Success Story: Embracing Your Competition

New For You Consignment Boutique opened in 2012 in Lilburn, GA, and in that time, has enjoyed success thanks in part to owner Wendy Carter’s efforts to collaborate with other consignment shops in the area.

Wendy shared her secrets for success with us, discussing the events she’s hosted with other boutiques, what has worked well to attract and retain customers, and why giving back to the community is important to her.

When did you open? How many employees do you have?
I started nine months ago; we’re going into our 10th month in business. I hire help as needed when we are going to busy or during in-store events. 

What inspired you to open own business?
I worked in New York for 15 years in ready-to-wear in fashion design and in technical fashion design. In Georgia, I worked mostly in technical design and merchandising, so it had to be a fashion-related business–merchandising, marketing or design. I wanted to work for myself, but not get out of my lane and do something that I know best.

What do you like most about owning your own business? Anything you dislike?
The thing that I like the most is being able to make decisions to drive my business without having to go through several decision makers or meetings. I can make a decision based on what’s good for my business at that moment.

What makes you stand out from competition? What have you found works as far as retaining and attracting customers?
There are boutique and consignment shops popping up all over the place and some that have been around a long time. What makes mine different is that I work with different artisans and indie artists who are creating jewelry and accessories for the store. I know what my customers are looking for, and they can come in and find unique items.

To attract customers, we’ve found that direct mail works well. The store also has its own Facebook page, and we’re active on social media. What keeps them coming back is that we have great customer service, over-the-top customer service.

What has been your toughest challenge?
Our location. I picked a location in a historic area of town, Old Town Lilburn, and traffic has not been the same as it was in past years due to the closing of a restaurant and a few other shops, so the challenge has been to get the customers to come back and visit the new shops on Main Street. I have to be really pro-active when it comes to getting customers to come see what’s going on in the area.

What was something unexpected that you didn’t plan for, good or bad?
I was surprised at how much my customers promote the store via word-of-mouth. Once they come in, they usually tell their friends about the store, and the next thing you know, I have new customers coming in the door because their friend suggested that they visit my shop.

Anything you would do differently? One thing you would make sure to do again if you were just starting out?
I think I would do more pre-advertising for the store before it opened because I’ve found that direct mail has worked so well for us, I should have done more of that type of marketing.

The one thing I would do again is to collaborate with other local consignment shops and boutiques in the area. I collaborated with Sole Emporium, a shop located in historic Lawrenceville, GA, to organize a shopping tour. We invited three other consignment boutiques take part in the tour. We personally visited the local shops and invited them to participate in the tour. We hired a trolley and sold tickets to our customers. It was very successful–it was the most business that any of the stores have done since they’ve been open, including my own shop. All of the shop owners reported that it was their best of sales day ever and that they could not wait until the next shopping tour, so we’re doing it again in early March. So if I were to do anything again, I would not be afraid to collaborate with with other small consignment shops and boutiques to promote the growth of our small businesses. My customers now shop in all five stores, and I gained new customers as well.

You donate clothes and a portion of your profits to local charities. Why has giving back to the community been such an important part of your business?
For me personally, when I do well, I believe I should share it. There are a lot of people in the area who haven’t been employed in a long time. Some need clothes to wear on interviews, some need clothes because they’re going back into the work force. Many can’t afford to shop the way the used to before the economy changed so much. This is a way I can help.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to own their own business?
Do your homework and learn a lot about the business that you’re going into. If it’s not something that you already know about, then do a lot of research, get a mentor or work for someone who has experience in the area you’re going into. Market your business ahead of time. Have a plan to sustain yourself while growing your business because it may be awhile before you see a profit. Create excitement about your business before the doors even open. Market like crazy!