Tips for Tackling the J Months

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. Hey, guys, it's you and me this week for a pretty short and sweet but I think very important solo episode. So let's get right to it. For many years in retail, we've had this big secret giant known as as the J months. Now, I have a lot of opinions around the J months, and that is this, whether the J months for you are traditional January, June, and July times when people are typically not buying in patterns that they usually are. But even if those are not your J months, everybody has a J month. Everybody has a season that's a little bit better than others, and everyone has a season that's a little bit slower than the rest. It just so happens that I feel that this year's J months, this year's summer months, if you're not in a resort town and can be maybe a little bit harder than normal, maybe that's the economy or people traveling more than they ever have before. And studies show that maybe it's people spending money in different ways based on experiences versus wants and splurges, whatever that is. I feel that this is certainly having an impact on the boutique industry. I think when you couple that with how many new boutiques opened up during COVID and maybe now that times are a little bit tighter and it's not as easy to make money as it certainly once was. Maybe things are changing in our industry now. Let me back up to say this. Do I think that that means this industry is tough for everyone? No. Do I think this is a terrible time to start a new boutique? No. Do I think everyone should run and panic because times are slow and what's going to happen to all of us? No. I think there is so much opportunity to be had. There are still so many boutiques that I speak with on a regular bas having great months and some even record months, the opportunity is still there. But I think how we're chasing business and how we're operating through these times has to change if we want our business to be able to sustain and grow through the season of life and this season of J months that we're in right now. So today I wanted to pause and just take a couple minutes to have a frank conversation about where I think we're at and where I think we're headed and what we can focus on right now if times are slow for you so that you can climb out and into your next best, best season possible. So first things first, when you have a slow season in business. Tip. Number one, I want to just remember that it's okay to give yourself permission to be slow. It's not feasible to have one record month after the next and to always beat last month's numbers. It doesn't have to be like that. There are times and seasons in business where we know it's going to be up or we know it's going to be down. And if that means you're giving yourself permission to work hard on your business and not in your business so much, take the time to do so. There's so many times where we Hear podcasts and YouTube videos and trainings in the boutique hub about building email automations or learning SEO or finally digging into Facebook ads. But the excuse that we're constantly giving ourselves is, well, I'll do that when. I'll do that when I have time. I don't have time right now. I'm too busy. I'm doing these other things. Well, if seasons are slow for you, this is your time. This is the time to not double down and panic and chase dollars and cents. This is the time to double down and rebuild the foundations of your business and do the things that you know are going to pay 10x dividends down the road. And working on our business, right? High level CEO stuff versus in our business, low level hustling for every dollar we make. Stuff makes a huge impact. So I challenge you, if this is the season you're in, can you give yourself permission long enough to work on the most long lasting, easy, impactful things on your list, the 20% of your list that's going to get you 80% of the results to get you through the slow season so that when things do turn, and they will, that you're ready to come out sailing. The second thing I'll say when it comes to giving yourself permission to be in a slow season is sometimes we need the permission to give ourselves a mental clarity. Break, go on vacation, enjoy your family, take a minute away from your business. Because sometimes the best ideas come when we're on a complete break, when we're on vacation, when we're not in the hustle and the grind and working in or on the business. So give yourself some permission to walk away, whatever the number and financial impact that is, as long as you know you have your bases covered. Give yourself a minute to be slow, to take a break, and to come back with fresh perspective. Every single one of us needs fresh perspective. So are slow times always a bad thing? No. I honestly think that slow times, if you use them right, can be some of the most beneficial and most pivotal moments in your business, even if you choose that perspective. So that's tip number one. Make sure you put things in perspective with where you are, where you're going, you're working on the business in the most impactful moments, and you're giving yourself permission to clear your head. The second tip I would give you during a season like this is this. People aren't always ready to buy. Studies show that 3% of your customers at any given moment are looking and ready to buy. 7% of your customers would buy if you presented things to them in the right way. That means 90% of people that follow you on social media or they're on your email list or wherever they are, they're not really interested or ready to buy, but they're there. And especially during a slow season. So one of the best things we can do when it comes to our marketing and our content during a slower season is double down on content. Just because it's slow doesn't mean we post less. Right? We're going to double down on content, and especially content that builds relationships. If I go to your Instagram account and I see you just posting product, product, product, buy this, buy this, buy this. Desperation becomes a stinky cologne and nobody wants to be around it. And so the more you try to push me and post these items that are for sale, for sale, for sale, for sale. At a discount, at a discount. The more I'm actually repelled because it feels desperate. But the more I feel like I'm in an easy relationship with you and I want to hang out with you, you're posting content. That's funny. It's entertaining. It's helpful. It helps me get to know who you are and why you're in business. It inspires me, your photography. Even if I'm not ready to buy something says, oh my gosh, that's so beautiful. I would love to put an outfit together like that. I would love to decorate my home like that. I would love my kids to be dressed like that. Double down on the content that builds relationships and is memorable so that you stay top of mind or you further and Deepen relationships so that when customers are ready to buy that 3% or that 7% that you are the one they choose. But if we're constantly asking for the sale, they're quickly going to become disinterested and the algorithm is going to tell. The algorithm is going to tell itself that because no one's clicking on your content, they really aren't interested in your products. So if you can keep them clicking, if you can keep them viewing, if you can keep them engaging, double down on that content during your slowest seasons. Because it is going to be what pulls you out in the next season to come. Alright, my third tip is this. People are changing how they buy. And especially during stimulus money time, people could buy a lot more on want versus need. But today with just changes in our society and of course cash flow and worries about our economy, it changes and people are looking more into wants or to smaller splurges. So when that comes to you and your business, whether it's home and gift, or it's apparel, or it's kids, or it's specialty, your merchandising. And when I say merchandising, I don't just mean you having a storefront with a beautiful window display. Merchandising means you have figured out how to solve my problems. You have figured out how to get me what I need before I know I need it, right? So many big box stores do a great job of this. Anyone with great displays and vignettes does a great job of this. But it goes beyond your storefront and your window. It goes to the homepage of your website, the collections on your website, the collections in your live sales, how your your live sales, merchandise and all of your graphics and how you post them on social media. Can you get me to the needs and make my wants feel like their needs? So let's do a couple of examples, right? Something that's coming up during the month of July that's huge is the new Barbie movie, right? So Barbie core collection should definitely be top of mind no matter what you sell. We just built a huge Barbie core collection on Hubventory. So if you're still looking for things wholesale to fill this collection for you, there is everything under The sun on hubventory.com right now in our Barbie collection. So for you to be top of mind, just like the Taylor Swift eras tour, every boutique under the sun was sharing that collection and turning wants into needs by dressing people for those concerts. You can do the exact same thing with Barbie collections. The next big collection you should be thinking about is Back to School. Back to School launches in July, and Back to School traditionally is the second largest retail holiday of the year behind Christmas. So Back to School. The earlier you can get, the better. Be top of mind with every single way you can make teacher gifts and college dorm room bundles and items for kids. Back to School and Game day. Back to School for moms is a whole nother game. I'm sure you've got tons of inventory that maybe right now, as you walk around your warehouse or your store, you maybe didn't buy it or intend it for back to school school. But you could quickly turn it into a back to school collection that would really fill that need. And then you could go to Hubventory and you could buy a bunch of fillers to really round out that collection and make it meaningful for your audience. The third type of collection you could be thinking about right now is fall transition. So everything that you have that's summer, whether it's denim or tank tops, crop tops, you name it. How can I transition this into a cool summer night or a fall transition piece? So layers. Those of you who are in apparel, layers, layers, layers. Those of you in home and gift, I would think about colors. How can I transition colors from the big, bright, bold shades of color? How can I layer that with maybe some rusts or some olives to give a little bit more perspective into a fall color tone transition? So fall transition is huge. And it's going to be how you get the most money out of your unsold inventory right now, because you don't want to get to the end of the month and go, oh crap, I have all this left over and now I have to do a big clearance sale. No, I want to sell it at full price. So start transitioning and showing diversification in your inventory right away. And then when it comes to the end of fall transition and you are full on into fall and winter, then and only then can you think about that clearance. But get the most money out of those products that you possibly can while you can. All right, guys, those are three quick tips to get you through J months and slower seasons. Let's recap. Slow time is your opportunity if you choose to make it. So are you giving yourself permission to work on the business and not in the business? And are you giving yourself permission to walk away from the business tip number one. Number two, double down on relationships, behind the scenes content, getting to know your customers, just building engagement. Stop trying to sell me things because it feels desperate. Start being interested in me Who I am as your customer, who your avatar is, and telling your brand story to build relationships so that you're top of mind when your customer does start buying. And then third, make sure you're showing me how to turn my wants into needs, how you're going to solve my problems. And that's through merchandising and through collections. No matter what you sell, you can throw them into merchandise collections. All right, guys, that's it for quick tips for today. But let me just wrap up by saying this. I see your posts, I see your struggles. Those of you who are battling right now, let me tell you, you are not alone. And you have permission to just be where you are. But know that you don't have to stay there. Know that there is a way out. And I hope these tips and the blog posts and all the things that we're working on at the Hub, showing you all the different ways that you can grow, I hope that you're loving and using those because we can get you out of this spot that we're in. But you're not alone in this spot. You guys, this has definitely been a tougher summer than I remember in a long time. So double down, take a break, let's get into it, and let's keep growing. And those of you who are having record months, I just got to pause and give you props because I see you too. We've had some calls recently in retail boot camp and in our mastermind call and even just some of our higher level groups at the Hub, and there are some people who are crushing it right now. And one of the things I feel like that they have done, that really they have the most in common with one another because they're doing this, is they are 100% completely comfortable in their own skin, in who they are and who their ideal customer is that they're serving. They know their niche, they know their why. They know why they're getting up every morning and how they're serving that customer base that they're selling to. So the more you can play around with that in your own business and get into really the why behind your brand and your customers buying in on that why too. Man, does it make a big difference. It makes everything else easier. And then on top of that, man, here's the deal. You can't take yourself too seriously because there is nothing more humbling than this game of retail. There's ups and there's downs. And just when you think you've made it to the top of the mountain, maybe something changes. Or maybe you feel like you've just hit rock bottom and something changes. Nothing is permanent in retail. It's a constant cycle, so you can't take anything too seriously because you never know what tomorrow is going to hold. But I just want to thank you. Thanks for listening to this podcast you guys. I've got your back and I hope this quick message just resonates with you. Please know from sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, anything that we can do to help you guys we are all in on. So reach out anytime at the Boutique Hub or at my personal Instagram AJ Alderson. I hope you guys have an awesome rest of your day. Thanks again for listening to this podcast. If you want to shoot us a quick review anytime, I would be more than grateful for it. Stay tuned because next week our episode is one you're not going to want to miss. It's a brand new series that we're kicking off to celebrate the Hub's 10 year anniversary. Holy smokes. I've gotten a few wrinkles and gray hairs in that time and we're going to talk all about it. So come back next week and for the next few episodes we've got a lot of really cool things in store. You guys have an awesome rest of your day and I'll talk to 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 a 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.