1) What summer trends are you excited about?

Our customer’s greatest feedback has been on the disco cowboy theme! They love the unique cowboy hats and puffed sleeves and are fully embracing the trend. Both moms and daughters! The crocheted and bohemian look is also huge and equally as fun. The customers get so excited about these unique offerings! I order accessories and jewelry from Joia, Judson, and Fame about once a week and in big orders, but they always sell! I love ordering from She & Sky and Blue B for unique pieces for the disco cowboy theme. 

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 completed our anniversary weekend. We brought in different women-owned vendors at various times throughout the weekend. We were busy over multiple days and guests were able to come in and select the time that best fit their busy schedules so that was fun to see! We are talking about having another event this summer where we continue to partner with other businesses in our center. We are going to be partnering with a local cookie company, and a Mexican restaurant where we will have a “Margarita Night” at the boutique. We want to offer unique experiences for our customers and make it fun! 

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

As an owner, I find the best way to stay connected with my customers is to actively work the sales floor. I am out there at least one morning during the week and on Fridays and Saturdays. I’m actively engaging with them on our sales floor and identifying what gaps may exist in our inventory to fill the floor with what the customers need and want. We are very active on social media and provide opportunities for customers to share what they are excited about and what they are looking for. It gives us a chance to gauge if we have enough of what we are seeing the customers getting excited about! We send about 2-3 emails a month to our customers announcing new collections/arrivals/trend alerts! 

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

One thing that I try to do is make sure that I am working with all of my employees at some point every couple of weeks. I am only in the store 3 days a week and I intentionally rotate the employee’s schedules, so that it provides an opportunity for me to work one-on-one with them and provide in-the-moment feedback, find out what their strengths are, and just get to know them better and enjoy conversation! I try to build a personal relationship with them so they know they can openly reach out to me if they need anything. I believe because we have open communication, has benefited our entire team tremendously as it gives the leadership team the opportunity to fine-tune support our employees may need! We also text a lot and keep that line of communication open! 

5) What are some attributes you look for when hiring a stylist/employee for your boutique?

When we do hiring we have developed an interview questionnaire that is situational in nature. We ask them, for example, “Tell me about a time when you encountered a challenge with a coworker, and what you did to handle the situation.” Questions like that on the front end help us get insight into how they handle different scenarios in a work environment. Certain behaviors of past experiences give you insight into how they will handle future situations. The biggest thing that we look for is personality and a positive attitude! Do they have a relatable, positive personality?! If so, all of the rest of the skills can be trained.

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

I started 13 years ago as a part-time Stylist, then to a Manager, then to a Buyer. Then I helped manage and buy for multiple stores and then became a Partner, and now the Owner. Being in the franchise has really helped me learn more about myself and identify what I’m good at. I’ve learned most of the skills I have along the way and working with mentors and Headquarters. I love what I do! I enjoy working with customers. I love the challenge of developing employees and the team dynamic. I love that I get to have creative input in my business but still have support from other owners and the franchise HQ team to provide support and guidance. When I have a challenge, I have never felt alone. During the harder times, I have always had someone there to encourage me and help me become more confident in my abilities to face the next challenge and never give up! There is nothing like a Saturday afternoon buzz with customers and employees and seeing the smiles on the faces of the women who are positively impacted by what we do! I love making women feel seen and heard, and we are about providing that in a fun way through fashion! 

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? 

I would give them two pieces of advice, the first one is to use your resources. Know what they are and use them. The franchise, other owners, your employees, and other business owners in your community! There is so much support and information out there, so lean in! The second thing would be to hold deeply to your “why” behind your journey of being an owner. This will keep you grounded during the challenging moments and give you what you need to push through that challenge! When you get to the other side of that challenge, it is so rewarding! 

7) What are some unique things you do to elevate the environment and shopping experience in your boutique? 

We are always rotating and refreshing our boutique. I train all of my employees on merchandising so that they learn how to style for our customers! We cater primarily to moms and daughters and we help our employees understand what they are looking for so that they can relate to them when they come in! Sometimes restyling something can make it new again!