1) What summer trends are you excited about?

Dresses! All of the events in March, April, and May are huge for us. We have a huge focus on the Kentucky Derby customer and then after the Derby, we shift our focus to Mother’s Day and graduation. Also, every month we highlight wedding guest dresses. Midi’s and maxi’s are huge for my customers! 

2) What events do you have planned for the spring season? Feel free to tell us about anything fun you have planned for summer, too.

We just celebrated our 14-year anniversary during a two-day event.  We sampled slushy drinks that we are now selling in the boutique, and we did a raffle for the “Top of the Month” club which I gleamed from another owner  in during the Dallas conference. We gave out new totes which we offer 20% off every Tuesday if they bring that tote back in. I’ve done it for 10 years. On April 11th we will have a Spring Fling Sale. There is a Puppy Palooza event that involves our entire plaza and about 1200 dogs and a lot of puppy vendors fill our greenspace. We get a huge amount of traffic, so we offer coupons for 20% off for one item and set up on the sidewalk to get people into the store. We also do a Memorial Day weekend sale as well. 

3) How do you stay connected with your customers? How do you communicate with her?

We use Instagram stories frequently, for real-time community updates and save them in our highlights for easy access. We also use texting, if we have a big sale or event. We also use Mailchimp for our loyalty program and try to save email communication for big sales, events, or their birthday coupon. 

4) What is one thing that you do to stay connected and engaged with your employees?

I see my team as a family. We do social outings, we may gather at someone’s house and play games. We use Sling for scheduling (it’s an app) and they work out a lot of scheduling issues themselves. The moms on our team do a great job of taking care of the high school and college-aged girls and the younger girls do a lot of great work with our social media accounts! Everyone has their strengths! 

5) What is your “why” behind being an owner of an Apricot Lane Boutique? 

I love the family atmosphere that the franchise provides and all of the support they give you. I love being able to call another store and bounce ideas and questions off of them including sharing top-producing vendors, brainstorming, and helping each other out. 

6) If you could give a piece of advice to a new owner, maybe someone who is about to open or who has been open less than one year, what would you say?

First and foremost, make sure you have a cash flow statement. Look at your sales column every day. Be aware of your cash flow each day so that you can get a handle on your finances and credit cards. You may not pay yourself for a bit until you get yourself established and have a loyal clientele. But stick with it and be aware!