Themes and Takeaways from our Mastermind in Nashville with Ashley Alderson

Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works, from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and 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. You know what, it's you and me, but I have some stuff to share, so this week, buckle up. I hope you brought a bit of a notebook because let's talk through some things that are happening right now in our industry that I think you can learn from and get excited about. But also, I have some dates I really want you to put on your calendar right away. All right, let's get to it, you guys. I am fresh back this week. That's why there's no video, just audio this week. If you're listening on Spotify or itunes or wherever you catch the podcast, be sure to screenshot send it to me at the Boutique Hub or AJ Alderson on Instagram. I would love to connect, but this week, video only, because I'm telling you, it has been one of the craziest weeks I've had in a long time. I had the opportunity to see so many of you guys last week in Nashville. I love that market. I love what's happening there. And it was really exciting to see some excited vendors and happy boutique owners finding what they were looking for, but also having a great time while they were doing it. Besides being in Nashville for market last week, the team and I, a few of us on the team, had an opportunity to meet up with our new round of Mastermind students. So many of you know at the Boutique Hub, we have all kinds of amazing members. The majority of you listening here as a part of the Boutique Hub, right, our monthly membership, but we also have a few other programs outside of membership. One being Retail Boot Camp, which is like college for boutique owners. All the detailed training and we do take a private retreat to LA in the fall when you're part of Retail Boot Camp. But then even beyond that, we have a program called Mastermind. And this is for some of our highest earning and most experienced boutique owners who have been in the game for a while and they apply for this program and we do it twice a year. We've got six semester long or I'm sorry, six month long semesters. So we run it twice a year. And so we were Just kicking off a new semester of the program while we were together in Nashville. And these boutique owners, I'm telling you, are just some of the most awesome human beings have had the opportunity to meet. They're all different types. We have live sellers and brick and mortars and those who have been just traditional e commerce, those who have been comment sold but maybe don't even use lives. I mean, truly all different types of stores. And I love that because with the experience that they all have and the background not just in the boutique side of business, but also like just wealth generation and real estate and just different types of opportunities, I love seeing them come to the table and truly mastermind and round table so that they can learn and grow with one another. But I wanted to take some time today just to bring back from that experience some of the most common themes and threads that I'm hearing from this caliber of boutique owner. Because I think it's important for all of us to hear a few of these key messages so that we can put them to work in our business right now. So the first one I want to share with you is this. Whatever size business you are and whatever experience level you're at, I just want you to know it's okay to struggle sometimes. You know, it's so easy on social media to see the glory and, you know, the rat race of going to market. And you think, man, she must be killing it in business, right? Things must be going so well for her because we only see the highlight reel. And I know you're no stranger to the highlight reel. We all talk about the highlight reel. But I want to reassure you one more time that it is a highlight reel. And again, no matter what size or type of business you are, no one is prone to having it go well all the time. Everybody struggles. And the more all of us came together and talked about it this week, it's really interesting because some businesses have been around long enough to have gone through a previous recession or they've ridden out the highs and the lows. But some of the businesses that we're working with now inside of the boutique hub, this is their first low. And maybe that's you. Maybe this is the first time you've really struggled in your business. And it feels so heavy. It feels like, how am I ever going to make it through the other side? And maybe I should just give up or, you know, woe is me and I, I need someone else just to kind of share in my cup of misery with me. But I want to reassure you that this business, the highs and lows are cyclical. They come, they go, and I want you just to be prepared for them. Because while others are struggling and while the economy is what it is, you can either look at it as a challenge and a woe is me and the sky is falling, or you can look at it as a huge opportunity. You know, I. I heard this saying a while back. It was a story about this shoe company. And the shoe company sent their first salesman into a very remote part of Africa. And the salesman was gone for a few months and came back and reported to their boss at the shoe company. They had zero sales. And the boss says, well, gosh, you know, we've never been into this market before. Why do you have zero sales? And the salesman looks at the boss and says, well, you know, unfortunately, no one in this country wears shoes, so it's just not the market for us. And the boss is like, okay, well, that's silly. I'm going to send somebody else. So the boss sends a second person into this market, and again, this person was there even shorter than the first person was there, shorter period of time. And they come back and they report back to the boss. You know what? No sales. No one here wears shoes. This is not the market for our customer. And the boss is like, okay, I've got to try just one more time. And so finally, he sends this third kind of underdog salesperson into the country. And this person's gone. And all of a sudden he starts sending reports back. You know, sales are through the roof. I need more product and more product. And finally the boss gets a hold of the salesman says, man, what's happening? Tell me about, you know, all these sales. What's happening in Africa? And the salesman says, you're never going to believe it. There is so much opportunity here because no one wears shoes. So sometimes in business, guys, it's just about perspective. It's easy to get lost in the trap of woe is me, and the sky is falling. And business is tough for everyone right now in this economy. But the truth is, there's a lot of opportunity in this economy if we choose to look for it. So I challenge you to think about where that opportunity might be in your own business. And maybe that's just going back to the basics and rebuilding your foundation and getting ready with your flows and your automations and your ads and your customer and your photography and really getting to know your numbers and operating lean so that when your next opportunity arises, you're ready to strike and you're not just sitting there waiting and hoping for something to work, but opportunity is in the eye of the beholder. And that was certainly the theme that I heard from so many store owners and especially this mastermind in the last week. And I want to challenge you just to double down on that. Are you living in a country where no one wears shoes so there's no opportunity for you, or are you living in a country where no one wears shoes, so everybody is a potential customer? All about that perspective. All right, on that thread, one of the biggest things I heard from our highest level boutique owners was going back to the basics is really where it's at right now. Going back to knowing your customer, living authentically, and being authentic in your marketing. Posting old school like we used to five, six, seven years ago, really leaning into building a community around your brand and operating lean, getting lean and smart, and knowing your numbers. You know, the truth is, in 2020 and 2021, so many businesses were living a little high on the hog, right? You could look in your bank account and go, okay, do I have money? I'm going to order. But that doesn't work anymore. If you don't have a buying plan, if you don't know what inventory is working, if you don't know what sizes are working, what brands are working, what customers are working, right? You're really flying in the dark. So we have to know those numbers. And that's what I mean by doubling down and really looking for opportunity. Right now, it's to build a smarter business. And going back to the basics is really going to help you with that. The second theme that I heard a lot is, you know, I. I feel like maybe Post Covid. Can I say that word on a podcast? Am I going to get, like, shadow banned? I don't even know. How does that work anyway? Post whatever that was. There's so many people, and maybe all of us included, maybe you and. And certainly me, I feel like we're living with a little bit of ptsd. You know, we all went through this crazy time and living in the total, unexpected, unfathomable reality that we all lived in. And now as we come out of it, and it just seems like there's so much negativity in the world around us that uncertainty rises because we just have so much unsettled, you know, what could happen next? Because really, anything's. Anything's on the table at this point because we saw it with our very own two eyes. And so I think just giving yourself some grace and recognizing that we're all living with a little PTSD and some trauma that needs to be healed will give us some grace for where we are and where we're going. But the opportunity that creates for all of us is there's so many stores, so many business owners who not only, like I mentioned, are going back to the basics, but going back to where their joy is. You know, we got so busy on that hamster wheel trying to do all the things and keep up with all the things, but we have to just step back and ask ourselves, am I really happy? Does this really fill my cup? Or am I just doing this because it's a grind, Right? So are you really happy with what you're doing? Are you really happy with the tasks that are on your plate every day? Or do you have to figure out a better way to outsource and build team around you so that you can operate in your joy spot, which is really going to help you build a business so much faster? Because people buy from happy people, right? People don't buy from desperate people. People buy from happy people. And so how do you get back to that place? The third biggest lesson, and this really strings off of the second from last week, is building a team is one of the hardest things you'll ever do in business. There's highs, there's lows. Oh my gosh, is it humbling, you guys? Man, we have had that even with our own experience here at the Hub. It's one of the hardest things you'll ever do, but it's one of the most important and gratifying and humbling things that you'll ever do. And if you truly do want to operate in your joy spot and be happy and be fulfilled and have a life and have some space for yourself, you have to build a team. But building a team has to be more than just employing warm bodies because at the end of the day, culture is your king and your team will function at the level of your lowest performing member. Right? So we. I got to tell you this story just to. To illustrate this point. Many of you, if you follow me over on Instagram, it's AJ Alderson. I share business things and life things and development things, but also a lot of personal things, too, in my family. And my oldest daughter Hadley loves basketball and she's had the opportunity to play for some AAU teams, be selected and do some travel ball. And one of the girls that she plays with or played with last season, anyway, her dad is the VP of football operations for the Green Bay packers. And we were talking to him one time about coaching because he's over the top of, you know, recruiting and new player development and all these things. And he was talking about how many people they are scouting every season to potentially become a Green Bay Packer. And he said to us, he said, you know, we live and die by this motto. And I think he even said, this is in their locker room on the wall. And the saying is this. It's talent sets the floor, but character sets the ceiling. And they judge everybody off of those metrics. So it's so easy for us when we think about our own business and we're in the hustle of hiring and trying to get by. It's easy just to pull in that warm body, right? Or someone who we think has the skill set we need. But maybe we're going to sacrifice a little bit on their character, but it really has to be the opposite. We can teach anyone skill as long as they're coachable and as long as they have the right character and culture to fit our team and our core values. But you cannot sacrifice the character just for the talent. It's got to be the other way around. So those of you who are building a team, just know, man, what an opportunity you have, right, to go back to your joy spot and to build some awesome people around you who are going to love your business like you do. But you have to have the difficult conversations in the meantime and say no and hold people accountable in the meantime in order to maintain that culture and that character in your business. So three biggest lessons, you guys. Hopefully these resonated with you. I'd love to hear your feedback, so shoot me a message again. It's ajalderson on Instagram or the Boutique Hub on Instagram. I'd love to hear what is resonating most with you right now and where your business is at. So while we're on this topic, I want to also look forward into the summer, where we're all at right now and where we're headed. Because I know so many of you are entering a really busy season, the change of season so hard you're planning kids summer camps and travel schedules and vacations and how am I going to get through this last month of kids being in school and what's going to change with my retail cycle in my business? So I wanted to put some dates on the calendar and just put this bug in your ear right away. June 5th, 6th and 7th. It's our annual summer school event. It's completely free. Those of you who are members of the Boutique Hub. You have additional perks that you're going to hear more about over the coming weeks. But you don't have to be a member of the Boutique Hub just to participate. So Summer School, June 5th, 6th and 7th. We just released our curriculum and I just want to tell you, I am so freaking excited about what we're going to be talking about in summer school. Here's why. Summer school is what it is. You guys know we talk about the J months. We talk about June and July and January and how they can be tricky in retail. They don't have to be. There's opportunity in them if you choose to operate that way. But, but they can be different than most months traditionally. So we want to take that time to really lean into growing our business, finding new strategy and optimizing. Because as we come out of June and July, we are entering the busiest season of the year. The two busiest retail cycles of the year are one, back to school and two, holiday. And so that comes right after June, July. So if we don't use that time to really double down and build our business, we are going to be behind the eight ball and coming out of our summer months. So during summer school this semester, June 5th, 6th and 7th, three days, completely free, here's what we're going to be digging into. Number one, we're going to talk strategically about beating the summer slowdown. What does that mean? How can you prepare? What events and promotions and content and buying strategies should you be really using right now to beat the summer slowdown? Number two, I love this topic. We're going to dig deep into AI. There is so much excitement and so much fear, and rightfully so, around what's happening with AI right now. And so we're going to dig into what's the latest trends, what's the best opportunities. We're building some prompts and some cheat sheets and checklists for you so that you can use AI to work smarter and not harder. We're going to be talking about the time saving opportunities, the advantages, but also the risks when it comes to AI. And the third topic we're going to cover is why are so many boutiques struggling, but why are some accelerating right where we're at? We're going to dig deep and dissect what's gone on in 2023 thus far and plan for what we project is going to be coming in the fall of 23 and into 2024. So again, no matter what type of business you have, maybe you sell crystals and rocks or home decor and gift or children's or women's apparel, it doesn't matter. We're going to be covering strategies that are important to each and every business type. And whether you're new or you're growing and scaling or you are an expert level mastermind business, we're going to talk about all of it. So check out this week's show notes. I will have a link for you. It will be all over social media this week so that you can get on the list to be notified June 5th, 6th and 7th for summer school. You're definitely going to want to be there. All right, that's it for you and I this week, you guys. Thanks for hanging out for a quick solo episode. Next week I want you to come back and there is an opportunity next week for an Ask Ashley anything. We're going to be digging into your most commonly asked questions. What's working? What's not, how can we help Trends in marketing and buying and team development and just growing your business for the future. So come back next week. We'll talk about all those things. I can't wait to see you guys inside of the Boutique Hub, those of you who are members. We've got so much to talk about right now. Also to see you guys on Hubventory buying and stocking your stores. Thank you for your support on the only wholesale marketplace curated by our industry for our industry. We had some big algorithm changes this week, so go. Be sure to check it out@hubventory.com you guys have an awesome week ahead. Again, let's connect on Instagram. Let's connect by leaving a review for the show and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode. All right, have an awesome time you guys. I will be back. I will see you soon. Hey guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and review down below for chance to be one of our featured listeners each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week. Sam.