The Retail Whisperer

This month’s bonus episode is a show – Las Vegas Market & NY Now – recap. Michelle covers it all from showroom set-ups, the stress of being away from her family for an extended period, outfit changes & getting into buyer mode, being part of a podcast panel, participating in an Instagram takeover at NY Now and having an opportunity to meet some of our listeners and podcasts guests in person. Truly an inspiring trip! 

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This week we welcome retail icon, Iris Fuller, as a guest this week. After 20 glorious years of business, Iris Fuller’s glorious store, Fillamento, closed permanently in 2001. Fillamento opened in April 1981 and led the Fillmore District neighborhood renaissance in the San Francisco area as a successful commercial district. Take a listen as Iris talks the early days of Fillamento, taking on samples & consignment and how that evolved into curating the brand & how far-reaching her mentoring influenced so many people, including previous podcast guest, Michael Schultz from Cursive NY. We even have a cameo from Nathan of Nathan & Co., halfway through the interview. So many nuggets of retail history in this interview!

This episode sponsored by Nathan & Co., a lifestyle boutique filled with little treasures, innovative products, and the perfect gift. With two locations in Oakland, CA, each boutique is chic and eye-catching, but never cliché or stuffy. 

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February is often known for being a month dedicated to and all about love. This week we are excited to welcome award winning designer Kimberley Evans, creator of the out the box brands such as Pop Up Weddings by Lovely Weddings and the I Do Box, an inclusive wedding subscription box. Michelle had the pleasure of meeting Kimberley at last year’s Ultimate Product Party event and was so impressed with her presentation and what her products represent, she knew she had to have her as a guest.

Kimberley, a passionate entrepreneur and educator has been a leader in the wedding industry for almost 20 years, and married to the love of her life, Gary, with whom she travels the world.

This episode sponsored by Opentobuy.co, they create RETAIL ROCK STARS and make inventory finance easy!

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Lovely Weddings & Events - Pop Up Weddings
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This week we are thrilled to introduce to you Jane Park of Tokki, a company on a mission to ignite joy through gifting. They combine thoughtful technology with beautiful, reusable designs to make every gift unforgettable.

Michelle & Jane, a consumer tech entrepreneur, delve into family, her father’s incredible story as a young immigrant from Korea, to her building the online first beauty brand Julep, and to ultimately creating Tokki with her friend & tech genius Taylor Hoit.

This week’s episode sponsored by Sales Producers, a progressive business to business company representing Gift, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personal Care, & Kids lines selling to retail stores with a mission to create long lasting, profitable relationships by adding significant value to our Customer, Vendor, and Team partners. For more information, check out our social media or website http://www.salesproducersinc.com/

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A woman with big entrepreneurial dreams and a passion for uplifting other women - we're talking about Amanda Dare, founder + CEO of Woman-Owned Wallet.

Amanda founded WOW to give woman-owned brands a voice and a marketplace in NuLu Neighborhood of Louisville, KY. Now WOW has over 50 woman-owned brands sold in the Feminist Gift Shop! When she opened up the WOW shop in August of 2020, she realized just how many woman-owned shops existed in the neighborhood. She created the NuLu Woman-Owned Walking Tour so that customers could visit + support other amazing woman-owned businesses.

Michelle & Amanda talk all things female from her store to the community she has built, her podcast & everything in between! Amanda is such an authentic badass, inspiration and we are so fortunate she took the time to chat with us. 

This week’s episode is sponsored by FINELINES, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gift, fashion + home lines.

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Nicole Chenault is the founder of the handmade drinkware brand, Fbombs & Booze and a 1:1 coach for Women owned handmade product businesses. Her products are sold on multiple e-commerce platforms for retail and wholesale. Their tumblers can be found in over 150 shops and boutiques internationally.

Michelle & Nicole discuss the unique stress working in retail brings and how she left a job in the retail grocery industry after 17 years that she had been in since she was 16 years old and how that life change led to creating her brand, and more importantly minimizing her daily stress. Nicole is such an inspiration & a real life example of it never being too late to reinvent yourself.

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This episode is a what we like to call a ‘minisode’ with host Michelle Sherrier, giving listeners a quick overview on trends she is currently seeing as she works on setting up the new Stephen Young showroom in Las Vegas, upcoming events she will be a part of that include ‘The Power of Podcasts’ event during Las Vegas Winter Market, the New York Now event in February where Michelle will be doing an 'Instagram Live'. 2023 is starting off with a bang!

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Can you go from crafting at your kitchen table to a multi-million-dollar business?  As CEO, Holly Daniels Christensen has proved – yes!  Using grit and the actual sand beneath her toes, that’s exactly what this entrepreneur has done.

The founder of Dune Jewelry left home at 15 years old, and never looked back. She held a variety of jobs with stints as a zookeeper, pharmacy technician, promotional model, bartender, cellphone, car and cruise salesperson. She also spent 14 successful years as a top agent in Boston’s highly competitive real estate market. 

This unique bootstrap entrepreneur who proved she was unafraid of hard work was voted 2016 Woman-Owned Business of the Year for Massachusetts and New England by the Small Business Association (SBA). In 2018, Inc. magazine honored Dune Jewelry as No. 2590 on its 37th annual Inc. 5000 List which is the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses. Currently, Dune Jewelry is the one-and-only experiential jewelry brand in the world.

Take a listen as Michelle & Holly talk about Holly’s multiple hustles that include running her retail boutiques, giving back to the community and writing a book. She is truly an inspiration and proof that continued hard work and perseverance is a direct path to success.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Sales Producers, a progressive business to business company representing Gift, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personal Care & Kids lines selling to retail stores with a mission to create long lasting, profitable relationships by adding significant value to their Customer, Vendor, and Team partners. For more information, check out their social media or website www.salesproducersinc.com/

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With the new year upon us, what better time to begin managing your inventory more effectively. Larry Hebert is the creator of the OpenToBuy.co, a proprietary inventory management template designed to ensure every retail business manages their purchases effectively through crucial metrics including sales, cost of goods sold, beginning inventory, inventory turns, creating a base inventory and product category management tied to their sales relative to overall revenue generated. This was developed over a seven-year period and has been instrumental in the turnaround and success of retail businesses implementing this into their purchasing strategies.

Bryce Root’s #1 goal is to empower local business owners across the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area regions + beyond. Helping small businesses is at his core since he left the corporate world of global ad agencies, sports marketing groups and large-scale retail & entertainment destinations and he’s been fired up and actively pursuing this mission for 9 plus years via his advocacy, private practice + work with several of the nation's top-performing Small Business Development Centers.

Michelle, Larry & Bryce drill down the benefits of why every retail store should be running reports, managing their inventory and how OpentoBuy can help. At a cost of less than $50, you can't afford not to down! Download this episode and start your journey to becoming a RETAIL ROCKSTAR!

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This week’s episode is a solocast with Michelle giving listeners a 2022 recap, lessons learned, the future of The Retail Whore Podcast which of course includes more Retail Whore Road Trips!

Take a listen as Michelle talks cutting ties with longtime clients and the challenges of trying to reinvent the same theme year after year after year. 

This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gift, fashion + home lines.

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