Season 6 Kickoff: What's Working For Small Business Retailers Right Now

Foreign. Business can be a lonely game, but it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat, where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys. Welcome back. Welcome back to the podcast. Welcome back to Season six. I have missed you. I'm here to tell you and I'm so excited to connect with you again this week and every single Tuesday, every week going forward for the entire season six. All right, first things first, let's kick it off. Where is season six going? Well, I'm making some big changes around here and I don't know if it's that I'm almost 40. Next year I turn 40 and maybe with that big number comes the permission you give yourself to just be so much more raw and real and authentic and not hold anything back because you realize life is short and life is all about relationships and connecting with people. And so I want you to know one of the biggest things I think about when I come into Season six is I don't want this podcast to feel like I'm just some girl talking to you in your ear when you're working out or driving your kids around. And I don't want to feel like I'm just talking to a screen or a large group of people. I want to feel like I'm talking to you and that you're talking back in return. So my commitment to you this season is I really want to hear from you and create more of an individual dialogue on what are you going through, what's working, what's not working, what are the big questions you have and how can I help you solve them? That is and always has been really the motivation behind the Boutique Hub. Because I believe that when you change someone's business, when you have an opportunity to change someone's business, you have an opportunity to change someone's life. And that changes the lives of your family and your kids. It changes some generational habits perhaps have been built in your. In your lineage. It changes your employees and their family and therefore it changes the community around you. So. So however I can lean into that together with you and just hear more of your feedback on a daily basis, I would really love to. So, first things first, a couple ways to do that. We are always on the gram and that seems like the fastest way because it's our mind candy, I guess, when we're scrolling. So it's an easy way and a fast way to connect. So personally, my Instagram is AJ Alderson. You're going to get a lot of horse photos and kid photos and basketball photos and me talking about, I don't know, the things that happen behind the scenes of a business on a daily basis. Not just boutique related things, but real life things. So AJ Alderson on Instagram or the Boutique Hub on Instagram. And we're going to be dropping some memes, some business tips, all kinds of things. And we love to reshare your content on the Boutique hubs Instagram as well. So those are two great places to connect with me personally and with our team. But as always, for those of you who are members of the Boutique hub, I, I really want to encourage you every single week in our community to ask those questions, to share those big wins, to talk openly and honestly about how things are going and where the community can support you. Because really what I love most about that community is it was one of the very first communities for boutique owners, period on Facebook. And it's always been a really honest but a very safe place to live in community over competition and to know that a rising tide lifts all ships. So whatever you're going through, someone else in the community has also gone through it or maybe they're going through it at the same time you are. And so whether it's myself or whether it's our team that are jumping in and giving you some feedback or ideas or inspiration, there's certainly other boutiques just like yours. Whether you sell apparel or home and gift or children's or candles or specialty or maybe you're a wholesale brand or you're a designer, just a product based business. Whatever you sell. There are so many businesses that are likely like yours in the community and, and I just want to encourage you to connect with them on a personal level. So that's the most important thing to me this season is you feel like this is the dialogue between you and I and however I can help. I got your back. I'm here for you. So each and every week, here's what you can expect. I'll be back with of course, interviews of retailers of all types and some wholesalers. Along the way, we'll be digging deep into the western industry. We'll be digging deep into wholesale and manufacturing. We, we'll be talking about being a small business, growing your business and also being a large and scaling business and what it looks like on that aspect as well. We have some more of our Mastermind students that I'm excited to get back on the show, as well as some very new boutique owners that I love to see their growth along the way as well. Then we have some industry experts, members of our team, members outside of our team, people who maybe aren't even in the boutique industry at all. But I think their perspective is really helpful to you and your business and our entire industry. So look for some bigger conversations coming this season along the way too. Now, finally, last thing I'm really excited to share with you about this season specifically is I know you don't have much time and I don't have much time and sometimes we just have to get short, sweet and to the point. So look for our five Minute Friday episodes. We've been doing all kinds of from the Vault episodes previously, bringing back past shows and sharing tips and takeaways from them. And there's still going to be an element of that. But I want to shift focus and I want to give you what I would hope to receive if I was on the listening end of this podcast. And that is a quick, bite sized tip that I can quickly implement this week. So on 5 Minute Friday, I'm going to be sharing with you a thought or an idea or a tip, or maybe it's a retail equation, something that can be something quick and tangible that again, you can take and put into action right away. So look for that every single Friday wherever you get podcasts as well. All right, let's dig in. Season number six is officially underway and I also want to leave with you in this intro episode for this season, just a few quick what's working now in the boutique industry topics to maybe help you explore and reflect on how things are going in your own business. So from my 50,000 foot vantage point of getting to see your guys's conversations and speaking to you on a daily basis, again, start stores of all levels and all types. Here's what I'm hearing across the board in terms of what's working for people. You ready? You good? All right, take notes. Here we go. First thing, most important thing, and that's why I'm putting this as the first thing is community. You've heard me talk before and go on rants and conversations about competing with Sheen and Temu and Amazon and Walmart and all these silly online sites that your customers, yes. Are buying from. And if they haven't yet, they will. Right. It's the evolution of our industry. And you can't fight evolution. It's part of it. So if we don't grow and change, we die. That is business. So how are you evolving? My reason for bringing up community is, in my opinion, it is the biggest and most important thing that Sheen and Temu and any of these other sites out there online simply can't compete with because people don't remember the products they bought from you. They remember the way that you made them feel. Now, Sheen and Timu might make them feel great because they got a bargain, but you know what? Bargain shopping isn't the only purpose for shopping for so many of us, right? We shop because we're looking for something special, something unique. Maybe it's something quality, it's a special event. Maybe it's a gift for somebody. There is a purpose and an emotional reaction that all of us hope to have when we shop for something. And again, every shopper is a little bit different. But when you can hone in on who is your ideal customer? Why is she shopping with you? Where is she going? What? What is she hoping to get when she shops from you? And where's she going to take it from there? When you can hone in on those things, it's easier to create a lasting relationship that is, you know, going to be much more consistent in the long run than any other, you know, competition by price relationship would be. I say this a lot, but I mean it. Cheap ain't loyal. Cheap ain't loyal. So let your customer shop, Sheen, Temu, wherever, It doesn't matter. That's not your ideal customer. Your ideal customer is shopping with you for a different reason other than price. So don't get into a price war. Build a community around what are the things that you have in common, what your customers have in common, what are their common struggles? What do their days look like that they have in common? It might be around food or music or society or body image issues or a common battle that they're fighting against some imaginary villain. If you've read the book Storybrand by Donald Miller, I'm sure you've heard this and you're familiar with it. Actually, Dr. JJ Peterson was on this podcast from StoryBrand not that long ago talking about this process. But he said every great story has a couple of elements in common. There's a hero of the story, right? Luke Skywalker. There is a wise guide that guided the hero along his hero's journey, Yoda. And together, the wise guide is helping the hero to feed a common villain, Darth Vader. And so in your business, your job is not to be the hero. Your job is to make your customer the hero and help her defeat whatever her villain is. So maybe her villain is time. Maybe it's money, maybe it's frustration, maybe it's body image, maybe it's fit, maybe it's quality, maybe it's perception, maybe it's her ethical values and how she wants to shop. Not with fast fashion fashion or not with cheap, you know, products made overseas. Maybe she wants something more handmade and special. So how can you position yourself as the wise guide to help her achieve this? Well, building a community and creating content around community is the very first and most important step you can make. So everything you post, whether It's Reels or TikToks or YouTube shorts or content in your Facebook group, it's not just about the products you sell, but it's about how you make people feel in the process and how you connect people and get them to talk to one another. So community is what's working. Have you decided to attend the Boutique Summit yet, you guys? This is our industry's biggest business conference and in person gathering for you to learn from all of the top industry experts, top retailers in home and gift, top retailers in e commerce stores in apparel, and all kinds of industry experts. I hope you join us June 9th and 10th in Dallas, Texas for the Boutique Summit. Plus, you guys, John Acoff, he is our keynote speaker this year and he's one of my all time favorite authors and he's going to be doing deep dives on leadership just for you. You guys, I want to get you something special. So here is a $50 off per ticket at checkout coupon that you can use just for listening to the podcast. Use summitcast at checkout when you're purchasing a ticket to the Boutique summit and get $50 off per ticket. I've got those links linked up to you in the show notes, so let me know if you've got any questions. But I can't wait to see you at this year's boutique summit June 9th and 10th in Dallas, Texas. The second thing that's working is tied hand in hand with community and that's events. Whether it's online events, pop up, events, in store events, there's always a reason to party and you can get your customers together again for shared experiences. It's what they're looking for. You can build community so many different ways by hosting events. So rather than just get stuck in this week's new arrivals, what is the special Fun, unique reason that someone's going to come shop with you this week. The third thing that's working and gosh, I feel like this is an old one. But guys, it ain't going anywhere. It's are you building a brand worth remembering and are you building a personal brand alongside of it? People aren't shopping product based businesses anymore. That time has come and gone. The idea of I'm looking for Judy Blues, where can I get them? Don't care. People are looking to shop with businesses that have a brand reputation. So what that means, in my opinion is the second they see your photography, they know it's you. The second they see your brand colors, they know it's you. The second they see your voice and your language and your post descriptions and your means and the way that you show up through all of your content, they know it's you. It feels like you. So how are you building consistency in your marketing and your photography and your merchandising that makes you you memorable? What's making you memorable and what's making you different? That is what you're building as a brand and you as an individual have such an opportunity to build a brand alongside of your business. It's a separate Instagram account, maybe it's a separate CEO newsletter, maybe it's a separate Facebook account that you're posting on. You are an inspiration to your community. So don't forget the opportunity you have to build a brand that not only are you the CEO of your boutique, but but you're also a brand who believes in other products and other experiences and has a life outside of it. What does that look like? When you build a community and you build a brand, you can literally sell them anything. It doesn't matter if your boutique closes tomorrow, right? There's always a secondary opportunity for income streams and for products and for inspiration and motivation online or in person or speaking engagements, whatever it's going to be for you outside of just your boutique. So build a brand for your business, but build a brand for you personally and build it bigger than the products alone that you sell. The fourth thing I want to mention, that's what's working right now. And it goes. It's so funny how tied these all are in my opinion, but it's algorithm training. So we had this huge discussion in our Mastermind the other day and I wanted to bring it to you guys here because I feel like it's so important. It stemmed from a post from one of our service providers in the members only group here at the Hub but we were talking about, you know, we for so long have built that community in our Facebook groups and we've forgotten to put some of the personal behind the scenes content also on our Facebook page. So that the reason you're doing that is you want to give people on your Facebook page an opportunity to also see some of the daily behind the scenes. Now let me back this up. I often train on this. When it comes to your Facebook page, that's more professional. It's more the way people are going to, you know, quote unquote, Google you. They're going to look at your products. That's where you're going to use Facebook ads, right? It's going to look beautiful and it's going to be your brand and then your Facebook group. It's more behind the scenes with the brand, daily deals, your Facebook lives, more product, but also more community quotes memes, daily engagement questions that community building aspect. What I'm saying here is I am encouraging you to build that behind the scenes content on both. So if you're someone who has a niche in, let's just say game day, right, I want to see you talk about behind the scenes game day and what games specifically are going to, what teams are you specifically rooting for. Like take the element of what makes you and your business different, but then make it personal and put it on your Facebook page. Give people an opportunity to interact with your Facebook page because the more they do, it's going to build a smarter audience for you and tell the algorithm who else it should reach out to that could possibly like your page. Which when this comes down to then you running Facebook ads, you're going to have a better audience built for Facebook ads because people have organically been engaging with very specific content on your page. So again, the point is not as generic. Make it more personal. Bring that to the forefront of your Facebook page and your Instagram profile as well. All right, last thing, number five, most important thing that's working right now. And don't hate me for saying this, don't hate me for saying this, but this is tough love, financial literacy, inventory management, honest conversations about your numbers in 2020, in 2021, even in early 2022, it was really easy to start a business, to go with the flow online, to bring in some products, to flip some products and to start this great boutique journey or grow and scale your boutique journey, no matter how you know what stage of the game you were at. And in that process, it was easy to let the numbers work themselves out. You might have looked in your bank account and said, okay, I have enough to reinvest in inventory, or this seems to be working. You had turn of inventory that led to cash and you being able to pay your bills. Well, in 2023 and 2024, the industry has shifted and it's requiring retailers of all types, in all experience levels to be much smarter with their buying, with their inventory management, with their markdown strategies, and with the attention that they give their own profit and loss and cash flow statements and making sure that you're paying yourself, not just hoping there's something left, but knowing there's something left. So financial literacy is not something we can gloss over any longer. And if you're struggling in your business, I encourage you to dig in and to not be scared of these numbers, but to be empowered by these numbers. Because what I've learned, I'm a communications major, you guys. I am not a math person. I struggled so hard in math in school because I like to talk. I mean, and I got in trouble. So what I had to learn was once the numbers were able to tell me a story that allowed me to go talk and market and communicate and have fun and do the things I wanted to do, then it became fun. Then the numbers made sense and they became fun for me. But if they didn't tell a story and it just felt like, I don't understand this. It's complicated. I don't get it. I'm overwhelmed by it, then I would just, like, black out and didn't want to deal with it. And I think a lot of boutique owners are like that, honestly. So I encourage you, whatever that looks like, whether you're working with management one, whether you're working with Christine Gray, whether you're going through retail boot camp and you're digging into your numbers, whether you're just really making sure you're consistent and doing your best to understand your QuickBooks reporting. You guys, there are so many great resources out there for you to help you, like at step one, or maybe you're already at step 15 and you need to dig in a little bit deeper. There's so many great people to help you with that. If that's you, please just raise your hand and let us know. Send us a message, post about it in the group. Our team is so freaking awesome and they would love to send you every resource that we have that can help you feel more comfortable. I will tell you another thing. Even in my marriage, when the boutique hub was new, my inability to have really sound financial conversations with my husband was a sore spot for my marriage because Eric's very analytical and I'm not as analytical or I wasn't. I have. I feel like I am now. I know that I am now, but back then I wasn't. And so I felt. I don't know if resentment's the right word, but I felt some sort of. Maybe it is resentment for one another because he wanted something I couldn't provide. I couldn't answer the questions he was asking. And then I felt like he didn't trust me and trust that I knew what I was doing right. And so I felt like I needed to prove myself to him. And it became this whole dynamic. And again, I see this in a lot of retailers and their marriages and relationships as well. And I don't want that for you. I want you guys to be on the same page. So the more you can dig into this, you guys just simply start by asking the question. And there are so many of us ready to surround you and lift you up and help you answer the question. That's going to make you stronger every single day. Pick one report a week and dig into it. That's it. Just pick one report, Dig into it. What story can this report tell you what data is missing to make this report really worthwhile and go get it right? We can start somewhere. Be 1% better tomorrow than you are today. So that's it. Those are five quick things. They're five big things. I think they're five very related things when it comes to what's working right now in business. So, guys, that's it for this week and our kickoff episode into season six. I'm so freaking glad to be back. Good to see you guys and so good to be here in this space with you. Thank you as always for listening to this podcast and making it what it is and leaving a review. Thank you for leaving reviews. Honestly, it means a huge deal to me if you're catching this on YouTube. The dog's now on my lap because she thinks I'm yelling at you. I'm not. I'm not mad. She's an emotional support animal. You guys, thanks again for listening. Thanks for being a part of this community in this podcast. Please subscribe. Please leave a rating and review and again, reach out to us on Instagram or in the members only group at the Hub so we can help you along this journey. Get ready for a lot more of this real, honest conversations this season on the podcast and again our five minute Fridays. Thanks for being here, guys. Can't wait to share this space with you all season long. Take care. Thanks for listening guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.