Mastering the Art of Buying: Trends, Mindset & Selling Success

Business can be a lonely game, but it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast this week. I have been looking forward to this recording for a while because I know that anytime Tony and I get together, we're going to talk each other's ears off and we're going to have. I don't know, I just think we both have unique vantage points into the industry. So I just love getting your perspective on things. So this is going to be a real treat for everyone today. Tony, thanks for joining me on the podcast.

Thanks for having me. It's very rare that we can sit down for this amount of time. We're usually at a show, running around doing 50 other things at once.

I literally don't know that I've been in the same space as you sitting down.

We haven't. We haven't.

No, we haven't. Except for when your dog recently was barking. Happy birthday. When we were in LA together.

It's funny because Oliver, for whatever reason, wherever we've been, whenever you are speaking, is when he barks.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I think it is. I think you inspire him.

Oh my gosh. Well, say hello to Oliver for me. I miss him.

He's right there.

Yep, perfect. Well, let's get started. So in case anyone listening hasn't had an opportunity to meet you yet, whether it's been RLA Experience or at the Boutique Summit or just at any of the markets where we've collaborated, I would just love to know, how did you get into this side of the industry? How did you get into being a buyer?

You know, it. It started. I mean, I've been in retail problem. My first job was when I was 15 at Guess. I was a greeter. One day a week I'd go in, say hello to people and get a 50% discount, which was really why I started. But within weeks of working there, like as a greeter, they had me in sales. And then from sales, I was just. I blossomed. I went from there to bb, then off to where I kind of got into the buying aspect from being on the floor. I was their number one salesperson for 10 years in that company. I'm even in their training videos to this day. It's kind of my Al Bundy moment. But so I started that and they'd have me come to nail it where they would have be like, why won't the sell? What's wrong with this? Will this work? Will this work? And it was just kind of my first steps into buying. And from there I went to Kitson, which is a celebrity driven store in Robertson, which was a really fun time working with all of those kinds of things, high end, low end. Like we'd work with all of the big brands and still buy from fast fashion downtown or go to ASD. And then from there I went to Forever 21 where I launched their branded shop. And it was a really, really amazing experience from ground zero in three years. It was a hundred million dollar business just by, you know, focusing on product and getting them what they needed and really changing some processes. So that was an exciting time. And then there I just went. I was went to Agassi and then to Akira. And then Akira, four years ago closed their west coast office out here. There was no way we were moving to Chicago. So I started looking and I was kind of at a loss, not really sure what I wanted to do. But I know that I've always wanted to work for myself. I put on my vision board five or six years ago to build an army of good people that love what they do. Working for good people, that was just my square. And I put it from year to year to year. And you don't really necessarily need to know the how. It's just that intention and putting it out there and believing it's going to happen, it kind of came to me. So Camille, who is my current director of buying, she texts me and was like, hey, check out LinkedIn. Someone's looking for an LA buyer. LA market buyer. She's like, that could be a good side gig while you're trying to figure out what you want to do next. Well, I applied for it, didn't hear back, sent my resume, couldn't figure it out. I'm like, why? I've been a GMM and exec. They don't even want me to just buy for them. It was kind of crazy. So I googled to find the owner of Philly Flair. It was Philly Flair in, in South Dakota.

Yeah, Laura.

And I found l dot dot dot phillyflair.com and then I found out it was Laura. So I emailed this email address an hour later, she responds, let's talk. So the recruiter thought that I was overqualified for the position. But then when Laura talked to me and we talked about kind of what I was thinking about doing, she's like, let's give it a shot. And so they were my very first client. And from there it started. I started doing it for over a month. I'm like, this is it. This is it. This is what I want to do, and this is what I want to bring. All the people that I've worked with for, like, I have a little black book of all the good people that I've worked with, all my buyers and assistants and all those things, warehouse people. So as we grow, I bring them on board so that when they can do what they love to do. And it really. It just happened from there. So from there, it just snowballed. Then was Refab, and then it was Rockstar. And then it was like, it just kept growing, and it just turned into what it is now. And I'm very, very excited and proud about it.

Oh, you should be. So I did not realize Laura was your first client.

Laura's my first client.

That is such a small world. So she's such a dear friend of mine, so I just love that. And speaking of, like, just being surrounded by good people, I think that's the key to business. Good people. Good people. And it's amazing what you can do when your intention is so focused on serving others and just, like, being the light that you want to see in the world. I think there's opportunity from there more than focusing on what is the opportunity. I want to create for dollars. Like, it's the wrong way to go about is.

It absolutely is. And, like, working with them and, like, just the team environment of, like, bouncing things off with them and talking about product and learning their business and let's, you know, want to be something, which is really crazy, is that us West Coasters had no idea, even though we were executives in Forever 20, what live selling was. Yeah, it was not happening on this side of the world. So up until about three years ago, I didn't even know what it was. So she taught me something. It was a continual learn. But through that, like, I used things that I learned at Forever 21 about, you know, buying exactly what you need. So, like, they sold 10 of these this week. Let's go find you 10 more. Because life selling is that kind of like, go, go, go, go, go, go. Till they don't want it anymore. Yeah, yeah. I mean, we kind of got A tangent, but that's kind of how it started and. And how it's going to continue to grow.

So I got to pick on one other thing that you said that I'm so intrigued with, because I feel the same way myself. But you mentioned your vision board and just. It's all about the intention. Like, you put that on your vision board, not necessarily knowing what it was going to mean for you, but it's remained there. And I have several things on my vision board that are so similar that, like, I put them there and now I'm like, oh, my gosh, look at how this is just manifesting.

It's magic. It is. It's magic. Look, you give me goosebumps because it is magic if you. If you practice it.

Yes. Okay, we've got to talk about this. So how did you first just start getting into, I'll say, mindset as a whole, and then tell me about your vision board process.

This is. It's a really good story. So about 10 years ago, I was at Forever 21. I had left Kitson, which was like this very amazing job, glamorous, all the celebrities, all those kinds of things. I'm like, okay, I'm ready for something new. I go to Forever 21 and it was a complete 180. The culture wasn't as inviting. It was kind of just like, fend for yourself, like, clock in, clock out kind of. But so my friend, at the same time, I mean, I was just complaining every day. I was looking for a new job, looking on LinkedIn, doing every interview I could. Like, even thinking about going to buy panties at Victoria's Secret, which would me, if I would have ever done that. Can you imagine assorting panties? No way. So many colors, so many styles, so many versions. It's not for me. So my friend, my best friend gave me a book called you're a badass by Jensen Sero. He's like, when you're ready to read it, read it. So I had it for a couple weeks. It just wasn't time. So when I read it, I was like, wow, she really puts into like layman's terms. Very easy to read, very understand things that you innately already know about your gut and your intuition and your mindset. And so from that moment on, I quit complaining at first, Forever. I was like, I'm gonna focus on everything that I like about this job. I love that my friends are here. I love this, I love that. And all of a sudden, everything started to change. So within six months, my position completely changed. And we launched the branded shop which was bringing in third party brands from the LA Mart from San Pedro without changing labels and just getting at speed to consumers so that they could have the fastest trends when they were happening not six to eight months later. Because of production, this business continued to grow and within a year had a team of 25 people. Within three years it was a hundred million dollar business. All because I changed my mindset. I could have left because I hated it so much and I didn't hate it. There's very few people that can say, love their four years, five years at Forever 21. And I'm one of them. Wow, it really, it works. And the thing about it is it takes practice. It's not just, oh, you say the words. If you don't feel what you're or believe actually what you're saying, it's not going to happen. Because you can say all day long I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy. But inside being like, oh, I'm angry about this or holding on to things. So it really is important to practice. It's like just going to the gym, like I still will read passages or parts from different books just because you got to continually remind your mind to do it. It's the same kind of thing when it comes to like your, we can all go down rabbit holes. It's very easy to be like, oh my God, what am I? What am I paying this bill? How am I doing this? How am I doing this? And to spiral this way. If you take five minutes, recalibrate, refocus on the things that are working for you, you might have to do it three or four times a day, maybe ten times a day. But redoing that and refocusing really does bring that energy into the light.

It's so true. And I think a common misconception for people who are new to this work would be they think, oh, this is just like positive thinking. Like, oh, good luck, you know, I'm a realist. Or they'll say like, oh, that's toxic positivity. Like I just, it's just as like nails on a chalkboard when I hear those things. Because it's not even about being positive, it's about energy, it's about how you're showing up. Sometimes it's about neutrality, even just not.

Being negative for what and just seeing like even in the darkest of times, there's things that are working and there are things to be grateful for. You know, one of the, one of a little in the morning A little practice that they have you do is as soon as you wake up, instead of jumping on your phone, start talking about, oh my God, my pillow so comfy. My bed's so comfy. My comforter feels so good. Oh, if your dog's there, love on them. So you're starting your day off with that already positive behavior and, and like you said, that's how it starts the day.

Yeah. Oh, it's so good.

And you're just showing up in a different way than if, as if you're jumping straight to your emails and straight to Instagram and getting in that loop again.

Yeah, yeah. Playing offense and not playing defense.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

What are your other. Cause I have so many books that I love, but I would love to know, like, what are your favorite three books that you keep going back to?

There's a level like so first, like, this is your entry levels that you get into it. It's called you'd About Us by Jens and Sarah. I brought them all just to show.

And there's like three of them, right? I mean, she's got, there's all different ones. You're a badass at making money, and.

Then there's a third you're badass at. I mean, there is three, but if they're all very much the same, it's all the same because once you read it once, it's all the same, you know, practices, but just for different reasons. But if you start there and then. The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks. This is a big one and it's pretty deep. So, like, the thing about it is, is it can feel kind of like hippie dippy, a little out there and spacey when you're reading it. You just got to take it for what it is and understand that it's the practice that you're, that you're getting from this and the words that she's telling you to, how to like, you know, deal with things and deal with positive thinking and changing your mind and just really focusing on what is working or what the good parts of life and the feelings that you feel like. It's, it's one of those things. And then the last one is very deep. It's just Being Superhuman by Joe to Dispenza. It's just a very, very deep book. And it gives you kind of the science behind why all of this works. Yeah, it, it works. I, I, I mean, I'm telling you, I'm actual proof that it, tangible proof that it works.

Me as well, Me as well. I love all of those. And the secret for me was the first. So we can, we can have a podcast just on this topic.

For sure. I do see how good you are. Also, like a lot of times when we're on, you know, the Facebook Boutique hub page, it's very easy for people to jump on a bandwagon of this isn't working and why is this, and oh my God, this is going to kill my business. Yeah, we've always had these things facing us, but different versions of us all on the way and everybody's always succeeded. Just stay true to who you are in your business and focus on everything that is working in your business. You know, adjust or pivot the things that are not working or just stop doing it and you will, you will see good outcomes. You'll see the right outcome that you're looking for.

Yeah, let's dig into that a little bit deeper because as this podcast is airing, you know, we've gone through the last year, there's been a lot of ups and downs in this industry and I think a lot of people have fallen into that trap of woe is me. This is not working. And here's why. You work with a lot of really successful people and again, you've got such a great vantage point across the entire industry. As you look across the industry and you see what is working and those people, what do you think they have in common? The people who are grinding and it's working for them right now. What do they have in common?

Focus, consistency, and the ability or desire to adapt. When you need to adapt and it's on a dime, like from one week to the next, you're changing your, you're changing your promos, you're changing your buy strategy, or just whatever it takes to make it happen and it happens. I mean, it's that simple. I mean, there's a lot of work involved, don't get me wrong, there's the back end work that goes involved with it. But when you're looking at your business in a way that what can I do to make it better? It just turns around, right?

Yeah. I feel like there's a lot of people who ask the question, you know, there must be a secret, like, oh, there must be this one thing that I'm missing and if I just plug that one thing in, it'll turn everything around. And it's really, really. It's not. It's a combination of the things you already know you need to do, but you have to show up in this.

You innately know that you know the things that you need to know. That's what your guidance system's all about. When you're doing something, if it does not feel good, initial not overthinking because it's your initial gut reaction. If it's telling you go, go, go, then go, go, go. But if you, the minute you think about it, it's like, whoa, that's telling you that maybe it's not the right thing to do. And just again, it sounds like a broken record. But focusing on what is working, that's, that's the most simple plan that you can do and execute on the daily is focus everything that's working in your business.

I just want to double down on that in order to focus on what's working. You can't be scared of the numbers and the reports that are telling you what's working. So talk to me about that, you know, on a boutique to boutique level and, and you're starting to work with someone, let's say, and you're talking about focusing on what's working. What reports are you really encouraging people to dig into? What metrics are you encouraging people to look? Where do you go to the data first before you start to initiate looking at products, device and inventory?

So really understanding your inventory is really the most important part of your business. So what you own, what you have on order and when it's coming. And in most every time we go into them, they're not many of them now a lot of them use faves, which is great, which is a great tracker because you can see everything you have. But for the most part they don't know what they have and they don't know when it's coming. That's the first step and that's what we start doing. We get, we get them to find out all their orders. We also do like an invoice doc where we put everything in. So it's like a desktop version of faves. We start there and then from there we start looking at their age. So like where their buckets sit from 0 to 15. We do a 0 to 15 because live sellers, that's your most important bucket. That's usually where the most money comes from, is your new arrivals, 30 to 60, 60 to 90 and then 90 plus looking at that. And it's very different when they've never really looked at it before, when they're seeing 60 to 70% of their inventory, 90 plus days because they didn't want to mark it down and lose money. It's, it's losing the Money that's dead stock, dead money sitting in your warehouse that's not moving. And you, most of those things, you've probably had a year to two years long. So we start, we just start chipping away at it, chip away, chip away, just to reverse the balance of their inventory so that the more of it is sitting here in your newness over here. That's where we start. And it's always, always enlightening to them to see this and to understand it because they've never done it for, you know, these people build multimillion dollar business off what they know and you know what you know. But when you have, we come in and we kind of just like fine tune and like buff out some things that aren't necessarily broken. They just haven't really known that they need to look at that.

Yeah. Just to double down on what you said, what's ironic to me is it's some of the biggest boutique owners that I know struggle with understanding their inventory the most, Right. Because they found a system that works, right? So they're like, okay, great, like I can sell it and they just are like full speed ahead. But then all of a sudden they're like, oh, I have $2 million worth of inventory in my warehouse that I don't know anything about. So let me just go back for anyone who missed what you said. Faves. I'm going to get you guys a link. We have a faves link because they're a member of the boutique.

Yeah, they're a good one.

Amazing. I'll link that up for you guys. So, you know, but one step further to understanding your aging report, which I agree is critical, is just making sure inventory is categorized correctly from the get go. Like, tops aren't just tops.

Right, right, right, right. Yes.

There's 100 long sleeves and graphic tees and sweaters, and a top is more than a top. So understanding that. Then like you said, the aging report is critical. Let's move on past that. You got into markdown strategy. There's a lot of fun that can be had with a markdown strategy. I think boutique owners are chronic over buyers and obsessed with the new. Always. But there's just as much opportunity in the aged as there is in the new. So dig down into that markdown strategy a little bit further.

Well, you know, every, every person is different. Every boutique is different. And what works for one might not work for another. So it's really like playing around and what you can do with it. But the most important part, so for us, like, once we understand, like, where everything's sitting. We start shipping away to the 90 days. Because that's just. It is what it is. You're gonna have. You're. You're gonna try to get cost for it. If you don't, it's just sitting there. Just try to. Cash flow is most important. And something you said about these. These big dogs that have all this money, all of a sudden, they have no cash. You said $2 million of cash sitting in 90 to 90 whatever at retail. 90 bucket. And it's like, whoa, my cash flow is starting to slow down because it's all stuck over here.

Right.

But when, like I said, when you flip it, your cash flow goes up, your margins go up, everything starts turning faster. So with a markdown strategy, it. It's simple. So from a zero for me, at least, you need to be really cognizant of your 0 to 30.

Yeah.

If something has not moved in the first month of. Of you've had it, something's not right. Whether you need to reshoot it, you need. Maybe you priced it $10 too high instead of marking it down, Go from. If your Sweet spot is 39, go from 49 to 39. So it's still a new arrival. It's still regular price. You're not. There's no brand integrity with marking things on sale all the time. Just so you're really focusing to move that stuff before it does move into the next bucket. And then it's just. Again, it's just from bucket to bucket. You work on 31 to 31 to 60, or, you know, however you guys do it. Each person is different, but you work on that one. But you just really want to get it as. As sold through before it gets to the 90, when you really have to gut it and give it away.

Okay, you've got to know about this if you have thought about being a member of the Boutique Hub or if you're already a member of the Boutique Hub. This year we added something that I just can't wait to get into your hands. Okay, so if you're a monthly member of the Hub, awesome. Glad to have you. It's a great experience. But we were like, hmm. People who are really serious about their business and growing it into the future, they don't just join the hub monthly. They join for the whole year because it takes more than a month to impact and make real, lasting change in your business. So this year, we have updated our annual offer for those of you who are our members are thinking about becoming a member and joining for the entire year. You want to hear about it? All right. If you're an annual member of the Hub, not only do you get access to everything the Hub has to offer from all of the education, live, training every single week, all of our exclusive, exclusive discounts, resources, wholesale brands, all the things. But now, as an annual member of the Hub, you also have access to some of our very best selling master classes and handbooks. That's right. I'm throwing all of these crazy things in for free. If you are an annual member of the Boutique Hub, this includes our best selling small business marketing handbook, which is over 100 pages of content, calendars, live sale ideas, TikTok ideas, real ideas, small social media ideas for literally every day of the month, engagement questions for literally every month of the year, collections, event ideas to run in your brick and mortar, and so much more. The small business Marketing Handbook is a must have for every type of retailer, no matter what you sell. I guarantee it. We're also throwing in our small business hiring handbook which is all the things you know to hire, train, onboard job descriptions, everything you need to know to grow a team. Plus our holiday marketing masterclass, our content sanity masterclass and Best of our Boutique Summit videos and so much more. There's over thirteen hundred dollars added in courses, master classes and handbooks just for you. Plus, when you're an annual member of the Boutique Hub, you get access to join one on one coaching calls with myself and several members of our team. We don't give out an opportunity to do one on one coaching anywhere other than for our VIP students in Retail Bootcamp or those who are members of Boutique Hub Black. So this is a real opportunity for those of you who are a member of the Hub and you're like, hey, I just need to pick Ashley's brain for an hour. I need to pick Sarah's brain for an hour. What does that look like? You can book an annual coaching call if you are an annual member of the Hub. Did I say annual coaching call? I meant anytime you can book a coaching call only if you're an annual member of the Hub. So that's it. I'm excited. I'm rambling. I just want you to know, if you're going to join the Hub, this is the best opportunity to get the most out of your membership. And if you're already a member, reach out to our team@happypeopleboutiquehub.com we can get you upgraded to annual. If you're not yet a member, scroll all the way down to the join page at the boutiquehub.com and click annual to join us now. I can't wait to see you inside and get you all of these extras. We're going to do a lot together to grow, scale, optimize and secure your business together in the next year. Let's get started. All right, so then once you've kind of got that strategy and you're analyzing those metrics, now we can look at the exciting stuff which is, all right, what's my open to buy for what's upcoming when someone's analyzing, okay, I, I know I need inventory, I'm headed to market or I'm going to hop online and buy some things. What do you think the preparation should be for every retailer as they're analyzing what they're going to bring in for the next season?

What we do for everyone before shows is we run historical data. So if we're going into, say we just went into Dallas market and we're buying from November through January, run your sales from by month for November to January last year, by vendor and by category. See who your top vendors are, see who you're, you know, like if it was whoever they might be your top 10 vendors and see what your top 10 categories were. So then you can start to be create a plan of who you're going to see. You want to make sure that you see those 10 vendors because you can be pulled in 100 directions when you go into mart because you're so excited about everything. But you need to make sure you cover those brands because your people like those brands and you want to compose numbers from last year. That being said, walking into market, these, your, your historical data is not a bible, it's a guide. You know, you really need to let the market speak to you and it kind of dictates what you should buy. So if last year shackets were like selling like crazy, but this year you can't really find any that are new. The market's telling you that it's not necessarily going to be the trend that it was last year. So maybe we want to move those dollars into long sleeve tops or something, something else that you do see trending or colors or things that you do like and then from there just kind of, you know, buy like go and have the fun part of it. See what I love about what we do is market. Going to market is the closest thing to a crystal ball that we have for the next six months of trend and what's going to sell. You know, you walk into market like, so Vegas, the one thing that Vegas told us is that leopard is happening again. Like, it obvious not only did every vendor have it, every buyer had it on. Every. Everybody had on a version of Leopard, whether it was a skirt, the jeans, the top. So it's happening and it's still happening. And you can see it in sales already that it's starting to kick off other things that you see from market. Let's see what else. Like when you're walking, just really just like look around and just soak it all in. You can see what's going to happen for the next six months.

I think that's a really interesting part about going to market. And again, everyone's. Everyone's budgets to different, whether it's a time budget or a financial budget. So how many markets can you attend? But that's really one of the main benefits is you get to see those trends before they happen.

Yep.

How would you. I mean, I know you work with stores that are literally all over the country and probably some that are out of the country. How do you help people best gauge? Okay, I know leopard's coming in, but I'm from North Dakota and maybe it's not hit here yet. So how do you help people gauge the seasonality of like when that trip trend might hit? And how do I maybe slowly enter the trend or cautiously enter the trend if I'm not sure if it's going to be there yet?

Right. So it's just kind of like any. If there's first adapters, there's mass version when it becomes a mass trend. So really when like it's finding the right piece, like, and it's when you're at market and you see it and you see the one that you can see whoever your client is wearing, that is another really. I'm glad you kind of brought that up because not only with just trends, but when you are picking things, it's not necessarily just picking things because they're pretty, because everything's pretty and everything's great, but you kind of need to look at the items. So when I'm flying through Iraq and I mean it's 100 miles an hour, but my brain is seeing who it is. Like, who it is, who it is, the end game, who's wearing it. Because a lot of times really amazing things look amazing on a hanger, but they're not wearing. No one's wearing it. And I'll sometimes have to stop and be like, is anybody wearing this, guys? And I'll ask everybody in the group and they'll like, no, they're not. It's cute, but they're not wearing it. So really thinking about the end game and the end person that's going to be. Be wearing that item is really important when you're picking so good.

So almost like a rubric. I mean, I've seen other retailers say the same thing. Like, I go through and yes, I'm asking who's wearing it, but then I'm asking, like, maybe three or four other questions, supporting questions, before I finally say, okay, this is for me or this isn't for me. Do you guys do the same?

Yeah, 100%. Or like, I go from there if I think if I have question that goes to the rack and then before we note it, I'm checking, does it have stretch? Like, is the bust big enough? Is it woven? Is it going to fit okay? Like, all of those things when you're pulling. Because, you know, a lot of retailers have issues when things don't have stretch or if they're not cut right. It's because you're just looking at it when it's on the rack and how pretty it is.

Yeah.

Want to analyze the piece a little bit to make sure that you know it's going to be right for your client.

Yeah, absolutely. All right. So many, obviously, a lot of retailers work with you. What do you think retailers should know about how to work with the buyer? When is it the right time to work with the buyer? Are there different ways to work with buyers? Like, give me kind of the skinny on how this all works.

Yeah, I mean, it really. We adapt our services to every single client. So, you know, some people need the full. The full package. They want the team. They're, you know, they're done of doing it by themselves. Because I've always said buying is a team sport. If you're not able to bounce your ideas off of things and what you think and what you like, it kind of becomes one. Noted. So having a team of people and different eyes on your product does help to kind of differentiate or not or give just a different note to what your customers are seeing. Not completely different, just different versions of what is working for you. It's really when they're ready to grow and really grow their business. Because we come in and we really analyze and we look and we work with you to make things happen so that you see those numbers. With smaller business will see it in three to six weeks when. When the opportunity's there to get new product and do different things like that. Bigger clients will See it in three to six months because it kind of takes a little bit longer to get those big numbers moving. Some are immediate though. It just depends. Like if, if you're stuck in not being able to find product. We find product every single day. Because that's one of the things I do see on the boutique hub wall. I can't find good product. I can't find good product. And so what like I say is like, there's good product to be had every single day. Hey, we're pulling hundreds and hundreds of in stock items and, and you know, and showing them to our people on the weekly.

Yeah, there's also, I would say, I mean, not only is there good product to be had, but there's a unique, I would say range of price points to be had as well. Do you find like that's also a conversation with people on when is it time for me to move to like maybe a moderately priced apparel to a higher end apparel and really test that out for my market?

It depends on each different person. But I do think that a mix of high and low is what's always worked. I learned that back in kids. Like I said, we were, we carry Alexander McQueen and Versace and things like that. But then we were down in the mart buying trinkets and scarves and all those things that were $5, but at the show they were 15 or 18. Because it's just the nature of the visits. It's just finding what really works for your client. Because having those novelty pieces is always great, but also having those attainable, amazing basics that are maybe, you know, in your sweet spot price point really does. You'll start seeing your sales grow. That's just another. That brings me back to something else. That's a really, really important report that Camille runs on the weekly or every or monthly really price point. She runs the price point buckets and the margin that they sell at. So like we can really see where the company's sweet spot is. So maybe they think they're selling, oh my God, I'm selling so many $69 jeans. But the margin on those is a 42. And then when we look at 39.90, the margins are 65 and you're selling just as much. So your sweet spot really isn't 60. Your sweet spot is 39.90. And you kind of start buying into that, knowing that that's that point, that's that grab and go price point that your customers walking in and being, oh, it's 39 bucks. I'm taking it.

Yeah. Oh, so good.

That's my favorite one that she runs. It really is because it's so. And it's like, it's very eye opening to the people because they're like, wow. Because you can't be in the stores. And if you're in stores and you see that Jean sell, sell, sell in your mind, everything's selling because that Jean. 69.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man. The truth is in the numbers. Isn't it always in the numbers? You have a great relationship with so many vendors, with so many wholesalers, manufacturers. If you could say, like, what is something that you think vendors really wish retailers and buyers knew or better understood before they came in place or buys, what would that be?

Well, I think first that they are partners, that they really do want to see you succeed. Like, they really will partner with you. They will fix things. They will help you move through product in different ways. If you just talk to them and work with them. I think that's the first and foremost because we need to appreciate them because without them guys, we don't have, we don't have anything because we're not manufacturing and they, they're the key to our success.

That's right.

So that's really like we give the most appreciation. I think just the openness to seeing, looking through the whole rack. I do think that not, you know, see what their bestsellers are, but going through their racks to see what your bestsellers are. Because your bestsellers might not be the same bestsellers as Susie down the road. That's right.

Helpful.

Yeah.

All right. What's your best advice in the next year? There's going to be a ton of markets more than normal, More than normal, More than normal. And I think retailers are kind of like, ooh. And vendors are kind of like, oh, how are we going to do all of this? What's your best advice for someone listening as they're planning out the next year and where they're going to spend their time and money going to market and placing their buy?

Well, I think it's not necessarily where they're going to be spending it. I think it's more on the lines of keeping yourself 20 to 30% open at the beginning of every month so that you can buy those immediates, so that you can buy in stock goods that you need so that you're not overbought all of the time. So you really. Because it, it's increment, like it's integral to your business to have that chase buy. And it's the funnest part of the business that when you can come in on a Monday, see that you sold, you know, sold out of three different versions of a certain top to be able to go and buy it and not be like, oh, I'm overbought. So keeping yourself open 20 to 30% at the beginning each month to really chase and, and for reorders.

So good. You want to do a little lightning round?

Let's do it. Let's do it.

Okay. Lightning rounds. And you can answer this from your perspective as a, as a business owner or you could answer this from the perspective of those that you work with, the retailers you work.

Yep.

All right, so first question, I give you two hours back in your day to work on income generating activity. What do you focus on?

Your social, all around social. That's really where it's coming from. That's where we're seeing our biggest gains is from constant stories, putting but authentic stories. I mean you got to make it true to yourself and like what you do and just be consistent with it. Because as much as we all want to say we, we do our social media, we don't, especially small business owners because we're not ready to hire somebody yet. We don't know if they're going to be able to do it the way we want them to do it. We say we're going to do it and then it's 11 o' clock at night and I'm making a damn reel.

Absolutely.

So that I can post it tomorrow at 2, everybody, or I'll try to do it on Sundays and I won't do it on Sunday to plan for the week because I just am not inspired at the moment about what I wanted the stories to be this week.

Yes. Make a plan. Stick to it.

Make a plan and stick to it.

Okay. What do you think is the unsexiest process in business with the most impact?

Logging all of your orders into fades or your invoice. So knowing where your product is right after market, so coming it back, sending out emails to all of the vendors to get ship dates because they give you the invoice but it doesn't have the estimated ship date on it. So you have, say you spent $20,000 at a vendor. Yes, you have $20,000, but when is it coming so that you can put it into your monthly buckets so you know exactly how much you spent when something is coming. That also gives you the opportunity to be like this was supposed to come in February. If it doesn't come and it's in March, you can cancel off or change into something much easier because you were expecting that for February sales.

So true. And really, there's so many retailers who have no idea and who don't do that.

Right. It really is a mental massage when you have it all done. Once you're finished, you'll never not do it again.

That's right. Manage those pos.

Yep.

All right. What is the best business advice that you've received that always sticks with you?

This was from my. My district manager at BB that I worked with for 10 years at Guess and then 10 years at BB. When I was ready to go to Kitson, I was like, what if I don't do well? Like, I'm going to do buying. I've never really done buying. She's like, she looked at me and she said, have you ever not succeeded? Have you ever not failed? I mean, have you ever failed? And I was like, not to be cocky, but no. And that's something that we were talking about a little bit earlier, is that when you set your intention, you're going to do something. Failure is never an option for me. Like, I've never. Like, I never look at what happens if it's always. I see the end game and I go for that end game and focus and stay consistent to that.

That's so. That's such a.

And I use it to this day, I still think about her saying that. I can see we're sitting outside of the mall.

Yeah. So powerful.

Just chatting.

I love it. All right, well, last quick question in the lightning round. I. We love getting to work with Camille as well. Like, you have your team. Right. What's your best advice on how to be a great boss?

Listen, first point, you know, and just kind of just the thing for me, being a good boss, I think about all the times of going, being as a buyer or working for other people and the things that I didn't like and the things that made me uncomfortable and the things that, like, I wish that would never happen. It made me want to leave a job. I think about those things and I work my butt off so that it doesn't happen here at the buying agency, just so that everyone stays happy. And, you know, communication is key. Although we say we're going to communicate, but time goes by so fast and then we're not. So just making time to really talk to them, make sure everything's okay, checking in once a week, even if it's just when we're walking. Mark. Hey. Everything okay? You're doing good? You need help with anything? Those kind of things. And just I'm. I'm always upbeat. Like, when you see this energy, it's there always. So that's it. That's. That's my answer.

I love it. All right, well, Tony, so. Oh, my gosh, this was so good. I hope everybody absolutely loved this episode. Last question is just really kind of the big question. So you've had a number of amazing careers and now this amazing business, and you get the opportunity to work with so many amazing people. Fast forward 30 years from now, wherever that might be, whatever you might be doing, whoever you might be with, but you're sitting on the front porch with family, friends, and you're reflecting on all these great opportunities you've had, the life you've lived. What's the legacy that you want to leave? What's the thing you want people really to remember most about who you are as a person person and how. How you lived and how you built these businesses?

Really, that. It was. You gave me goosebumps with that question. That was okay, Oprah, Really, you know, that's a. That's a loaded question. I mean, a. That my energy superseded me. Like, just the positive light and the. The, you know, commitment to our clients and the things that we've done. This is for this moment right now, just like that. We really love what we do and that we. We believe in people and we believe that everyone can succeed. And they. There's enough abundance in this world for everybody to have whatever they want. And we just want to help them see that. I mean, really, that's what it comes down to. And it's like, we can talk about numbers in the business, but we really just want to see people succeed. And that's really what the buying agency. That's the legacy that I want to leave, is that we work to make people see their potential so powerful.

And it's so true, because when I'm in your space, I can absolutely feel that about you.

Oh, well, thank you.

Yeah. Well, this has been so incredible. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast and for all you do for so many members of our community at the Hub and being a part of our events and everything else. But it's just been a real pleasure to work with you.

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Thanks for listening, guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's EP episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.