The Power of Positive Thinking

For the last several years, as I've been so fortunate to work with boutiques one on one and in small groups and to coach them along the way. One of the topics that I personally find the most joy in talking about because I feel like it yields the biggest results in the change of a business is actually not even really business related. It's actually mindset related. I have been surprised so often in my own life and in the lives of others that have actually implemented mindset strategies along the way. Just what a huge difference it actually makes. You know, you can have the most successful business in the world, but if you aren't enjoying it and you don't feel good about it and you feel a lot of anxiety about where it's going, is it really worth it? Or do you feel like you want to build a business of whatever size, but you want to actually enjoy it along the way? You want to feel like you are living and doing what you are meant to be doing here on this earth. And that's where I feel like this practice of just mindfulness and mindset accountability and daily habits really comes in. So today on the podcast, I couldn't be more happy to explore this with an actual boutique owner who I have been so fortunate to know and to work with for several years. Gretchen Hilley is a dear friend of mine and we have an awful lot in common, from being in the Western industry to her being one of our very first OG Boutique Hub members. Today, Gretchen's going to walk through her journey of highs and lows in the boutique business as she started and launched and grew her business, Rolling Ranch. But she's also going to talk about the highs and lows of live selling and bringing on staff and then not having staff and then finally bringing on her husband today. You know, the last several months as I've run into Gretchen at markets in different places, I've noticed a big change in her. She has such a glow about her and a light about her, and she seems so much more peaceful and content with where she's at and knowing where she's headed. And so today in our conversation, you're going to hear her unpack this and share how much her mindset really has played a huge part along the way. So I couldn't be more excited. You guys meet my friend Gretchen Hilley, the owner and founder of Rolling Ranch Boutique. As she talks about her journey. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works. From mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street, the entire ecosystem behind it how do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts, and.

Strategists that actually make it happen.

I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat.

Hey, guys.

Welcome back to the show. This week we have an OG Boutique member in the house.

Gretchen. I'm sorry.

So pumped you're on the podcast.

Hey. I'm so excited.

Also, I'm trying to remember actually thinking about you being an OG Boutique member. How did we first get connected? Because I feel like you and I have worked together for a really long time.

I don't know. I did get to Denver to the. When you had the Western, the little Western Summit, but I was already a Boutique Hub member then.

Yeah, I feel like you were in, like one of the OG Facebook groups and then.

Yeah, Western Summit. Yeah, I was in the. You didn't have to pay for it group.

Yes. Okay. So way, way back. Oh, my gosh. That's so awesome. Well, this is so cool. I'm excited to tell your story because I feel like I've had this, like, cool front row seat to watch you grow and evolve. And you and I have always been aligned because we do have western in common. But to see you grow from your home into what you are today, into your husband joining today, I can't wait to tell this story. And also how to optimize live sales, because that is something you have absolutely made your bread and butter. So for those who don't yet know you, will you take me back to the beginning of your business and how you decided to launch and what that looked like?

Okay, well, really, I was like a lot of people in the Hub. I was a school teacher, So I had 13 years of teaching under my belt. I loved it. I was all but dissertation on my doctorate. Like, I was, you know, ready to be a coach in the county. And then I just realized, like, you know what? This is. This is not for me. So I just cold turkey quit. And it's not a story of I had a boutique on the side or anything like that. I just quit. And then I had to come up with something to do. So that's how. That's how Rolling Ranch started.

Your background, obviously, is also western. So did you just decide, like, oh, I'm going to source these western pieces. I'm going to start selling it to my friends. You pretty quickly started a Facebook group and started going live. What did that evolution look like at the very beginning.

Well, I, Well, I didn't start going live really until like pretty far into the journey. But I feel like all of my friends, we would. Anytime we went to Oklahoma or Texas, like, we would just shop so much because we couldn't get those items back home. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna bring, bring that to the east Coast. So that's what I did. But a lot of my growth happened because I went to like, shows, but I went to the bigger trade shows, like the USRC finals, the NFR, those kind of trade shows where you stay gone for like a whole week. Like the AQHA world show, all of those ones. So that's where like my growth came. And then I started a Facebook group. And I, I, you know, I didn't know that that was the thing to do. It wasn't like common, like common knowledge. I just remember like I used to see like all the horses for sale, like the barrel horses for sale in the Facebook groups. And I remember that I would see like every post. So I was like, hey, if I start a Facebook group, like everybody will see everything. And at first I was actually really embarrassed. Like I didn't want anybody to know it was me. And I kind of kept it a secret. And then I finally just let it all out. So I started a group. And this was back in the good days of where you would just like put a flat lay on Facebook and everybody would comment, sold sold their size with their email. And I was hand invoicing. We grew really, really fast. And that's where Comments Sold actually came into play. So this was 2017. I was hand in. I was staying up all night, like 1, 2 in the morning. And then I was getting up at like 6am to pack orders and I was like, I have to do something. So I was scrolling on the Internet one night and I ran across this website called Comments Sold and it changed my life.

You were one of the very first.

Boutiques who got on Comments.

Yeah.

Yeah, talk to me about that.

So this was like pre live sale like that. I mean, I don't know if like people were live. So I don't know if that was a thing or not, but like that's not what it was built for. And I feel like there's a lot of confusion like that. Like when, when Comments all was built, it was built to invoice on Facebook. So that's. It was designed for the boutique owner to post the picture. And then when everybody commented, sold it, auto invoice them and it sent it into Messenger. So that's. That's what Comments Sold was designed for. And that's how I used it initially until, you know, Facebook algorithms change.

Yeah, you've really ridden a lot of those waves of the algorithm changing. Talk to me about your decision, because I remember at the time you were doing that, and then you started to work with Janssen and have some models come in and model clothes for you. You were still very behind the scenes with the brand. Like, your face was not front and center. How did you make the switch? What was that like to all of a sudden start going live? You going live, and then also you starting to model and also be the face of your brand. How did you get to that point?

Well, things were kind of going downhill a little bit. And, I mean, my photos were beautiful. I think. I just. I think really I wasn't putting in the work is what the. I think it wasn't the fact that I was using modeled photos. I think it was just like my. I wasn't putting in the work. And I remember just like, taking like a. Not a. Not a selfie, but, like, you know, on the little ring light stand a picture of me and a little mustard blazer, and I made a video to go with it, and I just posted on Facebook because, like, everything had changed at this point. This was already back to where, like, you couldn't really get comments sold, like, people to comment sold on Facebook anymore. So I posted this video and picture, and they just went crazy. And that's when it hit me. I was like, oh, they. They want me. I have. I have to insert myself back into this business. So I started doing all the videos, and I actually didn't jump on the live wagon. I did FIT videos. So I would post the fit video on Facebook, it would link up to the app, and then it would be, like, connected to my products. Just like how the Live Cell videos connect. But I was still a chicken to go live. I didn't. I didn't go live for a long time.

I think there's a lot of people who could probably relate to that. What tips would you have for someone who's like, oh, man, I know I should go live, but I don't want to. How do you get over the hump and make it live those first couple times?

Well, honestly, I think. I think when we. When we tell ourselves things like, well, that's not my personality. Oh, I can't do that. Oh, I'm too shy. Oh, they don't want to see me. That's Just negative self talk. And we. We can't create ourselves into the person that we want to be. Like, yesterday, we don't have to be the same. I mean, today we don't have to be the same person as yesterday. We can change the person that we are by our thoughts. And, you know, you knew me three years ago. I. I'm a lot different than I was then. Yeah. And so, you know, you just have to make it an effort to become the person that you want to be. And if you want to be a life seller, then you just do it. You just go live.

Yeah, I. Talk to me about that because I think about back when you were even still in Georgia.

Right.

And. Or Georgia. Or Alabama. Where are you from originally?

I'm from Alabama, but we lived in Georgia. That's where Casey's from.

Back when you were there and you had the business in your house, and even when you were like, do I want growth? Do I not want growth? Like, you did go through quite a period of your life where you second guessed a lot of those things of, like, what do I want? Who do I want to be? What did you do? Because you are very different today than you were then. And this, like, growth that you've had, like, as a human being is beautiful to see. What helped you get there? Was it books? Was it practice? Was it habits? Or what do you think in the last three years has helped you to become just this, like, shining light of a human being that's much more confident in what you're creating?

You know what? I was gonna bring my book that you gave me. So I was in the OG or not the OG but one of the OG Not Masterminds Boutique. What was it called? Boot Camp. Boot Camp. Boutique Boot Camp. And it was like, before retail Bootcamp, when it was, like, Face to Face. And we zoomed in with Ashley and she sent me a Brendan Burchard book that was like, my first. That was like, oh, do you have it? That was like, yes. There you go. There you go. I recommend listening to that one on audible.

It's hard to read High Performance Habits if you guys aren't watching on YouTube and can't see the video. It's High Performance Habits. So you read that. Was that, like, a jumping off point for you? Like, it started your curiosity on personal development?

Yeah. Yes. Okay. So as a teacher, like, I am big on professional development, but I didn't really know about this thing called personal development. And I. I mean, the greatest thing that anybody can do for themselves is, you know, have personal and professional development. You know, you need those things, like retail bootcamp. You need to go to the summit and join everything for the. For the professional development. But also, I love that the Boutique hub. And like, your aspect of the Boutique Hub is that you teach the personal development. I mean, that's how I feel about you. I don't know if that's how you feel about yourself, but that's how I feel about you.

Oh, I appreciate that. I. I do think it's so important to the whole aspect. Like, you can't run a successful business if you aren't well yourself. Like, it has to go together.

Yeah, so I read that one and then. So, like, when you were talking about what I think it was 2019, I kind of, like, I kind of hit a bottom. A bottom of the barrel point. And it was like, right before when I started, I inserted myself back into my business and I went to the Boutique Summit. It was like the last one you had before the. You know what? And I was so mad. I was mad at the Boutique Hub. I was mad at comments. I was mad. I was mad at everybody. If anybody was there and saw me and sat by me, you know, I was mad. I was, like, ready to close. I was just, like, over it. I was mad at everything. And I just. I left there and I was just. I looked at my numbers for July, and they were like, bottom of the barrel, so low. And it hit me and I said some girl who was sitting at the summit would be so proud of those numbers, like, and. Or somebody in, you know, one of the boutique groups would be so proud that they may, like, they would be bragging on themselves that they hit that number this month. And they were, you know, jumping up and down, so excited. And that's when it hit me, and I realized, like, the importance of gratitude. And because I had read some books about, like, you have to have gratitude. So now every single day, I write in a journal how thankful and grateful I am for things. And it's just random things, you know, like Todd Detergent and, you know, you don't write that you're thankful and grateful for your husband. Every day. You write that you're thankful and grateful for the sunshine. I don't know. And then I write in a journal every day my goals, like, as if they already happened. And I just do that every day.

That's so good. And do you see? Like, I mean, can you kind of track your progress? Even looking back, like, when I started to implement these habits and take care of myself and believe in myself and who I am and who I am, becoming that. Everything else started to change. And it probably helps you manage just the, you know, this part of business. The highs and lows are it's always going to be there, but how you manage it shifts with your taking care of yourself.

Oh, yeah. So I. After that July where it was so bad, so bad to me, I wrote my. My goal, and it only took, like, it took one month, and I was back to normal. Two months I had hit a great number, and in three months, I hit that. That number that was so huge to me. And I was like, this is magic. Because it only took three months of me saying, I am this, and it manifested into my life. Yeah.

Oh, man. I just love that I could even end the podcast right here and that would be done enough.

Oh, my gosh.

Because it's just so. It's so impactful. And so let's talk about how that transitioned into your live selling, because I'm a big believer how you feel like the energy that you're experiencing within yourself is how you're going to portray everything that you're selling, whether that's through a post, whether it's through a reel, whether it's through a live. Like, you just show up different. Your vibe is different, your energy is different. So after that point, you started to go live more often and I'm sure show up differently. What did that new routine look like for you? What did your new business model look like once you started to do more FIT videos? Go live more, put yourself in front of the camera more often? What did that business model look like?

So I still stuck to my guns with the FIT videos. So I made a FIT video for every single item. And I just. My customers expect a video. I mean, I don't know if that was good or bad, but they. They expect a video. And I'm very honest. I'm like, you know, the shirt clings to your muffin top, or, you know, size up, size down, whatever. And I'm very honest. And they love the videos. So I was still making videos, but then I started to add in, like, going live, and I was just kind of, like, reshowing stuff, and it just. It just helps. And I don't know, it just. It just does something. It just. It's magic. It just helps. And then you build all these friendships and everybody wants to come hang out, and even if they're not shopping, like, at the end of the day, who cares? Like, they're just there to hang out and talk to you and if that made their day, then that's all that matters because like people are going to shop it later. It's just, it's about just showing up and hanging out and just having fun with people.

Okay, are you a planner like I am? I know we've talked about planning and time management and getting more done and being a CEO versus an entrepreneur in your day, but are you really ready.

To get more done?

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It's really building the relationships with people that makes that community. And because you're the center of it, it's what makes you different from every other boutique out there. Like, there can be a million other trendy, affordable online boutiques. There can be a million other western fashion boutiques, but there's no other Gretchen. There's no other person that can present the way you can present. So fast forward to today and where you're at today. What does your business model look like today in terms of how often are you going live, how often are you doing fit videos, where do you launch products first, that sort of thing.

Well, so I'm in the mastermind with Ashley right now and I've learned a lot from the other people in the mastermind. They're amazing. And I had like a huge life changing event in November and my dad had a heart attack. And it made me realize like, I have to create a business that works for me. And I told y' all in the mastermind, my goal for 2023 is creating a business that works for me. So I actually like kind of nix the fit video. I still do a collection launch once every two weeks and I'll make fit videos for those items, but it's like maybe like 30 or 40 items. That's like. I was doing, like, 100 fit videos a week. Like, I was exhausted. And. Yeah. And so I'm just doing that. And then I have Jansen from Denim and Velvet. She photographs everything else, so everything else gets photographed by her. I just insert it into my product page, and then we go live with it. So that has, like, really saved me a lot. And some people are probably thinking, well, how, you know, how are you, you know, building a business for yourself that works for you if you're having to go live every day? Well, for me, I mean, like, I see it as something that you can take with you, because I see all these girls, and they. They take a suitcase full of live items to the beach and they take, you know, to the mountains or on vacation or whatever. So I see it so differently because to me, I was married to fit videos. Like, I was tied to that, and I had. I stayed at my warehouse so many hours a week. But now, you know, like, if we wanted to go snow skiing, take an extra suitcase full of clothes, and we go live at night.

Yeah, I love that. And that's. I love your motto, building a business that works around me in 2023. Because I think a lot of people have gotten burnt out from going, whether it's from going live multiple times a day every day, and then being the only model or doing fit videos and being the only model. Like, you've done such a great job of building a community around your brand and building relationships that you're still the center of your brand, but you've also introduced these other models that people trust and other methods of purchasing that people trust without it completely draining you.

Yeah. And it also hit me that, like, there's so many new customers that are always coming in, and people are always dripping out of the bottom. And I was like, wait, if I just introduce people models and then myself as the live character, then, you know, these new people don't even know I'm the owner of this thing until I say it or they watch a lot, and they're not gonna know any different. It's only my OG People who are concerned about Gretchen didn't make a selfie of herself in that shirt, you know, so all these new people come in, and they. They don't know any different. So I thought, I just build the business that I want.

That's so good. I love the fact that it's so fluid that you can make it what you want. You can change and evolve. I think a lot of people are scared of that they're scared of making a change because they think someone's not gonna love it. But that's a good, good point to remember. There's always someone new coming in. How do you. Let's talk specifically about your live sales for a minute. Talk to me about your live sale process. What do you do at the beginning of your live sale that you feel like helps people really engage? What keeps people engaged throughout the video? And then how do you try to end each live video?

Well, I've added my husband and his siblings. They call him special teams because he's like, he's in there for. So he's. I mean, there's your answer. No, but really, he just causes chaos. You know, like, I'm like, hey, I'm Gretchen, the owner of Roller Ranch Boutique. And he's behind me doing something ridiculous or telling them that I'm his assistant or just whatever. So, yeah, that's how we started.

It's a whole new level. Okay, back. So your husband, and he is such a character. How did you decide and when did you decide that he was going to come join you in the boutique? And did you have to talk him into going live with you or what did that, what did that conversation start as?

Oh, he loves attention, so the live thing is not an issue for him. He's special teams. He helped. He has always been my biggest cheerleader and he, he helped me at one point. We never talked about the fact that, like, I never had employees, like, for so long. And I did this by myself. Like it was way too big and me by myself. So Casey would go in and he would ship orders at 4am and then go shoe horses all day long. So he was always, he was always my biggest cheerleader and always there to help. But. But once I hired employees, he just, you know, he dwindled his way out and he, he didn't want to work at Rolling Ranch. And recently we just had. We just had a talk. And I mean, I guess this is really personal, but I said, you know, I need help. And I think sometimes our husbands and dads, like, they, they don't realize what we do. That, you know, I'm running this really big business and I'm still to school and picking them up also. And, you know, I think that sometimes that they don't. They don't connect those dots like we do and they don't mean bad by it. They just don't connect those dots. And bless his heart, he's so sweet. He just kind of teared up and I Said, can you. Can you take her kid to school for me? And. And he said. He just started mentioning, you know, he said, one time you offered me a job, and I didn't take it. And he's such a hard worker. He's. He's the hardest worker I know. And I finally said, don't you want a rope? You know, don't you want to not work all day long? And I don't know how I talked him into it, but I did. So now he takes our child to school, and he only shoes one day a week, and he comes to the warehouse and works, and they leave him my Colt. He. He does virtual school two days a week. So they leave at like, one o' clock, and they go home and they rope. And he's just. I have written on a pair of my shoes, I'm creating a life of my dreams. And that's what I wrote in on a dry erase board in the warehouse, that I'm creating the life of our dreams and this, you know, living an abundant life and seeing my family do the things that they love, like, you know, that's the life of our dreams.

Man, that is so beautiful. I love that. I love that you are doing that because what a legacy you're creating for Cole, too. Just to see the two of you and what you've built together, that is really amazing. And there is flexibility if you choose to. If you choose to set it up that way. Like, kudos to you to being open to change, but also the personal development that it took in order to get there, to be ready to be at this stage and attack it the way that you have. Man, my gosh, I get asked so many questions. Let's go back to you being solopreneur first and how you got to the point before Casey came on because you were doing it all, like, longer than you should have been, Right? You probably needed help a lot sooner than you would than you took it. I'm assuming there was a limiting belief somewhere within you that was preventing you from hiring when you knew. Knew you should have.

Right?

Like, there was something that was stopping you. What was the thing that was stopping you and how did you attack it?

Well, I mean, there's always that limiting belief of, like, being scared that there's not enough. But also, I'm a little weird about, like, being around people. I mean, I was a school teacher. I love to be around. I could be trapped in the room with the kids all day, but, like, with the teachers, it's just. It's hard. It's hard for me. So, yeah, we were shipping like, gosh, at least over 100 orders a day before I ever even hired anybody. It was crazy. Yeah.

So what advice would you give to somebody who is new and their business is just starting to get traction and they do have like that group of orders to ship every day. What would your advice to them be?

Gosh, I don't know.

In terms of hiring, like, where would you say, hey, this is how you know you need help. Go start here.

Well, I mean, the first help is fulfillment. Like, once you, once you realize that somebody can do fulfillment with you, it's life changing. But I do, I do love to see the girls who, who do everything. And I know it's smart to like hire out and hire out for things that you're not good at, but I think it's really smart to be able to do everything, to know how to do everything. You know, something goes wrong or there's nobody come came to work and you need to fulfill. And you don't know how. Like, you know, I just, I don't, I don't know. I don't really know how to answer that question. Sorry.

Well, no, I think you've, you've answered the question in a couple of ways just by talking about recognizing there was something limiting you even though you, you knew you needed to do it right, so you would have jumped sooner. But also it is important to know how to do everything and then you can hire smarter, you can hire the right people that you trust especially.

So. Good.

All right, Gretchen, you are a business that is all on comment Sold.

Right.

Talk to me about just a few best practices. I know you've been such an advocate and you've grown with the company and, and with the process. What are just like some best practices with comments sold that you feel like you're utilizing now that you really wish other people knew about if they're also using comments sold.

Well, honestly, like what I was saying earlier, a lot of people don't realize that commentsold wasn't created as a live selling platform. It was created as a thing that I invoiced and a program that invoiced. So there's this thing called wall drops. And I mean, they don't exactly work, but I kind of see a lot, a lot of us are kind of leaning back towards that a little bit. So you can actually use your hashtag SKU and post into your group, you know, your picture or your video with the hashtag sku. And if somebody says sold medium, it Will invoice them. And I mean, not many people are still commenting on those, but I kind of. I kind of see it coming back a little bit for some reason and just going live and, you know, using the feature where you can go live on every platform at one time. That's just amazing. With one camera, you know, that's just crazy. Alone. Instagram, Facebook, Facebook, business page, you know, everywhere at one time. And oh, and you're live on your website and you're live on your app. Oh, and also your Instagram, your Instagram stories, our stories on your app. And you can hashtag, skew your products in your story. And then if somebody is on the app and they click on your story, it'll pop up. It says like, I want it. And you can just buy it. They can buy it right there on the app, which is pretty cool.

I didn't know that.

A lot of people don't know that either. Yeah, yeah.

For a second. Sorry to squirrel with you for a second, but talk to me about your app, actually, specifically because your app is a big part of your business. How did you get people into also shopping on your app?

Yeah, I think like 98% of my sales are app. Oh, my gosh, that's a lot. Yeah, just app exclusive, you know, when you first launch it, you know, this is app exclusive. Things like that. If you have a text messaging program, sometimes I'll hide something, like a brand, a brand new arrival, hide it in the app, it's launched on the app somewhere and just tell them what the SKU number is. You know, go to the app to search, you know, 09872 and find the item and you get it first. Stuff like that. Just things to make them need to, you know, sales only on the app. Stuff like that. Yeah.

So good. All right, I have monopolized your time, but this has been so helpful today. Gretchen, I have one last question for you. Just because you and I have been friends for a long time and gotten to know each other well for a long time. And I know your business is built around not just selling things. And yes, it's profitable, but it's not just about being profitable. It's about also your place in this world and serving other people and serving your family. So talk to me about 30 years down the road. You're on the front porch, Colt's got kids now. We've got grandbabies running around. They're roping. They're roping everything. I know they are. I can see it now. And they're talking about this amazing life that you lived that allowed your family to enjoy this hobby and to enjoy this, like, western way of life that so few people get to experience. What's the thing that you want people to remember most about the person that you were and how you made this life possible?

That abundance is available to everybody. And we can design the life of our dreams by Armand. And all it takes is your thoughts and that. That everybody, Everybody is worthy of it. And, like, you know, I have. I have all of these boutique bestie friends that, you know, I might make in a week more than they make in a month. But, like, I love them. They're so smart. They have the best ideas, and, you know, just everybody is valuable and everybody's ideas are great no matter where you are in your journey. And, you know, just. I just got off on a tangent. Sorry. But, you know, just put yourself in proximity to put yourself in proximity to the people that you want to be. Like, you know, go to the boutique Summit and sit by the people that you wish to be. They'll talk to you. They're so nice, all of the people in our mastermind, they're the best. They're the nicest people. Um, that's why I joined the Mastermind, to put myself in proximity of them to see how they do things. And. Okay, I just went off on a tangent and didn't really answer my question, but abundance, I would tell my grandkids, abundance is available to everybody. When I say abundance, I don't just mean in wealth. I mean in life and doing what you love.

So good. Gretchen, thanks so much for being on the show today. Thanks for man shining your light. I love seeing you just continue to grow and evolve and what you're creating. So congratulations. I really appreciate you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Hey, guys. Thank you so much for listening to this episode.

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