Business can be a lonely game, but it doesn't have to be.

Welcome to Boutique Chat, where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek.

We'll hear from product-based businesses of all types, retailers, e-commerce, and wholesale brands,

along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry.

I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the boutique hub, and I can't wait to chat.

Hey guys, it's Ashley here, and I wanted to come to you.

I'm recording this in the middle of you know that

weird time between christmas and new year's and you don't really know what day it is but i had these notes

and i wanted to get them to you so you can save this episode as you plan your holiday season for next

year i want to talk about what worked the best after talking to literally hundreds and hundreds

of retailers over the last couple of weeks and just analyzing what worked, what didn't, and what would they do different as they plan for 2025.

So let's jump right into it. All right.

So first things first, without a doubt, the best tip that everybody had, anyone who said they had success this holiday season, they all had this in common.

They said,

the earlier I planned, the better. And I mean that in two different ways. So one, of course,

is just getting out your calendar in August and simply mapping out, what are the days I'm having

events? What promotions am I thinking about running? What collections do I want to drop? What

does my assortment plan need to look like?

What worked last year and what didn't?

Just setting your mind on the holiday season starting in August or even end of July was a game changer for people when it came to just feeling like they were prepared.

They had a plan and then they could start their promotional cycle so much earlier as well.

Now the second way the people leaned into earlier, the better.

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