Boutique Chat

Every Friday I'm re-releasing one of my favorite episodes from seasons past to revisit my conversations with early guests and the business advice and practices they share! Up this week is my Season 1 conversation with fashion buyer Jacqueline Holmes.  Buying smarter means understanding your product lifecycle and getting the best quality and pricing for what you're bringing in. Going to LA on a reg...

We can all feel like a hamster on a wheel at times, and as we enter the fourth quarter, it's not only important to be ready for the busy holiday season but also take time to plan ahead for 2024 so that you can start the new year off strong — assessing business practices, refining operations and implementing new strategies to help scale and grow your business. I am constantly driving home strategie...

Every Friday I'm re-releasing one of my favorite episodes from seasons past to revisit my conversations with early guests and the business advice and practices they share!   Up this week is my second ever episode with my dear friend Laura Benson, who founded and grew Filly Flair Boutique into a huge online retailer with national reach through strategic digital marketing and social media. How do yo...

Every great story has the opportunity to not only help you build relationships and authenticity but also to sell your products. Which is why I am so excited to welcome Storytelling for Entrepreneurs founder Lyn Graft to the show to talk about how you can use story to help grow your business.  A serial entrepreneur and video producer, Lyn has worked with hundreds big brands, events and some of the...

Every Friday I'm re-releasing one of my favorite episodes from seasons past to revisit my conversations with early guests and the business advice and practices they share!   Up this week is a Season 1 Solo intended to help you prep for the holidays and boost fourth quarter sales. Do you know where Black Friday got its name? Well traditionally, retailers were in the red financially all year, but wh...

It's not often that I have local guests on the podcast, but today I'm so excited to welcome my friend Anna Ledebuhr, the owner and founder of one of my personal favorite boutiques, Coulee Boutique in Galesville, Wisconsin. Five years ago, Anna took a big leap, leaving teaching for entrepreneurship, and since she's built her business from a Shopify site and pop-ups to a 3,500-square-foot brick-and-...

Now every Friday, I'm re-releasing one of my favorite episodes from seasons past to revisit my conversations with early guests and the business advice and practices they share!   Up this week is Pinterest marketing expert Kate Ahl of Simple Pin Media.  Pinterest isn't for short-term strategy, it's for dreamers. Dreaming what outfit they'll wear to the rehearsal dinner at their wedding, what house...

I am so excited to be joined this week by my friend Amy DeFauw, who is a multi-state multi-storeowner and has a wealth of experience as the CEO of Katsch Boutique.  Today we're talking all about retail art vs retail science — retail art being the love of the product, customers and marketing as opposed to retail science, i.e. the numbers, inventory management, financing and metrics. And we dive int...

Now every Friday, I'm re-releasing one of my favorite episodes from seasons past to revisit the stories of our early guests and the business advice and practices they share! This week I chose a Season 1 episode that answers one of the questions I most often get asked: What tips would you offer a brand-new boutique owner? Let's cut through the noise of those Google and YouTube searches and get down...

This week marks another big celebration for us at The Hub — the first anniversary of Hubventory!  For those of you who aren't familiar with it already, Hubventory is our very own wholesale marketplace, built by The Boutique Hub for the boutique industry. In developing HV, our team spent months and months getting feedback from both boutique owners and wholesalers to create a true grass-roots platfo...

This is a super personal episode for me. This week as we wrap up our 10 th Anniversary Series, I wanted to chat about not only the origins and evolution of The Hub but also my journey as an entrepreneur, and I'm sharing a story that I haven't shared until recently or with many people.  I learned some huge lessons early on about imposter syndrome and finding strength in adversity. I put my trust in...

Ang Castelli is another boutique owner celebrating a 10th anniversary this year. She's also a longtime Hub member and her boutique is unlike any other at The Hub — it caters exclusively to boys and boy moms! When pregnant with her first son back in 2010 and trying to prep his closet, Ang thought, "Why are there no clothes for little boys and why are the children's clothing stores so dominated by g...

You're most likely familiar with CommentSold, but you may not know what the platform's been up to lately with new CEO + tech executive and investor Gautam Goswami at the wheel. And it's A LOT. Gautam (GG) talks about the transformational changes he's implemented since joining the executive team, as well as what's coming up next at CommentSold — including a new multi-source that provides a deeper l...

I'm joined for another edition of our special 10 Year Anniversary Series by Megan Randig, the co-owner of Mezoozah Boutique and an early adopter of The Boutique Hub! Since buying the business with her mom 10 years ago, Megan has expanded Mezoozah from a home and gift brand to a comprehensive boutique — selling everything from décor and gifts to apparel and accessories to kids, both in-store and on...

This week I want to talk not only about fourth quarter goals and planning but also our fourth annual Pink Friday! Pink Friday is a day in November to celebrate small businesses — what it means to be a small business owner, shopping small first, and community over competition. Since founding Pink Friday, we've seen small businesses around the world recognize this special day. Last year 38 boutiques...

Are you curious about what it takes to build a "mega boutique"? In today's episode, I'm excited to bring you a conversation with Leslie Hall, the founder of The ZigZag Stripe. Leslie's brand is a shining example of the term "mega boutique," a concept that's been buzzing in our industry for some time, and this is one business story that I have loved to watch over the years. Listen as we dive deep i...

Are you ready to learn from a boutique owner who has navigated the evolution of her business with grace and tenacity? Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to Lindsay Heyneman, the founder and owner of Lettie Boutique. As part of our 10-year anniversary series, Lindsay brings her wealth of experience and genuine positivity to the podcast, offering amazing insights for both new and seasoned boutique...

Get ready for an important conversation that no apparel boutique owner who carries extended and plus sizes will want to miss. Our guest today is Jessica Throneburg, the founder and COO of Little Details Boutique. Not only is she a long-time friend of mine, but she's also a valued member of The Boutique Hub community, and she joins the show today to share the highs and lows of building a fully size...

Today I'm kicking off The Boutique Hub's 10 th Anniversary Series! We at The Hub are celebrating our 10 th anniversary all month long and as part of the celebrations, I'm bringing you a very special 10-episode series on the podcast featuring boutique owners who've also been in business now for 10 years. These industry veterans are joining me for the 10 th Anniversary Series to talk about the good,...

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...