not just spending time with us today on the podcast and being able to impact so many in our industry. But thank you for the woman that you are outside of this and for the way that you interact with your customers, the way that you are a leader in this industry and just for women in general and spreading the message of body positivity and self love. I just think that's amazing. So again, thanks for coming on the show today.

Oh thank you so much for having me. I love being able to talk and connect with you guys and I look forward to hearing the podcast and hearing many more awesome podcasts that you have coming in the future.

Awesome. Thanks girl.

Thank you.

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Race.