Boutique Chat

We have a very special episode for you this holiday week! We've rounded up five of our top moments and lessons learned so far in Season 5.  Enjoy these highlights from some of our favorite episodes of 2023 and join us next week when we are launching The Boutique Hub 10 th Anniversary Series, celebrating The Hub's anniversary and spotlighting guests with 10+ years in the boutique business.  Hear fr...

Everyone has what we like to call J Months, months of the year that are slower than others. Whether or not yours are the traditional J Months — January, June and July — we all know what it's like to struggle through slow seasons. But there's still opportunity there. We just have to change how we chase business and operate through the slow months for our businesses to sustain and thrive. So, I'm re...

My guest this week is someone I admire as a businesswoman and big thinker, who not only continues to grow her boutique business in Nashville but has also launched her own wholesale brand. Marla Skipper is the founder and owner of SVM   Boutique and Nash Grey Wholesale, and today she's joining me on the podcast to share all of the lessons she's learned throughout the last decade. We talk strategies...

If you've been around for a while, you no doubt remember when the separation between apparel boutiques and home and gift boutiques was much wider than it is now. Since the pandemic, we have been on a fast track to see a lot more crossover between these two boutique segments. In this episode, I'm excited to dive into this growing trend with Angela Schmook, VP of Sales and Marketing at Road Runners...

Calling all brand new business owners! This week's episode is just for you. Pam Colon is the owner and founder of Muted Closet, and we're diving into the lessons she has learned being in the thick of new business ownership in just the first year. Get comfortable and listen in as we dive deep into what it has been like for Pam starting her business, how she has grown it organically through word of...

Are you racing towards the 'next big thing' or finding genuine joy in your journey? Sara Durcholz is the founder and visionary behind JO+CO, and she has an amazing story, from starting her business to expanding to multiple storefronts—and realizing the need for a completely different direction in her life and making the leap to find true fulfillment. Get comfortable and listen in as Sara shares ca...

This is such a special episode with such a special person — Sydney Petersen, founder of Bizzy's Boutique, Bizzy Izzy's Wholesale and the Love Izzy Project.  Sydney truly inspires me, not only as a business owner but also as someone who spreads joy and hope to others. Get ready to have your heart strings pulled (especially all you mommas)! Sydney named her business after her daughter Isabelle (Izzy...

It's Kids Week on Hubventory.com! And to celebrate, today I'm talking Children's with Valerie and Ryan Becker, owners and founders of Wellington Design Co., who recently made the transition from retail to wholesale launching a kids clothing line of Valerie's original designs. It all started with wanting to incorporate her own designs into her online children's boutique. But Valerie's clothing sold...

This week I answer all of your burning questions! You submitted questions, and I do my best to address them all.  This episode is overflowing with information, tips and tricks, so be sure to take notes! I talk about how to handle damaged product and establishing your return policy, implementing creative promotions, how to break into wholesale, growing your business beyond your hometown, rebuilding...

I hope you have a notebook ready for this episode. I have so much information to share with you this week, as well as some dates to mark on your calendars! After a crazy busy week, I am home from Nashville Market and want to share what I took away from the trip. While in Nashville, The Boutique Hub team hosted our biannual event for our Mastermind members. For those of you who aren't familiar, Mas...

Kristyn DeBord Durbin paved her way in the family business as a sales representative and designer for Double J Saddlery — a collection of tack, saddles, bags and other leathergoods handmade in Texas. Now as a new mom of two young girls, Kristyn has gone from wholesale to retail, stepping back from the saddlery company to found June's Pearls, an online boutique of children's clothing, toys, and gif...

Are you looking for inspiration to build your own personal brand and business? Emily McCarthy is a successful entrepreneur who has built an impressive personal brand through her designs in print and apparel. She has a successful eCommerce and brick-and-mortar business combining home, gift, lifestyle, and apparel products, and on top of that, she is also a busy mom! A true inspiration, she joins th...

What is a better way to celebrate a 10-year business anniversary than to burn your whole membership to the ground and re-build it from the ground up? How about launching a brand new dashboard and new tools that will change the boutique game for so many owners? Join me as I chat with Jeff Fenn, a Hub Team Member who's not just known for his terrible Steve Jobs impersonation, but also for the fresh...

Do you struggle with defining success on your own terms? I am so excited to be joined by Laura Horwath, the owner and founder of Ferne Boutique, a clothing store with four locations in the Detroit area of Michigan. Laura has grown her brick-and-mortar stores through effective networking, community engagement, and maximizing Chamber of Commerce opportunities. But beyond business success, Laura is h...

Today I am chatting with an OG member of The Hub and the queen of events Jodi Stevens, owner of Bless Your Heart Boutique! In addition to taking me through the evolution of her storefront and the lessons she's learned along the way, Jodi shares all her event planning tips and tricks, and specifically how she's made Small Business Saturday one of her biggest days of the year. We talk about the prep...

I 'm coming to you from The Boutique Summit in Dallas this week! And I want to give you guys a quick update on how it's all going, as well as share some really exciting news. Along with the education and community, one of my favorite things about Summit is getting to share the latest news and happenings behind-the-scenes at The Boutique Hub. And this year I was thrilled to make a BIG announcement...

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with fears and worries about your business? Well, you're not alone. Many entrepreneurs experience this, especially when it comes to changes in law and regulation. Today, we're thrilled to have Jane Kasper Cochrane back on the podcast. Founder of Glow Group, email marketing expert, boutique owner (and one of our keynote speakers at the recent Boutique...

We have a lot to talk about in this episode! I'm joined by Denise Albright, a creative entrepreneur who founded her first company in 1999 and has had an entrepreneurial mindset since childhood. After taking a break in 2007 to focus on her family, Denise's entrepreneurial spirit was reignited in 2015 when a production delay left thousands of Reminder Binder planners stranded in a warehouse, which p...

This episode is all about the one of my favorite annual Boutique Hub events, The Boutique Summit! I talk about everything that's happening at this year's Boutique Summit and how you can be a part of it, as well as take you behind the scenes in terms of planning. Hopefully you'll hear some helpful tips and tricks for putting on your next event! As the largest conference for boutique owners outside...

Welcome to today's episode! Our guest is Michiko Seto, founder and owner of 11 boutiques in Delaware. Michiko is known for her infectious personality and super smart business savvy, and she's here to talk to us about events, leadership, growth, mindset, hiring, and so much more. Whether you're a brick-and-mortar business or an online boutique, there's something for everyone in this episode. So sit...

You can have the most successful business in the world, but if you're not enjoying it, is it really worth it? One of the topics that I find the most joy in talking about with boutique owners is the topic of mindset because it's one that can yield the biggest results and change in business. In today's episode, I'm excited to be joined by Gretchen Hilley, owner of Rolling Ranch Boutique and OG Bouti...

In this episode, we're tackling one of the most frequently asked questions from growing boutique owners: how do you work with your spouse? To help us answer this question, we've brought in two of our favorite people and an amazing couple, Anthony and Amy Ekren of Inherit Clothing Co. Not only will they share their experiences of working together, but they'll also dive into how they have successful...

I'm thrilled to be back for an all-new season of Boutique Chat, and to kick off Season 5, I'm revisiting some of my favorite episodes of the last year! In this highlight reel you'll hear from Social Sales Girls founder Susan Bradley on digital advertising and metrics, Everyday Chic Boutique owner Karli Harris Pennington on launching collections, Simple Pin Media founder Kate Ahl on the power of Pi...

Welcome to the last episode of the season! Today, I am joined by Sara Burks, our Director of Partnerships and Education and my partner in crime for this podcast episode. We are discussing year-end tips and preparing for 2023, as well as addressing some of the common struggles faced by boutique owners and how to overcome them. Listen in as we dive into what happened in 2022 in the boutique industry...

This time of year is special for so many reasons. It's a wonderful opportunity to spend time with loved ones, and experience the joys of the holidays and it is the perfect time to reflect and plan for the year ahead. In last week's episode, we went over some reflections for 2022. Today, I want to share 3 predictions and takeaways for 2023 as you start to map out your year ahead. Learn More About t...