Laurie Roe's Blog

Successful Trunk Show

Our trunk show last Thursday evening was a fun and fantastic event. The show was to run from 4-8 pm and by 3:45, we had about 20 women in the store for the show. We had lots of fun, met many new women, and enjoyed seeing some of our regular clients "all dressed up!"

Both The Tennessean and VIP Franklin sent camera crews out to take pictures. (The Tennessean has them posted, VIP Franklin does not.)  Williamson AM did a follow-up story yesterday about the event, and particularly about the growth of Williamson County through the eyes of a retailer.

We hope to do about 2 trunk shows a year, and the next one will be in the late summer/early fall season. If you are shopper in our store and would like to see a specific event or manufacturer at a Trunk Show, please drop us a line and let us know who you'd like to see!

Voting, Freedom for All

Jeremy and I left home early this morning so we could pre-vote in the Primary Presidential election, which we did successfully and with absolutely no waiting line whatsoever! I highly recommend pre-voting, in part because the lines are minimal, and in part because as an American, it is a privilege that we have a "say" in the way our country is run. The way I see it - if you don't vote, you have absolutely no right to complain about our government; and when you do vote, you have the opportunity to really think about who you are, what you believe, and why you believe what you do.

This morning as I got out of the car and began to walk into the library where we were voting, I had this sudden emotion come over me ... the emotion I felt this morning was hard to suppress. I tried to avoid the librarian at the front door, I didn't want to make eye contact with the woman asking to see my voter ID card, and I deliberately dove to a voting booth ahead of Jeremy so he wouldn't see tears in my eyes.  When we left the building, I grabbed Jeremy's hand and said, "I get so emotional when I vote," to which he replied, "Why?"

"Because, we are free to vote. How many people around the world are not free, not to mention free to vote for their own leader?"

Last night we watched the movie Amazing Grace, which is the story of William Wilberforce who led Great Britain out of the slave market era. Imagine all the lives that were freed as a result of his courageous fight? And there are lives that have been freed from slavery across the globe, not just for slave trading, but for countless other strongholds that our human mind can not conceive. And yet, we complain about our daily lives: the economy, gas prices, health care, immigration, being green, and on and on and on.

These are, quite frankly, luxuries, and above all else, they are freedoms, for which we are given by the generations that have gone before us, and paid prices I wonder if we'd be willing to pay today.

So go vote. Get emotional. Share what freedom means to you with someone else. Enjoy your freedom. Live in this freedom.

Our Trunk Show This Evening!

Tonight we are hosting an exclusive Trunk Show with evening wear designer, Adrianna Papell. We have an extra 140 dresses in our store right now, waiting for women to come check them out, see what will work for them, and then order one! Or ten!

If you have never been to a trunk show, or are curious to find out what a "Trunk Show" is, I've written a Q&A about this industry event.

In the meantime, if you or someone you know needs a great dress - or ten - have them stop by this evening from 4-8. We will have all sorts of dresses, for all kinds of events, and all shapes, sizes and ages of women.

New Miss Nashville, Miss Athens of the South

This past Saturday evening was when I had the pleasure of judging the Miss Nashville pageant. In addition to the crowning of Miss Nashville, we also crowned Miss Athens of the South, so two crowns were awarded to two absolutely lovely young ladies.

I will admit... I had no idea the value of the Miss America "system" prior to Saturday. While I knew intellectually that Miss Americas were crowned based on more than beauty, I wasn't entirely sure how it worked. Now I understand that each young lady who enters any of the pageants (at a local, state or national level) has worked exceptionally hard to get to this stage in her life.

Here's a run-down of what they had to do on Saturday:
1. There were 7 judges who met early Saturday morning to do "the interview" with each contestant. We had fact sheets on the girls, and we had to take into consideration how well they had answered the questions on this sheet, including grammar and punctuation, as well as overall articulateness.
2. In the interview process - which was 10 minutes per candidate - we asked all sorts of questions. Everything from "how do you feel about the Miss America Reality Show?" (which I didn't even know existed) to "if you were to choose between a great job and a great man, which would you choose?" to "have you pre-voted and what qualities are important to you in our next President?"
3. We met back in the evening for the actual show where the young ladies competed in swimsuit, talent, evening gown, and the "fish bowl" question.

Judging was very difficult. Each young lady was her own person, and yet we had to ask ourselves as judges: "Would this person be a great Miss America? Is she articulate, confident, poised, attractive, kind, etc?  More importantly, will she represent Nashville well?"

In judging, I can honestly say beauty wasn't first and foremost in my mind. Each girl was beautiful. But beauty is skin-deep, and it was a true delight uncovering all the pieces that made these young ladies beautiful from the inside-out.

I have new respect for anyone that enters any of the pageants in conjunction with Miss America. They work hard, support great causes, and in the end, become resilient women who understand the true nature of beauty is about being well-rounded, confident women, willing to work hard and passionate about life.

Lessons from Lenny

Jeremy and I picked up Lenny last night from the airport. We all three agreed that when you're picking up someone from the airport who you've only met one other time, it's a bit of a challenge remembering what they look like in a crowd of airport folks! We did, however, finally find each other and had a great evening of getting to know each other, along with Steve and Lori.

This morning, Lori and I joined Lenny for breakfast, and then we took him to the store for a visit. He liked the store, and gave us some suggestions for merchandising not only his product, but even a competitor's product!

We found that when Lenny said, "I just want to get to know you guys," he really meant it. Very little business was discussed - or shall I say, we left with very few "action items!" We just had a great time getting to know each other, sharing stories, and hearing about his truly amazing experience in the apparel industry.

One particular thing that struck both Lori and me was Lenny's explanation of how and why they support Breast Cancer Research. For every jean sold, they give 50 cents to breast cancer research. They have, since 1997, given over $3,000,000 to Breast Cancer Research. I put all the zeroes in there so you could think to yourself, "Is that $3 million?" Yes! It is! Lenny's former business partner's wife had breast cancer, and it was a result of that experience that the company decided to support the reseach cause. It's a fabulous way to give, and I can't imagine any better research for a women's denim manufacturer to support than breast cancer.

Lenny was full of interesting facts and tidbits about not just the industry, but life... stories about how French Dressing began in 1908 as an overall business... women didn't wear jeans back then, the market for women's denim didn't even exist... to stories of how he nearly died in December of 2005, and how he lives life with a renewed passion and purpose as a result.

We're thrilled to know Lenny, to learn from him and work alongside of his business. I believe we will now sell French Dressing Denim with a new passion. Be sure to try on a pair for yourself when you're in the store, or else send all your short friends in to check 'em out. It's a jean worth wearing!

Agenda or No Agenda?

In past writings, I've written about our time with French Dressing President, Len Miller. He and I spoke yesterday and he is planning his visit to see us this weekend. He has invited the four of us (Lori, Steve, Jeremy and me) to dinner Sunday evening and then we'll spend time in the store on Monday. We are excited ... this is the first time we've had a company president fly from anywhere - much less Canada - to visit our store. In fact, we've never had one even visit our store - flying or driving!

I continually find humor in some of the differences in my present occupation and my prior one in publishing. Fashion is much more laid back, very relational, and borderline anti-orderly. For market, we try to keep a strict schedule only to find that being on time is optional; when we order something from a manufacturer, we expect it to arrive, and yet it could have been canceled and never even made - who cares if it was ordered? I try to email sales reps with orders... but they don't use email yet, "please call or fax me." Seriously. Who doesn't use email!?

But one thing this industry has going for it is people like Len. I emailed him yesterday to ask if we should work on an agenda for our meeting on Sunday evening. How silly for me to email! Thirty minutes later he called me back. He said the only "agenda" for him was to get to know us better. He said in 40 years of being in this business, we are the first people he's ever met that have had a business plan for their store. (OK, this illustrates yet another point - in publishing, we had a "business plan" for every single book!) He likes us. He wants to get to know us. Oh yeah, and we can work on doing something for petites. Talk about relationship!

Over the past year and a half - since leaving my publishing career - I get asked regularly, "Was it worth it? Are you glad you left? Do you have any regrets?" I'll be honest, there are days when I ask myself those same questions. But then there are days like yesterday, when I realize that in the midst of a hectic work day, there are still people that want to hear my voice, people that believe in what I'm doing, and people that want to develop a relationship. In the end, from publishing to health care to technology to entertainment to retail... it's the people you meet along the way -- the relationships -- that make life worthwhile.

Whatever your industry, perhaps this year is the year for you to set aside written agendas, pick up the phone, and get to know those you work with a little better. At my church we call it "community." And I believe you have to be deliberate about developing that community. Len sure is deliberate! So, go ahead. Pick up the phone. Call your next appointment instead of emailing. Spend time talking about real life, not just the bottom line. And take a few extra minutes to get to know someone that intrigues you, or you find interesting. You may be surprised just how much work gets done without an agenda!

New Year Plan

As we were coming to the end of 2007, I began to focus on what the next year would hold for Petite Boutique. Deep down, opening store # 2 has been my goal. But towards the end of November, I began to feel a bit antsy about opening a second store with so many unanswered questions for store # 1. So, after a week of daily prayer focused specifically on both the business and where we were suppose to be headed, I finally concluded that there are 4 main areas of our business where I am to focus in 2008. Here goes the plan:

1. Fit - I'm still surprised at how many lines don't fit consistently. There's nothing more frustrating to both me and to a client than fluctuating from one size to another - in the same day and in the same store! We've found a handful of lines that are fantastic fits, and guess what? They sell exceptionally well. So in 2008, I'm spending considerable time finding better fitting lines. This will likely take me to visit other retailers in different parts of the country and Canada to see what lines we've not found in Atlanta. One thing I have learned in the 11 months we've been in business is that women want great fitting clothes, and I want to provide this for them!

2. Process - We are beginning to document everything our business does. This will become known as our operational manual, and in order to grow into other locations, we must have procedures and processes documented accurately.

3. Events - Beginning this month, we will host a minimum of one event per month. We've learned that our clients need an excuse to get into the store, and we want to provide them with plenty of excuses! From fashion shows to trunk show, sales to premiers, we'll have it all!

4. E-Commerce -  Our website gets tremendous traffic, and we are #1 in google's ranking, so now it's time to turn those assets into another business! There are challenges around e-commerce - like having enough inventory, and the ability to explain to women how something fits - without a dressing room! But we're excited because we see it as a great place to grow without the overhead of another store.

I'm excited about 2008. There's alot to do, and so much more to learn. We reflect frequently upon this time last year when there was such much excitement about the store opening. I think 2008 will be a year of so much more growth and opportunity and I look forward to experiencing it all, and sharing it with you!