The Retail Whisperer

Bob Negen is a retail powerhouse, co-founder of WhizBang! Retail Training, and creator of Retail Brilliance, a cutting-edge educational platform for independent retailers. With a storied past as a kite shop owner and over two decades helping retailers master everything from sales to strategy, Bob joins Michelle for a deep, honest, and inspiring conversation.

From weathering tariff chaos to elevating team sales performance, this episode is a must-listen for any retailer navigating today’s unpredictable landscape. With the right mindset, strategic planning, and training, you can not only survive—but thrive.

We are doing our first-ever open call! You can submit your store or favorite store to be on the podcast because every store has a story behind it! Go to theretailwhorepodcast.com, click on SUBMIT YOUR STORE, fill out an easy form and we’ll see you on the mic!

What’s Inside:

• Tariffs and Retail Survival: Bob shares actionable strategies to manage rising tariffs without losing profitability or confidence.
  
  
• Team Sales Training That Delivers: Learn how average ticket size reveals your top performers and how to train a winning sales team.
  
  
• The Power of Retail Brilliance: Explore Bob’s all-in-one training platform for retailers—and a hint at Michelle’s potential merchandising course.
  
  

Mentioned In This Episode:
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
LinkedIn
Whizbang Website
Whizbang Facebook Group

Support the show

Susan and Michelle are back with another action-packed episode of Shelf Talk! In this conversation, they kick things off with a quick catch-up and get into what it’s like working alongside their husbands, including a juicy business conversation about a car wash.

They dive into plans to collaborate with sponsors and grow the community, what’s in store for the upcoming show season, and the impact of tariffs. Susan and Michelle also tackle submitted questions from fellow retailers on signage and sale strategies and display theme ideas between Christmas and Valentine’s Day and between August and September.

Ask Michelle and Susan for Shelf Talk! Michelle and Susan will be co-hosting an episode every month! We’re diving into all things design, display, and merchandising—and we want to hear from you! Got a question? Submit it by going to theretailwhorepodcast.com, clicking on SHELF TALK, and we’ll answer it in an upcoming episode. Let’s talk shop and bring your ideas to life!

What’s Inside:

• The impacts of tariffs on retailers so far
• Ideas to maximize signage and sales strategies
• How to tackle display designs in between peak seasons

Mentioned In This Episode:

[email protected]
Ruepatois.com
Rue Patois on Instagram
MC Design Collaboration on Instagram

Support the show

Steven Henke is the Chief of Brand Marketing at DAP Health.
DAP Health is an advocacy-based community health center in Palm Springs, CA, serving over 88,000 patients. It provides comprehensive medical and mental healthcare, STI testing and treatment, dentistry, pharmacy, and lab services. A wide array of wraparound services enables patients to experience optimal health—these include social services, support groups, alternative therapies, and other wellness offerings. 

DAP opened one of California’s first COVID clinics and hotlines to offer screening, testing, and treatment. DAP is also working to address social determinants of health that are causing negative health outcomes during this pandemic, like food and housing insecurity, joblessness, isolation, and access to ongoing healthcare.

DAP’s sexual health clinic offers STI testing and treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV and HCV testing. DAP has also earned Charity Navigator’s highest rating for the twelfth consecutive year—landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated.

At DAP, Steven plans and implements brand marketing and PR strategies with various stakeholder communities, including businesses, chambers of commerce, volunteers, donors, retail, and media. Steven’s primary areas of focus include visual, written, and digital storytelling on behalf of DAP Health, Revivals Stores, Resource Development events, annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, and capital campaign communications.

Here, Steven shares how DAP’s Revivals Stores serve as a “gateway drug” to life-changing healthcare services. He dives into his career journey from working part-time retail jobs, landing a position at Target Corporate, and eventually making his way to DAP in Palm Springs. Steven also shares details about the annual Revivals After Dark event, how he curates the furniture collection at each store, and the most unique and noteworthy donations.

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy!

What’s Inside: 

• How DAP’s Revivals Stores introduce customers to life-changing healthcare services
• How Steven curates the furniture collections at each Revivals location
• Stories about some of the most unique donations at Revivals

Mentioned In This Episode:
DAP Health on Instagram
DAP Health on Facebook
Revival Stores on Instagram
Revivalsstores.com
Revivals Stores on Facebook
Revivals Stores on YouTube

Support the show

Sara Vaskov has been in the San Luis Obispo retail scene for over two decades. She began working at Hands Gallery 22 years ago and became the owner in 2016, leading the shop through years of growth and evolution. Beyond running a thriving small business, Sara is deeply involved in community advocacy. As a board member of the Downtown SLO Association, she played a key role in lowering parking costs through her work on the Parking and Access Committee.

Sara has also been an active participant in the Economic Development Committee with the Chamber of Commerce. Balancing these responsibilities with full-time business ownership has been both challenging and rewarding, allowing her to help shape the future of her local downtown while continuing to curate a unique shopping experience for her customers.

Bailey Weaver is the store manager and creative director of Hands Gallery. Now in her ninth year at the shop and second year as manager, she has helped Hands Gallery earn the title of Best Gift Shop in SLO County for two years in a running now, as voted by New Times readers. She has also expanded the store’s digital reach, growing its Instagram following to over 4,000 and strengthening its online presence. Bailey oversees merchandising, marketing campaigns, and store displays, ensuring everything reflects the brand’s aesthetic. She also attends trade shows to source new and exciting products.

This past year, she collaborated with fellow business owners to successfully advocate for lower parking costs in downtown SLO, reinforcing her commitment to both retail and community engagement. Bailey discovered The Retail Whore Podcast in her first year as manager, finding inspiration and guidance as she navigated her new role, making this opportunity to be a guest feel truly full circle.

Here, Sara and Bailey share how they went from working in the restaurant industry to becoming a superstar mother-daughter retail team. They dive into how they took over Hands Gallery and transformed it into an award-winning store. Sara and Bailey also share how they split responsibilities, how they tackled SLO’s parking challenges, how they approach merchandising, and how they maintain a work-life balance.

We are doing our first-ever open call! You can submit your store or favorite store to be on the podcast because every store has a story behind it! Go to theretailwhorepodcast.com, click on SUBMIT YOUR STORE, fill out an easy form and we’ll see you on the mic!

 

What’s Inside: 

• How Sara and Bailey turned Hands Gallery into an award-winning retail store
• How the mother-daughter team splits store responsibilities
• Sara and Bailey’s approach to merchandising

Mentioned In This Episode:

Hands Gallery on Instagram
Handsgallery.com

Support the show

Misty Stachel is the founder and owner of 85 Local, a carefully curated boutique that blends locally made goods with unique, high-quality finds from beyond Arizona. With a passion for retail and community, Misty has created a shopping destination where customers can discover one-of-a-kind gifts, stylish apparel, and must-have home accessories—all while supporting small businesses.

At 85 Local, Misty focuses on thoughtful curation and an elevated shopping experience, helping customers find the perfect gift, refresh their wardrobe, or treat themselves to something special. Whether she’s working with vendors to boost their sales, creating eye-catching displays, or hosting engaging store events, Misty is dedicated to making shopping fun, personal, and inspiring.

When she’s not running the store, you’ll find her sourcing the latest trends, fine-tuning merchandising strategies, and, of course, assembling the perfect gift baskets.

In this conversation, Misty shares how she dove headfirst into the world of retail without any experience. She goes into detail on how she fixtured her store, how she brought her vision to life, and lessons learned along the way. Misty also shares her thoughts on loss prevention, how she sources and screens vendors, plans for the upcoming summer season, and much more.

We are doing our first-ever open call! You can submit your store or favorite store to be on the podcast because every store has a story behind it! Go to theretailwhorepodcast.com, click on SUBMIT YOUR STORE, fill out an easy form and we’ll see you on the mic!

What’s Inside: 

• How Misty went from stay-at-home mom to retail store owner
• Misty’s strategies for sourcing and screening vendors
• Misty’s plans for the summer season

Mentioned In This Episode:
85 Local on Instagram
85 Local on Facebook

Support the show

Emma Lewis is the owner of Rare Form and The Twentieth, both based in Chicago. Emma works to digitally restore and reinterpret 100-year-old designs to create unique greeting cards, stationery, and more. Through her work, her goal is to empower and affirm others with a brand that combines vintage images with unapologetic contemporary feminist language and over-the-top messages of affirmation.

The Twentieth is a stationery, gift, and design brand that brings historical maximalism together with 21st-century wit and an unapologetic attitude. The brand brings Art Deco imagery into the 21st century with empowering language and more than a hint of sarcasm. Rare Form offers a variety of Emma’s feminist prints, greeting cards, antiques, and other gifts. There, she uses her nerdy, sarcastic sense of humor to create digital collages that combine vintage photographs of women with empowering, contemporary feminist language.

Sonia McMoran spent more than a decade reporting on interior design and technology trends for publications such as The New York Times, Wired, ReadyMade, and Apartment Therapy. While taking a hiatus from journalism, Sonia realized that what she loved most about her job wasn’t the writing, but
the excitement of uncovering cool products and the people who make them and sharing her discoveries with the world. This was the impetus for Home/Work, an affordable and unique shop for the home and home office that celebrates the best in past and present design.

Sasha Varni was raised in Carmel in a family of retailers - it's in her blood! Sasha worked for her mom's candle store growing up and in college. After a brief stint in Italy, Sasha moved to SF and worked for Sephora and bareMinerals. She then moved to Walnut Creek and after taking maternity leave, she decided to go all-in on opening the gift shop Wish with her mom. Thanks to her amazing customers, Sasha has been able to expand her shop and now ships nationwide through her website. This month, Wish is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. 

In this first all-female retail roundtable, Emma, Sonia, and Sasha join Michelle to dive deep into their stores and recap the last holiday season. They also share how they like to tackle gift shows, strategies to boost special event attendance, and how to deal with crappy customers and social media trolls. The roundtable wraps up with tips to handle returns and run a successful loyalty program.

Cadeau Ami Agency is solely a road rep agency of 10+ associates that handle the states of CA, AZ, HI, and parts of Nevada for many of their 23 or so boutique/gift brands, such as Chive, SF Mercantile, Sock it to Me, French Broad Chocolate, Pomegranate, Calypso Cards, Good Juju, Ryland Peters & Small, Kei & Molly and has been a part of the industry for over 30 years now. 

What’s Inside: 

• A recap of the last holiday season
• How to boost attendance at special events
• Tips for handling crappy customers and returns

Mentioned In This Episode:
Wish Walnut Creek on Facebook
Wish Walnut Creek on Instagram
Wishwalnutcreek.com
Shoprareform.com
Home/Work on Instagram
Home/Work on Facebook
Home/Work on TikTok

Support the show

Susan and Michelle join forces again for another episode of Shelf Talk! Here, they kick things off with a recap of Susan’s recent trip to New Orleans and all the fun shops she explored while there. Next, they share some of their favorite displays found on Instagram and discuss their stand-out design elements and features. 

Susan and Michelle also discuss how you can recreate these displays in your own store, plans for booking upcoming shows, Mother’s Day display details, and more.

Ask Michelle and Susan for Shelf Talk! Michelle and Susan will be co-hosting an episode every month! We’re diving into all things design, display, and merchandising—and we want to hear from you! Got a question? Submit it by going to theretailwhorepodcast.com, clicking on SHELF TALK, and we’ll answer it in an upcoming episode. Let’s talk shop and bring your ideas to life!

What’s Inside: 

• A recap of Susan’s recent trip to New Orleans
• Susan and Michelle’s favorite displays found on Instagram
• Plans for upcoming shows

Mentioned In This Episode:

[email protected]
Ruepatois.com
Rue Patois on Instagram
MC Design Collaboration on Instagram

Support the show

Gloria Chou is an award-winning PR strategist and host of the top-rated Small Business PR Podcast. Known for her untraditional yet proven approach to PR which makes visibility and access to media accessible for anyone, Gloria helps BIPOC and female founders get featured organically in top-tier media without needing PR connections or a large following. experience through her signature CPR Pitching Method. 

Gloria’s strategies have earned small businesses in nearly every industry niche over a billion organic views and features in outlets like the New York Times, Oprah’s Favorite Things, Vogue, and Forbes without any pay-to-play. A former U.S. Diplomat turned small business advocate, Gloria has been on 100 podcasts and was named "Pitch Writing Expert of the Year" in 2021 as part of the Influential Businesswomen Awards and a Forbes Next 1000 honoree.

In this conversation, Gloria dives into how she got into the world of PR and how she offers a fresh, alternative perspective to today’s “bro marketing” strategies. She shares why it’s important to use your voice to attract your ideal audience and the impact of generational trauma on business and life. Gloria also shares tips for making spaces more inclusive, her experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy, and advice for successful product pitching.

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! 

What’s Inside: 

• How Gloria brings a fresh, new perspective to the world of PR
• Tips on how to make spaces more inclusive
• Advice for successful product pitches

Mentioned In This Episode:
GloriaChouPR.com
Gloria Chou PR on X
Gloria Chou PR on Instagram
GetFeaturedNow.com

Support the show

Marrin Costello is an American businesswoman, designer, and brand architect. Her career as a creative began at age seven, after receiving a bead kit for Christmas. Selling her creations at local San Francisco Bay Area craft fairs and local boutique retailers while in grammar school, Costello's love for both business and fashion was realized at a very young age.

Less than a decade later, a childhood hobby has transformed into a global luxury lifestyle brand — with jewelry at its core. While studying at the University of California, Los Angeles, Costello's collection was featured on American Idol — and a business was born. Marrin Costello’s collections have since been
featured in Vogue, Huffington Post, In Style, and US Weekly — and she has personally been recognized as a lifestyle influencer, style icon, and tastemaker.

Here, Marrin walks us through her journey from making jewelry as a hobby to a career in fashion show event production and coming full circle as the owner of a successful jewelry brand. She shares how her life changed after hurricanes Helene and Milton, lessons she learned, and how she bounced back. Marrin also shares how she finds a work/life balance, how her faith helps her through obstacles, and top trending designs for her brand. 

For 20% off a purchase from Marrin’s website, use discount code TRW20 or head directly to this link! https://marrincostellojewelry.com/discount/TRW20

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy!

What’s Inside: 

• Marrin’s journey from making jewelry as a hobby to owning a successful brand
• How Marrin bounced back after devastating hurricanes
• Top trending designs for Marrin’s brand

Mentioned In This Episode:
Marrin Costello Jewelry
Get 20% off with code TRW20
[email protected]
Marrin Costello Jewelry on Instagram
Marrin Costello Jewelry on Facebook

Support the show

Caroline Weaver is an obsessive shopper, former specialty shop owner, and creator of The Locavore Guide. During her years as a shopkeeper, she yearned for a resource to help others understand what it actually means to "shop small" and to share information about why it’s better for everyone. 

In a world of algorithms and convenience, most of us have lost touch with the ways in which shopping acts as a gateway for community building. Caroline spent a year walking hundreds of miles through every borough of New York City to get a grip on what’s out there and where to find it and to learn about how the small business economy works on a bigger scale. 

Through her research, Caroline discovered that NYC really does have it all. The Locavore Guide is here not only for locating that thing you need to buy but also to help you learn how to use your regular errands as a reason to get out and engage with your surroundings and visit neighborhoods you’ve yet to explore. Join Caroline in seeing the city through the lens of a Locavore!

Here, Caroline shares her journey from running a specialty pencil store in her early 20s to developing the amazing directory that is The Locavore Guide. She dives into all the lessons she learned as a young retail shop owner and why she’s passionate about keeping the pulse on independent retail. Caroline also shares her bicycle-powered sourcing strategy, how she tackled the holiday season, how she decides what goes on sale, and her take on tariffs.

PS -Don’t forget to take Caroline’s Shop Survey (linked below)!

We are doing our first ever open call! You can submit your store or favorite store to be on the podcast because every store has a story behind it! Go to theretailwhorepodcast.com, click on SUBMIT YOUR STORE, fill out an easy form and we’ll see you on the mic! 

What’s Inside: 

• Caroline’s journey from shop owner to developing The Locavore Guide
• Why Caroline’s passionate about taking the temperature of independent retail
• Caroline’s take on tariffs

Mentioned In This Episode:

The Locavore Website
Caroline Weaver on Instagram
The Locavore on Instagram
The Locavore on TikTok
The Shop Survey

Support the show