Loving Retail
Earlier this week someone in my Instagram stories jokingly asked me to come run their store, and I excitedly responded because working in stores is THE BEST! That’s when I got this message from another boutique owner.
“ I wish someone would have told me when I started my boutique all about running a store. I had absolutely no retail experience, and no idea it would be so hard. I like the fashion, the buying, the decorating for new seasons, but I don’t like all the other stuff.
Sometimes I feel like “this is not what I signed up for.” I don’t know anything about managing a staff or selling to people. I feel really awkward about it most of the time and I think that’s wearing off on my employees.
Anyways, I just wanted to ask what exactly you love about working in a store so much, and how can I start to love it too? “
Wow! What a great question! Let me first tell you why I love it and that might help you understand why you don’t.
I didn’t always love retail. At first, it was just a job with a lot of arbitrary rules, and a demanding schedule. My introduction to retail came from a place of not having many employment choices in an economically frustrated town. It took a lot of learning and growing pains for me to really understand it from a business side. I love it now because of my abilities and because I’m good at it, and it’s absolutely possible for you to get there too!
It wasn’t until I worked for a company that really cared to take the time to explain to me why things were important, and wanted to invest in empowering me with autonomy to make the best decisions for my own store that I really grew to love retail for all its quirks and challenges.
Does this mean I love it all the time in every area? No. Does this mean there won’t be hard days that suck? No. That’s just part of life and working with the general public. I don’t want to make it sound like you’ll never have a bad day again. You will have bad days. I can promise you though, that you’ll have a lot fewer of them, but let me tell you my story.
About a year before I started working with the company I mentioned above I had my first ah-ha retail moment, where I got a glimpse of what all this seemingly nonsensical chaos could be. It was like someone lifted the curtain, opened an exclusive door and not only unlocked my potential as a seller and a manager, but it changed my perception of what I thought were stupid rules and demanding requirements.
You’re probably wondering what the hell happened, so let me tell you! I was an assistant manager at a small box women’s apparel store. I was 20 years old and we just got a new store manager. It was clear for me the company didn’t feel I was qualified enough to promote and this new manager was clearly trying to get me to quit so she could hire someone she knew from the outside. It was a busy holiday shopping day and this manager, who again, wanted me to fail or quit, put me in a place where she assumed I’d fail. A place where the work load would be heavy and challenging: the fitting room.
The fitting room (for anyone who doesn’t know) isn’t just a lot of work, but it’s kind of the heart of the shopping experience. So, not only did I clean my little ass off and walk dozens of miles running go-backs, I customer serviced the shit out of those shoppers! The fitting rooms are fun when it’s slow, but can be exhausting and chaotic when it’s busy. I decided to make the best of it and have fun any way I could.
In turn, I opened a record number of store credit cards, I sold a record number of items, and we had a record number of $400 transactions. I was a walking enigmatic coat rack for TEN HOURS that day with pants slung over both shoulders, hangers dangling from my belt loops. I had a blister on the side of my thumb where I hit the button to talk into our headsets. I left my body that day and became the most charismatic air traffic controller on the planet. I was giving near constant updates on who was in each fit, what they had, what I was adding on, how much they were spending, if they had a card, did they want to save 15% today by opening one, what they were specifically shopping for, etc.
Then the weirdest thing happened. Everyone fed off my energy, got their own shit together and started talking back and it was like the holy grail of retail where every cog in the bigger system actually ran according to plan. I could see for the first time how it was supposed to be every day, and I remember thinking “oh wow, I actually have not been living up to my potential.”
I say it all the time: we are happening to the results. It’s easy to sit back and play the blame game. It’s much harder to look at ourselves and say what are we doing, or not doing that is impacting results? How can we change what we’re doing, the decisions we’re making to do better, and be better?
I love a good challenge. Retail is one big puzzle. You have to figure out trends, buy and then sell, and each one of those things requires its own set of “figuring out” in order to be successful. I got lucky and figured it out, but a lot of staff in all sorts of stores today are still left without direction and the necessary knowledge to be successful. I truly enjoy helping them figure it out too.
I love connecting with customers and motivating a team. I’m a natural leader only because I don’t like when things are left up to chance and not structured. I literally HATE guessing or winging it. It leaves too much uncertainty for my comfort level, and my anxiety requires comfort. In order to make sound and informed decisions, we have to be proactive. It’s kind of like studying. You MIGHT still pass the test without it, but is that a gamble you’re willing to take? And if you do pass, is “just skating by” alright with you? Or do you want to do your best work and get the highest score? Of course owning a boutique is much more serious because we’re not talking about some arbitrary test, we’re talking about making enough sales to not only sustain your business but to propel it forward.
In short, I take the day by the balls and I create the day I desire through planning, adjusting, observing, and readjusting. No two days are exactly the same and problem solving is a must-have skill. Does every day go exactly the way I want? No. But I absolutely leave every day knowing I did the absolute best I could, that I was consistent and efficient, and that my customers got the absolute best experience. I know a lot of owners and managers who feel chained to their desks. You cannot be a successful leader in your office. Leadership requires solid and consistent actions, behaviors, and conversations. Leaders must set the example, communicate their expectations clearly and be constantly learning themselves.
Everything I do is intentional. Everything is on purpose. Everything is thoughtful. If something goes wrong it’s my job to fix it.
I really feed off of organization, having a plan, implementing structure because that’s how stores are the most successful long term. Nothing gets the energy flowing like having great conversations with customers who leave with their minds blown, and their expectations totally exceeded, which doesn’t happen if I’m running around frantic, or trapped behind mounds of paperwork.
It takes discipline and dedication to really create a thriving store, but also a desire for FUN! I desire to work smarter instead of harder, to problem solve instead of complain, to facilitate a work environment my staff love, to take action instead of make excuses. It’s fun to be informed, to be prepared, to have the tools, resources and experience to handle any situation. Its fun to create an experience your customers love and a selling strategy that supports your staff’s efforts! It’s fun to reap the fruits of your labor. It’s fun to meet deadlines, to have everything working like clock work. It’s fun to pump up and motivate a staff, to watch them succeed and light up at the good work they’ve done. It’s fun to help customers find multiple items that they feel incredible in. It’s fun to watch the sales go from $100 to $400, to $4,000, to $40,000.
Ultimately, you have to look at what parts of the job you don’t like and ask why? Is it because things are unorganized and needing structure or discipline? Is it because you’re not informed enough and don’t feel confident in your decision making? There’s no rule that says you HAVE to do it all. You can outsource things you don’t love to people who do, you can hire more staff with the experience you lack to take some of the burden and delegate/defer to them. It takes a village.
My final point here is that you’re not going to miraculously walk into your store one day and be in love. It’s going to take change and not just change one day or one week. It’s going to take lots of change, ever evolving change and you’re going to have to be dedicated to it. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, but I didn’t become successful for feeding people bullshit. You can do it, it WILL make you more money, and I’m here when you’re ready.
Visit my SHOP for programs that are open for enrollment right now.