Boutique Chat The Boutique Hub with Ashley Alderson

Are you racing towards the ‘next big thing’ or finding genuine joy in your journey? Sara Durcholz is the founder and visionary behind JO+CO, and she has an amazing story, from starting her business to expanding to multiple storefronts—and realizing the need for a completely different direction in her life and making the leap to find true fulfillment.
Get comfortable and listen in as Sara shares candidly about her initial venture into the boutique business, diving into the ups and downs of her early days as an entrepreneur. You'll hear why she chose the path of franchising her business, how she learned to balance her ambition with personal fulfillment, the mistakes she made along the way, and how she made the shift to make herself truly happy.
Learn More About the Boutique Hub Here: https://theboutiquehub.com/join/boutique/
Resources:
Jo+Co: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest | TikTok
Bossish Podcast with Sara Durcholz
The Boutique Hub: Facebook | Instagram | Website
Ashley Alderson: Instagram
Boutique Hub Black
The Boutique Hub in Atlanta
The Boutique Hub Membership
Retail Bootcamp
Hubventory.com
 

This is such a special episode with such a special person — Sydney Petersen, founder of Bizzy’s Boutique, Bizzy Izzy’s Wholesale and the Love Izzy Project. 
Sydney truly inspires me, not only as a business owner but also as someone who spreads joy and hope to others. Get ready to have your heart strings pulled (especially all you mommas)!
Sydney named her business after her daughter Isabelle (Izzy) who was born with a rare genetic disorder and, as a result, had a prolonged stay in the NICU. Fortunately from Sydney’s traumatic experience came a beautiful baby girl, a new community of NICU moms and an inspired business idea.
It all started with the Love Izzy Project. Sydney began designing swaddle blankets as a way to give back to other NICU moms and their babies. For every Love Izzy swaddle blanket sold, a swaddle is donated to the Blank Children's NICU.
Her Bizzy-ness grew from there, and now Sydney specializes in all things children’s as a boutique owner and the designer of the Bizzy Izzy's kids line. We talk retail vs. wholesale, social strategy, the value of Facebook Groups, customer avatars, ambassador programs, and photography. But even more importantly, we discuss finding a greater purpose in business, serving others, and building authentic connections and community. 
Grab the tissues along with your notebook this week — hopefully you’ll learn a lot and be inspired!
 
Resources:
Bizzy’s Boutique: Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Website | Love Izzy Project
The Boutique Hub: Facebook | Instagram | Website
Ashley Alderson: Instagram
Summer School
The Boutique Hub Membership
Boutique Hub Black
Retail Bootcamp
Hubventory.com

It’s Kids Week on Hubventory.com! And to celebrate, today I’m talking Children’s with Valerie and Ryan Becker, owners and founders of Wellington Design Co., who recently made the transition from retail to wholesale launching a kids clothing line of Valerie’s original designs.
It all started with wanting to incorporate her own designs into her online children’s boutique. But Valerie's clothing sold so well in her store and on Facebook that in 2020 she went all in on Wellington. Her husband Ryan got on board to help run the wholesale business, and the brand has been growing strong ever since!
I talk to Valerie and Ryan about what it takes to successfully launch a clothing line, the struggles and benefits of working with your spouse, balancing professional and personal goals, metrics, evaluation and putting the right processes in place for consistency and growth.
The Beckers are big on processes, planning and delegation — which is why EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) has been vital to their new business. It's a model we at The Hub Team use too, and I'm telling you, it WORKS. EOS helps you set, measure and ultimately acheive short- and long-term goals. So, take notes!
And be sure to check out Wellington Design Co. on Huventory for special offers this week!
 
Resources:
Wellington Design Co. on Hubventory
EOS Implementor
Traction: Get A Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman (a guide to EOS) 
The Boutique Hub: Facebook | Instagram 
Ashley Alderson: Instagram
The Boutique Hub Membership
Boutique Hub Black
Summer School
Retail Bootcamp
Mastermind
Hubventory.com
 

This week I answer all of your burning questions!
You submitted questions, and I do my best to address them all. This episode is overflowing with information, tips and tricks, so be sure to take notes!
I talk about how to handle damaged product and establishing your return policy, implementing creative promotions, how to break into wholesale, growing your business beyond your hometown, rebuilding your foundation, looking at competitors as allies and so much more. Photography, inventory planning, press coverage, insurance — I cover it all in this installment of Ask Ashley Anything!
Have more questions for me? Hopefully I have answers! Reach out to The Boutique Hub team or to me personally on social media. I would love to hear from you. 
To close out the show, I also share exciting news about Boutique Hub Black, a program to help retailers crush their sales goals – especially if they lack time, aren't fully staffed or are uncertain about their growth strategy. As a Boutique Hub Black member, you’ll gain access to the top boutique growth platform and find out how the best boutiques in the country build rock solid businesses. Learn more about Boutique Hub Black and enroll HERE. 
Learn More About the Boutique Hub Here: https://theboutiquehub.com/join/boutique/
 
Resources:
The Boutique Hub: Facebook | Instagram | Website
Ashley Alderson: Instagram
The Boutique Hub Membership
Boutique Hub Black
Summer School
Retail Bootcamp
Mastermind
Hubventory.com
 
 
 
 
 

I hope you have a notebook ready for this episode. I have so much information to share with you this week, as well as some dates to mark on your calendars!
After a crazy busy week, I am home from Nashville Market and want to share what I took away from the trip. While in Nashville, The Boutique Hub team hosted our biannual event for our Mastermind members. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Mastermind is a program for our highest earning and experienced boutique owners, all of whom have been in the game a while, and twice a year they come together with our team to roundtable and learn from each other’s experiences. Man did we learn a lot! We talked successes, struggles, solutions, we laughed, we cried … we covered it all.
I hope these themes resonate with you and would love to hear your feedback. Drop a note in the comments, reach out to The Boutique Hub team on social media or to me personally on Instagram. We want to hear from you!
Coming up next week, a special Ask Ashley episode! If you have questions, I want to answer them. Submit your questions to The Boutique Hub on social media this week, and you may get a callout in the next show.
Also don’t miss your chance to sign up for Summer School! We are hosting our virtual summer June 5-7 and we are so excited about the curriculum. We will be talking strategically about beating the summer slowdown, digging deep into IA and why are some boutiques struggling while others are accelerating. We will be covering all of the big issues, concerns, trends, strategies and best practices for growing your business. See the show notes for the link to enroll!
Learn More About the Boutique Hub Here: https://theboutiquehub.com/join/boutique/
Resources:
The Boutique Hub: Facebook | Instagram | Website
Ashley Alderson: Instagram
The Boutique Hub Membership
Summer School
Retail Bootcamp
Mastermind
Hubventory.com
 

Kristyn DeBord Durbin paved her way in the family business as a sales representative and designer for Double J Saddlery — a collection of tack, saddles, bags and other leathergoods handmade in Texas. Now as a new mom of two young girls, Kristyn has gone from wholesale to retail, stepping back from the saddlery company to found June’s Pearls, an online boutique of children’s clothing, toys, and gifts. She joins the show today to share her story, her history, and the lessons she has learned along the way.
Listen in as Kristyn shares how Double J Saddlery has evolved since it was founded in 1991 and how she has played a pivotal role in driving the fashion side of the business with the curation of the Vestige by Double J jewelry line. We also discuss how Double J has built a brand that has stood the test of time and become a staple in the Western industry, and what non-Western brands can learn from their Western counterparts. We get into so much in this episode, so get comfortable and get ready to be inspired!
Learn More About the Boutique Hub Here: https://theboutiquehub.com/join/boutique/
Resources:
Double J Saddlery
June’s Pearls
Boutique Boss Store