Dress c/o The Retail Therapist | Sunglasses | Purse (Similar) | Shoes | Earrings
How did you get started?
I have answered this question pretty much here and here.
Here is a look into what the first year open was like.
I did a Q & A a while back, so posting that for y’all here.
Would you buy an established boutique or start your own if you had to do it all over again?
I would start my own, ALL over again. You learn and grow SO much through the entire process. Now that I have, I wouldn’t be opposed to buying an established one now.
Do you promote things you truly love or are there some collabs and such you should pass on?
I 100% love every thing I collaborate on or post whether it is why blog or my boutique. For my boutique, I only buy for the store what I would buy for myself and I really think that is why it is successful.
I’ve never seen where you have been to market, so how do you find items for your boutique
I have been to market, quite a few actually, Atlanta and NYC are my favorite. I have built wonderful relationships with my wholesalers there and they keep me updated on new pieces.
Do you use Shopify to run your boutique website?
Yes, I have used Shopify for my online store and storefront since we opened. I love Shopify and their customer service is THE BEST. I used wordpress for my blog.
My family has a 78 year old boutique but doesn’t have a website yet. How do I go about getting one?
78 years?! WOW! Something is working so I am not sure I would go online! BUT if you are, I use SHOPIFY and I LOVE THEM!
Are your pictures taken with your phone? They are always so perfect.
Some are taken with my phone. We also shoot with a Canon 5d Mark IV and the Fuji XF100F, which we just got and I LOVE!
Would you recommend an online only boutique for getting started versus an actual store?
No, there are so many online boutiques popping up these days. It is much harder to grow online these days than it was 4-5 years ago. You could be stuck with the same merchandise all summer long, having to run sales often. You need that storefront in my opinion to get people in…to get the word out.
Do you get your size from the store to try on?
Yes, every Saturday my girls will box up a package from The Retail Therapist and send me one of everything new we got in that week, I will have by Monday and do a try on session on Tuesday for you all then send the pieces I don’t want back to the store.
Does the company you order from send you samples for you to try on for us?
No.
If I am trying on The Retail Therapist pieces, that is pieces I ordered from wholesalers to sell in my store. My girls send me one size small in the new pieces every week.
If it is from other places, all pieces I wear I purchase from boutiques, Nordstrom, Amazon, etc.
How do you run your store long distance?
Make sure you have amazing employees, which I do! If it wasnt for them, there is NO way we would still be in business. They treat TRT as if it were their own and I am FOREVER grateful for them.
Best tip for starting a blog?
Stick with it. Post often. BE YOU.
I started in 2011 and opening my boutique in 2014, my blog suffered a little because I was so focused on making my boutique successful. I wish I would have grown them both at the same time.
How do you get brands to collaborate with you?
I am still trying to figure this out. Right now, I reach out to companies I love. Or companies that I am sharing on my Instagram will reach out to me after they see what I have done with their products.
Do you take a salary? You’ve said in the pasts posts your profit goes back into your boutique…
Yes, I do take a small salary. My brother takes a small salary, and my employees are paid hourly. Other than that, every single dollar goes back into my store. Personal things I purchase are purchased outside of any dollar made from the store.
How do you handle payroll and expenses? Do you pay the bills or have an accountant?
My mom handles all payroll (sometimes my brother does it if she is out of town) but we also have an accountant who looks over everything and handles monthly taxes, yearly taxes, etc.
What is your IG strategy to attract more clients?
Stay true to me and remain personable. I told myself form the beginning if I couldn’t be me on social media I didn’t need to have it. I am real. I experience life. I don’t hide things from you all.
What advice do you have for people wanting to open a small town retail business?
Know not everyone in your town is going to support your business, and that is fine. At first, I was so stressed thinking “my store is the only boutique in town, why would they not shop here…” now, I do not waste a second of my time wondering why they don’t, some people just don’t want to be fashionable…lol, JK, some people just will not support you because no one ever wants better for anyone or to see them succeed, which is really sad but often it is just how a small town is.
Do NOT get me wrong, you will have those customers who you love so much and you work SO hard for, they’re the reason you love what you do. They help you overcome the “why don’t they shop here” mentality really fast. Every single customer that walks through those doors, you treat THE SAME WAY! You never ever know who is going to be your best customer. I live for the 17 year old girl working at Sonic, saving up to come and buy the dress she’s been eyeing in our window for a few weeks on her way to work. Of course the customer who can come in and spend $500+ is always nice, but I was once that 17 year old girl who had no where to shop in town but just wanted to look cute-do it for her!
Also, many people will copy what you’re doing-let them. “Neiman Marcus is not concerned with what K-Mart is doing.”
After obtaining your license what should we do next?
Before obtaining your license, figure out the name you are wanting to use. I wanted TRT to be named Closet Rich, but it is trademarked and already a boutique, therefore I knew if we ever grew, there may be issues. Double check all names, actually triple check!
- Obtain your business license.
- Get a sellers permit
- Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Open a business account
- Business Email
- Business Social Media Accounts
- Depending on where you are located, you may need certain licenses and permits (such as zoning and signage), check with your local government for those details.
- GO TO MARKET
- Set your GRAND OPENING DATE (or you will never open, and do not push it back) #makeithappen
- CELEBRATE, YOU DID IT!!!
Was your store successful from the beginning?
When I opened my store, I had about 13K followers, my store wasn’t successful from the beginning but we were busy. Those followers read my blog and when I launched my boutique website, I just redirected those readers to my boutique.
When owning your own business, do you put money back for retirement?
At this point I will be working until I am 100, lol. I haven’t started putting money back for retirement yet but that is in my 5 year plan, especially now that we have Bo.
How much money should you budget for market the first time?
The first time I purchased merchandise for the store, I bought $13,000 worth of clothes! My budget was $10,000 but I am really bad at sticking to a budget. I can now justify that it was worth it, lol!
What were your startup costs?
I took $15,000 and launched my website May 1, 2014. A week after the launch, I set up at Myrtle Beach Bike Week and made every dollar we invested back and we were able to keep buying merchandise for my online store. I am forever grateful for The Beaver Bar, hehe!
When I opened my storefront, it cost us about $25,000 JUST to upfit my store (it was an old used parts store). We redid the flooring, built walls, built changing rooms, changed all the lights, painted, built shelves, etc. We later added our tanning salon and spent about $20,000 more to do that.
Most of our racks etc. I had picked up when I saw things closing down over the years when I was in college. We still use all of those racks today. I am not sure we will ever not use them, they were the first pieces I was able to buy for the store on my own with my paychecks from places I worked when I was in college.
Biggest pieces of advice for an aspiring business owner?
Don’t give up. Understand there will be more hard times than good for the first few years, but it is so worth it! You also have to understand being your own boss, you can get lazy sometimes…YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THAT!
Do you think you will ever sell the business to work on blogging full time?
No, never.
I am The Retail Therapist, I buy everything for the store, I handle the social media, I handle the website…I couldn’t ever imagine one day getting on www.shopretailtherapist.com and knowing it wasn’t mine anymore…I love blogging, but I LOVE HAVING MY OWN STORE.
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