Let's talk about your business, strategy, and the juicy details of what actually works,

from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main Street and the entire ecosystem behind it.

How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek?

Let's hear from those insiders, experts, and

strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the boutique

hub, and I can't wait to chat.

Hey guys, welcome back to this week's podcast. Today, I am joined by a very special guest, Sarah Berks, who is our director of partnerships and education at the boutique hub. And if you have been a part of the hub for any period of time or if you've been through our signature program, retail boot camp, you know that we also refer to Sarah as the retail professor. Oh, wow. You're such a bucket filler, Ashley. Jeez. I'm not even,

I think Ed came up with that name. He did. Yes. Yes. But it's true, right? Well, I don't know. I mean,

I've been in retail for a long, long time. So I guess I feel like I am able to spread my wealth

and knowledge of things to not do in the world of retail that has

made me the retail professor. But yeah, I've learned a lot of lessons along the way. I love it. So

for those of you don't know, Sarah, the cool part, tell us a little bit about your store that you had

before you came to the hub because I think it's so unique, the background and perspective you bring.

Yeah. Well, I started in retail back in 1993, just a few

years ago, and brick and mortar store in a very small town, rural Wisconsin. I worked there in high

school and eventually became an owner of the store. And yeah, it was a very large women's boutique

that catered to women of all ages, sizes, and they came from all over.

And anyway, we learned a little bit about absolutely everything working there, doing bra fittings

to, you know, fitting people for dresses for their funeral, things like that.

I mean, just a little bit of absolute everything.

Obviously, we had a lot of fun while we were there too, but learned a lot about people, a lot about strategy, a lot about coaching, a lot about, you know,

what works and what doesn't. And yeah, over the years, I saw a lot of trends come and go. I saw a lot of customers come and go, staff come and go, and those are all lessons you learn along the way. So yeah, Ashley brought me on here to the Boutique Hub in 2017, and I've been able to

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