Shownotes
Opening A Retail Shop
In this episode, you'll hear about ...- Why it's okay NOT to know everything before you start.
- What to look for in a location for your business.
- The advantages of retail vs. online shopping.
- How to capture the customers’ interest.
- Why it's so important to be present at the store.
- The secret to knowing what your customers want.
- Building a team.
- Plus so much more!
Tune in now to hear how Yes! You Can Be Successful Opening a Retail Shop Today!
Jessie's Contact Links
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Gift is unwrapped guest episode number 408.
Speaker:If life gives you lemons,
Speaker:then just make brownies you silly goose.
Speaker:Attention gifters begs,
Speaker:crafters and makers.
Speaker:Pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one
Speaker:now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is Gift Biz Unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host Gift Biz gal Sue Moon Height.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue.
Speaker:Thanks for joining me here today and I'm so glad you
Speaker:did because I've got a great show coming your way.
Speaker:As you've already gathered from the title,
Speaker:it's about retail not too many years back.
Speaker:This was the obvious way to approach a business if you
Speaker:wanted to sell directly to consumers.
Speaker:Then came the whole web and along with its social media
Speaker:and everything changed.
Speaker:We all naturally gravitated to the bright new shiny object everyone
Speaker:was talking about.
Speaker:Retailers saw the web as a threat and others saw it
Speaker:as an opportunity.
Speaker:I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle because obviously
Speaker:e-commerce has had a huge effect on our lives,
Speaker:but it's not true that it's completely replaced the personal selling
Speaker:experience. Retail is not dead.
Speaker:Instead, a new version of retail has emerged as a combination
Speaker:of the best of both.
Speaker:Even the big guys are dipping their toes into the retail
Speaker:pool as evidenced by Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods and the
Speaker:presence of return desks in Kohl's.
Speaker:At the smaller boutique level,
Speaker:retail is still an option.
Speaker:If your heart is set on that,
Speaker:the dream is not lost.
Speaker:Today you'll hear from Jesse,
Speaker:a very successful owner of three shops.
Speaker:She shares how she started scrappy and took advantage of the
Speaker:growth opportunities that presented themselves.
Speaker:You'll also learn about the behind the scenes things a store
Speaker:owner faces and how e-commerce fits into Jesse's overall plan.
Speaker:If you've ever thought about opening a bakery or a retail
Speaker:store, this one's for you Today.
Speaker:I cannot wait to introduce you to Jesse Williams,
Speaker:the founder of Edge of Urge,
Speaker:which specializes in the success and discovery of emerging designers offering
Speaker:a valuable retail space to other local designers.
Speaker:Her business model has acted as a launchpad for like-minded risk-taking,
Speaker:passionate designers,
Speaker:creators, and artists since 2002.
Speaker:And that's not all.
Speaker:Jesse is also the founder of Unlikely Professionals.
Speaker:Just like edge of urge,
Speaker:unlikely professionals is built on the mantra of making something from
Speaker:nothing. This space speaks to anyone who believes in their vision
Speaker:and allows them to stand proud no matter what the profession
Speaker:think. Unisex general store vibes with apparel,
Speaker:craft beer and natural wines.
Speaker:Jessie's a mom,
Speaker:designer and mentor and she describes herself as a dreamer and
Speaker:tenderhearted. Jessie,
Speaker:welcome to the Gift Biz Unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:There are so many fun,
Speaker:good words in that intro.
Speaker:I can't wait to go and get under all of that.
Speaker:But before we do,
Speaker:I always like to start in a way that's a little
Speaker:different and that is to have you describe yourself through a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to create a candle that resonated completely
Speaker:with you,
Speaker:tell us what it would look like with a color or
Speaker:some type of quote or mantra.
Speaker:Okay. So I absolutely love candles.
Speaker:We sell so many of them in the store and there's
Speaker:so many different,
Speaker:like the packaging and the presentation and the scent profiles.
Speaker:They're all over the place.
Speaker:I'm just gonna tell you a little story so I can
Speaker:get you to where I'm going with my motivational candle.
Speaker:One of my favorite brands that we carry in store,
Speaker:the first shipment that we received,
Speaker:everything like one of the boxes,
Speaker:like 48 candles came like all of 'em were completely shattered.
Speaker:Oh, a train wreck.
Speaker:Like it was just like broken glass everywhere.
Speaker:And I was just thinking like,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:these people hand poured all of these candles and they arrived
Speaker:completely shattered and it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it was like thousands of dollars that were essentially could have
Speaker:been wasted.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:I cannot throw these away.
Speaker:So they sent replacements.
Speaker:I held onto that box and I ordered some,
Speaker:I usually ordered testers to burn in the store.
Speaker:And once I burned through one of the first testers I
Speaker:was like,
Speaker:I'm going back into that box.
Speaker:And I took a hammer and I started like chiseling away
Speaker:the glass on like just one of the 48 broken candles.
Speaker:And I finally got it out and put it in the
Speaker:vessel of the burnt tester that had like block marks.
Speaker:It wasn't a beautiful looking anymore.
Speaker:And I put it in there and I lit it and
Speaker:it was just so rewarding and it,
Speaker:it smelled so good and it was so warm and comforting.
Speaker:So I think if I were a motivational candle I would
Speaker:be probably one put in a recycled jar or vessel of
Speaker:some sort.
Speaker:And maybe a quote on it would be,
Speaker:if life gives you lemons then just make brownies.
Speaker:You silly goose.
Speaker:Oh I was not expecting that you caught me off guard
Speaker:cause I thought you were gonna go with the general one,
Speaker:right, the general cook.
Speaker:Yeah, Right.
Speaker:Look and make something different and find joy out of something
Speaker:different. Which totally speaks to everything you stand for obviously.
Speaker:Yeah, I think I saved like almost all 48.
Speaker:There were a few where the WIC wick,
Speaker:like I couldn't get it off the bottom of the glass
Speaker:without like cutting my hands.
Speaker:They were so out all of them we burned just about
Speaker:every single one of them.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:scent is very nostalgic.
Speaker:You can smell something,
Speaker:I'll take you right back to a time and place.
Speaker:So that particular brand,
Speaker:most of them are very warm and earthy sense.
Speaker:That's what I would be.
Speaker:Did you ever go back and tell them what you did
Speaker:with all the damaged product?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I didn't but I probably should.
Speaker:We worked together now for gosh a bazillion years and every
Speaker:now and then like they've changed their shipping model thank goodness.
Speaker:And we rarely get a broken one these days.
Speaker:That's good.
Speaker:I just thought of like how many hours they spent making
Speaker:each one and it's like I can't waste this.
Speaker:I know that's heartbreaking.
Speaker:Plus all the time in labor and then all the cost
Speaker:for all the vessels and everything.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:But these things happen,
Speaker:right? They do.
Speaker:There are always things that come up and we deal with
Speaker:them and we move on.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Okay. Tell me about how you got started and this vision
Speaker:for the stores that you have.
Speaker:I just finished school in Chicago.
Speaker:I went to Art Institute of Chicago and I had picked
Speaker:up knitting again and I was working in a record store
Speaker:and I had been knitting these little scarves.
Speaker:I used to ride my bike to school and work.
Speaker:It was in Chicago so windy and my scarf would blow
Speaker:off and I was like this is ridiculous.
Speaker:So I knitted some shorter scars with buttons and it was
Speaker:perfect cuz it would stay on and giving them away to
Speaker:friends. And then I started selling them and then I was
Speaker:like maybe I could get them into some stores and had
Speaker:my cute little suitcase and walked around and just like,
Speaker:no, knowing what I know now,
Speaker:I went about it like the complete wrong way but no
Speaker:bites cuz it was everything was handmade and at the time,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:most of the places they wanted something that would be uniform
Speaker:and you know they could again,
Speaker:again the same.
Speaker:And then my mom,
Speaker:I was talking to her on the phone one night,
Speaker:she was like,
Speaker:would you open your own store?
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:that is absolutely insane.
Speaker:What do I know about any of that?
Speaker:But fast forward,
Speaker:I went to visit her in Wilmington for a weekend.
Speaker:She was like,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:I found this little space just come and check it out.
Speaker:So I bought a plane ticket and something in me was
Speaker:like why not?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I'm just,
Speaker:I'm working on this record.
Speaker:So I finished school,
Speaker:I don't really know what I'm doing and I just packed
Speaker:up all my stuff,
Speaker:signed the lease and moved into this 400 square foot space
Speaker:that was actually the storage room of this open air market.
Speaker:Oh wow.
Speaker:It was very cute.
Speaker:Like I can see through the trash,
Speaker:you know like the floor was like,
Speaker:it was at an angle and I,
Speaker:I learned how to like build a platform and lay tile.
Speaker:I made this cute little store and when I was leaving
Speaker:Chicago I asked some of my friends like,
Speaker:Hey you make these beautiful necklaces or you make these funny
Speaker:cards or you make these hats like can I take some
Speaker:of your stuff and when I sell it I'll send you
Speaker:a check,
Speaker:I'll pay you for it.
Speaker:And they're like,
Speaker:some of them said no,
Speaker:but most of them said yes.
Speaker:And so I opened my store with their things and then
Speaker:the things that I knitted through getting open and yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. I love your story so much.
Speaker:So first off,
Speaker:we haven't talked about this but I'm in Chicago right now.
Speaker:Oh okay.
Speaker:Yeah I'm in Highland Park so I'm like 20 miles up
Speaker:the water from Chicago.
Speaker:Yeah. So I totally get what you mean about needing a
Speaker:scarf that buttoned and the wind and all of that for
Speaker:sure. But you talk about a good example right off the
Speaker:bat here,
Speaker:which is you didn't necessarily know what you're doing and you
Speaker:say you were doing all the wrong things.
Speaker:What do you mean by that?
Speaker:I mean like now that I know like any business that
Speaker:is like a retail,
Speaker:if they're busy,
Speaker:the buyers are busy,
Speaker:they don't have time for a walk in or to come
Speaker:in and bring your stuff.
Speaker:I called and made appointments and then they didn't show up.
Speaker:So part of it was like not knowing how the system
Speaker:worked to get a foot in.
Speaker:And then I did get a few appointments and they were
Speaker:like, these are great but I need them to be manufactured
Speaker:cause I need consistency.
Speaker:When it was just I was going to the wrong places.
Speaker:So now if I'm a maker I would look at a
Speaker:store and think of my products as like people and then
Speaker:I'm like would these people hang out with those people?
Speaker:Do they look like they would get along?
Speaker:Do they like kinda fit together?
Speaker:Do they look like they would compliment each other?
Speaker:Like they would help accentuate each other?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:then I would reach out there and I would do it
Speaker:through, you know,
Speaker:finding who the buyer was,
Speaker:emailing a line sheet,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:with contact information.
Speaker:I wouldn't just show up and then like leave samples or
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:some people do that and I'm just like,
Speaker:if you like it that's great,
Speaker:but if you don't then you have like this pile of
Speaker:stuff that if you're like me,
Speaker:I can't throw away something you handmade.
Speaker:Even if it's not like the aesthetic for the store.
Speaker:And then there's just certain ways to go about it.
Speaker:Yeah, I've learned over the years But it didn't stop you.
Speaker:Right. And I think that's important for people who are listening
Speaker:who feel like they don't know what they're doing,
Speaker:do it anyway.
Speaker:Like you learn something,
Speaker:garner as much information as you can.
Speaker:That's why this podcast exists and Jesse's sharing her information with
Speaker:you here,
Speaker:learn what you can but don't feel like you have to
Speaker:know everything because you'll never start that.
Speaker:And it's okay if you make mistakes or you learn to
Speaker:do things better.
Speaker:And Jesse,
Speaker:as we continue with your story,
Speaker:I know you're gonna show this as an example,
Speaker:it doesn't mean if you do something wrong the first time
Speaker:that it's over,
Speaker:you can't do anything.
Speaker:Everybody makes mistakes along the way.
Speaker:So this is a great example.
Speaker:The other thing I was thinking as you were talking Jesse,
Speaker:is so you were doing this in the early two thousands,
Speaker:right? And this is still when all the brand names.
Speaker:Yes, I know brand names are still important today.
Speaker:Nobody come out and tell me differently,
Speaker:but that's all people wanted.
Speaker:They wanted exactly like their friends had.
Speaker:And I feel like now a lot has shifted and the
Speaker:uniqueness and style and having something different than the others is
Speaker:really popular now overlaid by supporting local and handmade.
Speaker:So now is such a great,
Speaker:great time if someone's looking at starting versus some of the
Speaker:challenges you had when you first started Edge of Urge.
Speaker:Oh yes,
Speaker:it's definitely shifted.
Speaker:It was before.
Speaker:It's kinda like when you hear like stories of like I
Speaker:walked uphill both in snow,
Speaker:it was kinda like that.
Speaker:Like it was before Etsy,
Speaker:it was before text messaging,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:no Instagram,
Speaker:I mean I didn't have a computer,
Speaker:it was just like my own computer,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you had to just go out and figure it out.
Speaker:There's so much more information now,
Speaker:which is super cool but you know,
Speaker:through the beginning of the year.
Speaker:So it's like a network of us that we just kind
Speaker:of found.
Speaker:So we would support each other.
Speaker:Yeah. But now I think people have come to appreciate more
Speaker:of slow fashion or why things,
Speaker:I wanna know the story of where things come from and
Speaker:they wanna meet the maker,
Speaker:they seem to care again,
Speaker:which is a lovely thing.
Speaker:I agree with you.
Speaker:Lots of opportunity.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:So let's stay back then.
Speaker:When you opened your little store,
Speaker:how did you get the word out and how did you
Speaker:attract your first customers there?
Speaker:I planned it.
Speaker:So I would open on 4th of July and in Wilmington
Speaker:that's a huge,
Speaker:like there's tons of people out and about and I remember
Speaker:I stayed up the night before making things.
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:I don't have enough stuff for the store.
Speaker:And I was completely delirious that day,
Speaker:but it was really,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I didn't have any money for marketing nor did I even
Speaker:know what that was at the time.
Speaker:So I was just like,
Speaker:I'm just gonna be here and this is when the people
Speaker:are gonna come in and I'm just,
Speaker:they're gonna hopefully find me and then wanna come back.
Speaker:It was really slow and steady.
Speaker:It was not,
Speaker:like I said,
Speaker:it was completely self-funded.
Speaker:You know the space was 400 square feet,
Speaker:the rent was $400.
Speaker:All my inventory was essentially free.
Speaker:I didn't have a POS system,
Speaker:it was like me hand write this with my little cash
Speaker:and my little the credit card.
Speaker:Remember that?
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I remember those.
Speaker:Oh gosh,
Speaker:Yes. Pretty low cost.
Speaker:But You were getting sales,
Speaker:it sounds like you were getting sale.
Speaker:Did you get a snail the first day?
Speaker:The first day I made a thousand dollars and I sold
Speaker:one of the dresses that I didn't know how to use
Speaker:the sewing machine.
Speaker:Then I was a hand sew the dress and I sold
Speaker:it for $400.
Speaker:So almost half of it was this one dress.
Speaker:And then I had like,
Speaker:that was pretty good.
Speaker:And then I had like 0,
Speaker:0, 0,
Speaker:I mean like zero days.
Speaker:Was that then during the week,
Speaker:were you open every day?
Speaker:Yeah, I was open every day and it was really slow
Speaker:and then from there I was like I gotta get outta
Speaker:this market because this,
Speaker:my brand doesn't really fit in here anymore.
Speaker:Like it was a great place to start but I'm not
Speaker:gonna grow if I stay here.
Speaker:So there was this a space around the corner and I
Speaker:was like we gotta get there,
Speaker:I've gotta figure out how to get it.
Speaker:But it was like,
Speaker:I think $1,500
Speaker:a month,
Speaker:which was a big shift.
Speaker:So there was this woman that I knew who was a
Speaker:customer and a friend of the family and she sold jewelry
Speaker:out of her house and I was like in Greensboro and
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:I got a proposition for you.
Speaker:What if you put some of your jewelry in Algebra Verge
Speaker:and then like helped me pay for the rent and anything
Speaker:that you sold I would give it to you.
Speaker:And she did it and she did it until I was
Speaker:able to get on my feet.
Speaker:It took me like almost a year and then I was
Speaker:able to,
Speaker:I kept some of her stuff in there but then I
Speaker:didn't need her help to pay the rent anymore.
Speaker:So it was just really slow.
Speaker:And then from there I moved around the corner to where
Speaker:we're now we've been there for 18 years or 17 years
Speaker:in Wilmington.
Speaker:Wow. Amazing.
Speaker:Just like the candle I think I've come to appreciate it
Speaker:as my biggest assets in the business is the ability to
Speaker:be scrappy or resourceful.
Speaker:I'm not embarrassed to be scrappy because it's really saved my
Speaker:butt quite a few times.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:You know what I mean?
Speaker:Yep, I got it.
Speaker:So for someone who's looking for a retail space now,
Speaker:what are some things that you would suggest that they'd be
Speaker:looking at?
Speaker:What are the considerations?
Speaker:Because you saw now with three different locations you were growing
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:but what are some tips about looking for a retail spot?
Speaker:I would say there's that old saying location,
Speaker:location, location.
Speaker:Like that is not a lie.
Speaker:Like it is so legit and it is something to hold
Speaker:right in the front of your face when you're looking at
Speaker:locations. Foot traffic like also depends on what kinda business you
Speaker:are. You know like I feel like people will travel a
Speaker:little further and be more experimental if it's food or alcohol.
Speaker:But for like soft goods like retail,
Speaker:they need to be able to,
Speaker:at least in this area like parking is something to think
Speaker:about. You know,
Speaker:what is it next to,
Speaker:are there other people walking around?
Speaker:Like downtown Wilmington is awesome because there's so much foot traffic
Speaker:like every day there's just people there all the time,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:working or visiting.
Speaker:It's a tourist area where we are in Raleigh,
Speaker:like the first three years was,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:I thought I was gonna have to close.
Speaker:I thought that I made like the worst decision ever because
Speaker:it took so long for that neighborhood to like ignite.
Speaker:But like onto the fourth year there I was like oh
Speaker:I can do it,
Speaker:this is great.
Speaker:And now it's great.
Speaker:Was it a developing neighborhood in Raleigh?
Speaker:Is that what was going on?
Speaker:Yeah, that building had been vacant for many,
Speaker:many years and when I moved in there was a bakery,
Speaker:a wine shop and a bar and they had been there
Speaker:long enough to have some of the falling but again they're
Speaker:all like food and beverage but then retail like you know
Speaker:people will come over and they're like oh I didn't come
Speaker:over here for that.
Speaker:So I don't really have time for that.
Speaker:I have time to like grab a coffee or time to
Speaker:grab some wine and go home or have at late when
Speaker:we're closed for the bar and it just takes time.
Speaker:So I would say if you're in an area that is
Speaker:promising, maybe think about the rent.
Speaker:Is there a way to scale it up until it does
Speaker:take off instead of starting out with the bank?
Speaker:Cause you need some money to float you until you get
Speaker:there. But also those prime locations,
Speaker:the rent can be so,
Speaker:so high.
Speaker:You have to also think like just because the location is
Speaker:perfect, if the rent is so high,
Speaker:does that make sense for you?
Speaker:It's a very tricky process and you have to know your
Speaker:risk tolerance.
Speaker:So like when I was in the beginning I almost was
Speaker:completely fearless cuz I had no idea what I didn't know.
Speaker:But at the same time I had no money so I
Speaker:could only do so much.
Speaker:Right. But now that I have a family and I have
Speaker:all these employees and people that rely on me to for
Speaker:their paychecks like that,
Speaker:it's more of a risk cuz I'm not willing to hurt
Speaker:anybody just for me having some like wild idea to do
Speaker:something. That makes sense.
Speaker:Yeah it does.
Speaker:But you also were real creative in the start,
Speaker:first off,
Speaker:like you said scrappy,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:getting what you could afford and feel comfortable about.
Speaker:Cause you don't wanna be totally stressed out about rent either,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:especially if you're just starting out.
Speaker:But then your idea of,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:as you said you added in your friend who is a
Speaker:jeweler for a short time,
Speaker:that's a great model.
Speaker:You know if someone is looking and wants to do retail
Speaker:and your community allows for it set up like a co-op
Speaker:shop, you know,
Speaker:and bring in local makers and you know there are models,
Speaker:I'm sure you know Jesse,
Speaker:where some of the people who have space from your shop
Speaker:will work a certain number of hours a month at the
Speaker:space, which then allows you to,
Speaker:like you were saying before,
Speaker:meet the maker,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:We did that too.
Speaker:You did that too.
Speaker:Okay. So there are ways to build things up.
Speaker:You don't just automatically have to jump from zero to 1500
Speaker:or gosh who knows what,
Speaker:you know some of the prices are of retail.
Speaker:I know in my area it's crazy expensive.
Speaker:You know we did consignment for many,
Speaker:many years,
Speaker:which was I think most consignment deals.
Speaker:The artists get half or even less than half.
Speaker:For us we did 60% goes to the maker and then
Speaker:we would keep the rest because it was like they were
Speaker:helping us because it,
Speaker:we didn't have to pay for inventory for the store and
Speaker:they were trusting us with their work.
Speaker:So it ended up being a really sweet deal for both
Speaker:parties because we were able to grow our assortment and then
Speaker:from there then we were able to buy and have like
Speaker:a really fun mix of inventory.
Speaker:And now a lot of the makers we didn't sign it
Speaker:with, we just buy straight out from them.
Speaker:Oh you do?
Speaker:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker:So slow and steady,
Speaker:slow And steady.
Speaker:I'm getting that trend slow and steady.
Speaker:But the products that you have are fun,
Speaker:unique, funky,
Speaker:interesting, different,
Speaker:all that right?
Speaker:Oh yes.
Speaker:Nailed it.
Speaker:Well and the other thing about offering things that you're either
Speaker:consignment where you're paying for it now as you're talking about
Speaker:or consignment where you're paying the maker if it sells is
Speaker:then you have such a breadth of different types of products
Speaker:in the shop,
Speaker:which would attract more people who's in there now.
Speaker:Like such a variety invokes interest as well.
Speaker:So I love that model,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:especially for makers And you can test the product too,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:so if it something wasn't working we wouldn't just say this
Speaker:isn't working,
Speaker:take it back.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it would would be like,
Speaker:I think the packaging,
Speaker:maybe we could think about a way we could update the
Speaker:packaging or the pricing on this.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:if something's selling so fast I'm might,
Speaker:this is price a little low,
Speaker:I think you could bump up your price a little bit
Speaker:more. Something like that.
Speaker:Giving feedback are like just lots of information.
Speaker:Yeah. What examples or comments or thoughts do you have on
Speaker:displaying product in retail?
Speaker:You must have seen so much because did everyone get to
Speaker:come in and set up their own little space and then
Speaker:you would maintain it or did you do all the display?
Speaker:I am a maniac.
Speaker:Yeah. I really love merchandising,
Speaker:I love putting things together.
Speaker:I enjoy it so much that I do most of that.
Speaker:And then my husband and I both do unlikely professionals.
Speaker:He's also really good at merchandising.
Speaker:We've also talked about one of the dreams that could be
Speaker:so fun is that people hired us to come and we
Speaker:would help them with their stores.
Speaker:Like find them fixtures and help them merchandise and teach them
Speaker:how to do it.
Speaker:I think that could be so fun one day.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:I think it's all in how you place it around the
Speaker:store to make it exciting and an adventure for people.
Speaker:So if something doesn't sell,
Speaker:do you rearrange maybe where it is in the store or
Speaker:where it's the combinations that you're putting together and then you
Speaker:see that then it will move just because of that kind
Speaker:of an adjustment.
Speaker:Yeah, I think put it in a spot.
Speaker:Usually if something new comes in you've got like a few
Speaker:different areas that will put new items and then if that
Speaker:does really well,
Speaker:maybe that will stay and something will move or yeah,
Speaker:it's very fluid and day by day.
Speaker:But really fun.
Speaker:I can tell I saw you light up when we started
Speaker:talking about this topic.
Speaker:Yeah, sometimes I wish I could just do that part,
Speaker:you know like buy the stuff,
Speaker:get it in and put it out and then I wouldn't
Speaker:have to do anything else.
Speaker:So it would be the most fun.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Oh gosh.
Speaker:And what do you do with things that don't sell?
Speaker:Like you've tried this,
Speaker:you've re-merchandise,
Speaker:you've like everything,
Speaker:what do you do when there's just a piece that does
Speaker:not sell?
Speaker:Yeah, well usually worst case scenario we have to mark it
Speaker:down and that's always really a real big bummer.
Speaker:But sometimes it moves and sometimes it's like there's every now
Speaker:and then there's a few things that I'm like,
Speaker:oh my gosh I couldn't even give this away.
Speaker:Oh thankfully it doesn't happen very often.
Speaker:Yeah, usually we'll just mark it down.
Speaker:We have a section that we have some customers go straight
Speaker:to the sale and we have it and they're like,
Speaker:yes. Yeah,
Speaker:usually we try moving it around and we,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:make sure that we've hyped it up something we love and
Speaker:believe in.
Speaker:And if that doesn't work on sale,
Speaker:Is there anything that you can put your finger on of
Speaker:why some things weren't selling?
Speaker:So this year I did a big experiment with apparel because
Speaker:we had a lot of customers saying they wanted,
Speaker:they're saying that they want size inclusivity,
Speaker:like more of it,
Speaker:which is a whole other like you could talk about that
Speaker:for hours,
Speaker:like the whole whole apparel industry but size inclusivity,
Speaker:they wanna know where it's from,
Speaker:like things that are more ethically made.
Speaker:All of these things that we all want,
Speaker:right? But there's only a handful of brands that make those.
Speaker:Actually there's not very many brands that make it in a
Speaker:price that is very affordable.
Speaker:Right. It's gonna be at least a hundred is like you're
Speaker:lucky if you find it for a hundred.
Speaker:So it's gonna be one 50 to three 50 and that's
Speaker:just a really tough price point for our customer.
Speaker:Yeah. So this year I feel like I went,
Speaker:they said they wanted it,
Speaker:I went for it,
Speaker:they actually didn't want it.
Speaker:So I do have a lot of that stuff on sale
Speaker:right now and it's really hard and that's when as a
Speaker:business owner it can be challenging because you know your business,
Speaker:you know what your gut says,
Speaker:but you also are doing the business where people,
Speaker:so you wanna listen to the people.
Speaker:So I think this year we're just gonna try to find
Speaker:a place that we can land in the middle.
Speaker:But yeah that was a tough one.
Speaker:That's a really good lesson.
Speaker:And I had a similar situation back in the day too
Speaker:and the learning for me with that is it's really easy
Speaker:for people to tell you what they want but like that
Speaker:action has to follow through.
Speaker:Yeah And I got stuck with thousands of dollars of inventory
Speaker:too because I heard someone say they wanted like corporations or
Speaker:something wanted something and then they bought like one or two.
Speaker:Yeah. Oh Ah no I know I went hard.
Speaker:That's a really good cautionary tale and yet I kind of
Speaker:cringe cuz I haven't thought about that situation for a long
Speaker:time. But I've had the same experience so excellent word of
Speaker:warning for sure.
Speaker:Yes. Anything else about product not fitting in?
Speaker:Like maybe it just didn't resonate with clientele,
Speaker:it didn't match with other things you had in the store?
Speaker:I don't know what it could be.
Speaker:I'm trying to get you to dig deeper Jessie.
Speaker:Yeah I guess I feel like it took me a long
Speaker:time to get to this point but I feel like I
Speaker:know like I can trust my gut and I know generally
Speaker:what people are gonna like.
Speaker:Like this past year I bombed like super bombed on the
Speaker:clothing cause at the price point like I just failed.
Speaker:And so that's like the first time I've done that in
Speaker:a while,
Speaker:like pretty bad feeling.
Speaker:But when I first moved to Raleigh and open the store
Speaker:here, I was like well people love Edge of Verge,
Speaker:they want edge of Virgin Raleigh so it'll be edge of
Speaker:Verge Wilmington but in Raleigh and then I learned that the
Speaker:customers don't like the same kinds of things so it took
Speaker:me time.
Speaker:It's really just like really paying attention to what people are
Speaker:buying, paying attention to the areas in the store that go
Speaker:thin the quickest.
Speaker:You know like what are people gravitating towards and knowing they
Speaker:like that more of that they're not going that way,
Speaker:less of that,
Speaker:you know.
Speaker:And I think of like you pick top 10 best your
Speaker:top 10 worst and then like of try to keep moving
Speaker:everything up closer to the top.
Speaker:And so in Wilmington I do some buying for there but
Speaker:I think it's important to be,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:in my opinion,
Speaker:to be in the store to see what the people are
Speaker:buying. Cuz you hear those comments,
Speaker:you see people come on,
Speaker:they're like these pants,
Speaker:like they fit really well.
Speaker:I feel so confident in these.
Speaker:So oh great,
Speaker:okay so that brand,
Speaker:they have a nice sizing model,
Speaker:right? So we need to stick with that brand or this
Speaker:is a a large,
Speaker:these are so small and we're like oh gosh nope,
Speaker:get rid of that brand thinking of things like that.
Speaker:And so Shannon,
Speaker:my manager there,
Speaker:I just kinda,
Speaker:I let her just go wild and she's doing an amazing
Speaker:job and she chooses things that I wouldn't choose for Raleigh
Speaker:and they do well there.
Speaker:So it's really learning the customer.
Speaker:Yeah and through observations,
Speaker:which is what you're demonstrating here.
Speaker:Which I think for some people who aren't at a place
Speaker:where they have retail space but are out at craft shows
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:or they sell farmer's market,
Speaker:observing what people are saying,
Speaker:how they're interacting and how they're commenting is so key.
Speaker:No matter where you're,
Speaker:And if you're trying to create an assortment for your own
Speaker:store, your own concept,
Speaker:you really gotta think of the things that really resonate deeply
Speaker:with you and then can you talk about them to your
Speaker:customer Because that's like the most,
Speaker:like you make a meaningful relationship with the maker and then
Speaker:you translate their story,
Speaker:you take their story and hand it to your customer.
Speaker:And if you are genuinely in love with the product,
Speaker:then if they don't like it then they don't like it.
Speaker:But chances are if they're coming into your store then you
Speaker:have a chance to show them something new.
Speaker:That's a good point because then you're genuinely authentically the big
Speaker:word everyone uses now,
Speaker:naturally excited about the product to share it with them versus
Speaker:if you don't really like the product you're probably neutral but
Speaker:it doesn't come through with as much energy I'm guessing.
Speaker:Right. Yeah,
Speaker:really good point.
Speaker:Okay, talk to me about something that is less exciting about
Speaker:retail. Like there's always things that people like and don't like,
Speaker:right? So what is something that is not that thrilling for
Speaker:you about retail or is always a challenge?
Speaker:We'll get to Jesse's answer on this question right after a
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Speaker:I'd say the most challenging part for me would be the
Speaker:people part because I think it's important to take care and
Speaker:to nurture your team but also to be able to like
Speaker:delegate and focus on what you're good at.
Speaker:It is challenging cuz like when you add in new people,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:most of the time I think you can correct me if
Speaker:this wasn't your experience,
Speaker:Jesse, but you know,
Speaker:you open a shop,
Speaker:you're the one running the shop,
Speaker:you are the one who has to be there all the
Speaker:time during the hours that the shop is open.
Speaker:And then eventually you see that that is not a life,
Speaker:you can't do that all the time.
Speaker:So you have to start bringing in people to help you
Speaker:and then your job changes,
Speaker:right? Because now you're the leader,
Speaker:you're the educator if you will,
Speaker:in terms of how you want your team to manage the
Speaker:store and how you want your brand to be represented and
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:So your whole role changes when you have staff.
Speaker:Yeah, it's hard to find really good people and then when
Speaker:you do you wanna keep 'em right?
Speaker:And so it's like everybody's different.
Speaker:Everybody is motivated by different things.
Speaker:So asking the right questions and making sure that you're responding
Speaker:quick enough to nurture them and to make that relationship and
Speaker:that bond strong.
Speaker:And I think another part for me is that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we're a small team but we get really close and sometimes
Speaker:I just wanna be the friend.
Speaker:Like I don't wanna be the Yeah And I just like,
Speaker:I wanna be a part of like the inside hanging and
Speaker:like I kind of,
Speaker:but not really.
Speaker:And it's like,
Speaker:it's just hard cause I spend so much of my time
Speaker:there and I'm around them more honestly than you know,
Speaker:my family.
Speaker:Cause I'm with them all day every day and it's like
Speaker:that can be kind of hard,
Speaker:you know like being the boss sucks sometimes.
Speaker:Like having to say things that you don't wanna say.
Speaker:Having to be the one to initiate the tough conversations.
Speaker:Having to smile when somebody that you love like puts in
Speaker:a two weeks notice because they got a job and like
Speaker:something that they're genuinely passionate in.
Speaker:Like photography and then being like I'm so happy for you
Speaker:but ugh.
Speaker:Like there's bittersweet moments and you get so attached.
Speaker:I think that's hard.
Speaker:We're seeing your tenderhearted side come out Jesse.
Speaker:It's so hard.
Speaker:It's so hard.
Speaker:Yeah, I've had to fire only a few people in my
Speaker:20 years and it's like,
Speaker:I think it's just hard to do it without,
Speaker:even if they've done every,
Speaker:they can stab you right in the chest.
Speaker:It's like,
Speaker:yeah. So I think for me that's a really hard part
Speaker:and balancing everything,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like the curve balls that you get in the day.
Speaker:Like I have my schedule for the day but then it's
Speaker:like Jesse,
Speaker:I need this Jesse,
Speaker:I need this Jesse,
Speaker:I need this.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:but I just need to do this,
Speaker:this and this.
Speaker:Yeah, you get diverted so much.
Speaker:Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:don't wanna leave them hanging.
Speaker:So that's where,
Speaker:where I wouldn't say that I would be an expert in
Speaker:any way.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:where there's some things I could do in my sleep even
Speaker:after 20 years.
Speaker:Some of the people part and the time management things can
Speaker:trip me up from time to time.
Speaker:Well I'd say you're doing a great job given how long
Speaker:I'm really trying.
Speaker:But you know like with anything,
Speaker:there's always something that is not your forte or something that's
Speaker:just harder cuz it doesn't come naturally to you or you
Speaker:don't like it or whatever.
Speaker:But those serve as good knowledge bases for someone who's considering
Speaker:retail, which is why I wanted to bring it up.
Speaker:Yeah. And I think that's where finding a good manager is
Speaker:really helpful.
Speaker:If you're tenderhearted like me or if you have a hard
Speaker:time delegating,
Speaker:finding really strong managers who are confident in those areas is
Speaker:important because they can nail it while you're over there crying
Speaker:in the corner.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:like yeah it's important and then you can support them.
Speaker:I'd also say,
Speaker:I don't know if you had this experience but I have
Speaker:in my life is,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you have to replace a team member and they end
Speaker:up, if a new person who comes in there's a personality
Speaker:conflict or they're not carrying their weight or whatever it is,
Speaker:can really start to poison the entire team.
Speaker:Oh yeah,
Speaker:I've had that a few times.
Speaker:That's really hard.
Speaker:Yeah. And you gotta get 'em out right away.
Speaker:Yeah. Especially you work so hard to cultivate this culture and
Speaker:it's really important to keep it strong and nourished and let
Speaker:them know that you appreciate them.
Speaker:Yeah. I don't know what you do,
Speaker:but whenever I'm hiring in somebody new,
Speaker:we do a 90 day trial so they get to come
Speaker:in and it's two ways,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we'll see how everything works out in terms of what's involved
Speaker:in the job and then also whether this is something that
Speaker:you like and enjoy doing.
Speaker:So that way,
Speaker:and it's not an automatic rollover to a job at 90
Speaker:days we stop,
Speaker:we analyze and make a decision.
Speaker:So having that in place right in the beginning before you
Speaker:even know for me has been really helpful.
Speaker:And there have been some that we've decided not to continue
Speaker:or bringing in holiday help.
Speaker:So it's only for the holidays.
Speaker:And then if you really think they're good then you keep
Speaker:'em on.
Speaker:Oh okay.
Speaker:Yeah guess what?
Speaker:I have a spark for you.
Speaker:So there's ways to do it easier.
Speaker:I'm glad you brought up the whole people part.
Speaker:That was really good.
Speaker:It's a touchy subject but it's It's a real one.
Speaker:Yeah. But you can't grow without having people you know work
Speaker:the shop for you.
Speaker:Oh no,
Speaker:this is not the Jesse show.
Speaker:No, this is the whole team show.
Speaker:Yes. So enter in unlikely professionals.
Speaker:Where did that come from?
Speaker:In Raleigh,
Speaker:we opened the back half of the space was my sewing
Speaker:studio cuz I thought,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I used to sew above the retail space in Wilmington and
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:well let's keep it going here.
Speaker:I have my cutting table.
Speaker:And then I,
Speaker:we would teach workshops,
Speaker:like DIY workshops and then we were like,
Speaker:like you know what,
Speaker:let's make some more retail space on the floor.
Speaker:We got rid of it,
Speaker:started adding menswear and then it just like,
Speaker:we outgrew the space essentially.
Speaker:We're like,
Speaker:oh my god.
Speaker:We're like,
Speaker:if you go into the store,
Speaker:I'm sure people are like,
Speaker:this woman is crazy.
Speaker:She is a maximalist.
Speaker:It's like floor to ceiling inventory and you know,
Speaker:so it was like more of like feminine vibes up front
Speaker:masculine vibes in the back and it,
Speaker:we were just maxed out.
Speaker:And so we found out that the space across the street
Speaker:was gonna come available.
Speaker:We were like,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:this could be perfect.
Speaker:We can move this stuff over there and then do this
Speaker:like bar general store kinda vibes,
Speaker:like other categories that had been doing really well in the
Speaker:store. We thought maybe we could take 'em and just like
Speaker:create a sibling,
Speaker:a complimentary addition to Edberg.
Speaker:And that's where unlikely professionals was born.
Speaker:They're not right across the street from each other.
Speaker:It's Right across the street.
Speaker:Yeah. Oh wow.
Speaker:That's convenient.
Speaker:It's, yeah,
Speaker:it's convenient.
Speaker:And so that space is pretty big.
Speaker:It's like 3000 square feet.
Speaker:And so we have like a pretty long nice bar in
Speaker:there with beer and wine.
Speaker:And then we have like general store kinda vibes where we
Speaker:have all kinds of specialty foods and gifts and like fun
Speaker:kitchen items.
Speaker:And then we have masculine apparel and then we have some
Speaker:of those brands started doing women's apparel.
Speaker:So it's very much the same energy and like morals and
Speaker:everything of edge verge,
Speaker:but it's just another one of our personalities.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Yeah. This is so exciting just to hear how one thing
Speaker:leads to another,
Speaker:leads to another.
Speaker:You take advantage of what comes in front of you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like go into the very beginning of your story where there's
Speaker:a larger space right around the corner and then where you
Speaker:are now is a bigger space right around the corner.
Speaker:Now you've got the space across the street.
Speaker:But when those opportunities came about,
Speaker:like if you didn't take it,
Speaker:someone else would have.
Speaker:So it's a limited time opportunity.
Speaker:Was there anything you felt that you had already prepared besides
Speaker:just thinking you needed to grow bigger or when the opportunity
Speaker:came up you're just like,
Speaker:this is perfect,
Speaker:we're gonna do it and jump in.
Speaker:That's exactly what we did.
Speaker:It was like,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:let's do it.
Speaker:Let's just go for it.
Speaker:Let's just go for it.
Speaker:Honestly, everything is retractable,
Speaker:right? For the most part.
Speaker:It Is.
Speaker:And I think,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:this is where I remember working years and years ago,
Speaker:thinking of ways that I could expand my business.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:well I'm self-taught everything,
Speaker:maybe I should reach out and get some like professional advice.
Speaker:And so I was working with free resources in Bloomington and
Speaker:they were like,
Speaker:you need to do a business plan.
Speaker:That's what you need.
Speaker:And I'm like a business plan,
Speaker:ok. And I think I must have gone into a state
Speaker:of paralysis because my brain can't think like that.
Speaker:I just can't.
Speaker:Like I,
Speaker:I have an idea and it's like I'm the kind of
Speaker:person that's like,
Speaker:I think you should paint the wall yellow.
Speaker:And then I paint it and there's one little spot left
Speaker:and I'm like,
Speaker:after I fill in that last spot,
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:hmm, no I think it should be gray.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I have to do it.
Speaker:I can't like just paint like a swatch on the wall
Speaker:and say that's great.
Speaker:It's like I have to,
Speaker:I learned by doing and it's,
Speaker:that's part of the thrill for me and I wouldn't advise
Speaker:that for for many people,
Speaker:but just how I operate.
Speaker:So when we saw the space,
Speaker:we were like,
Speaker:we have enough stuff of like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:for fixtures and random things in our house,
Speaker:we can make it work.
Speaker:Yeah, just go for it.
Speaker:Yeah. Well and I'm sure that a lot of the people,
Speaker:your customers who were already coming in,
Speaker:you were telling them about across the street,
Speaker:go there too.
Speaker:And so it was automatic,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we're getting out about the other location as well.
Speaker:That's very cool.
Speaker:Where does your website fit into all of this?
Speaker:When did that get started?
Speaker:Is it significant for you or a support or kind of
Speaker:tell us where that's positioned within your non-existent business plan.
Speaker:Right. So I think my first website my uncle made for
Speaker:me and it was a bazillion years ago,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and it was like PayPal and it had like my swimsuits
Speaker:that I made and scarves and that was great.
Speaker:And then once I switched over to a real point of
Speaker:sale and needed a real,
Speaker:like a more robust website,
Speaker:it's just like the stores,
Speaker:it was slowly kinda growing and growing.
Speaker:I guess it wasn't until I moved to Raleigh where the
Speaker:website became more of like a substantial part of the business
Speaker:and then when Covid hit,
Speaker:it just took off.
Speaker:And so now my dream was to have the website to
Speaker:be like another location,
Speaker:right? To be its own thing.
Speaker:And it's there now.
Speaker:So it's like we have Wilmington,
Speaker:we have Raleigh,
Speaker:we have Unlikely,
Speaker:and we have the website and they all pull from our
Speaker:inventory, which can be kind of messy.
Speaker:Like it would be nice to have its own inventory,
Speaker:but we're not quite there yet.
Speaker:But it plays a pretty significant role in the business.
Speaker:Like we have to schedule,
Speaker:we package ship from both Loca from Wilmington and Raleigh and
Speaker:it's daily,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:packages out daily.
Speaker:It's super fun shipping them all over the place and it's
Speaker:been fun to watch.
Speaker:Yeah, you were really fortunate that you already had a website
Speaker:established when the pandemic hit.
Speaker:If we didn't,
Speaker:I don't know what we would've done,
Speaker:but it was almost everything was on the site then.
Speaker:And when that happened we were like,
Speaker:alright, well now it's time to put everything online.
Speaker:So we started getting everything online and then,
Speaker:but we have all this inventory,
Speaker:what are we gonna do with it?
Speaker:So we started doing mystery boxes right when Covid hit and
Speaker:it would be,
Speaker:people could write in and you could do start at 25
Speaker:and they could go up as high as you wanted and
Speaker:you would write in something about like you wanna get a
Speaker:gift for somebody.
Speaker:Like say it's for my best friend,
Speaker:she loves cats,
Speaker:she's an aspiring chef,
Speaker:she's really funny,
Speaker:she's very into politics,
Speaker:but she,
Speaker:she hates the color pink and does not like glitter.
Speaker:You could like something as specific as that you could.
Speaker:And then we would curate,
Speaker:given that we would go through and pick items in the
Speaker:store that would reach that amount gift wrap 'em and send
Speaker:them out for them.
Speaker:So you didn't get approval,
Speaker:you didn't go back to her and say,
Speaker:how about this or this or this?
Speaker:It was like,
Speaker:you tell us and then you trust us.
Speaker:Yeah. And then we did it.
Speaker:And that right there,
Speaker:that is what the Edge Verge survived because of those freaking
Speaker:mystery boxes.
Speaker:And we still do 'em.
Speaker:And people love because it's just like the experience in store.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:people are like,
Speaker:so she's 16,
Speaker:she loves Harry styles but she is wanting to learn more
Speaker:about blah blah blah or something and was really into skincare
Speaker:or you know,
Speaker:we could put something together pretty quickly for him cause we
Speaker:have so much variety and yeah,
Speaker:it's super fun.
Speaker:That is so creative.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:And especially then it was something that you had to put
Speaker:together relatively quickly that served a need because you had all
Speaker:this inventory,
Speaker:but also people still needed gifts and even more than ever
Speaker:now because we weren't getting together at that time.
Speaker:So you really filled a need.
Speaker:Yeah. And then we did some fundraisers where people could buy
Speaker:them for nurses,
Speaker:the hospitals here in Raleigh and in Wilmington.
Speaker:So families were buying gift cards,
Speaker:we were putting them together and would deliver them to the
Speaker:hospitals for all the nurses that were working crazy hours.
Speaker:So it was,
Speaker:it's been really fun journey to see all of the wild
Speaker:ideas and how some of them stick and some of them
Speaker:just bomb,
Speaker:but you just pick yourself up and keep going,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:It's amazing what you can come up with when you get
Speaker:pushed like that.
Speaker:Yeah. So one final question cuz I'm just so curious.
Speaker:So like when you get inventory in,
Speaker:you obviously have it assigned to a certain store cuz you
Speaker:figured that out before you're purchasing,
Speaker:right? But then does it also automatically go on the website?
Speaker:Everything? It does everything.
Speaker:Everything, Everything.
Speaker:Unless it's something that's like super heavy or just like a
Speaker:pain in the butt to ship.
Speaker:We don't put those online.
Speaker:We try putting in-store pickup,
Speaker:but people are like,
Speaker:I live in Chicago,
Speaker:I'm gonna order it.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:it says in-store pickup Raleigh,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:So we decided like maybe we should just not put those
Speaker:online. Yeah.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:we put almost everything is on the site now.
Speaker:So someone walks into one of your stores today and buys
Speaker:something, are your systems behind the scenes set so that that
Speaker:gets pulled automatically from inventory or from your website?
Speaker:So it's all set up so you don't have to worry
Speaker:about that at all,
Speaker:Right? It's just the manual initial input of the product.
Speaker:Exactly. Which means Jess,
Speaker:you have to take a photo of it,
Speaker:everything. Yes,
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:Because a lot of people are challenged,
Speaker:like a lot of people who are listening right now do
Speaker:one of a kind type products,
Speaker:but they also wanna be on Etsy.
Speaker:But they'll have to take a picture of every single one
Speaker:of the things that they make.
Speaker:And here you're an example of someone doing it.
Speaker:Well the photo part is a really tough one because you
Speaker:know, as a buyer when I'm shopping or I'm looking at
Speaker:things like it's your first impression,
Speaker:right? So your photography needs to be like right on because
Speaker:you can have a beautiful product,
Speaker:but if the person's not there to see it in real
Speaker:life or to meet you and say,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:like you're really funny and you love what you do,
Speaker:like I'm gonna buy it just cuz I love you.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:like right,
Speaker:you're not there,
Speaker:it's, your picture has to be everything.
Speaker:And so we do the best we can and we have
Speaker:some really talented photographers on staff that help.
Speaker:And I dunno,
Speaker:it's just important.
Speaker:But we have one of a kind items that can be,
Speaker:it's a pretty heavy weight,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like if you gotta figure out what your system is because
Speaker:it is important too.
Speaker:Nice images.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:so if anyone who's listening here wants to see all these
Speaker:beautiful photos and all the products that you have,
Speaker:where would you send them?
Speaker:You can shop four seven edge of.com
Speaker:and on there you'll be able to see unlikely professionals and
Speaker:edge of,
Speaker:and you'll be able to see everything that we offer.
Speaker:Okay, wonderful.
Speaker:Well I for 1:00 AM going to peek and see what
Speaker:you have there.
Speaker:Yes. I'm so curious to see all the one of a
Speaker:kind stuff and check out that apparel that you've put on
Speaker:sale too.
Speaker:I love,
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:If you see an order from me,
Speaker:like you can say thank you because I'm helping you.
Speaker:I'll get rid of that stuff.
Speaker:I dunno.
Speaker:So anyway,
Speaker:Jesse, this has been so interesting.
Speaker:We haven't talked recently about retail.
Speaker:I think a lot of people are feeling like retail's dead,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's too hard to do retail in this environment,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:And you're one who's showing that that's absolutely not true.
Speaker:And it's very clear with the whole conversation how much you
Speaker:really, really enjoy it.
Speaker:Any final comments about retail or your business?
Speaker:Anything you wanna leave our listeners with?
Speaker:What about for somebody who also feels like in their heart
Speaker:they would really,
Speaker:really enjoy retail?
Speaker:What would you say to somebody like that who's thinking of
Speaker:getting started today looking for a space just like you did
Speaker:way back when?
Speaker:I'd say that if you are interested,
Speaker:it is a good time because people,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I know people are saying that like online is gonna take
Speaker:over the world and like there's not gonna be any more
Speaker:brick and mortar stores.
Speaker:But I feel like from what I'm hearing and what I'm
Speaker:personally experiencing is that people really enjoy coming into a space
Speaker:and like the part of the experience.
Speaker:So if you can create something that is fun and interesting
Speaker:and exciting or beautiful and serene,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:whatever your energy is,
Speaker:if you do it and you do it with all that
Speaker:you have,
Speaker:then I think people are really gonna enjoy it and come
Speaker:back. You know,
Speaker:it's like that experience,
Speaker:how do they feel when they like the first touchpoint,
Speaker:like from the outside,
Speaker:how do they feel?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:when they're inside,
Speaker:how do you treat them?
Speaker:Like what are they gonna leave with?
Speaker:And that feeling is what's gonna bring them back.
Speaker:Yeah, and I think even now more than before,
Speaker:the pandemic,
Speaker:people are hungry for interaction and experiences face-to-face,
Speaker:real live interaction.
Speaker:And we know what it's like not to be able to
Speaker:have that anymore.
Speaker:So it's all the more precious now and that's what retail
Speaker:brings. Yeah.
Speaker:And you can get the story,
Speaker:you can meet the people.
Speaker:Yeah. It's better You can touch the items and actually take
Speaker:them with you immediately.
Speaker:Yeah. And it doesn't show up in a box like,
Speaker:just like with plastic,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's like it's beautiful.
Speaker:You can have it hand wrapped if you want.
Speaker:Yeah, Absolutely.
Speaker:Jesse, thank you so much.
Speaker:I know we took quite a bit of time today,
Speaker:but you had such valuable information.
Speaker:Your experience is so good.
Speaker:I know you've been able to help a lot of the
Speaker:people who are listening today who have this in the back
Speaker:of their mind,
Speaker:I'm for it.
Speaker:Maybe We'll figure it out,
Speaker:how to take a step forward and be more confident in
Speaker:doing so.
Speaker:Jesse, thank you so much for being on the show today.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:It's been a pleasure.
Speaker:I admit it.
Speaker:I love shopping online,
Speaker:but there's definitely a part of my heart that can't get
Speaker:away from strolling the local shops of my hometown.
Speaker:And definitely a favorite activity when I'm on vacation.
Speaker:There's nothing like it for joyful browsing and human interaction and
Speaker:buying. Of course,
Speaker:as a maker,
Speaker:you have a number of options in the retail arena.
Speaker:You could do consignment,
Speaker:wholesale, be part of an artisan boutique,
Speaker:or start up a shop yourself.
Speaker:I hope hearing Jesse's journey has reignited the spark.
Speaker:If this is something you considered but thought the time had
Speaker:passed, it hasn't.
Speaker:Retail is still a thing.
Speaker:If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to show support,
Speaker:a rating and review is always fabulous because it helps get
Speaker:the show seen by more makers.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward.
Speaker:And there's another way where you can get something tangible in
Speaker:return for your support too.
Speaker:Visit my merch shop for a wide variety of inspirational items
Speaker:like mugs,
Speaker:journals, water bottles,
Speaker:and more featuring logos,
Speaker:images, and quotes to inspire you throughout your day.
Speaker:Makes a great gift too.
Speaker:And we've just added some new products for the season to
Speaker:the shop.
Speaker:Turnaround is quick and the quality is top notch,
Speaker:nothing but the best for you.
Speaker:Take a look at all the options@giftbizunwrapped.com
Speaker:slash shop.
Speaker:All proceeds from these purchases helps go to offset the cost
Speaker:of producing the show.
Speaker:And now be safe and well and I'll see you again
Speaker:next time on the Gift Biz Unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:I wanna make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook group
Speaker:called Gift Miss Breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and are our community
Speaker:to support each other.
Speaker:I got a really fun post in there that's my favorite
Speaker:of the week,
Speaker:I have to say,
Speaker:where I invite all of you to share what you're doing
Speaker:to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people.
Speaker:And just for fun,
Speaker:because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
Speaker:in the community is making.
Speaker:My favorite post every single week.
Speaker:Without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what?
Speaker:Aren't you part of the group already?
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group Gift Biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.
