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, it's you and me. And it's Friday. And it's time for a five minute Friday. And I love this

quick topic. And this is my 10 New Year's resolutions for retailers for 2025. Let's get into it.

Number one, quit blaming outside forces for business flops. Oof. Okay, these are going to be direct.

Did I tell you that? So no more blaming Sheen, Timu,

election year, your mother, you're crazy aunt. I don't care what it is. No more blaming.

Either be the victim of the situation, which is placing blame, or be the victor and say, you know what?

Yes, this sucked. You know what? An election year is hard, but here's what I'm doing about it. The same goes for when

you ask for advice and feedback in Facebook groups. No more sales are down. Is it down for you too?

No more blaming and being the victim. How about yes, sales are down. Here's what I'm doing about it.

Here's what I think I could do about it. Do you have any feedback or advice for me? Be the victor

and take control of the situation

to get the outcome that you really want to deserve. You really do deserve, not want to deserve,

do deserve. Gosh. Okay. Number two, resolution number two, not understanding your analytics is no

longer an option. So make the resolution that I will understand and

leverage all of my business analytics. It's such a time to do this, guys, whether it's understanding

your traffic, all of your sales patterns, knowing your margin, understanding better your inventory

on hand and how to plan your inventory, really

...