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In this episode of the Gloria Chou PR Podcast, I sit down with Cathy Wagner—retail industry veteran, founder of RETAILMavens, and host of The Richer Retailer Podcast. With nearly 30 years of experience in independent retail, Cathy has seen it all: running her own brick-and-mortar stores, navigating bankruptcy, and building back stronger to now help small retail businesses scale to 7-figure revenue.
If you’re an independent retailer or product-based business owner struggling to adapt to inflation, tariffs, AI in retail, and shifting consumer behavior, this episode is your wake-up call—and your roadmap to survive and thrive in today’s economy.
Why Retailers Fail (and What the 7-Figure Ones Do Differently)
According to Cathy, retail isn’t dead—but staying stagnant is. The top-performing retail businesses embrace change, silence self-doubt, and make data-driven decisions, not emotional ones. She unpacks the four traits that successful retail founders share:
Real Tactics You Can Use Right Now to Grow Retail Sales
Forget the hype. Cathy breaks down real, proven strategies that help retail store owners boost profits:
AI for Non-Techie Retailers: A Simple Hack That Works
No need to master tech. Cathy shares how small retail business owners can use ChatGPT to gain customer insights from top-performing content. Just copy and paste your best emails or product pages into AI and ask:
This simple AI habit has delivered surprising clarity and results for Cathy’s clients—and it can for you too.
Why Neutrality Is No Longer a Strategy in Retail Branding
You don’t need to be political—but you do need to be personal. Cathy makes a compelling case for ditching generic, faceless branding and embracing authenticity. Whether you’re selling confidence, comfort, or community, your brand story and values should shine through every retail marketing email, event, and conversation.
Final Takeaway
You don’t need to show up everywhere or master every tech tool. What independent retail business owners do need:
✅ A clear brand stance
✅ Consistent and authentic communication
✅ A community-first mindset
✅ Courage to evolve with market changes
Whether you’re struggling to compete or trying to grow a small retail business in a noisy digital world, this episode reminds you: you’re not alone—and the best is still ahead.
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachoupr.com/masterclass.
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262262 ratings
In this episode of the Gloria Chou PR Podcast, I sit down with Cathy Wagner—retail industry veteran, founder of RETAILMavens, and host of The Richer Retailer Podcast. With nearly 30 years of experience in independent retail, Cathy has seen it all: running her own brick-and-mortar stores, navigating bankruptcy, and building back stronger to now help small retail businesses scale to 7-figure revenue.
If you’re an independent retailer or product-based business owner struggling to adapt to inflation, tariffs, AI in retail, and shifting consumer behavior, this episode is your wake-up call—and your roadmap to survive and thrive in today’s economy.
Why Retailers Fail (and What the 7-Figure Ones Do Differently)
According to Cathy, retail isn’t dead—but staying stagnant is. The top-performing retail businesses embrace change, silence self-doubt, and make data-driven decisions, not emotional ones. She unpacks the four traits that successful retail founders share:
Real Tactics You Can Use Right Now to Grow Retail Sales
Forget the hype. Cathy breaks down real, proven strategies that help retail store owners boost profits:
AI for Non-Techie Retailers: A Simple Hack That Works
No need to master tech. Cathy shares how small retail business owners can use ChatGPT to gain customer insights from top-performing content. Just copy and paste your best emails or product pages into AI and ask:
This simple AI habit has delivered surprising clarity and results for Cathy’s clients—and it can for you too.
Why Neutrality Is No Longer a Strategy in Retail Branding
You don’t need to be political—but you do need to be personal. Cathy makes a compelling case for ditching generic, faceless branding and embracing authenticity. Whether you’re selling confidence, comfort, or community, your brand story and values should shine through every retail marketing email, event, and conversation.
Final Takeaway
You don’t need to show up everywhere or master every tech tool. What independent retail business owners do need:
✅ A clear brand stance
✅ Consistent and authentic communication
✅ A community-first mindset
✅ Courage to evolve with market changes
Whether you’re struggling to compete or trying to grow a small retail business in a noisy digital world, this episode reminds you: you’re not alone—and the best is still ahead.
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachoupr.com/masterclass.
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