Serving First, Selling Second: The Secret to Retail Growth

Have you ever met someone in person who you knew online, but when you met them in person, you're like, oh, man, that person is authentically themselves. Like they're as true as they are in person as they are online? Well, that was my experience when I met fabd Deanna Maynard Goodman. She is an incredible personality, live seller, business owner, boutique owner, and has a heart for serving other women, Truly has a heart for serving other women. And not only that, but she's overcome some incredible adversity in her time. So I jumped at the opportunity to invite her to the podcast. So not only could you hear her story of just her mission and her why and how she helps others and why she gets up every day, I think that's like the real meaning to business, right, Is your dollars will follow your passion and your purpose, but also to hear just the opportunity that you have to overcome some major adversity in your life and in your business and to allow that to make you even stronger than you were before. So I couldn't be more excited than to have FABD on the podcast today. I know you're going to love this interview as much as I did, so let's get started. 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 interview since I think you and I ran into each other in Nashville at Magic and first started to talk about this. Is that right?

That is right, yes. So thank you so much for having me on today.

Oh, I'm so pumped that you're here. I just love getting to watch you from afar and see your growth and just see your heart to serve others. So I've been looking forward to having other people hear your story. So we've got to go all the way back. Talk to me about how you first got into business, like, what led you to where you are right now.

So I've always just had a heart for helping others. When I was growing up, I was bigger than all the girls, taller than all the boys, and I just kind of felt like I never fit in. And I had an aunt that kind of took me under her wing, and she took me to a makeup counter back when I was 12 or 13 years old. And when they spun me around in the chair and I saw myself all made up for the first time, I realized, like, oh, wow, you know, I can kind of transform how I look. And when you transform how you look, you can transform how you feel. And so that's where my love affair with the beauty industry kind of grabbed a hold of me. So as soon as I was old enough, I went graduated high school, went straight into cosmetology school, and I built a very strong cosmetology business, owned my own salon for many years, but there was still that missing link, which is the boutique side.

So, yeah, so go back to the salon. So I'm assuming with the salon you had regular salon products. Did you start to dabble and, like, bring in boutique things into the salon or how did that transition. Transition really start?

So, you know, like I mentioned, I've always been a plus size girl, and I love fashion and beauty. And, you know, when I was that young girl in the. In the chair at the mall with my aunt, I wanted to give that gift, that feeling of transformation to others. And that's, you know, why I decided initially to become a cosmetologist. But behind the scenes, I was still kind of struggling as a customer. You know, I could do my hair, I could do my makeup, but finding those cute clothes that were on trend and on style that looked like everybody else, I couldn't find. And so then I kind of realized just with doing women's hair, that I wasn't the only one who was having those struggles. They'd be like, all right, Dee, you've done my hair, you've done my makeup, you've done my lashes. Now I need an outfit. So I just kind of realized there was that missing hole there and that I wasn't the only one who was still struggling with that. So five years ago, 2019, I invested $300 total bootstrap. Just kind of threw it out there. And I thought, you know what, we'll order in a few plus size clothing. And I literally hung them on nails in the corner of my then beauty shop. The rest, as they say, is history.

I love that. That is. I think that's like such an intimidating thing for so many people of, like, where do I start? How much do I invest? And your story's so perfect, D. Because start small, start where you are. And you started with like, solving a problem first. Like, you already knew your community, you knew who your Customer would be. You knew what her pain points were, and you just started to solve it. And it doesn't take a lot of money to do that. It just takes a heart to solve it, to do that.

Exactly. Exactly.

Yeah. Okay, so you have had immense growth since then. How did you start to grow after that point? And this is right before COVID So how did that transition come into play?

Yeah, so we started in 2019 with just those, that $300 investment, probably five or six styles. And, you know, I kind of already had a customer base with my salon customers. But what I quickly realized is we're from a very small town and, you know, there's not a lot of people, not as many people here as online. So back then, all we had was Facebook. And we started doing Facebook live shows. I would get on there, try on the clothes, talk about things, and that just kind of gained traction really quickly. We would and, like, handwrite invoices, PayPal invoices till 3 in the morning. And I thought, there's got to be an easier way. And so we signed up with Comet Sold. And they've been a game changer, and we've been with Comments Sold ever since. They offered me the opportunity to earn my app right before COVID hit. Now they kind of give an app to just about anybody. But back then, we had to earn it, and that was one of the hardest things. But what was beautiful about it is the community that I was able to build through that because I would tell my people on the Facebook lives, I've been like, all right, this is the biggest thing that's ever, you know, the opportunity has ever been given to me. So if we hit this goal, guys, we. And I started building that community. It wasn't just me. I wanted it for us. It was a we thing. And so we earned the app, and we have it. And it's still one of my greatest accomplishments to date for being from such a small town growing up. We're in southeast Ohio, so we're in a very rural area, impoverished Appalachia. There's not a lot here. So that was a pretty big opportunity. So Comments Sold has been a wonderful game changer for our business. So I would definitely recommend them to anybody that is starting out or even just starting to slowly scale. They're going to help take it to the next level for sure.

Yeah. It's like having another staff member to take that invoicing and all of that off your plate.

Yeah.

I gotta highlight what you said, though. You know, how you framed it as we And I always think about this in terms of just marketing strategy. Right. Like Donald Miller and the whole story brand, if you've ever read that book. But one of the most powerful things you can do when you're building a community is you have to identify the enemy. And then you've got to throw rocks at the enemy.

Yes.

And you've got to unite toward a common goal. And that probably subconsciously is, you know, what you were doing saying, hey, here's where we're going. But the community you were building was throwing rocks at a common enemy, which was probably body image and self doubt and these stories that they've been telling themselves for so long.

Absolutely.

How did you also work that marketing message and that, you know, community building? How did you work that in to help people just feel so seen and understood like you did?

Well, when we started, you know, the whole concept was to create a safe place for plus size women to shop to. And I've always been a hype girl. That's kind of how I got my name. Fab D was I'd be like, oh, you look fabulous, you look fabulous. So I've just always been. I'm a firm believer in positive affirmations and being a hype girl. And so, you know, I knew my own pain and my own struggle. And when women would come in, just like if I would do their hair, they would try on something and I would be like, oh my goodness, that looks incredible. And so being very honest and truthful, but helping them see themselves the way that maybe others see them, like, I could look at them and know they're beautiful, but they had to see it for their self. And I kind of got to be bridge that gap through the plus size clothing. And so just even online, I mean, I'm just always that hype girl. And I push my customers to kind of step outside of their comfort zone. You know, there are no rules. If you like something, wear it. You know, size is just a number. Age is just the number. And I tell them that every single live show. And so this community really has. I've gotten to see so many people blossom, and it's just a beautiful, beautiful thing.

You know what's so neat about that is when I saw you in Nashville that day, I'll never forget that you did this. This made an impact on me. You and I think you had a gal with you, if I remember right, and you spent a bunch of time talking to, I want to say it was like a security guard or somebody in the building and you were talking to her and making her feel so special and so important. And you're like, you know, so many of these women are here for this trade show, but they just walk by, you know, the people that are scanning the badge. And you said, every single woman here deserves to feel seen and to feel special. And you just really, like you were in person. Absolutely. Who you were online. And that's so impactful. How do you. How do you help others do the same that you did that day? It's incredible.

Thank you. I think it's exactly what you said. Everybody deserves to look and feel their best, but to also be represented. You know, I've always kind of felt like a misfit. Like, you know, I was the big girl in school, and my family didn't have a lot. We were kind of poor, so I didn't have the cool clothes. So I know what that feels like to be an outsider. And I never, ever want anyone in my space to feel like that. I always want to welcome everybody. I want them to feel comfortable, to know that they're safe. It doesn't matter to me if you're black, white, Puerto Rican, Chinese, or poker, polka dot. One of the girls, one of the gays. One of the days, like, you're still a child of God, and God developed us and made us each unique. And so I just want everyone in my space to always feel important and to see scene, because I know what it feels like to be on the flip side of that. And so, yes, the. The lady that was working, she was actually working the trade show. One of our vendor, the markets, and people were walking by her. She was scanning in the tat, the badges all day long. And I don't know that anybody else stopped and really got to know her. She's still with us today. She's a great customer. She's became friend. And we met her. She was working the door. And so many other boutique owners almost just kind of, like, walked past her without any thought of stopping and acknowledging her.

Man, we all have an opportunity to do that every day. Like, it's just such a good reminder. I think sometimes we get lost in just trying to drive traffic to our business and trying to get one more person in. And we're thinking about, you know, if I post one more video on social. But. But sometimes the answer staring you right in the face, it's the person who's sitting, you know, right in front of you, and it's just you building a relationship with them.

So relationships, everything. Absolutely. Just taking time to get to know people. I mean, people can shop anywhere, but they're going to want to shop with you if you get to know them, if you become their friend, if they feel like they relate to you because you're being vulnerable or you're opening up and talking about your own personal challenges. I think, you know, people post their highlight reels on social media, but when you get on there and you're just real and you're vulnerable, you're less intimidating, people feel like they. You're just their friend. And I think that's the key to success and building a good, strong community in a business.

You know, we've got to dig into that because so many people tell me, I'm scared. I don't want to do Facebook Live. What if I do this? Or I'm going to look like an idiot or what are people going to think? But like you said, that's kind of the fruit. Like, you. You don't want to be perfect. You kind of want it to be a bit of a shit show sometimes, because people can relate to that. Take me back to the beginning of going live. What was your thought process, strategy? What advice would you give to other people who are just starting to go live like you were then, to just.

Do it, to just take the plunge and do it. Don't try to be perfect, but just always be real? That's my goal. Even today, five years in, I still get nervous to go live sometimes, but I do it because that's. That's the bread and butter of my business and I enjoy hanging out. We'll have people in, you know, we're in Ohio and we've got people in California and Alaska and they're setting alarms because they don't want to miss it, because we've built that community where they just feel like they're a part of something because they are. Just do it. If you're thinking about going live, absolutely do it. My business would not be where it was today had I not turned on the camera for the first time. Again, I'm in a small town, and if I was sitting, waiting on people to walk through the door, I'd be sitting there till the cows come home, as they say, because it just doesn't work that way. And the. In the, you know, the. The time that we're in 2024, everyone's scrolling, everyone's on, you know, TikTok and social media. And so I think you have to be on there in order to. To be seen.

Yeah. What is the structure of your lives? Like, if you could tell Someone. Okay, make sure to include this, this, and this. You know, this is kind of the flow of. Of what happens when I go live. What does that look like for you?

So, first of all, our lives are just a lot of fun. I mean, we have so much fun, and our customers, the camaraderie is just beautiful. We get on there and act a fool half the time, but people love it, and that's what keeps them coming back. And I also always try to include some sort of an inspirational message. I think that sets me apart than other life sellers. I'm not just trying to sell them something, you know, not only am I trying to make them look and feel their best, but I want them to feel like they have a friend in me, but I also want to remind them, you know, what makes you different, makes you beautiful. Put on the outfit. Who cares if it's wearing white after Labor Day or what other rules society has tried to put into your head? If you love it, wear it. So fun, humor, inspiration, and just being real and never perfect.

So do you. Every time you go live, are you showing product every time or sometimes. Is it like a demonstration? Sometimes. Is it just, like getting real? With Fabdi, we do a little.

We do mostly live selling, but we do do some where we're just kicking it live. My husband and I go live a lot of times late at night from our home office, and I'm in my nightgown, and we're just hanging out completely, just being at home. And our customers love that intimacy of just feeling like they're on a more personal level with us. And, I mean, sometimes those lives are better than any of the. The ones with the lights and the cameras and all the production.

Yeah. So relatable, for sure. 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 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 or 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 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, tick tock ideas, real ideas, 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, 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. If you're already a member, reach out to our team at happypeople@the boutiquehub.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. So I've got to go back to this. I know you know, one of your main, your main customer really it's is plus size. Like that's a huge underserved market. And I know there's so many people who are listening who can go, you know, just agree with you 100% that there's not enough product to serve our plus size community. So how do you, how do you battle that? How are you finding unique ways to serve your customer, to find the products that you need to sell to your customer? And where do you see this customer going in our industry right now?

I do say that that is very challenging and I think a lot of people shy away from either carrying plus size or making plus size as far as our vendors go. And it's very frustrating and it's costing a lot of people a lot of money. I was at, I go to every market almost once a month. We're at a market somewhere because we love to travel. So it's, it's fun for us to go. But because we do have to hit the pavement, we have to work a little bit harder than people who own a boutique with stuff just standard sizes. And so, you know, you'll go to the markets and Ashley, you, you know how big they are. They're 15, 20 stories and they pedal out like an onion. So there's just an unlimited amount of people there that want you to carry their lines. But within that is such a small amount that have plus size or if they do have plus size, it's not always true to size. So one of the things that I have worked so hard to, to do is to just be an advocate for my plus size community. And I get to talk to these vendors and build those relationships with them as well. Which is just as vital as having a relationship with our customers or potential customers is to build those relationships with our vendors and be like, hey, your sizing kind of sucks, like in a nice way. But like, you know, so we've gotten to do that and I have seen several of them kind of step it up and that's been really cool where they've offered to cut things in plus size that they normally wasn't going to. So I don't, I'm not sure why there's such a dark hole there and why people Won't plug into that. But as plus sizes, you know, we are not a minority anymore. The average woman is, you know, a 10, 12 and up. We're the majority. So I'd really like to see more vendors get on board with that and more people carrying it for sure, because it is a struggle, but we, we're making it, we go to the market. So I highly recommend if anyone listening to this has not went to a market to go to start exploring and to build those relationships with vendors as well.

Yeah, I agree. The conversation just has to continue to be had.

Yes.

In order, you know, for change to take place. But the other thing I think we have to work on too is there's a lot of retailers, I'll say, who aren't plus size, who have tried to carry it but don't know how like, or they don't have the trust of their customers to say, you understand how to fit me. There's like a disconnect there.

Right.

So if someone's listening and maybe they're, you know, whatever their sizes, it doesn't matter. But they're struggling to carry plus and they want to, and they want to be supportive. What advice would you give them? Like, how can they better support their plus size community?

So I definitely think if you are a, you know, a smaller babe, standard size, whatever you want to call them, like I said, it doesn't matter. But you're, you're leaving money on the table if you don't carry plus sizes. Okay. It's a huge market out there because we want what everybody else has. So if you can't, if you're not plus size and no one on your team is plus size, you're gonna have to get somebody in there who is, whether that's a model, a friend, a family member, somebody who is a true curvy girl that can put these clothes on, take pictures, you know, real women, real models, not just stock images. Get those real women in those pictures and, and you'll start to see your plus size start to grow. Once they see somebody that looks like them or looks kind of like them, same type of sizing, that sort of thing. That's where the magic happens. You just have to have the, you know, I don't know anything about selling a size 2, but I try to bring in smaller models when we have those smaller babe items because I, you know, again, it's the same thing, but flip side for us.

Well, I think consistency too, not just, I mean, one pack isn't going to determine it for you. No, it's going to take some time.

Yep. Definitely get you a plus size model. And I use my customers for models. We, we have models from age 18 to 75. So again, somebody on our app is going to look like you, your daughter, your mom, or your grandma. Like we have all those ages. And I just think that's beautiful too. And that's really been a confidence booster for my friends and models as well.

Yeah.

But also for our customers to get on there and look and actually see someone who looks like them. Because even the big box retailers, the plus size models aren't necessarily plus size or if they are, they're a certain kind of plus size. And not all plus size bodies look the same. So representation is vital. It just matters. It does. And that's what people, I think, want in the plus size community is to see something, someone that looks more like them or is wearing something that they think, oh, that would look good on me.

Yeah, that's so, so true. The trust that you can build there.

Yes.

Okay, I got to flip gears a little bit. I'm going to go all the way back. So something I have learned about you that I didn't always know is you, before you started the boutique, had some real adversity to overcome in terms of a fire that you went through. I would love to hear more about that story, how that happened.

Yes. So in 2015, I had had my beauty salon for several years and we got a phone call in the middle of the night that it was on fire. And so I start to panic because I thought, did I leave a curling iron on? Did I leave the wax where you wax people's eyebrows on? What happened? We got there and everything was just up in smoke, literally. And we lost virtually everything as far as my business was concerned. Turns out we didn't know for, till about six months later, but it was an act of arson. So there was a man that lived in the neighborhood at that time, and he had a lot of mental health issues and he had addiction problems. And so he was just messed up on drugs and out of his mind and kicked in the back door and threw in a cigarette and burnt me out. It was devastating. And so I had nothing. I mean, everything's gone. I don't even have a bobby pin to do somebody's hair. And that was my prime, you know, that was my bread and butter. That's how I fed my kids. So I was like, what am I going to do? I had two choices. I could either give up and just, you know, maybe go work at Like a chain salon, a great clips or something like that, or I could get back up and keep trucking. And I just always knew that God had more that he wanted me to do. And so I kept on trucking. And it was truly a miracle. We live in this small town and there wasn't very many options as far as rental buildings to lease. They were either too big or out of our budget, too small, or they didn't want a salon. I mean, we had so many doors shut in our face. Everyone just kept saying no. And I just prayed about it. And I'm like, God, if you really want me to do this and you want me to help continue to, you know, help people look and feel their best, which is what I feel my calling is in life, then you're going to have to open the door. And he did just that. And so that's the building that God gave us after the fire. We were back up and running within 30 days. It was nothing short of a miracle. And that's the building where I went ahead and started and took the next step and put those $300 worth of plus size clothing in the lobby. So it's, it's a beautiful story of just resilience because it, it was super hard, it was scary. But God, he was there the whole time.

You know, I always, I just, even in my own journey, I know we all have journeys of just overcoming. And I always feel like God only gives you as much as you can handle, right? And something good will come from every bad situation if you choose to look for it.

But.

But it's a choice.

It is a choice. I chose to get better and not bitter. You know, I could have very easily gotten bitter and just forget this, throw in the towel. But I decided to keep plugging away at it. And I'm so glad that I did because there's been so many lives changed. And that may sound dramatic, but it's not. Because through my work in the boutique, in my online shows, and just being able to pour out body positivity, share my faith, and encourage these people, there are so many people that just don't feel beautiful because no one's ever told them that they were beautiful. And we're all beautiful in our own way. And so if I hadn't got back up after that fire and kept plugging away, it saddens me to think about all the people out there who wouldn't have this community that I've been able to build.

That is it. Mic drop. We could end the podcast right now because that's what it's all about. And, you know, I just think about business is so hard. Right. Like, there's always so many up ups and downs and challenges. And if you're somebody that's in business and you don't have that to latch onto, like what you just said, you don't have a big why? I mean, what's the point? It's hard to get up when times are tough, when you don't have something to latch onto. But when you're someone like yourself and you're like, no, this I know. Like, I know. Like, I know why I'm doing this. And this is why. It's easy to get up in the good times and the bad because you've got purpose, right?

Yep. It's not, it's not about me anymore. I mean, there's people that watch these live shows. It's never been just about me. But when I'm having a hard day, it's not easy. My husband always says, babe, if it was easy, everybody would do it. We've got a big business here. It's, you know, it's big now, which I'm super thankful for. But that's not easy. And there's so many days that I just think, oh my gosh, I should have just stayed cutting hair. It would have been so much more simple. But then I think about the women and men who are watching my live shows from a hospital bed, from a nursing home bed. The retiree who is no longer feels like she has a purpose anymore because she's retired. The stay at home mom who is sleep deprived and just kind of going through postpartum. Whatever those cases may be, those people, all walks of life are tuning in. And I may be the only positive spot in their day that day. So instead of worrying about, am I going to sell something, I get on there and I try to think, whose life can I touch today? Can I make somebody smile? Can I make them laugh? Even if that is at my own expense for getting on there in my moo moo at nighttime, if it's putting a smile on somebody's face, then I know that I've done what I've called to do. And then I know that the sales or the blessings will come after that fact. You kind of got to take yourself out of the equation and think about serving your customer because that's truly what it's all about.

Yeah. Sales follow service for sure.

Absolutely.

Okay, Dee, let's do some lightning round questions. You ready?

I'm ready.

Okay. I magically Give you two hours back in your day and you get to work on income generating activity. What do you choose to work on?

I'm going to work on live shows. Going live. That's. That's where it's at for us is. Is live sales.

If you said anything different, I was just gonna freak out. So. Congratulations. I figured that's what you asked.

Yeah.

Oh, good. Okay. What is the unsexiest process in your business that is actually the most impactful?

Oh, my goodness. Probably organization. Organization is not. It's not fun, it's not sexy, it's not glamorous, but it's a must have. So we have a very organized behind the scenes set up in our warehouse. So we didn't always have it, but now that we do, it's. It's vital.

So good. All right. Best advice that always sticks with you. Best advice someone gave you that always sticks with you.

Mary Kay Ash from Mary Kay Cosmetics always said, everybody that you come in contact with pretend that they have a sign around their neck that says, make me feel important. And that's something that I try to do every day, whether it's the pizza delivery guy or, you know, a billion dollar boutique owner. Whoever I come in contact with, let them be seen and smile. Even if they're not kind. I always want to be kind.

Yeah. Have you read her autobiography?

I have. I have.

Yeah, me too. And that, that advice always sticks with me as well. I think that's so good. She was ahead of her time. Incredible businesswoman.