What’s the secret to growing a successful business while staying true to your roots? Join me as I chat with Kimmy Almon, founder of Kimmy’s Boutique, about her journey from side hustler to boutique owner. Starting in 2014 with online and pop-up shops—while juggling a full-time teaching career—Kimmy took a bold leap into brick-and-mortar retail. With deep ties to Waxahachie and Galveston, she reveals how her community connections and personal values fueled an unexpected yet rewarding expansion. 

Resources: 

·       Kimmy Almon: Website | Facebook | Instagram 

·       Boutique Summit 2025  

·       Retail Bootcamp  

·       2025 Boutique Boss Planner   

·       Join The Boutique Hub   

·       Ashley Alderson: Instagram   

·       The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube 

In today’s episode, Sara Burks, Director of Education at The Boutique Hub, breaks down one of the most important concepts every boutique owner must understand: Wholesale buying isn’t shopping — it’s investing. Buying inventory is about making smart, intentional decisions to meet your customers’ needs and create profit, not just picking what you personally like. Sara walks through six essential tips to help you buy wholesale with confidence and strategy.

Key Takeaways:

• Wholesale Buying = Investing: It's not about filling your cart with cute things — it’s about solving your customers’ problems and maximizing your return on investment.

• Tip 1: Know Your Customer You’re not buying for yourself — you're investing for them. Conduct customer interviews to find out their true needs, fit preferences, colors they love, and the problems they need solved.

• Tip 2: Understand Your Buying Options Explore both online marketplaces (like Hubventory, Faire, FashionGo, LA Showroom) and in-person markets (Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, LA, Las Vegas, New York). In-person shopping sparks creativity and allows you to touch, feel, and truly experience products.

• Tip 3: Learn Vendor Sizing Vendor sizing can vary dramatically. Knowing how different vendors size their items ensures a better experience for your customers and fewer returns.

• Tip 4: Understand Prepacks Most wholesalers sell items in prepacks (e.g., 2 smalls, 2 mediums, 2 larges). Choose vendors whose prepack options align with the sizes your customers actually need.

• Tip 5: Be Aware of Minimums Every vendor has minimum order requirements — in dollars or quantity. Be smart: don’t bust your budget for a single sweater you love if it doesn’t make sense for your store overall.

• Tip 6: Price With Profit in Mind Always decide what your customer would pay before you look at the wholesale price. Avoid limiting your potential profit by focusing too soon on wholesale costs.

Biggest Tip: Don’t trap yourself in a pricing bubble. Think like an investor first: What will your customer happily pay, and does the wholesale cost give you the profit margin you need?

Shop Wholesale on Hubventory

Join The Boutique Hub Community 

What does it take to turn a small astrology bookstore into a thriving retail destination? Joining the show today is Denise Welling, owner of Body Mind & Soul in Houston, who shares how she did just that. Offering insights on adapting to market trends and evolving consumer interests, Denise discusses how cultural shifts have influenced retail success and how she has created a holistic customer experience that fosters community engagement and long-term business growth.

Resources: 

• Denise Welling: Website | Facebook 

• Boutique Summit 2025  

• Retail Bootcamp  

• 2025 Boutique Boss Planner   

• Join The Boutique Hub   

• Ashley Alderson: Instagram   

• The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube 

Do your in-store displays actually help you sell more? Or are they just taking up space?

In this Five Minute Friday guest episode with JR Visual, they're diving into the exact visual merchandising strategies you need to create beautiful, high-converting displays in your boutique. Whether you’re struggling to style mannequins, organize product flow, or just make your store look cohesive, this episode gives you clear, actionable advice that will help boost your sales and elevate your customer experience.

Visual merchandising doesn’t have to be overwhelming and you don’t need a design degree to get it right. Tune in as Joelle from JR Visual Design breaks down her top 3 methods: color blocking, outfitting, and styling. You'll walk away with a plan you can implement this week.

JR Visual: Instagram

https://www.jrvisualdesign.com/ 

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Join The Boutique Hub Community

What does it take to become an entrepreneurial powerhouse in the retail world? Tony Chinn, a seasoned retail expert, joins us today to share his incredible journey from starting as a greeter at Guess to launching his own successful entrepreneurial venture. With experience at iconic brands like BB, Kitson, Forever 21, Agassi, and Akira, Tony's story is a testament to the power of intention and vision boards when it comes to achieving lasting success. Listen in to hear practical advice for retailers and insights into maximizing retail success.

Resources:

• Tony Chinn: Website | Instagram
• Boutique Summit 2025 
• Retail Bootcamp 
• 2025 Boutique Boss Planner  
• Join The Boutique Hub  
• Ashley Alderson: Instagram  
• The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube 

In this episode, Emily from Supermoon dives into the key strategies for delivering exceptional customer service. With insights gathered from interviewing hundreds of support agents, she shares three game-changing ways to streamline support, reduce friction for customers, and leverage AI to improve efficiency. Whether you're a small business owner, a customer support professional, or just looking for ways to enhance your customer experience, these tips will help you provide faster, smarter, and more effective support.

Make Information Easily Accessible

• Don’t make customers search for crucial details like contact info or FAQs.
• Display key information in multiple places: website footer, homepage, emails, and social media.
• Reduce frustration by proactively answering common questions.

Use a Shared Inbox for Better Efficiency

• If you receive a high volume of customer inquiries, centralizing them in one place saves time.
• Shared inbox tools allow for better team collaboration and quicker response times.
• Keeping all messages organized improves workflow and ensures no customer is left waiting.

Leverage AI to Enhance Customer Support

• AI can assist with repetitive tasks like rephrasing emails, tagging messages, and automating responses.
• Even if you don’t use a chatbot, AI can help behind the scenes with workflow automation.
• Implement AI tools to improve response speed and allow your team to focus on more personalized interactions.

🔹 Supermoon – Customer Support Platform

Want more? Join the Boutique Hub: https://tbhub.co/podcastjoin 

From feeling out of place as a young girl to becoming a beacon of inspiration for women nationwide, DeAnna Maynard-Goodman (also known as “FabD”) has embarked on a journey that’s nothing short of extraordinary. Today, she joins the show to share how her experiences in the beauty industry shaped her path and inspired her to launch a boutique with just a modest $300 investment. DeAnna also opens up about navigating her career through the challenges of COVID-19 and reveals how focusing on meeting her community’s needs became the key to both fulfillment and success.

Resources:

• DeAnna Maynard-Goodman: Website | Facebook | Instagram
• Boutique Summit 2025 
• Retail Bootcamp 
• 2025 Boutique Boss Planner  
• Join The Boutique Hub  
• Ashley Alderson: Instagram  
• The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube 

This week, Morgan Ramage and Alejandra Trombetta from the Atlanta markets’ fashion and events team join us to share trends for the upcoming season across apparel, gift, and home collections, and provide a few highlights for top events at the crossover buying event happening in Atlanta, April 1-4.

Resources:

About April Buying Week: https://www.americasmart.com/aprilbuyingweek

A/W ’25 Apparel Trend Report: https://www.atlanta-apparel.com/The-Best-Of/Trends

Details for all upcoming Atlanta markets: https://www.americasmart.com/Markets/Market-Dates-and-Hours

Boutique Hub Members SAVE big at Market. Not a Member? Join Here: https://tbhub.co/podcastjoin 

Want to save money, save time, be better at content creation, and be a better boss? Who doesn’t? Today, I’m joined by my friend Kinsey Soderberg, owner of Feel Good Social and Authentic AI, and we’re digging into all the different ways you can use AI to make your life easier. She sheds light on how she has been working to find a healthy balance with using AI tools that allows for better productivity without sacrificing quality or authenticity.

Resources:

• Kinsey Soderberg: Feel Good Social | Authentic AI
• Brand Blueprint
• Reels Prompt Playbook
• AI Powered Reels Club
• Boutique Summit 2025 
• Retail Bootcamp 
• 2025 Boutique Boss Planner  
• Join The Boutique Hub  
• Ashley Alderson: Instagram  
• The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube 

Struggling with excess inventory that just won’t move? You’re not alone. In today’s episode, we're diving into one of the most common challenges retailers face: what to do with all that unsold inventory—and, more importantly, how to stop it from happening again.

Here’s the truth: it's not always about running another sale or marking things down (though we'll cover that too). Often, the biggest problem with excess inventory starts long before the markdowns... and it's all about how much attention and strategy you're giving each piece.

• Why excess inventory builds up in the first place (spoiler: it’s not just overbuying)
• How to give your products the love they need to actually sell
• Creative ways to clear out old inventory fast, including bundle sales, ladder sales, and more
• Why early markdowns are better than desperate discounting
• How to treat your inventory like cash
• The importance of knowing your numbers - inventory age, demand, and seasonality
• How your online visibility is directly tied to moving inventory
• Why checking your Hub dashboard and scorecard can make all the difference

• Don’t just clear excess inventory - learn from it.
• Take action on old products quickly: refresh photos, promote, and get eyes on it.
• Cash flow matters more than holding onto items that aren’t moving.
• Check your Google visibility and analytics to keep traffic flowing to your site or store.

Log into your Boutique Hub dashboard to check your analytics, scorecard, and get actionable insights to boost your visibility and traffic.

Not a Member? Join Here: https://tbhub.co/podcastjoin