How to Create Successful Content for your Boutique

It's time for episode number 255. And if you are a hubby, you already know our friend Tammy Old, the founder of the House of Gentry boutique and a longtime Hub member who is so giving of her time and support and knowledge. I'm really excited to tell you her story today on the podcast. 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 e commerce 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. You know, when I first thought about the idea of community over competition, I thought about what does that really mean, right? Does that mean you're just friendly with your neighbors? Does that mean you're just friendly with these boutique owners that you meet at market? No, it means so much more than that. It means that you are willing to give another boutique owner the shirt off your back. It means you are willing to give them the secrets to your success and know that they will do the same for you. Being a boutique bestie and living in community over competition means that you are willing to share your business because you know when you do, it uplifts the entire industry and in turn, it makes it better for you. There are so few people, I think, in this world that truly live in community over competition. And I have to tell you that inside of the Hub, there are some that have gone above and beyond. And today I'm really excited to introduce you to one of them who has been a member of the Hub for, gosh, quite a long time, almost since the beginning. And someone who's made a name for herself in the Hub because she's always helpful with her thoughts and her feedback and sharing her real, open and raw experiences. Guys, get ready to meet my friend, Tammy Old, the founder of the House of Gentry boutique. And today I'm really excited to talk to Tammy because, you know, I think so often you hear on this podcast from, you know, these big, big businesses. I don't know, I was going to say big, big boutiques, but it's all types of businesses. And I think it's easy to get the impression that success means bigger is better. And frankly, I don't believe that at all. I think success is defining on your own terms what you want your life to look like. And what do you want to spend your days doing, right? And how do you want to lead your children or your family along the way? I think success is different to everyone, and bigger isn't better. But better is better, right? Fulfilling your own personal best or fulfilling the why and the mission that you have in business. That's what success is. And I've had this conversation with Tammy many times, and I'm really excited to that she comes to talk about it today on the show because Tammy is a mother of two. She runs her boutique from her home, and she's done a great job at mastering her own understanding of who her clients are and how she wants to show up to serve her clients. For Tammy, it doesn't mean a massive warehouse or all kinds of employees. It means doing the best job she possibly can with a business that she's built, being true to her own core identity and how she wants to show up in the world. And I think that's so, so beautiful. So today we talk about all the things. Managing work, life balance, which is that really a thing? It means just doing all the things at a set schedule, right time blocking. But we're also talking about content creation and how to really hone in on who your customer is and how you can show up for her. And we also talk about a big topic which Tammy's been vocal about in the Hub, and that is it is so easy to compare your life, your journey, your business to someone else's on the Internet and to get lost in the trap of comparison. And if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, and that's that comparison is the thief of joy. So Tammy talks about what it was like to take a hiatus from reading what everyone else had to say about their business so she could come back and refocus on her own and feel so confident and so good about the great things she was creating.

Feeling.

Guys, I'm so excited to bring you this interview. Meet my friend Tammy Old, the founder of the House of Gentry Boutique, and be sure to connect with her in the Hub when this is all over. All right, guys, if you are a Hub member and you're listening today, I'm so excited because this guest, you definitely know her for being a part of the Hub because she's one of the most giving people in the community that has openly shared her story and her wisdom and her ideas and her journey with all of us inside of the Hub. So I'm so excited to welcome Tami Old, the founder of House of Gentry Boutique to the show today. Welcome, Tammy.

Hi, Ashley.

I'm so excited to have you on the show. You and I, we've chatted in DMS for such a long time about, you know, so many different things. But to bring your wisdom to everybody today on your boutique journey, how you really identified your market, who you are, how you are going to define success on your own terms, I think is so admirable. So I can't wait to dive into your story.

Thank you. I'm excited to talk to you about it.

So let's start here. I always love the backstory. Talk to me about your background. I know you were involved and loved fashion from really early on in life. So talk to me about kind of how you grew up, how you got into fashion, and what led you to start a boutique.

Well, I think I've always had a strong opinion about what I wear. That's one thing my mom will definitely tell you. Even when I was young, young, I would try to alter my own clothing. I always wanted to be. Be the one who said what, you know, I would be wearing as I grew up. I ended up going to fashion design school. So I went to FIDM in Los Angeles and studied fashion design there. I took a little bit of a detour and studied acting, and I modeled all throughout my teenage and twenties. So I took a break. And then when I had my daughter, I was staying home, and I'm just not one of those people who can sit still for very long. And so I was like, I need to do something. I need to create something. I've always wanted a boutique. This just seems like something I've always wanted to do. So right now just seems like the perfect time. So I started researching Googling, doing whatever I could, and that's kind of how this came about.

Awesome. And you've got two toddlers while also running a boutique from home.

Right.

Talk to me about how the boutique has evolved since you've started it.

Well, it's evolved quite a bit. So I started out with maybe five items in the basement of our Ohio home. And it was really one of those things that I kind of just tried to. I was trying to find pieces and bits of time for in between taking care of my first daughter, who was only, like, nine months old at the time, so it was a little bit easier. And then as things kind of got bigger, I found that I had to kind of, like, block my time and kind of try to figure out a balance. It's kind of confusing to, like, figure out, like, the best Way to explain it, because it was all trial and error trying to figure out how to balance having kids, making sure they're happy and healthy, and then trying to just build up this dream for myself. It was all trial and error of figuring out, you know, how I'm going to block schedule, the things that I need to get done for myself and making sure I create family time. All of that kind of just was one of those things that I feel like intuitively I just kind of did. You know what I mean?

Yeah. And I think it's so interesting. So many people, I think start boutiques because they come to this point in life where they love fashion, they feel called to this business, but they're like, I want more freedom and flexibility and I want to be home with the kids. And then that happens and you get in that spot and you're like, oh, whoa. This is actually really hard. This is really hard to balance all of this. Are there certain things that you feel like, you know, as a part of your time blocking that you've intuitively figured out that are must do's for you, like certain habits or certain morning routines or rituals or how do you manage it?

Yeah, so there's, there's a lot. Since I work from home especially this has been a big conversation, especially with the coronavirus going on right now. Is getting dressed during the day? Yeah. Big things for me that if I don't get dressed, I notice that I'm not as productive and drinking a lot of water because I'm just not. I'm dehydrated and so my body's not functioning correctly. I do, I'm starting to work out again, which has been helpful to give me more energy. But as far as like time blocking specific tasks, since I'm online only, I've noticed that if I do not focus on content, just content itself, it. My week doesn't go well. So I spend Mondays and Wednesdays from about 10 to 4 just building content right now, trying to serve my customers, but also teach them something, share them something, and just build a community and a relationship. So that's kind of my main thing with block scheduling. Then of course, you know, all the admin side of it as well. And then I have specific days set where, you know, I'm going to take my children to the park, I'm going to do this with my family. So I make sure that I'm setting aside all of those different aspects of my life to have time for because I just, I. If I don't feel like a whole person, I don't feel as effective, so. Good.

And you've had help along the way. We were just talking about bringing someone into the home to help talk about that process. And how long have you had help and how has that changed things for you?

Well, I was always, I'm going to start this off by saying for whoever's listening, I always thought I was going to be that mom who could do everything. So when I brought in somebody who could help, it kind of crushed my spirit that I couldn't. But yeah, so we've had, we've had a nanny for about eight months and she has just been such a joy for us. The process wasn't too hard. I did a couple interviews with people just to see how they interacted with my children and to kind of see just, you know, how their personalities matched up and how they would match up with our family. And what I've noticed is my, I'm able to serve my kids better, you know, as well as my customers because they're getting, when I'm working, they're able to get this one on one time with someone who loves them, probably honestly just as much as I love them. And they're able to do all the fun activities they want. And it's just made things a lot easier on me in my, you know, consciously knowing that they. I'm getting so busy in my life that I don't have all that time that I thought I would have as a stay at home mom who runs a business from home. It's just not realistic. And I had to come to terms with that and that was really hard. But now that we've had her for eight months, it's just, I feel like it's such a blessing. It's the first employee I've ever hired, you know, for anything because I still do everything else in my business. But it was the one thing that I saw that I wasn't doing well anymore. I was doing great until things got busy. And then I felt like my children were suffering because I wasn't able to give them, you know, as much of my time as I want to.

So, yeah, new levels, new devils, right? It's always exactly. You hope for growth and then it comes and then you kind of have to refigure things out again. But I feel like even in my own life, the more that I focus on quality over quantity in terms of time with our kids, the more you do have that peace of mind. Which sounds like exactly what you're saying.

Yeah, absolutely. That's exactly it. So yeah. So blocking off specific times. And that sounds so silly, but, like, I spend Tuesdays as family day on Tuesday, and all I do with them is whatever we. Whatever their little hearts desire.

And it's.

It's so special. Every Tuesday is so special. Every Friday is so special. Saturday and Sunday are so special because I have specific things I do with them on those days. And, you know, I can cherish those moments because they are full of such quality time and my energy and, you know, everything is just focused on them. So it actually, I'm starting to see now that the choice that I made to bring in a nanny actually made my relationships with my children way better.

So, so good. So true. So true. I think of, like, how you've been able to time block and really take care of them. Part of it is because you feel now so comfortable and confident in what you're doing the other days of the week. Right. Which is growing your business. And one way that you've done that is you've become super laser focused on who your customer is, how you're going to serve her. And I know you specifically mentioned creating content those two days a week. I want to ask you about all the content you're creating, but before I do, can you paint the picture of who your customer is? And I know it's the name the House of Gentry. I'm sure there's others that are wondering where that name comes from and how does that tie into who you are and who your audience is.

Sure. So I'll answer about my company's name first. That's probably the easiest way to go into who my customer is as well. So I'm a big. You know, I was an actor for a long time and a model for a while, and one of my biggest loves is Shakespeare, and I'm a Shakespeare nerd. I collect books. And my favorite play, one that I also got to perform was A Midsummer Night's Dream. And it's just about fairy folklore. And so I started researching a little bit more in depth about fairies, and I found this old folk folklore about the gentry, which is just a group of noble fairies. And so I was like, that sounds like it would be a really cool name for my boutique. So that's kind of how that came about. And so just me in general, I'm. I love things that are whimsical but feminine, things that, you know, maybe a little alternative and different, but still very much relatable, I guess. And my customer is. Is pretty much the same way, because I feel like a lot of the women that I've built relationships with over the Internet, we all kind of share some of the same attributes as far as our. Our personalities. So she's a woman around the same age, you know, 25 to 35, who's just kind of introducing herself to motherhood and still trying to figure herself out, but is kind of alternative, but kind of also an adult and has to be. So she kind of has to figure out how to dress herself in a way that, you know, to be an adult. So she loves things that are feminine, but she loves to express her personality, which is a little bit alternative. She listens to music that maybe is a little bit more obscure that not everybody knows. And she enjoys really weird mythical creatures or, you know, like fairies, loves reading, loves festivals, all sorts of things. But she's in a new, mature part of life where she kind of has to have her clothing reflect that.

I love that. And how did you. I know you said at the beginning of your journey, you know, it's one thing to find clothes and to build this audience and, and to really find that. That woman. How do you feel like your content has evolved to really hone in on who she is and allow her to find you and become attracted to your marketing message.

Ways that I just, I feel like people consume it so differently that if you can give a bunch of different ways to show, you know, the same item in different outfits, different ways to wear it, different colors, to pair it with, a different, you know, way of putting it on your body, even, you know, like a T shirt, if you knotted it, if you cropped it, if you did all, you know, a million different ways of doing things. So I think that's kind of helped serve my customer better too, because one of the things that I think I've really kind of come to understand, especially since I am online only, is my biggest hurdle is figuring out how to serve them without being with them face to face. And that was a big struggle for me for a while because when I was in Ohio, pop ups were very popular. And so it was easy for me to be with women and actually talk to them face to face about the clothing, how they felt, all of that. And when I moved to Florida, the culture that, that pop up stuff, I don't have as much here. So I really retracted back to only being online. And so I had to find that voice online. And I think just in the past six months, I'm starting to figure out that voice more than I ever have. And now I feel like I can, I can Present a piece of clothing to my audience and have multiple different types of consumers really understand it better because I'm shooting it so many different ways.

Now talk to me about what channels you feel like are strongest for you. And I love that you're so focused on. It's really like educating your customer. You're the style educator, right? And they're your students. What channels work best for you? And like, what do you feel like you really hit your stride with?

Well, most recently, TikTok is where I focus all of my time and then my content trickles down from there now, which is interesting because I'm so obsessed with it. So I really feel like I focus a lot of time on video now because I may. I feel like whether it's live or pre recorded, I feel more of a connection with my audience there. I definitely feel like when I focus on video content, they're seeing movement and they're seeing me usually in the clothing. And that kind of gives them that instant connection to feel more comfortable to engage and talk with me. So. And then can you repeat the question one more time so I can. What.

What channels do you feel like you've really hit your stride with? And specifically, as I'm thinking about you mentioning TikTok, I'm wondering, are you taking a lot of the video content that you use on TikTok and putting it also on other platforms, or how are you cross using all the video content you're creating?

Oh, yeah, sure. So why don't I just give you a breakdown of my, like a content day? For me, really what I do is I take three, three pieces of or three looks. If I take one look and I'll video myself in it. I'll video it multiple ways. I take all of the content on my phone and run it through an editor and process it for different formats. So I always start with TikTok because it's only 15 seconds anyways, and edit it for that. And then I kind of see while I'm doing those videos, I'm like, oh, this would be a really good photograph for Instagram. So I make sure as soon as I'm done with the video, I snap a shot of if I'm in a mirror or wherever I'm at and make sure to get a photograph. And then once I'm done with that and I'm about to change into my next outfit, I go ahead and put it down on the ground for a flat lace. So I've kind of gotten to this rhythm just recently of a new way of Building my content. So I kind of make sure to hit all of those points of make sure you get video in this, various ways of doing it. Then go specifically to the app to record something with a popular song or whatever, and then I'll go in and edit once I get into the editing process. On. I use Inshot is my app that I use. So they have different formats that you can kind of play around with. So I always make sure to change them, especially for Instagram, because it's a different format, so that shows up better on a feed. And then I just make sure to get the flat lays and then I take my camera outside. It's like a whole circus of equipment, but. But I get it done. I get it done, you know, in six hours, twice a week.

Talk to me more because I know there's people that are wondering this. Talk to me about your camera. What type of camera and what other equipment do you set up outside? Do you set up a tripod and then you have like a timer or a clicker in your hand or what's that process like?

Yeah, so I, I shoot everything myself, including. Including anything that's on my professional camera. So this one is a Nikon D3400. I literally, I got it from Costco and it came with a bunch of lenses, the case and everything. But then I got a special lens, the 50 millimeter, which gives that beautiful blurred background. Took me a little while to figure out how to use it, but when I did, I noticed the quality of my photographs on my website skyrocketed. Like, it's so much better to use a camera rather than a phone. I do everything else is on my phone. So any content for video, any content for, you know, flat lays are always on my phone. Anything that's not gonna. That doesn't get zoomed into. Because, like on my website, you can zoom in so you can see closer on garments and stuff. So that. That takes more pixels. I believe so, yeah. So I love my, my camera for website photos to make it look more professional on there. And then I use Inshot to edit everything for video content. And then I set up my own presets in Lightroom so that because I shoot a lot of the stuff on my phone, I shoot in shade because bright lights kind of tend to alter the color of your garments. So I tend to go back and do Lightroom to kind of lighten things up and work that way. And then as far as what's on my camera, that gets run through Photoshop on my computer. So besides the two days of content, I usually have another day of just editing.

That's so helpful to know because I'm sure so many people are like, where do I even start with that? I feel like we do see those questions an awful lot.

Yeah. Especially when I post photos and stuff in the group. Like, I'll. I'll start, you know, wanting to give information, and I'm just like, there's so much involved that it's really hard to kind of give, like, a couple sentences of an answer because I feel like there's so much that I can tell someone because it took me a while. It took a long time to learn how to do. I was talking to my husband about it last night. I, like, I can scroll back to my very first photo I took on this camera, and I can tell you it was not cute. It was so bad, so dark, so blurry. And it really is just practicing and knowing that I. I may suck at it right now, but a year from now, I'm. Nobody's going to be able to tell me that I'm not good at this. I am so good at this. So it just takes time and it takes reassuring yourself that you're going to figure it out.

I love that. I love that. One other thing you and I have talked about that you do a great job with, and I think so many people are really interested in this, especially with today's climate is Poshmark and finding creative ways to keep your business going, even in the slow months or with overstock that you just can't seem to move to your regular customer base. Talk to me about how you got started with Poshmark and some strategy behind the platform.

Yeah, so I actually started it probably a month after I opened my boutique, which was three years ago, almost four now. And I was just trying to dig around online, trying to figure out, like, I literally have, like, two customers right now, so what do I do with all of this stuff? Trying to figure out how to move it. And so I was doing some digging around online, and I heard about this app called Poshmark that a couple of other boutiques were using. And I downloaded the app and I just took a look at it and was just taken back that there's like, we always talk about these warm audiences, cold audiences, you know, people that you are already in your network. And this is an app of just people who are ready to shop. Like, I don't know you, but you're ready to shop with me. Like, you're literally coming on my profile because you're looking to buy things. So that just was mind blowing to me, the idea of, you know, having such an easy access to such a warm audience of shoppers. So I kind of started really simply too, because I didn't have a lot of money when I first started. I invested everything I had, you know, like a thousand bucks into my business, and then I had to wait for things to turn over, basically. So I was also. You can sell used clothing on there as well. So I was selling things out of my closet that I didn't wear anymore, kind of trying to build up more money for inventory. While I'm waiting for the inventory, I have to flip over. So. So it kind of grew from that, and it has now grown into something that's kind of a safety net for my business because I. My website's consistent, but my Poshmark is always consistent. So when we're seeing these low points, when we're seeing these low points on, you know, online, I don't really see them on Poshmark because the audience is there to shop. So it's a little bit different than a social media site that's mainly used to connect with people. This one's used to connect with shoppers and stores. So it's been really helpful.

Do you think that there's certain tips or strategies to getting noticed or found on Poshmark or is there anything people need to know if they're brand new to the platform?

Yeah, so it's a lot of consistency. There's Facebook groups dedicated to tips and tricks. There's a couple of theories of how you should share your items out, when you should share them out. But the most important thing is to make sure that you're just involved in the app. When I first started, I was spending eight to eight hours a day on the app making sure I'm sharing my stuff out, I'm sharing. It's a lot of sharing, and that's kind of how the networking starts. A lot of following other. Our other shops and just kind of spreading each other's content around is kind of how people get to know you. And then one thing I did that has been really helpful for me is because you can't build an email list on there. That's not how that website works, is I took one of my listings and turned it into a list. So I have, you know, a list of maybe 50 to 75 people right now that I tag every single time I upload something. Every single time I feel like having a sale. Anytime that I feel like I need to Reach out to the people who, who shop with me on a regular basis. Now I have a listing where I can, I have a list built for those people. I can reach out to them anytime that, you know I have something going on. Which is something that's interesting is there's a lot of people who you start to consistently shop with you on there. And it's, it's really cool to kind of build another audience off of that. And then in turn, they've come back to my website and now are following me on my other socials. So it's kind of a great way to kind of get yourself out there and. Yeah, so, but I do think that one of the other ways besides just all the sharing is to really make sure that you're kind of involving yourself with the Facebook groups because there's women in there who will also help share your items if you're, you know, you're kind of connecting outside of Poshmark to kind of connect with other people as well. So that was really helpful. When I began, I was wondering how.

Much crossover you saw of people that, you know, were your people on Poshmark that then would transfer over to shop on your website or on other channels with you.

Yeah, so I do see a lot of. Because there's a lot of price comparison on Poshmark. So the really savvy shoppers will find my website and see that pricing is different and cheaper and shipping's cheaper. So some, a lot of them will hop onto my website because of that. And then because I have mailers that go inserts that go in with my packages, they usually come back to me because they have a coupon code in their package that's only good on my website. So then they get onto my text and email list because they hop onto my website from there. So it's hard to kind of gauge how many of them are coming over because there's not a conversion tracker like you see when someone, when you make a sale and it tells you they came from Google. You don't get that. But just from the relationships I've built with women online, they'll tell me they've come from Poshmark. And I see it at least two or three times a month where they're like, oh, I found you on Poshmark and I just love your stuff. So I just kind of wanted to check you out further because I didn't know that you had a website. Some of these women are mind blown that like boutiques exist because it's, it's. I Don't. I don't know how, but, you know, in this day and age. But I'm usually one of the first boutiques they find and they find me through Poshmark, so I think that's awesome.

Yeah. So quick retail question. I'm. I've got to start asking every single boutique this question on the show. But outside of Poshmark, talk to me about the one best promotion that you've ever run.

Oh my gosh. So I do this thing during the slower months for me called Mystery Boxes. So much fun. I built a whole event around it. I, you know, send out invites to them online and we kind of build it up. And basically what it is is I found there's many vendors who do it a few times a year. They just discount their inventory. So stick deeply and they'll put it in a box for you. You don't know what you're getting is kind of a scary thing. But it's always worked out. I'm telling you. It's always worked out. And they put it in a box for you, they ship it to you. And I go on camera with my women and I open these items for them and we kind of just do a little bit of bargain hunting together because I tell them like, I got this at such a deep, steep discount and so I'm going to pass it along to you. And so generally a shirt that's 45 you're getting tonight for 20, I'm still making a good margin on it, but I'm also relaying that savings to them because it's just a fun event for all of us. So Mystery Boxes have always been a great promotion because then after that I tend to go through the whole after care of all of it where, you know, if I, if they follow up with me for the photos of their outfits that they got or anything like that, I tend to get some engagement built out of it as well because they can share pictures, they'll send me pictures. And you know how big messenger is right now with creating relationships online. So I do a lot of that afterwards too. So the process is usually not just one live sale. It's about a two week long process of kind of getting my customers the event invite to kind of following up with them in messenger after. And it's such a great promotion because it just, it builds this like fun unity of just like. Because everybody loves a good bargain, everybody loves shopping and it's fun to have a bestie to kind of like, oh my God, this top is so cute. And you know you're getting it such a great deal. It's just so much fun. It's fun because it's just exciting because you just don't know what you're gonna get. So I love it. Yeah. Love it.

Talk to me, Tammy, about. You know, you've had some very good things happen as you've grown your business and exciting things, and you're serving your customers and you're building these amazing relationships. Talk to me about one of the biggest obstacles that you've had to overcome through this growth.

Like, what have you had to figure.

Out the most to get where you are right now?

Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me is just I'm so perfectionistic and I'm so competitive that it gets in my way. And so I spend a lot. I spent a lot of time comparing myself to others and spent a lot of time focusing on what other people had that I wanted. That I wanted to achieve. And it consumed so much of my time that I wasn't putting my energy to good use. And so that's been my biggest obstacle that I've just recently, you know, in the last year and a half, two years, have really kind of overcome and. And become better because of it. So I think that's really it. I just. I had such a toxic mindset for the first year, year and a half of opening because I wanted to be bigger than I was, quicker than I could, and so I just had to slow down.

Are there certain things you remind yourself, like when you. Because I think we all have a tendency. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I would say it's pretty common that we fall back into that trap sometimes and we have to stop and recognize, okay, this is a toxic feeling that I'm having right now. This is not true. This is fear. This is anxiety. This is whatever it is talking to me, and it's not my reality. How do you pull yourself back out of that trap when you find yourself back in it?

It's one really interesting thing. When I went to Rise Business and saw Rachel Hollis speak, she said that God only puts obstacles in front of you to make you stronger for what you're made for. And I don't want to get emotional, but that hits so hard for me. And to know that he's making me stronger and better every single day through these obstacles. That's what I remind myself. I just think you are going to be so strong and so ready for all of the riches to come. You're going to be so strong and so Ready? And so whenever there's an obstacle, I take a breath, and sometimes I take four or five breaths to kind of get myself together if it's, you know, a really hard day. And I just, you know, remind myself that, you know, if I can get through whatever is my obstacle that day, I'm going to be smarter, I'm going to be stronger, and I'm going to know how to handle it better next time.

I absolutely love that. Yeah, I love that this is happening for you and not to you. Right?

Absolutely.

That's beautiful. Where else do you find. I know you and I have talked about Rachel Hollis specifically. Where else do you find that you go to fill your cup? Are there books or podcasts that you love or mentors that you love to follow? Where do you find inspiration every day?

Sure. So I do a little bit of all of that. I tend, for me personally, I love self growth. I live Brendan Burchard. I love listening to music more than I do podcasts, though, because I sometimes I just need to take myself outside of things to gain better perspective. So I tend to if. If something is going on with me or I'm trying to figure out, you know, how to grow myself. I'll read books on occasion. I think my favorite one was you're a badass by Jensen Jarrow.

I love that one.

That one was life changing for me. I loved that book. That one was so helpful. So I'll. I'll search out books like that to kind of give me a new perspective on how I can handle obstacles. And other than that, like, I try to find things outside because my main obstacle right now is staying productive in my business and staying positive. So sometimes, like, you just have to walk away and, you know, be a human outside of your business to feel better about going back into your business. That's the best way for me to explain it, like, to find other hobbies and find other things. So that's why, as much as I love podcasts, I don't listen too much, because listening to music kind of hits me at a different soul level than a podcast. Well, so that's kind of how I am with it. But, like, books and stuff, audiobooks are probably better for me, honestly, that's what I do more. I just downloaded Dave Hollis's new book. That one's been interesting. It's a little bit more geared towards a man, but that's kind of the one that I'm working through right now. I've got a whole list of. Of them that I kind of, when I'M packaging, I'll turn those on and kind of absorb it that way. And I have post it notes that get stuck, stuck everywhere in my office. It's just like colors of turquoise, orange and pink all over my desk of just little bits of information that I pick up from these books, audiobooks, you know, what have you, and kind of stick them everywhere to remind myself because they're usually points that are important in my life that I'm all that I'm going through at the moment. So it's kind of important for me to view those. Then that's.

Oh man. I completely agree with so many of the things that you said and I want to go back and I want to hit on one thing. You talked about how you have to step out sometimes and be a human. And I think it kind of goes back to you. And I have had this conversation and a couple other boutique owners who've been on the show. We've had this conversation that we have to remember. Again, comparison is the thief of joy.

Right.

And we aren't all in this business to become millionaires. Right. Some, some stores are going to explode. Some stores are going to be these huge E commerce stores and employ hundreds of people and, and that's awesome. And we're going to tell their story too. But I think the thing that you so eloquently do relate to people is I'm exactly where I want to be right now.

Right.

This is the size of store that I want to have and whether it's size of store sales, social following, however many people you employ. But more importantly for you, it's the impact. And I'm happy with what I'm doing and I'm happy with how I'm serving. Can you talk to me more about that mentality and that strategy of bigger isn't always better, but better is better and better has got to be right for you.

Yeah. One thing that I found when I was comparing myself to others a lot is that I wasn't even authentic in the clothing that I, you know, serve my customers with because I wasn't. I didn't have a voice. And what I've really found is that being happy with where I'm at right now has just blossomed into so many things for me. I feel like once I figured out that who I am right now is perfectly fine and that what I have to give is just as important, I feel like I was able to kind of voice myself more and be more comfortable online because when it comes down to it, like trying, trying to Be in someone else's lane and match up to them, you just. You can never catch up. You can never be quick enough to kind of be where they're at. And so it's like this ugly cycle of just, like, trying to figure out what they're doing that you can try to make yourself get better at it, I guess. And so I found that, like, when I just stopped and thought about, what is it that I even love about what I do and what is it about this that makes me happy? Because all of this that I'm doing right now, all of this comparing all of this wishing and hoping I could be like her really wasn't working. And when I was like, okay, well, what do I love? What is it? And for me, what I love is I love putting clothes together, and I love talking to other women and, you know, just being in just. I don't know, like, I just. I love styling clothing. And so that's where I started was with just that small thing of, what do I love about this? And I focused on just that. And from there, I gained a little bit more confidence for myself, because I'm like, well, I do have something I can give this industry. That's what I have, and that's who I am. And, you know, I just focused on that and making sure that that's what I put out. And then eventually, it kind of just evolved into this confidence of knowing that what I do is. Is needed, and what I do is just as important, and it makes me happy. And at the end of the day, like, we didn't go into business because we wanted to be like someone else. We went into business because we have a voice that we want to share with others. We have a skill or a talent that we love, that we want to spend every single day doing. So it's finding those. Those specific things for me to focus on, to kind of push all that negative stuff that I was going through out of the way. Just focusing on what I love and focusing on the positive. And I feel like that's what's changed me for the better, and that's what's helping me to serve. You know, the women that I serve better is because I have. I have a focus for them. I have. I have a way to serve them in a way that, you know, I can. In a way that they. They understand better than me trying to push something on them that I'm not even passionate about. You know what I mean?

Yep. Absolutely. You know, so many of the things that you just said, Tammy, play right into why we're having this conversation in the first place. Right. And why I think that all the businesses that we serve exist and why the Hub exists and why this podcast exists. And that's because we're here for such a greater purpose than to sell something or to make money or to have a business, whatever it is.

Right.

So talk to me about you've got two beautiful kids, and you're 30 years down the road, and you've got grandkids, and you're sitting on the front porch and you're talking about the House of Gentry and the business that you built and the life that you lived. And as you're talking to them, tell me, what's the thing that you want them to remember the most about who you were and what you created?

You know, I want them to know that success isn't just about. It's not a numbers game. Success really does, at the end of the day, when it comes to business for me, is that success has to come through happiness. If you're trying to build something that's not making you happy, your life is going to reflect that in other areas. So I just think that. I just want them to know that what I built, I built out of love and passion for something that I really, truly believe in. And if. If they learn anything, that hopefully that achievements aren't always about money. Achievements sometimes are really just about living truthfully and unapologetically how you want to.

Man. So true. So true. And I think that that's how you've really found success in your business as we bring that full circle. Right? Because you've grown, because you have lived truthfully as who you are and who you want to be. I think that's so beautiful. Tammy, thanks so much for spending time with me today and for sharing your story and your message with our community. Community. Not just here through the podcast, but honestly, as a member in the Hub on a daily basis. I really value you and I appreciate your honesty, and I know so many other members do as well.

Thank you for having me.

I hope you guys loved this interview with Tammy and how she breaks down content creation and her daily schedule and what it means to live your best self in your own truest identity and really serve your customers the way that you want to serve them. I think she did such an awesome job illustrating what that means for her guys. If you would love to ask any questions or make suggestions of other people you'd love to hear on the podcast, please reach out and let me know anytime. Take a screenshot of what you're doing while you're listening to the show and send me your feedback over on Instagram @ajalderson. And I would love to video chat with you guys. I hope you have an awesome day day you maximize whatever it is that you're doing and you know that the best version of yourself and of your business is possible. I'll see you here next week, guys. Hey guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and review down below for a channel to be one of our featured listeners each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.

Sam.