Staying In Your Lane: Building a Business Without Debt

One of my favorite parts about the Boutique hub and especially our largest coaching program, Retail Bootcamp, is the opportunity that I have to go deep with so many boutique owners to really get to know their business. I'm talking one on one calls and understanding what works and what doesn't and how to make them tick. And one of my favorite students in the last year who I was like, man, I just really love her heart and her mission, but I love even more how punctual and tactical she is when it comes to paying herself through her small business. So I couldn't wait to introduce you guys to somebody who I think you're going to have so much in common with but such an opportunity to learn from. And it's my friend mary hill of H2G boutique. Mary and I had an opportunity to get to know each other a lot better this year, again through Retail Bootcamp, but also during some in person markets in Dallas when Mary came and visited us in our showroom. And I hope you guys take that opportunity to come visit us in our showroom as well. Today we're going to talk about how Mary has been building her business without using debt, how she's used it with cash, how she manages her inventory, how they use profit first and her and her husband pay themselves and what their long term strategy is for growth. I think so often today, and I mentioned this in the interview with Mary, but I think so often today we just think bigger is better and I have to take out all these crazy loans and invest in all this inventory and go into massive amounts of debt and hope that someday I'm going to be able to pay myself back. But so often anymore I'm seeing people found themselves in a trap and they're paying huge amounts of interest on loans that they had thought they were going to pay off a lot earlier and they're wondering where to turn next. And so if you're wondering where you land in all that space, I really hope you listen to this conversation with Mary because it's going to give you great perspective. Perspective of what's possible and how to stay in your own lane along the way so you don't get tempted that bigger is always better. So get ready, you're gonna love this one. Take some notes. It's gonna be worth it. Meet mary hill of h2g how to grandma Boutique. Business can be a lonely game. But it doesn't have to be. Welcome to 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 the this week. I'm so excited. Mary Hill, I'm so pumped that you're here. Thanks for joining me today.

Thank you for having me. I'm excited.

You know, I've got to go back on our story because I feel like I've had this, you know, front row seat as of recently to get to watch your business grow through retail boot camp. And you were a VIP and retail boot camps. We had some one on one calls, but really it all goes back to we bonded over a white claw in the Boutique Hub showroom in Dallas one day. I think it was a really slow day. It was like one of those last days of market. There wasn't very many people around and we were hanging out in the showroom and boutique owners are always welcome in the showroom. It's like a safe space for you to come hang out, charge your phone, obviously get a white claw. And we just got to know each other on a deeper level and it's just been a really fun ride since. So I know you've got lots of great things to share today, but before we dig into all the details, just take me back. How did you get started in this business? Tell me a little bit about the business, where you're from and where it's at right now.

Sounds good. So I am originally from Northern California and our daughter married somebody in the military, moved to Louisiana and so I said, and then they got pregnant and I said, husband, sell the house. We're headed to Louisiana and we've been here five years now. And when we were here, it was decided that I wouldn't go back to work. My background is in corporate America. And then I decided I couldn't not work. So. So the boutique was born three years ago and that's it. I've always, I don't know if I consider myself a fashionista or anything, but I do like to shop and I like to buy stuff that I really want to have. And so the goal has just always been to provide that for other people completely. Not never thought I'd be an entrepreneur, nothing like that. But it's been a wild ride.

Well, I love it because it's been a business that's allowed you to be with your family, to travel, to do.

All Those together along the way.

That's all right. But what. What an opportunity for freedom and flexibility at the same time is what you've built. But you've got to tell people this. You have a really unique name and a unique story behind the name, which really translates into who your ideal customer is. Tell me more about that.

Yeah, the Boutique's name is H2G Boutique, which stands for how to Grandma, because if it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have the boutique. So, yeah, that's what I stuck with. We do have a LLC also in how to Grandma, and then we operate under H2G boutique. So I love that.

Love it.

I'm a grandma and my pride and joy. Now we've got two. We had one turn five this month in May, and the second one was born in December.

So.

Good.

So speaking of H2G, when I think about your business, you really have nailed your ideal customer. That's been a really important part of your journey. Talk to me about how you've really honed in on exactly who you're speaking to, how they know who you are, how you built a brand around what you're doing.

Sure. So I'm all size inclusive, small through 2 or 3x. And part of that is I had weight loss surgery six years ago, so serving both communities was really important to me. And initially my buy was not good. You know, I think you kind of throw it out there and see what sticks. And so we realized very quickly that we needed to change some things. So I really, really just watched what people were buying. We do events. Those are our bread and butter. We're online only. We do events with our. We have a mobile boutique trailer and a local booth space. But just really watching what was selling over the first year and a half and. And just I. I was able to just really dial in who that person is and what they were buying. So that's how I just. I really paid close attention.

So having the booth space, that's become such a huge trend all over the country, like shared these shared co ops, whether it's painted tree or whatever it is. So tell me, how have you really paired? So people know when they see you in the booth space or they see you at the event, they know it's you and you've built a brand around that.

Yeah. So we stick really true to our branding colors, I think, and our logo and I think just the merchandise. So our. Our setup in the booth space is very similar to our setup at local events. And, you know, same coloring, same type of, you know, we use white and everything. That's kind of my thing. And then we hit it with like bright pink or blue. And we have similar racks and tables in the booth space. And people always pause if. If they've shopped with us at my booth space and then they come to an event, they're like, are you at the Grove? Which is where my booth space is. And that's a huge compliment to me. Like, oh, I'm doing something right with my branding. So.

Yeah, and signage too, all of that. And then how do you also pair that digitally because you have a site you sell online. How do you tie all that together?

I just make sure branding has been my focus in this last retail boot camp and make sure all my colors are very true. They stay the same. And I just try to stay very true to who I am and what that brand looks like. I don't try to go too crazy. I kind of like clean and simple. But then I do use like a blue and a pink in my coloring and that's. I just, I really hone in on that. So, you know, similar fonts, all the things just to make it very streamlined for people to know who we are. Yeah.

And then are you doing most of the modeling for your photos and that sort of thing as well? Tell me about that.

Yeah, so that's how we started. And I really don't like taking pictures. I think people know that. But so I did start and then just recently, over the last couple months, we did bring in a curvy size model and I love her and it was something I do survey, you know, every year. And that was something people had asked for and we've been looking for over a year. I know how important that is. Not everybody knows my story, but. And I understand the importance of wanting to see clothing on the different body types. So we love her. She's been in every shoot since she came on board. So we do our own photos and get them up on the site. So. Good.

Do you have people recognize you?

I don't know. Nobody's come up to me yet. Because we do so many events, we've really built some relationships with our customers. So if I see them out, I definitely say hi. People do come see us at events, which is also a huge compliment. And so we do say hi or, you know, when I see H2G out in the wild and I know that they bought it from us because we've seen them before, like, that's really exciting.

So that is such a cool feeling, isn't It.

Yeah.

So you're. You're at these events and you're in a booth space and you're surrounded by other retailers. How have you learned how to just, like, put your blinders on and focus on what you're doing when you're surrounded by people doing, you know, similar things, but they don't have your customer and they don't have your brand? How have you really, like, deflected some of that energy?

I just. I think over time, especially at the events, I've learned that I do something different and that we're all different. And I know y' all preach community over competition, and I really just. They're doing something different. And I think that having been plus size for 20 years, I have an understanding of my customer and that age range. And, you know, I just. I've learned that it doesn't matter that there's other boutiques there, because my customer is going to buy from me. And if they don't, then that's okay too, you know, but then they're not my customer, and it's okay if they buy from multiple of us. Just my motto, especially over the last year and a half, has really been, stay in my lane. Stay in your lane, stay focused, and it will be okay. Trust your heart, trust your instinct, and just move forward.

Yeah, it's so good, and it's healthy. It helps you sleep at night because there's so much. I don't know. There's just so many different things we could work on in business.

Right.

I think about, like, you being in retail Bootcamp, for example, and you just said, I chose to really hone in on branding. I chose to really focus on branding. And I think when we're looking at so many other people and what they're doing, it's easy to get overwhelmed with ideas and tasks and projects, thinking, well, she's doing this, so I need to do that, and she's doing this, so I need to do that, and. But really, like, that's not it at all. The only thing you need to work on is the thing that you need to work on, which is very specific to you. So how have you. I know you've, like, really attacked your business, I would say, more systematically in the last year and a half, just working on one piece at a time. What other areas of focus have been.

Huge for you besides the branding? I mean, we started with, like, the financial aspect of it, so we've never operated in debt. We don't do that personally. There's a whole story about how we Were really in debt. Excuse me, Husband and I, and we worked really hard to get out of debt and. And then vowed to never live our lives like that again. So when we started the business, it was very similar. And husband knew we need to implement profit first. And we started doing that about a year into it. And then through retail bootcamp, we learned, you know, kind of the percentages, and we adjust them to us. So we've been paying ourselves, I think, for at least two years now. And what's really also helped. So that means, you know, that way you don't feel like you're not doing anything. Do I have a ton of sale? No, I'm still new. I'm still growing. Not the biggest boutique out there. But what we have learned is that, you know, at least I do pay myself. And that feels really good when you go get your hair done and you're like, oh, I get to pay for that from this money that I've earned and worked really hard for. But, like, our percentages are different for profit first because we've been in growth mode for so long, so they talk about certain percentages, our growth. Our inventory, I think, is supposed to be at, like, our cost of goods is 40% and ours is at 55, and we've kind of been maintaining that, but we do pay ourselves 10%. And also we've really worked on projecting to make sure. So at some point, we learned that in our booth space, if the. If the booth space was open and we also had an event initially, we would take a lot of that inventory out, you know, because we're going to have quick sales at the event. Well, at some point we learned well, we want to hit a certain goal in the booth space. We have to carry X amount of dollars in inventory. So now we try and maintain that number. And having done events for a few years now, we've done a lot of the same ones. So we're able to project our sales for those events, and then we make sure that we have the inventory. And so, like, this weekend we have a huge event, and we've just been bringing an inventory knowing, you know, these were our sales last year. We need to make sure we have this amount on hand. That won't wipe us out because our booth space is open the following weekend, and then we have another event. So projections and just really watching our money. I have a date with my numbers every Monday, you know, and I'm always looking at something else. What's happening with my inventory? What am I marking down? What hasn't Moved my markdown schedule is a little bit different. Being slow online, that's where we're trying to grow, just trying to survive.

Yeah, I love that the first one of the first times I think I heard this from you, we were in a one on one call and we were. I love that you highlighted the fact that it doesn't matter how big you are, doesn't matter how small you are, everybody has the same opportunity to pay themselves. But I think somewhere along the line we're told this lie that like a, we have to take a bunch of like Shopify Capital, PayPal, capital terms, whatever, and run debt in order to carry inventory. And we tell ourselves if we're new enough, we're small, it's okay that we don't pay ourselves. We will someday. But those two things can get you in a lot of trouble really fast. So if you're listening, like, please, like no shame, no judgment. I just want to show you through this conversation with Mary, there's a whole other way to do it. Piece by piece, step by step, you can continue to reinvest in yourself without carrying a ton of debt and paying 30% interest in some cases, many cases I'm hearing from and still continue to take that home. So Mary, help me with this. For those listening, go back to just like implementing profit first.

How you guys started.

Walk me through that process and what it looked like for you.

Yeah, so we kind of did something, I mean, we do something with that personally. I mean we didn't call it profit first, but when we got out of personal debt, we implemented what were priorities to us. So. So personally we have separate accounts already, obviously we have our checking or whatever and then we had a savings, but we've always had a holiday account and we have a travel account because that's what helps us manage and prepare for those things that are important to us. And so when we started the business, we, you know, when we were implementing profit first, it was like, okay, so we need our incoming account, we need our operating expenses. The piece that was missing, we have our tax account. The piece that was missing was the inventory and how to make that happen. So we learned about doing that and it was really, because we did it personally, it was really an easy process for us. And then since then we've added, we had a credit card specifically for the business. We opened all the accounts, that's all business accounts. And then we added the inventory credit card I think about a year and a half ago, which is really, really streamlined. And obviously everything's hooked up to QuickBooks and so we're able to manage all of that. But yeah, I think because we did it personally, it wasn't so off the wall to us. And I know people think we're crazy anyways because we do that personally. But it's been the best thing to. If you're really trying to focus and grow, that's it's very helpful because you can see your money. You're like, oh, I don't have enough to do this or you know, and it's allowed us to add new things. Like I had to pay somebody to come in once because I needed help. Besides, we pay our daughter and I think that's. It's rewarding to watch the business grow and oh my gosh, I have money. So what are we implementing next? I think you were talking about people try and do all the things and you know, I don't. I stay on two platforms right now. I'm on Facebook and Instagram. I. And we just slowly implemented different processes. The goal for us was to survive five years. So we're more than halfway there. Obviously we have long term goals for us in the business, so we're just trying. I. We're not on a fast track and I think that's okay. I think, I think you business online is hard and it's. It could be potentially slow and you just have to be patient with it.

Yeah, that's really helpful. I love that slow and steady wins the race and there's just so many shiny objects out there in this industry that, you know, aren't always the right answer. So I really, really appreciate this perspective. Are you ready to participate in Pink Friday 2024? This is your official invitation. I hope you join us to shop small first and promote your store. Whether you're online or you have a beautiful brick and mortar that you want to really tell your story about. Why to shop small first this holiday season November 22, 2024 is the Friday before Black Friday. And annually, every single year on Pink Friday, we joined together to promote this idea of shopping small first before Black Friday, before the big box stores. You know, I love small Business Saturday and I just hate that it comes after Black Friday. It's an afterthought. That's why Pink Friday again is always the weekend before Black Friday. So join us, sign up to promote your store to be on our shop Small first map and receive all of the ideas, toolkits, stickers, window clings, graphics, anything you can use to set up an event in your community community or to promote your Online business on Pink Friday, November 22, 2024. Link is in the show notes. Be sure to sign up. It's completely free to promote your business on Pink Friday. I'm going to drill a little bit deeper because I still feel like if someone has a question, they're like, okay, tell me just a little bit more, Mary. So talk to me about your operating account. So, and, and just like how income is received from Shopify and from, you know, your in person sales, whatever. Does everything come into the one account and then are you doing transfers on a weekly basis by certain percentages into all the other accounts? Is that correct?

Correct. So I think I don't. My husband does. He's my, we call him corporate, but he is definitely the books person. And so yes, he'll go in usually once or twice every week or every other week, depending on the event. And so it all goes into one account. Everything feeds through one. And then based on, yes, the percentages, he takes the taxes off the top because we pay him monthly. It's just easier for us. And then, yes, the 55% into inventory, the 10% into owner's pay, and then the rest goes into the operating expenses. So, and that covers all of the operate, covers my booth fees, it covers paying. We have our daughter doing most of our social media, it covers our event expenses, the insurance on my trailer, everything comes out of there. And then we have the inventory account, that is my inventory credit card. I mean we do use credit cards for everything because we like the points, we like to travel. So but they're getting paid off every month.

I think that's the important part. So I can't remember when you and I were talking about your family's experience with debt. Was Dave Ramsey a part of that? Did we talk about.

I don't think so. I don't think so. No, I don't think it was, but it was. I just know that we wanted to do it personally. And so we spent three years. I tell everybody we live like we were poor for three years to get out of. I mean, I think it was like honestly over $20,000 in debt. So, yeah, we were young and dumb. It was 20 years ago.

And that's really small in the grand scheme of things anymore. I mean, usually it's a lot more than that. But one thing, and I'm not saying Dave Ramsey's for everybody, but he was a big part of our debt free journey as well. And he would always say, like, you live like no one else. So you can live like no one else, and that's what you experienced. But he's big on like debit cards versus credit cards. So I. What I wanted to highlight, what you just said that I thought was really good was the two credit cards I think are really smart because the points and the cash back on some of these cards, like, some of these, like I have a Delta Amex card. I know that's a good one. If you like to travel and Delta is your thing, there's others out there. Or the Capital One Spark card. So many people talk about that. But I love that you have two, because if you ever have an issue where a card's hacked, you know, and that happens, then you're. That's just the inventory card that you have to mess with. But it doesn't mess with all the things that are on auto bill pay because it's such a pain in the butt to change your credit cards when one gets hacked. So I think that's really, really good.

It happened, it happened to one of the business cards and we had to work through that. So.

So yeah, it's so fun. So fun. Okay, so tell me on the other end of things, I love the profit first piece. And for those of you listening, if you haven't read the book Profit first by Mike Mallowitz, highly recommend it. Christine Gray is an amazing service provider in the Hub. She helps people implement profit first and then of course we teach it and talk about it in retail bootcamp as well. But the other part of that is, Mary, you're really good with your reports, like you said, looking at, you know, your markups, looking at your markdowns, looking at your turn and your sell through. Talk to me about that date with your numbers that you have and specifically what reports you're looking at and how you're analyzing them.

Yeah, so I kind of keep my own spreadsheet for my inventory. I look at, you know, obviously our followers, I look at our sales for the week. And sometimes there's not a lot because again, online is slow for us, but we're growing there. And, you know, I update spreadsheets to track. I look at our projections going out. I pull reports in Shopify. I don't have any of the additional apps. That's something that I'll be looking into during June and July. And so a lot of the, the reporting I'm looking at is my own. I have a spreadsheet with all of my inventory at one point. I will implement phase. And so I have it tracked by style when it goes live and then quantity so every Monday when I'm updating my other spreadsheets, if I've had an event or something, I will go through and completely update this spreadsheet. How many do I have left? When did it go live? And we use a 90 day markdown. Just because I don't. Again, online is slow and I'm not meaning that in a negative way. It is growing and that's where we will be eventually. So I look at it like, did it not move? Has it been out for two events in or was in my booth space twice? You know, did it, did nothing sell? And so I'm really, really watching it to know is it a bad buy or is it a timing thing? You know, so. And then after about four to six weeks, I will, I'll do a price cut. Maybe it just needs to go from 42 to 39. Maybe I just need to get it below that. And then it will start to move and sometimes it doesn't. And then, then it's just time to get it out. So we're on a 90 day. But I will say I sell through and when I only have one or two left because I buy single packs mostly of plus and regular. So I'm getting in 12 of every item. When it gets to one or two, if it's in the same size, then I move it to a sale rack or I put it in my sales section online, it's time to go. So, yeah, so that's kind of my strategy. 90 days is kind of, it's a long process, but normally we're, we're through most of it before then. I would say 85%, I can sell 90% at full price. So that's really helpful.

Just, just that 90 day, that's one thing that I think a lot of boutiques don't have a great system for. Honestly, more, more often than not, I hear boutiques saying like, oh, I just don't feel like I have a very good markdown schedule. So I'm so glad that you walked through that. Something else I want to pull out that you talked about a minute ago was just your spreadsheet for inventory and the moment that you started to realize I actually have to have way more inventory on hand than I plan to sell through. And I think another like hiccup of growth is we kind of rob Peter to pay Paul. Like you said, I would pull from my booth space to put into the event and I'm just moving these things around, but I'm not giving people enough options of inventory of what they're going to sift through and what they're actually going to buy. Because it's not realistic that you're ever going to sell a hundred percent of the inventory you have on hand. Like, that's not how this business works. You're maybe going to sell through a quarter of it, but then you're going to have to replenish. So how did you start to get that formulation right in a way that worked for you?

We just looked at the numbers and we said, okay, we're doing on average this amount at the booth space. This is what we want to do there monthly. It's a unique situation there. They're only open the first and third weekend of every month. That's a whole other podcast her, because she's made it that way, a destination and we do really, really well there. I know it's totally off the wall to a lot of people, but it does work for her and we have great sales there. So it was just a matter of, like, looking. Okay, well, this is how much we seem to be carrying. And I'm always looking at that number. Like, how much do I have on hand retail? Because then I need to know what I need to buy. And so it was just like, I, I think, you know, this is what our goal is. And you guys talk about this in the hub all the time. You need to have three times the amount, right? So if you're trying to hit all these events and do this booth space, this is where your numbers need to be. And it was just really, we set a goal and now we've upped that goal because we're higher now there on average, which is amazing. But that was it. It was really just looking at how much inventory we were carrying. What goals are we trying to hit and still hit the goals that we have at the event.

I love that that's helpful, that three times piece. Just making sure everybody heard that. That's really good. Okay, go back to the booth space because we got to talk a little bit more about that. How else have you found success? I mean, I know like there was a franchise for a while. Was it called Real Deals? I'm trying to remember. That was a very similar model, but, like, it was demand marketing because they were only open, you know, these two big times a month. So there would be like a line outside the door to get in. How else have you found to really position yourself for success in a booth space? What else makes you stand out from the crowd? How do you capture people's information? What other tips can you share on the booth space?

So in all my tagging, I have my QR codes for Facebook and Instagram. So that's how I capture. I want to do a QR code in the booth, but I haven't done it yet. So the, I think the way I stand out is I always move it. Every weekend before they open, I go in and I move it. So I usually have new, so I'm going to spotlight that on my mannequins, my face outs, things like that. But I constantly am flipping it. So if I don't have a lot of new, well, what's something that's not selling? I'll put that on my mannequin. And I always make it look new. And I know, you know, not everybody does that. And it's just a matter of, you know, I've had stuff that sat in there for two months and didn't sell one and then I move it somewhere and now I'm, I sold six in the weekend, you know, so it's just to move it around. And I, I try to keep it very like, you know, I look at all my colors, I try to make it look pleasing to the eye. I don't just throw random stuff together. So that's kind of what we're doing. I, I just keep it moving. That's it. Make it look new, make it look fresh, even when we're at events is something I'll move stuff around. Especially like the one we're about to do is three days, so I'll probably switch it up in case people can come all three days. So keep it moving, keep it looking new. Like, oh, I didn't see that, but it was sitting there the whole time.

The money's in the merchandising. Yes, the money is definitely in the merchandising. All right, let's do a quick lightning round. Are you ready?

Oh, Lord. Okay, hold on. Let's brace myself. Okay, ear pause. Get ready, you're ready.

Okay, I give you two hours back in your day magically. And you get to spend those two hours working on income generating activity. What do you focus on?

My site and social media and reels. Reels. My site and reels.

I love that. What is the unsexiest process in your business that has the most impact?

Oh, the unsexy. Probably looking at your numbers like, that's not fun. But knowing your numbers and your business is kind of key.

Yeah, that's so good. You know, I know you know Mary Langry from Management one and she always says instead of saying, know your numbers. She says, know your dollars. And it just feels like it hits different, you know, when you're like, this is a date with my money. This is a date with my dollars. It feels different than a date with your numbers. So I love that. All right, what is the best business advice that you've received that always sticks with you?

Best business advice, besides my husband's uncle saying making money is hard. I think. I think that stuck with me recently. I. Because I. I feel like people want. They want it quick in this online. I think everybody's used to quick, and that's really it. That and just like I said, stay in your lane. That's. That's come up repeatedly. So it's not an easy process. And that's okay. You have to be willing to put in that work and just get ready to ride. That's good. Yeah.

So good. It. It does appear easier, I would say, especially in the last four years online, like, oh, it's just like a get rich quick. I'm just gonna turn on a website and people are gonna buy everything, right? No, that is not right. You have got a little work to do along the way, so that's helpful. How have you set boundaries in your life to take care of yourself or just to spend time with your family or those grandbabies? What's your strategy for setting boundaries and saying yes to the good things and no to the. To the not so good things?

I just have to know when. So I watch the grand the Oldest twice a week, and so that is that time. I don't schedule anything during that time. And I've also put a hard stop for myself at night because we are empty nesters, so it's easy to work. I mean, we work a lot. My husband works a regular job and comes home and works with me, but we've chosen to do that, and we have fun, and that's okay. But I have put a hard stop at night, and I say, okay, no more phone, no more work. I need to turn on a Hallmark movie that's clogging up my DVR and just unwind. Like that last hour before bed. Like, for me. I need to do that for me. Yeah.

Brain. Brain break time. All right. What is one metric you live and die by?

Metric I live and die by probably my. My current. Like, what's my current inventory level? Like, that's. That's how I know what I need to order. I mean, that kind of prefaces what's going to happen in the future, my booth space, events, so that number is always in the forefront right now for us because you can't sell what you don't have. So we need to make sure we've got it coming in and you have to watch that timing and are we going to market and all. I mean, all the things, how much are we buying there? What's coming up that we need inventory for? Without knowing that number, I could never answer any of those questions. Yeah.

So good. What's one metric that you wish you knew more about?

The different. What my sell through rate is specifically on certain things. So that's something that's kind of on my to do list for the future. I know there's different ways to do it with tagging and that's just not something that I have. I'm trying. I haven't really dialed in, you know, am I selling more short sleeve? I live in Louisiana, so it's hot here all the time. But what's the self through rate? Like how fast are my dresses turning? We saw a lot of dresses just really dialing it in by specific style. So that's on a to do list for the future.

Yeah, that's a good one. That's an important one. All right, best advice for retailers listening today.

I think I just kind of said it. Stay in your lane and don't be discouraged and don't try and do all of the things like that's it. I mean, yeah, I'd love to be, you know, out there doing all, all the things and making all the reels and just remember that you need to do it in your due time and what your business will allow at this moment for where you are and then where do you want to be? So how do you get there? You know, what's your long term plan? And just work towards that and don't get all, you know, wigged out at what everybody else is doing.

So true. All right, Mary, this has been so good. I am so thankful you joined me today. I have one last question for you before we go.

Just.

It's the big question, right? So you're. You already have grandbabies, so I love this. I don't get to say this often, but years down the road from now and you've sold the business or whatever you've decided to do with the business in the future. And it's just you and the grandbabies and great grandbabies and your family and friends sitting on the front porch and you're reflecting on this journey, moving to Louisiana, starting the business, all the things you've done. What's the thing that you want them to remember most about you and this journey that you've been on?

That really that I, I, I know I, I knew this question was coming, Ashley, that, that I stayed true to myself, my beliefs and I made people happy doing it. And hopefully I've left something for them. That I worked really hard. Ultimately, that's the goal. I worked really hard to provide something for them when I'm gone. Ooh, this is hard. And that I stayed true to myself doing it and my customers. That's it. Long term. That's where I want to be.

I love that. Mary, you're such a light. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I know so many people are going to get a ton of value out of everything that you shared. So again, thanks for thanks for everything and for the person you are.

Thank you, Ashley, for having me. Yay.

Thanks for listening, guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas is 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.