May 12, 2025 • 44 mins
Join host Misty Lynch as she sits down with Jennifer Cassara, CEO and founder of Good Robe and Co, to discuss her incredible journey through retail, entrepreneurship, and consulting. In this episode, you'll hear candid insights into money mindsets, business growth, and the realities behind building a brand.
Website: goodrobeandco.com
Instagram: @_jennifercassara/
LinkedIn: jennifer-cassara-9346b417/
Where to find Misty
Websites:
Instagram: @mistylynchcfp
- Jennifer shares her transition from corporate retail roles to launching her own boutiques and consulting business.
- The internal mindset shifts needed to embrace financial success and self-worth as an entrepreneur.
- Key lessons from experiencing both wins and setbacks in business—and why pivoting isn’t failure.
- Practical advice for negotiating your worth, asking for raises, and building confidence in your professional value.
- Tips on maximizing profitability in retail, from inventory analysis to creating money-making spaces.
Website: goodrobeandco.com
Instagram: @_jennifercassara/
LinkedIn: jennifer-cassara-9346b417/
Where to find Misty
Websites:
Instagram: @mistylynchcfp
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Demistifying Money Podcast, where each week you
will hear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success, money, business,
and small steps you can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Misty Lynch.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey everyone, thank you so much for joining us for
the Demistifying Money Podcast. I'm your host, Misty Lynch, and
today I'm joined by Jennifer Causera. She is the CEO
and founder of good Robe and Co. And Genesis Consulting,
and she's a powerhouse. She has thirty years of experience
in retail wholesale and she's very passionate about helping women
(00:38):
look and feel confident and helping entrepreneurs grow profitable brands
and businesses that they love. Jen thank you so much
for coming on the show today.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I am so excited to be here. I'm such a freean,
so this great for me.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
This episode of Demystifying Money with Misty Lynch is proudly
sponsored by Soundview Financial Advisors. Visit www dot Soundview financial
advisors dot com to learn more.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I want to talk to you today because you've done it.
You've done a lot in your career from both different
sides of the table, you know, as far as working
in corporate, working having your own brick and mortar, all
of these things, and consulting, and you know, you were
open with me, you know, when we were talking about
what we should you know, delve into on the show
about you know, different thoughts about guilt and money stories
(01:29):
that we tell ourselves and how people can start to
use money as a tool for growth and really start
to love making money and enjoying their business and being
you know, a part of it rather than just you know,
feeling like they're holding back. So I'd love to hear
a little bit more about you know, in your bio,
we mentioned how you like to you know, helping people
lights you up, and you also like style and coaching.
(01:53):
So tell me a little bit more about like when
you first realized that helping people in general was your calling.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It's it's it's my light up. So I remember even
being in college and we'd be getting ready, and I
always knew how to do like hair and makeup, and
so I would always get all of the girls in
my sorority ready, and then I would never have time
for myself and I'd be like, my hair's like in
a ponytail, like I don't even care about how I look.
(02:22):
It was just that moment of doing somebody's makeup or
doing their hair and seeing their face light up. And
that just continued in so many different forms. When I
had my stores, it was the same idea I had.
I had four boutiques called Bella and Bella's Closet, and
Bella's Closet was clothing. And when I'd get women in
(02:44):
there who were not feeling confident in their body, and
I'm like, you're just not putting the right things on it,
and I would get them into the fitting room and
I'd throw things at them and they would come out,
and to see, you know, their faces, you know, and
to like to see the difference between the woman that
walked into the store and the woman who was walking
(03:06):
out gave me just such a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
But then I'm also a geek, like no, seriously, like
like I have I have a mug that said, ooh,
this calls for a spreadsheet, like I am an excel. Okay.
My husband gets so excited, like he knows. He's like,
(03:27):
can you help me with a pivot table? Like when
can I do it like I like, give me a
good v look up, like I'm ready to go. And
so when I was at the paper store, we were
changing systems, and I just naturally became the lead and
the person who trained all the other buyers on the system.
(03:49):
And like, again, it's a whole different thing, right, It's
not necessarily making somebody feel good, but it's helping somebody
feel confident. And I do think it's a skill that
just comes from like just naturally from me and that
I love to be helpful, yeah, and make people like
(04:09):
see that they have the power, like even showing them systems.
It was very much like you know what happens if
we do this. I'm like, I don't know, let's find out,
Like let's do it together, let's you know, don't be scared,
you can't break it. And just giving them that confidence
you know that they are smarter than they think, or
they're you know, they look better than they think, you know,
(04:31):
And it's just finding that power within yourself.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
So that's I think that's great. I mean, and I
think a lot of the things that we you know,
enjoy doing or are good at, like a lot of
times it's just something that we try doing and a
few people were like, wow, I love it or thank
you so much that was you're so good at this,
And then I think we start to believe in ourselves,
like when you were doing people's makeup and hair before
they went out at night, you know, And I think
(04:56):
there is something that's really helpful about that, even if
it's just helping somebody like do the like this next
step or like take you know, learn something without feeling
embarrassed or discouraged and things like that when it comes
to even training on a system, because most people are
afraid of making a mistake. Most people are you.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Ever been trained by somebody who is like sort of
condescending you.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Should know this, and it's like, why why would I
know this? It's a you know, it's a great you know.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
You need somebody who lets you feel like, Okay, I
can screw this up right and I'll be fine.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And even with you know, when you mentioned with the
stores and helping people try on different things, a lot
of times people are just doing what we did the
day before and the day before that, and we're not
really thinking about anything new or different. So having another
perspective can be so helpful, especially when you might be like,
oh no, I can't, I can't try that, I can't
wear that. I just do this. And I think that's
(05:53):
something that maybe, you know, helping people are kind of
bringing out a different you know, just just helping them
try something new without feel, you know, feeling bad about
it is such a helpful skill that can translate into
so many other areas.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
I'm not too by the way, like I I like
going to anthropology and having them throw me in a
fitting room and throw me stuff, because hey, we're all
the same, right, I do the same things too, you mean,
on what you know. And so it's always good when
somebody can kind of let you think about something you
hadn't thought before.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, no, And I think that. I think it's really
I think it's fun to do that. And I think
it is kind of interesting when you see when you
have success there and you make people happy, or you
can see when people feel good, and you know, I
feel I see that a lot with people with money
that are constantly telling themselves that I'm terrible with this,
I'm not good with this, I don't know what to do,
and then I will find different points where they made
great financial decisions and things that they're doing well, but
(06:48):
they don't take any time to recognize that they have
this capability of doing that, maybe because they're looking at
other people as their lens. And so I think it's
it's super super important to just help people know, like, yo,
you could do this to yourself or you could have
help and both are fine. Well they're so I want
you ta the You've had a incredible career so far
from a buyer to senior vice president to founder. Can
(07:11):
you walk us through that a little bit about your
career journey so far?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, so, so I've always had this this sort of
entrepreneurial streak, so even working corporate. So I started at
Lord and Taylor in their executive training program, which is
like they used to call that like the boot camp
of buying, like it would train you, you know, in
all the facets. We have like a retail math class,
(07:36):
because you know, if you work with numbers and you
start doing retail numbers, people like, that's not the right equation.
I'm like, it is in retail, Like it's.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Just like paper towel math. I am good with numbers,
and I don't get it. I don't get it. It's
like this role equal eight roll and I'm like, something
beyond my comprehension.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Help, right, Like I do like like mark up and
stuff for my husband's like really that's how you do
so so yeah, it's it's really it's it's really interesting
that that, you know, when you when like I started,
I was in this like boot camp or whatever, but
it was very structured and I knew very quickly like
(08:16):
as much as I needed that foundation, I wanted to
do something. I always want to be more creative or
so it led me into even if it was, you know,
a corporate job, it's always been a more entrepreneurial from
that point on. So I went from Lord and Taylor
to Filing's basement, and Filing's basement was like you know,
(08:40):
I always say you were like moving and grooving. It
was negotiating, it was finding great deals. I was in
New York every week, you know, you would fly in
for two days, come back, you know, hit people, see
what kind of deals you could get, and so it
was it was as much as it was corporate, it
was still very entrepreneurial. But even when I was there,
that's when I got like the bub to do my
own stores and what happened was I would be traveling
(09:06):
and I'd see you know, we'd go to let's say
the Cape or Newport, and I always felt like there
were these great stores in all these kind of like
vacation resorty towns. I was like, why aren't there any
cool stores like that, like in a regular town, you know.
So that's how Bella was born. But the thing is
(09:27):
that I've always done clothing. So like Bella, which started
out as you know, like you know, like I don't know,
like candles and gifts and all of that home decor
stuff like that, it quickly evolved into clothing, which is
where Bella's closet was, and I just can't stay away
from it, Like it's kind of just as I jam
(09:49):
and then paper Store at the time didn't really have
fashion enjoy. This was two thousand and heat that I
started to work with them, and they had been coming
to my stores and we kind of touched on this
a little bit privately. But you know, after a while
of having your own business, you know, especially stores, and
I was growing, wasn't really taking in, like you're not
(10:12):
holding onto the money. It's like kind of you're constantly
like reinvesting, it's moving around.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, but it's not going to your Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Yeah, yeah, I'm not you know, I'm not getting anything
fun out of it. And and so, you know, when
I met with them and this idea of going back
to corporate, but still they are very At the time
they had eleven stores, now they have almost you know,
one hundred, and so to be able to like go
there and do that, it's still it felt like I
(10:40):
could do what I was doing with my boutiques, but
I would get a page, which was nice.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Yeah, And I think that's something that a lot of people,
you know, especially you know, I think we see we
see entrepreneurship kind of glamorized a lot in like social
media and like why are you working this for somebody
else's dream? I've seen these posts all the time because
this is what I But I do feel like there
are a lot of benefits of of working in a
(11:10):
creative corporate role or team or having you know, having
a job with a that gives you a solid paycheck.
And I don't think that that's necessarily something people talk
about much about trying things or going back or even
creating somewhat of a hybrid where you know, maybe you
have a little bit of both, because I do think
there feels like, and I've seen this with some people
who get into you know, selling other products or something
(11:31):
like that, where like, oh, well, you know you'll be
successful if you just pray harder or try harder or
talk to more people, where for some people might be
better suited right or being in a different or a
corporate role. So I think that's you know, I think
that's cool that you didn't say like, no, no, that
would be a step back for me. I couldn't do that.
I've done that before.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
No, it was it's an opportunity. My first paycheck, I
was just like, what do you want me to do?
I'll do it, Like I was just so happy to
get to get paid. I think going back and forth,
and that's what it kind of always done, is gone
back and forth between corporate and you know, my own endeavors,
and I think every step leads you to a different
(12:15):
place and you almost need like what that experience is.
Like I know now how to scale a business, right.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
Because I was with paper Store when it went from
eleven stores to you know, I think when I left
in twenty eighteen, they were like seventy five seventy six stores,
and I was a big part of the management team
and you know, helping the growth there.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And I feel like I wouldn't be as good of
an entrepreneur if I hadn't had that experience. And so
you know, when do you you know, until you scale,
you don't know how to scale. So working for somebody
who's scaling is you know, and you know, seeing the
system changes and working through all of that, like it's
(12:58):
the learning curve for me was incredible. But what happens
is you get I feel like you get something out
of each experience. Yes, And I think knowing when to
say okay, like now what you know, when you feel
like you're not growing or you're not and that's me.
I get antsy, you know, after a little while somewhere
and I feel like I'm not evolving. I mean, I
(13:19):
was at paper store for ten and a half years
because I had so many different roles, you know, within
the company, and you know, being able to do like
catalog like so I learned a ton and then I
just got to a point where I said, okay, I
don't know what I want to be when I grew up,
and it was the first time I left a job
without having a job or knowing what I was gonna do,
(13:43):
I literally just left and yeah, which is so not me.
I'm a very like uptight planned, you know, and I
didn't know. And then some of the you know, vendors
that I worked with that we bought from at paper
store reached out and I and that's how I ended
up now on the wholesale side, which was which is
(14:04):
great because it really gives me like the full view
of the market. And I do feel like my experience
as a buyer has tremendously helped me, you know, as
on the sales side, because I partner with them in
a different way because I understand, I understand what they're
dealing with.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
I think, I think, you know, it's interesting you mentioned
a few things, especially about like leaving a role without
having one. Was that was there? And I think sometimes
we think that there has to be some sort of
you know, crisis or bad or something that causes that,
because a lot of people will stay in the same
position for a long time, you know, and they will
(14:47):
not leave right until things get so bad or they're
forced out or they're laid off. What made you feel
like it was time to go or was it just
a gut feeling or was it so is there some
sort of change that kind of instigated it for you?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
It was definitely. I didn't feel the growth for a while,
like I kind of felt and I didn't really Usually
I have like in my head, Okay, this is next,
this is next, this is next, you know what, you
know what mountain arena climb next, you know. And the
whole time I was there, there was always something, whether
(15:24):
it was a new system to really you know, to integrate,
or it was you know, Alex Nannie, which was like,
you know, I managed that and that was a big deal.
It was you know, selling the company for equity. Like
there was always something. And I got to the point
where I felt like, okay, it was almost like I
can leave it in a good place. I knew that
(15:44):
I did a lot of the financials, and my assistant
at the time was incredible and she's still incredible and
she does all the planning now, and you know, I
kind of knew like, Okay, my buyer's in a good place,
you know. And I'm that kind of person who's how
could I leave this position if it's not in a
good place. And so it was a combination of everything
(16:05):
being in a good place, which is probably why I
was kind of antsy. And I had never not worked
from like when I was like fifteen, I've been working
not and like didn't take like I would work in
the I worked during college, I worked in the summers,
and I think I just wanted to walk away. And
I think I had this idea that I would figure
(16:26):
out what I want. I always say what I wanted
to be when I grow up, and and it was
literally the worst six months of my life because when
you identify with a role or you know, like oh,
I'm the you know, you know at the time, you know,
I was like, you know, doing art direction and like
(16:47):
in the DMM, like what are you now? And I panicked,
like I thought I was going to really enjoy some
time off and I didn't. So I actually had the
idea for good Rope during this time. And then a
company reached out and I know, on the whole sale side,
(17:07):
and said, you know, would you like to be our
sales director? And I was like yes. I thought I
was taking like the safe route, you know, and the
smart decision, and it ends up being a terrible situation,
which is also good, right, And what's funny is I said, Oh,
maybe I'm just not good at sales, and you know,
(17:31):
maybe this isn't you know, a right fit the whole
sale side. I'm a buyer. I'm a buyer or a buyer,
you know, I've always been on the retail side. And
it really just I was there a year and a
half and it was just a really bad situation, and
it culminated in, you know, COVID, and since I was
one of the last people and I was one of
the first people out during COVID, and I remember smiling
(17:52):
on the Zoom call when I was getting fired because
I was it was like such a relief to me.
And so I made a rule. I said, my next position,
I am not going to do wholesale. I am not
going to work for a single company, right, I'm going
to do consulting and work for multiples and I will
(18:13):
not work for a family run business because those were
all the facets of the job that I had just
been in that was terrible. So what happens another company
reaches out who I'd work with, who had wanted to
hire me when the first company did, and when they
heard that that I was let go during COVID. Maybe
(18:34):
two weeks into that, they called and they positioned it
as wanting consulting, and I didn't know it was like
a job interview. So and I remember saying, oh my god,
I love this company so much. I'm like, I can't believe,
like my first consulting company, and I you know, I
really like, I almost wish. And they offered me a
full time position and it was wholesale, it was working
(18:57):
for one company and it's a family business. So I
was like, I'm like, I'm doing everything I said I
wasn't gonna do. But I love it, you know, and
it actually loving that my day job and what I
do because it fuels me in a different way, allowed
me to do good road and allowed me to kind
(19:18):
of do the entrepreneurial thing that you know, it's it's
it's a different bug, it's a different and it takes
years to build, especially in a parel company. So for me,
I think I'd be an idiot if I didn't do something.
In addition, and I don't know, is it something that
I want to do? Long Like I'm kind of trying
to be open to seeing, you know, how things evolve
(19:41):
and not being so planned right, saying this is how
like seeing the end game, it's it's more interesting for
me now to just kind of go with the flow
and just watch everything unfold.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
That's a great lesson I think for people. And as
I you know, I've always you know, like you we
love a good strudgeet. It makes sense, you know, like
we're high achievers. Like there's a goal, we go get it.
We leave things in a good place, there's like a
finish line, and then things keep changing. So I love
that you kind of mentioned enjoying this process because I
do think and I'll talk to a lot of people
(20:16):
that are approaching retirement and they've never not worked, and
then they assume that retirement is just going to be
this blissful period and they haven't figured out what they're
going to do or how they're going to spend their time,
and they end up feeling quite unhappy in some situations.
And I see how that could be something that I
could experience myself, just based on how I am where
(20:36):
some people are like, I know exactly what I would do.
I would do this, I'd feel my time this way,
where I feel like I might be bored within three months,
and so I think there's something too kind of understanding that.
But I also like the fact that you're just enjoying
this process right now, because that's life. Like, this is
the whole what you're doing. It's not necessarily passing the
(21:00):
completing the goal, the launch. All that excitement is good,
but really it's that whole process that has to be
you know, you have to be happy while you're in it,
or else it's going to constantly get bigger and further
down the road. And so I think that's just such
an important thing to learn and also to be like, Okay,
I figured out what I don't like here, but being
(21:21):
open to other experiences instead of just you could have
said no, you're a family company, no you're this, and
maybe something else would have come up. That would have
been great. But also it's not having those hard lines,
those rules and making sure that you're actually, you know,
(21:42):
giving something a try, whether it means leaving entrepreneurship and
going back to corporate or trying something different. I just
I think it's really helpful for people to understand that
there is no there is no rules, there's no rule
book or like some right path, no.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Failing I think with my first with my first business,
I remember being hysterical, like as much as I couldn't,
there was a part of me that was it was
such you have, you know, four stores, Like I didn't
have a weekend, I didn't have a life, I didn't
have money. It was such a burden. Yet the thought
of losing it to me meant in some ways as
(22:21):
much as like I'd won Best of Boston or I'd
done you know whatever, all the good things you tend
to when something ends, think that you've failed. And I didn't.
And you know, you know, if I had wanted to
continue that forever, I guess, yes, that would have been
that would have been somewhat of a fail. But I've stopped,
(22:42):
sort of like there's so many things with business that
can go wrong that are outside of you, and so
many things that can go right that are outside of you,
and I stopped. I think, I think I stopped putting
my worth, tying my worth to those things, where like
now I kind of say, oh, good, world doesn't work,
(23:04):
Like does it make me any less of a good entrepreneur?
Or you know, you can make those changes and you
can you know, what's that saying? You know what, like
you know, let you know, letting go of a mistake
even though you've you've taken so long to make it.
It's like, you know, you have to know like that
it's okay to pivot. That's worse to me is when
(23:26):
you feel trapped by your own decisions and having that
ability to just kind of go okay, So I was
moving this way, but now it doesn't seem like that's
a good idea.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, And I think that's something that everybody experiences. That's
and like honestly, like nobody cares about it more than
we do, and thinking it's the biggest deal in the world.
Everyone's gonna think I'm this like I you know, but
everyone's gonna think that I should have stayed in this
corporate tocula. Nobody actually really does think that much about
anybody outside of their own like themselves, their family. So
(23:59):
I wanted to talk with you though, because you mentioned
your mindset, and you mentioned some of the shifts that
you had, and you shared with me that you've had
a love hate relationship with money, like you were working
no weekends for businesses, no money. You mentioned no money.
I think a lot of listeners can relate to that.
Can you tell us about what helped you shift into
knowing that you should be getting paid what you're worth.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
And I'm still working on that, by the way, I'm
still I'm still working like it is still a work.
I feel like it's a work in progress, like I'm
I when it's yours. So I never used to carry
business cards for my stores. Think about that, Yeah, Like
I'd be wearing my clothes from the stores and I
(24:40):
wouldn't have business cards with me. I had business cards,
I wouldn't carry them because I felt like there was
something I don't know wrong about pushing my business.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Motion talking about your Yeah. No, I think that there's
a lot of times where we we think about and
you know, mentioned it before. I've to some people that
represent other products, other companies, and they're very, very very
good at talking about other people's business or getting you know,
oh you love this. I got this here, I got
this here, this is how much I paid for it,
this is where you can go get it about something
(25:14):
we find at TJ Max. However, this is your, your brand,
your clothes, And so I think there is that feeling
of I can't I can't try to be too success.
I have to be a little bit smaller.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
And wanting money, right, wanting money for me.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I grew up during like Wall Street, like eighties, like
Greek is Good and all that, and I feel like
all those movies, all they really taught you was, you know,
you shouldn't be greedy. You you know, like there's something
like that's great, right, The want of money, you know,
is like a bit bad thing. And so what first
started it for me to do to make the shift
(25:57):
was this idea that if I wanted to continue doing
something and making an impact and doing what I need
the money. It's not a luxury, it's not a there's
a certain amount of money that needs to come in
to to fuel that. And then and then there was
also this idea of like I was never one to
(26:19):
ask for a raise or you know, but I would
feel like I was maybe like being underpaid or you know.
And it was funny in my day job, like you know,
a year year and a half ago, I it was
like the first time I kind of advocated for myself
and I had a specific number in my head, and
(26:40):
I don't know, something like why shouldn't I ask for
what I I know? And I did research like I
wasn't asking for a number that was like a crazy
number and I got it, and I don't know, there
was something like it felt right. Yeah, And I feel
like the more you kind of dip your toe into
it and you have some success with it, and you
(27:04):
you know, you're let that. I know that I'm bringing
value every day I look at how much I bring
into the company. I do. That's just how I was raised,
and it's like, okay, close this deal for this, you know,
sold this. We had this amount of you know, this
amount of orders coming in, like and I know I
worked towards that. I knew what I brought to the
(27:25):
to the business, and so for me, it was just
it was that last step of advocating that I couldn't
get beyond. And so you know, once I think I
crossed that, it's really important because now that I do
consulting too, I feel like I needed to learn that
lesson before consulting, because consulting to me is even different
(27:48):
than a salary, right, Like, it's you know, you're you're
you're commanding an amount, and to a certain extent, we
feel like we need to justify that amount. And sometimes
people think it's the like that actual job that you're
doing that specific project, but it's really the thirty plus
years of experience that you bring into that and getting
(28:10):
used to that. But I do feel like the more
you do it, it gets easier.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, And I think that it's definitely something I learned.
I noticed this in corporate and I've always been I
think I saw the same movies in the eighties and
had the other perspective being like, whoa I could actually
like make money and building other people's money and not
even like what so I thought investing was like this
was exactly what I needed to figure out. But when
(28:36):
I was in corporate, and I've been on the side of,
you know, being an individual contureor being a manager, and
I think a lot of people assume that everybody remembers
exactly what you did the whole you know season, and
they don't. And so I would keep and I tell
this to some of my clients too when they're talking
about going negotiating for a raise or talking to And
(28:57):
it's easier when you have evidence in proof, because I
think our brains want to be like no, no, no,
they're going to fire you. Worst case scenario, you're going
to be let go. They're going to think you're super selfish.
You're going to think you're terrible. But if you say
I closed this, I did this, I got this done,
and this done, that just kind of builds that folder.
I had an email folder and it was basically self.
When I would get something completed or I'd work on
(29:19):
a project, I would keep that there, and then it
wasn't just to make me feel better about myself when
it was time to talk about bonuses or salary or negotiate.
I wanted to make it as easy as possible for
my manager to be like, okay, yeah. Because we had
a grid, some people would be here, most people would
be in the middle, and then some at the bottom.
It was like a bell curve. I knew how it worked.
(29:39):
I wanted to make it as easy as possible for
that person to make that decision and have it be
to promote me or to because there was all the proof.
They didn't have to say it was favoritis her, or
is this or they just had these feelings. And I
think a lot of people don't do that because they
think but they should remember they should No, this was important.
(30:01):
There's a lot of other things going on there's plenty
of other people that report to them. They don't, so
don't assume they do. But also, you know, it is
intimidating to ask. I think a lot of people, a
lot of women feel like, but they're gonna think I'm greedy,
and then they wonder why somebody is getting so much
more for the same job than them because some men
weren't trained to feel like that's greedy, to be like,
(30:24):
I need money to pay my bills and support my family.
They're like, they're conditioned.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
To do that. Yeah, that to me is the norm
for that.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
That's normal. That's normal, And so I think that is
something that a lot of women having, that keeping being
your own biggest cheerleader, having those things that can kind
of tell your brain, yes, you do do some research,
what is this role pay? If I went to get
another job in the same industry, would they be paying
(30:55):
me twenty thousand dollars more, ten thousand dollars more, equity?
All of that? Did you just kind of then your
brain learns that, like, Okay, this is fair, and fair
is something that I think a lot of people can
get behind because that sounds different than I just want
more money because I like having money and I like
sending money, which is also totally fine. I like money,
like spending money.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
But yeah, to your point about keeping that list. So
what it did for me was twofold like I did
the same thing. So I it was really funny because
I put off asking because I wanted to complete my list,
and I'd been working on my list for a couple
of weeks. It's really funny because he came to me
to say, you need a raise, and I had already
(31:39):
been so I was already almost at the arm. It
was really weird how it happened. And what having that
list also does is it gives you the confidence yeah,
because you go, oh, yeah, I did this, and I
did this, and I did this, And so any part
of you that was thinking, oh am I being greedy?
(31:59):
Am I you? By the time you get through that list,
you go, yeah, I should be asking what am I crazy?
Like I should ask?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
And I had some people that would ask for braces
and promotions that had done nothing. They'd done like a
mediocre job, but they didn't they felt like entitled to it, right,
And so it was funny how you'd have these people
who were getting everything done behind the scenes, quietly, maybe
not even taking credit for any of the work, and
then all of a sudden there'd be somebody else being like,
I've been here six months, I deserve a raise, and
I'm like, what, like, uh no. But it was interesting
(32:31):
when it was the men versus the woman.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
It's it's it's a different mentality and.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
They're not you know, it doesn't mean I'm gonna say yes,
But it didn't mean I was going to fire him
for asking either. It was just like, okay, no, but
maybe if you work on this or do some of
these things, then we could talk about it. Meanwhile, the
other you know, some other people would be absolutely probably
going home maybe being pissed off or frustrated because they
didn't get promoted or I wasn't coming to talk to them.
(32:57):
And I was like, you know, we have kind of
corporate structure. This is the time period that it happens,
you know. But who knows if if some of those
conversations that we have in our head would go very
differently if we had them out loud with a person.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
And I also kind of feel like putting it out there,
right even if I didn't get the amount that I
wanted to, then we could work towards it, or you
to your point you when you like other people who
might be going home frustrated, like you kind of do
that to yourself if you don't ask, like you, it'll
be no. As long as you don't ask.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Absolutely you're guaranteeing it's a no. Where like it might
be a no. But I think if the thing about
having done your research and your homework and having a
good at least a good case for it, almost like
you know, if you were like a trial, like, Okay,
this is kind of like I'm coming up with evidence
I have I have done good work. Maybe it's not
(33:56):
a yes right now, but it might be a yes
in the future, or it might show oh that you
are looking for something similar to other or that you're competent,
that you're doing all these things. And I think that yeah,
just assuming that people are just gonna remember or know
especially they might need to not even know that it
was you doing the work or how much you contributed,
I think it's I think it's really it's kind of
(34:19):
like its own project, just such a small project to
do that and to make sure because when you get
those opportunities to make more money, they don't come every
single day when you're working in a corporate role or
you're working you know, like when you're like with consulting,
like you set your fee, you have to know what
you bring to You have to kind of set your
pricing properly, which is also something that can be very
(34:42):
tricky for entrepreneurs to do because they feel like, oh,
I could sell this for this top tier price, but
if it's my stuff, I should be getting it away,
right because that's that's nicer. Yeah, so tell me what
the consulting business tell me a little bit about with
Because you have the unique perspective of both sides buy
our seller, what does that insider knowledge help you when
(35:02):
you're when you're training and talking to your consulting clients.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
So I know what each side needs, right, So if
you're a wholesale customer, I know when a buyer is
making their decision what they're looking at, you know. So
I'm really product like product is my thing. So it
really is about like understanding from the buyer side. If
(35:26):
I if I'm working with a wholesaler, Okay, it needs
to be in this price point, it needs to be
packaged this way. You need to put that in this
kind of catalog you need to have upc like all
of like the but there's also an understanding of the
vision and the branding and how to align yourself appropriately
(35:46):
and then how to sell it on the other side,
the buying side, So like from the from the retail side,
it's interesting because I do feel like a lot of people,
especially if they're smaller retailers, don't necessarily get trained. It's
sort of like, you know, I'm buying a store. Everybody
(36:07):
wants to open a store. Yeah, which is.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
People want to open a store, or you see people
on like Bar Rescue or like you just they want
to open a restaurant or a bar because they like
spending time in them. It's super fun and they have.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
No no business, no.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Knowledge of the behind the scenes that makes that experience.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
By the way, that is my goal job is to
be on Bravo and be like like like Bar Rescue.
Speaker 5 (36:36):
We love.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I feel like it's great to have that vision and
to know what you do. But I do feel like
there's a part of it, that whole, that whole part
behind the scenes that is the reason why some are
profitable and some are not. It is not that it's
not that external piece.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
It's when you're story management, it's understanding what half of them.
And I will tell you this because I'm on the
whole sale side and I work with even big retailers.
Do you know how many of them don't do the
analysis or have the time to do the analysis necessary
to So what happens is I walk into a store
and just from my years of having my own store
(37:16):
and department store off price, like I've done it all,
I walk in and to me, I walk in and
I say, is this spot paying for itself? I so
like every piece, every footprint, and a store should have
a money maker on it, even if you have other
fund You need those other fun things right to make
(37:36):
it interesting. But you also need to know your money makers,
and you need and I think there's an element of
retail that is very sort of emotional, and so people
who open stores sometimes don't have that background to understand
their inventory turn or their sales per square foot or
(38:01):
you know, transitioning markdowns. When do you mark it down?
When do you like all of those things which are
to me, you know, second nature. So I walk into
a store and I'm a me like, okay, like i
I'll travel for for Periwinkle, my the jewelry company, the
wholesale jewelry company, And I'll walk in and you know,
I'll talk about Periwinkle for maybe like five or ten minutes,
(38:24):
and then it ends up always becoming about the rest
of the store. Like I'll and something be in the
front and I'm like, oh, that's still selling for you,
and they're like no, And I'm like, why is it
still in the front of your store? Like, you know,
Like so there's there's this element of you know, looking
at things and understanding what should be happening, and I
don't think that happens a lot. So it gets sometimes
(38:47):
like it's just even small tweaks, and a lot of
times they instinctively kind of know like that's been sitting
for a long time, it needs to move or but
they don't really know the process.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
So and so is this process because I know, we
talked about growing Periwinkle sales by like thirty percent, you know,
is that it like is it knowing the process? Because
I feel like there's a lot of times where people
like I seriously think they feel like they need to
just do more of the same or more of what
they're doing better, where I think you're looking at it
(39:20):
from a completely different perspective, not like, oh this hasn't sold,
I need to put it in more people's faces. It's
like no, like Sime, it back so right.
Speaker 3 (39:30):
So for me now in this side, I so I
always so my whole thing is be of service, and honestly,
like so, we brought in an additional So what's really
funny is I got my raise and then I picked
up for the company a million and a half in
sales last year, which you know, there's a part of
me that I said to myself, well, thank god, because
(39:51):
I would have felt really guilty. But I forgot the raise,
didn't like you know what I mean. Then I was
sort of like, oh yeah, I crushed that. So what
we're doing differently than most wholesale companies is I always
say be of service and remove the obstacles. And I'm
lucky enough to have owners who understand this. And it's
(40:14):
really about it's jewelry. It's not a fine wine. It's
not going to get better. You need to turn the inventory.
So for me, it's partnering with retailers in a way
that most brands don't. And it's okay if this item
hasn't sold in six months, We're going to credit you
for it, and let's get you back into what's working.
It's send me your selling so I can analyze it
and see what's working, what's not working. It's really doing
(40:36):
the work that they don't have the time to do,
and partnering with them in a way where I'm almost
like they're fractional buyer for the line where you know,
and not many sales managers have that expertise, so it's
just kind of just and my boss knowing this, I said,
(40:57):
a buyer is not going to buy something if they
can't see it. He created a whole system behind this
idea of us assorting for people and suggesting the orders
where it's just an easy drag and drop for me.
I can run sales and create these assortments for people
based on what's really turning versus Oh, I like that style,
and it's made all the difference in the world so.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Smart removing the obstacles making it like that alone has
so much, so much value, And I think, yeah, it's interesting, Beau.
People trained in different ways and so even I think
that's where having different roles entrepreneurship corporate all of that
even if you feel like I can't believe you know,
I'm not using the I'm not using the degree that
(41:42):
I paid this much money for. I'm doing something totally different.
I switched from this job to that. All of it
is building up that knowledge and you don't know exactly
where it's going to fit in, but usually somewhere along
the line, whether it's that fractionable and whatever it was
that that person needed that they didn't have in their
traditional sales team, that can make such a massive difference.
(42:03):
And so it's not necessarily going to be one training
session that teaches you all the things you need to know.
So I think that's I think that's great that you
figured it out how to how to help people with
you know, everything that you've learned in your journey. So
it was so wonderful to meet today. I would love
for you to know it's just been such a great conversation.
(42:24):
I love what you're doing. I would absolutely watch that
show You're the Body You of Fashion. That is it's
just very fascinating to me because I feel like these
people have these best intentions, good heart, all of that,
but they're there's something missing that like I feel like
somebody like you can certainly help with how can people
find you if they want to learn more about you
(42:44):
or any of the businesses.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
So, really, good Robin Co is what I'm on Instagram with,
what I'm on Facebook with and then LinkedIn. I'm just
Jennifer Casera. But honestly, if you went to good Robin
Co with me, all right, send me a message, You're
gonna get to me. Honestly, I want to say, it's
so funny. Instagram is where I get the most. But
(43:08):
if they went to the Good robincode dot com, you
can actually send messages as well through the website, so
and it's a great place to see the collection. So yeah,
I would love that.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Well, thank you so much for joining me. I'm a
huge fan. I'm going to go check out the website,
and I hope everybody, if you're listening and you felt
someone inspired by this conversation, please please go review the
show share it. I think it was such a such
a helpful conversation to learn, you know, different sides of
business and entrepreneurship and those money money stories that we
tell ourselves that we all could use some work on.
(43:40):
If you're looking to work on your own financial future
and you'd like to set up a time to chat
with me, please head over to Misty Lynch dot com
or you can find me at Soundufinancial Advisors dot com.
Take care and we'll talk again next week. Thank you
for joining us on another insightful episode of Demist Buying Money.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave
a review. Stay tuned for more engaging conversations on our
(44:02):
next episode, and remember knowledge is the key to financial empowerment.
Welcome to the Demistifying Money Podcast, where each week you
will hear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success, money, business,
and small steps you can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Misty Lynch.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey everyone, thank you so much for joining us for
the Demistifying Money Podcast. I'm your host, Misty Lynch, and
today I'm joined by Jennifer Causera. She is the CEO
and founder of good Robe and Co. And Genesis Consulting,
and she's a powerhouse. She has thirty years of experience
in retail wholesale and she's very passionate about helping women
(00:38):
look and feel confident and helping entrepreneurs grow profitable brands
and businesses that they love. Jen thank you so much
for coming on the show today.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I am so excited to be here. I'm such a freean,
so this great for me.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
This episode of Demystifying Money with Misty Lynch is proudly
sponsored by Soundview Financial Advisors. Visit www dot Soundview financial
advisors dot com to learn more.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I want to talk to you today because you've done it.
You've done a lot in your career from both different
sides of the table, you know, as far as working
in corporate, working having your own brick and mortar, all
of these things, and consulting, and you know, you were
open with me, you know, when we were talking about
what we should you know, delve into on the show
about you know, different thoughts about guilt and money stories
(01:29):
that we tell ourselves and how people can start to
use money as a tool for growth and really start
to love making money and enjoying their business and being
you know, a part of it rather than just you know,
feeling like they're holding back. So I'd love to hear
a little bit more about you know, in your bio,
we mentioned how you like to you know, helping people
lights you up, and you also like style and coaching.
(01:53):
So tell me a little bit more about like when
you first realized that helping people in general was your calling.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It's it's it's my light up. So I remember even
being in college and we'd be getting ready, and I
always knew how to do like hair and makeup, and
so I would always get all of the girls in
my sorority ready, and then I would never have time
for myself and I'd be like, my hair's like in
a ponytail, like I don't even care about how I look.
(02:22):
It was just that moment of doing somebody's makeup or
doing their hair and seeing their face light up. And
that just continued in so many different forms. When I
had my stores, it was the same idea I had.
I had four boutiques called Bella and Bella's Closet, and
Bella's Closet was clothing. And when I'd get women in
(02:44):
there who were not feeling confident in their body, and
I'm like, you're just not putting the right things on it,
and I would get them into the fitting room and
I'd throw things at them and they would come out,
and to see, you know, their faces, you know, and
to like to see the difference between the woman that
walked into the store and the woman who was walking
(03:06):
out gave me just such a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
But then I'm also a geek, like no, seriously, like
like I have I have a mug that said, ooh,
this calls for a spreadsheet, like I am an excel. Okay.
My husband gets so excited, like he knows. He's like,
(03:27):
can you help me with a pivot table? Like when
can I do it like I like, give me a
good v look up, like I'm ready to go. And
so when I was at the paper store, we were
changing systems, and I just naturally became the lead and
the person who trained all the other buyers on the system.
(03:49):
And like, again, it's a whole different thing, right, It's
not necessarily making somebody feel good, but it's helping somebody
feel confident. And I do think it's a skill that
just comes from like just naturally from me and that
I love to be helpful, yeah, and make people like
(04:09):
see that they have the power, like even showing them systems.
It was very much like you know what happens if
we do this. I'm like, I don't know, let's find out,
Like let's do it together, let's you know, don't be scared,
you can't break it. And just giving them that confidence
you know that they are smarter than they think, or
they're you know, they look better than they think, you know,
(04:31):
And it's just finding that power within yourself.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
So that's I think that's great. I mean, and I
think a lot of the things that we you know,
enjoy doing or are good at, like a lot of
times it's just something that we try doing and a
few people were like, wow, I love it or thank
you so much that was you're so good at this,
And then I think we start to believe in ourselves,
like when you were doing people's makeup and hair before
they went out at night, you know, And I think
(04:56):
there is something that's really helpful about that, even if
it's just helping somebody like do the like this next
step or like take you know, learn something without feeling
embarrassed or discouraged and things like that when it comes
to even training on a system, because most people are
afraid of making a mistake. Most people are you.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Ever been trained by somebody who is like sort of
condescending you.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Should know this, and it's like, why why would I
know this? It's a you know, it's a great you know.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
You need somebody who lets you feel like, Okay, I
can screw this up right and I'll be fine.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And even with you know, when you mentioned with the
stores and helping people try on different things, a lot
of times people are just doing what we did the
day before and the day before that, and we're not
really thinking about anything new or different. So having another
perspective can be so helpful, especially when you might be like,
oh no, I can't, I can't try that, I can't
wear that. I just do this. And I think that's
(05:53):
something that maybe, you know, helping people are kind of
bringing out a different you know, just just helping them
try something new without feel, you know, feeling bad about
it is such a helpful skill that can translate into
so many other areas.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
I'm not too by the way, like I I like
going to anthropology and having them throw me in a
fitting room and throw me stuff, because hey, we're all
the same, right, I do the same things too, you mean,
on what you know. And so it's always good when
somebody can kind of let you think about something you
hadn't thought before.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, no, And I think that. I think it's really
I think it's fun to do that. And I think
it is kind of interesting when you see when you
have success there and you make people happy, or you
can see when people feel good, and you know, I
feel I see that a lot with people with money
that are constantly telling themselves that I'm terrible with this,
I'm not good with this, I don't know what to do,
and then I will find different points where they made
great financial decisions and things that they're doing well, but
(06:48):
they don't take any time to recognize that they have
this capability of doing that, maybe because they're looking at
other people as their lens. And so I think it's
it's super super important to just help people know, like, yo,
you could do this to yourself or you could have
help and both are fine. Well they're so I want
you ta the You've had a incredible career so far
from a buyer to senior vice president to founder. Can
(07:11):
you walk us through that a little bit about your
career journey so far?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, so, so I've always had this this sort of
entrepreneurial streak, so even working corporate. So I started at
Lord and Taylor in their executive training program, which is
like they used to call that like the boot camp
of buying, like it would train you, you know, in
all the facets. We have like a retail math class,
(07:36):
because you know, if you work with numbers and you
start doing retail numbers, people like, that's not the right equation.
I'm like, it is in retail, Like it's.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Just like paper towel math. I am good with numbers,
and I don't get it. I don't get it. It's
like this role equal eight roll and I'm like, something
beyond my comprehension.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Help, right, Like I do like like mark up and
stuff for my husband's like really that's how you do
so so yeah, it's it's really it's it's really interesting
that that, you know, when you when like I started,
I was in this like boot camp or whatever, but
it was very structured and I knew very quickly like
(08:16):
as much as I needed that foundation, I wanted to
do something. I always want to be more creative or
so it led me into even if it was, you know,
a corporate job, it's always been a more entrepreneurial from
that point on. So I went from Lord and Taylor
to Filing's basement, and Filing's basement was like you know,
(08:40):
I always say you were like moving and grooving. It
was negotiating, it was finding great deals. I was in
New York every week, you know, you would fly in
for two days, come back, you know, hit people, see
what kind of deals you could get, and so it
was it was as much as it was corporate, it
was still very entrepreneurial. But even when I was there,
that's when I got like the bub to do my
own stores and what happened was I would be traveling
(09:06):
and I'd see you know, we'd go to let's say
the Cape or Newport, and I always felt like there
were these great stores in all these kind of like
vacation resorty towns. I was like, why aren't there any
cool stores like that, like in a regular town, you know.
So that's how Bella was born. But the thing is
(09:27):
that I've always done clothing. So like Bella, which started
out as you know, like you know, like I don't know,
like candles and gifts and all of that home decor
stuff like that, it quickly evolved into clothing, which is
where Bella's closet was, and I just can't stay away
from it, Like it's kind of just as I jam
(09:49):
and then paper Store at the time didn't really have
fashion enjoy. This was two thousand and heat that I
started to work with them, and they had been coming
to my stores and we kind of touched on this
a little bit privately. But you know, after a while
of having your own business, you know, especially stores, and
I was growing, wasn't really taking in, like you're not
(10:12):
holding onto the money. It's like kind of you're constantly
like reinvesting, it's moving around.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, but it's not going to your Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Yeah, yeah, I'm not you know, I'm not getting anything
fun out of it. And and so, you know, when
I met with them and this idea of going back
to corporate, but still they are very At the time
they had eleven stores, now they have almost you know,
one hundred, and so to be able to like go
there and do that, it's still it felt like I
(10:40):
could do what I was doing with my boutiques, but
I would get a page, which was nice.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Yeah, And I think that's something that a lot of people,
you know, especially you know, I think we see we
see entrepreneurship kind of glamorized a lot in like social
media and like why are you working this for somebody
else's dream? I've seen these posts all the time because
this is what I But I do feel like there
are a lot of benefits of of working in a
(11:10):
creative corporate role or team or having you know, having
a job with a that gives you a solid paycheck.
And I don't think that that's necessarily something people talk
about much about trying things or going back or even
creating somewhat of a hybrid where you know, maybe you
have a little bit of both, because I do think
there feels like, and I've seen this with some people
who get into you know, selling other products or something
(11:31):
like that, where like, oh, well, you know you'll be
successful if you just pray harder or try harder or
talk to more people, where for some people might be
better suited right or being in a different or a
corporate role. So I think that's you know, I think
that's cool that you didn't say like, no, no, that
would be a step back for me. I couldn't do that.
I've done that before.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
No, it was it's an opportunity. My first paycheck, I
was just like, what do you want me to do?
I'll do it, Like I was just so happy to
get to get paid. I think going back and forth,
and that's what it kind of always done, is gone
back and forth between corporate and you know, my own endeavors,
and I think every step leads you to a different
(12:15):
place and you almost need like what that experience is.
Like I know now how to scale a business, right.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
Because I was with paper Store when it went from
eleven stores to you know, I think when I left
in twenty eighteen, they were like seventy five seventy six stores,
and I was a big part of the management team
and you know, helping the growth there.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And I feel like I wouldn't be as good of
an entrepreneur if I hadn't had that experience. And so
you know, when do you you know, until you scale,
you don't know how to scale. So working for somebody
who's scaling is you know, and you know, seeing the
system changes and working through all of that, like it's
(12:58):
the learning curve for me was incredible. But what happens
is you get I feel like you get something out
of each experience. Yes, And I think knowing when to
say okay, like now what you know, when you feel
like you're not growing or you're not and that's me.
I get antsy, you know, after a little while somewhere
and I feel like I'm not evolving. I mean, I
(13:19):
was at paper store for ten and a half years
because I had so many different roles, you know, within
the company, and you know, being able to do like
catalog like so I learned a ton and then I
just got to a point where I said, okay, I
don't know what I want to be when I grew up,
and it was the first time I left a job
without having a job or knowing what I was gonna do,
(13:43):
I literally just left and yeah, which is so not me.
I'm a very like uptight planned, you know, and I
didn't know. And then some of the you know, vendors
that I worked with that we bought from at paper
store reached out and I and that's how I ended
up now on the wholesale side, which was which is
(14:04):
great because it really gives me like the full view
of the market. And I do feel like my experience
as a buyer has tremendously helped me, you know, as
on the sales side, because I partner with them in
a different way because I understand, I understand what they're
dealing with.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
I think, I think, you know, it's interesting you mentioned
a few things, especially about like leaving a role without
having one. Was that was there? And I think sometimes
we think that there has to be some sort of
you know, crisis or bad or something that causes that,
because a lot of people will stay in the same
position for a long time, you know, and they will
(14:47):
not leave right until things get so bad or they're
forced out or they're laid off. What made you feel
like it was time to go or was it just
a gut feeling or was it so is there some
sort of change that kind of instigated it for you?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
It was definitely. I didn't feel the growth for a while,
like I kind of felt and I didn't really Usually
I have like in my head, Okay, this is next,
this is next, this is next, you know what, you
know what mountain arena climb next, you know. And the
whole time I was there, there was always something, whether
(15:24):
it was a new system to really you know, to integrate,
or it was you know, Alex Nannie, which was like,
you know, I managed that and that was a big deal.
It was you know, selling the company for equity. Like
there was always something. And I got to the point
where I felt like, okay, it was almost like I
can leave it in a good place. I knew that
(15:44):
I did a lot of the financials, and my assistant
at the time was incredible and she's still incredible and
she does all the planning now, and you know, I
kind of knew like, Okay, my buyer's in a good place,
you know. And I'm that kind of person who's how
could I leave this position if it's not in a
good place. And so it was a combination of everything
(16:05):
being in a good place, which is probably why I
was kind of antsy. And I had never not worked
from like when I was like fifteen, I've been working
not and like didn't take like I would work in
the I worked during college, I worked in the summers,
and I think I just wanted to walk away. And
I think I had this idea that I would figure
(16:26):
out what I want. I always say what I wanted
to be when I grow up, and and it was
literally the worst six months of my life because when
you identify with a role or you know, like oh,
I'm the you know, you know at the time, you know,
I was like, you know, doing art direction and like
(16:47):
in the DMM, like what are you now? And I panicked,
like I thought I was going to really enjoy some
time off and I didn't. So I actually had the
idea for good Rope during this time. And then a
company reached out and I know, on the whole sale side,
(17:07):
and said, you know, would you like to be our
sales director? And I was like yes. I thought I
was taking like the safe route, you know, and the
smart decision, and it ends up being a terrible situation,
which is also good, right, And what's funny is I said, Oh,
maybe I'm just not good at sales, and you know,
(17:31):
maybe this isn't you know, a right fit the whole
sale side. I'm a buyer. I'm a buyer or a buyer,
you know, I've always been on the retail side. And
it really just I was there a year and a
half and it was just a really bad situation, and
it culminated in, you know, COVID, and since I was
one of the last people and I was one of
the first people out during COVID, and I remember smiling
(17:52):
on the Zoom call when I was getting fired because
I was it was like such a relief to me.
And so I made a rule. I said, my next position,
I am not going to do wholesale. I am not
going to work for a single company, right, I'm going
to do consulting and work for multiples and I will
(18:13):
not work for a family run business because those were
all the facets of the job that I had just
been in that was terrible. So what happens another company
reaches out who I'd work with, who had wanted to
hire me when the first company did, and when they
heard that that I was let go during COVID. Maybe
(18:34):
two weeks into that, they called and they positioned it
as wanting consulting, and I didn't know it was like
a job interview. So and I remember saying, oh my god,
I love this company so much. I'm like, I can't believe,
like my first consulting company, and I you know, I
really like, I almost wish. And they offered me a
full time position and it was wholesale, it was working
(18:57):
for one company and it's a family business. So I
was like, I'm like, I'm doing everything I said I
wasn't gonna do. But I love it, you know, and
it actually loving that my day job and what I
do because it fuels me in a different way, allowed
me to do good road and allowed me to kind
(19:18):
of do the entrepreneurial thing that you know, it's it's
it's a different bug, it's a different and it takes
years to build, especially in a parel company. So for me,
I think I'd be an idiot if I didn't do something.
In addition, and I don't know, is it something that
I want to do? Long Like I'm kind of trying
to be open to seeing, you know, how things evolve
(19:41):
and not being so planned right, saying this is how
like seeing the end game, it's it's more interesting for
me now to just kind of go with the flow
and just watch everything unfold.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
That's a great lesson I think for people. And as
I you know, I've always you know, like you we
love a good strudgeet. It makes sense, you know, like
we're high achievers. Like there's a goal, we go get it.
We leave things in a good place, there's like a
finish line, and then things keep changing. So I love
that you kind of mentioned enjoying this process because I
do think and I'll talk to a lot of people
(20:16):
that are approaching retirement and they've never not worked, and
then they assume that retirement is just going to be
this blissful period and they haven't figured out what they're
going to do or how they're going to spend their time,
and they end up feeling quite unhappy in some situations.
And I see how that could be something that I
could experience myself, just based on how I am where
(20:36):
some people are like, I know exactly what I would do.
I would do this, I'd feel my time this way,
where I feel like I might be bored within three months,
and so I think there's something too kind of understanding that.
But I also like the fact that you're just enjoying
this process right now, because that's life. Like, this is
the whole what you're doing. It's not necessarily passing the
(21:00):
completing the goal, the launch. All that excitement is good,
but really it's that whole process that has to be
you know, you have to be happy while you're in it,
or else it's going to constantly get bigger and further
down the road. And so I think that's just such
an important thing to learn and also to be like, Okay,
I figured out what I don't like here, but being
(21:21):
open to other experiences instead of just you could have
said no, you're a family company, no you're this, and
maybe something else would have come up. That would have
been great. But also it's not having those hard lines,
those rules and making sure that you're actually, you know,
(21:42):
giving something a try, whether it means leaving entrepreneurship and
going back to corporate or trying something different. I just
I think it's really helpful for people to understand that
there is no there is no rules, there's no rule
book or like some right path, no.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Failing I think with my first with my first business,
I remember being hysterical, like as much as I couldn't,
there was a part of me that was it was
such you have, you know, four stores, Like I didn't
have a weekend, I didn't have a life, I didn't
have money. It was such a burden. Yet the thought
of losing it to me meant in some ways as
(22:21):
much as like I'd won Best of Boston or I'd
done you know whatever, all the good things you tend
to when something ends, think that you've failed. And I didn't.
And you know, you know, if I had wanted to
continue that forever, I guess, yes, that would have been
that would have been somewhat of a fail. But I've stopped,
(22:42):
sort of like there's so many things with business that
can go wrong that are outside of you, and so
many things that can go right that are outside of you,
and I stopped. I think, I think I stopped putting
my worth, tying my worth to those things, where like
now I kind of say, oh, good, world doesn't work,
(23:04):
Like does it make me any less of a good entrepreneur?
Or you know, you can make those changes and you
can you know, what's that saying? You know what, like
you know, let you know, letting go of a mistake
even though you've you've taken so long to make it.
It's like, you know, you have to know like that
it's okay to pivot. That's worse to me is when
(23:26):
you feel trapped by your own decisions and having that
ability to just kind of go okay, So I was
moving this way, but now it doesn't seem like that's
a good idea.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, And I think that's something that everybody experiences. That's
and like honestly, like nobody cares about it more than
we do, and thinking it's the biggest deal in the world.
Everyone's gonna think I'm this like I you know, but
everyone's gonna think that I should have stayed in this
corporate tocula. Nobody actually really does think that much about
anybody outside of their own like themselves, their family. So
(23:59):
I wanted to talk with you though, because you mentioned
your mindset, and you mentioned some of the shifts that
you had, and you shared with me that you've had
a love hate relationship with money, like you were working
no weekends for businesses, no money. You mentioned no money.
I think a lot of listeners can relate to that.
Can you tell us about what helped you shift into
knowing that you should be getting paid what you're worth.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
And I'm still working on that, by the way, I'm
still I'm still working like it is still a work.
I feel like it's a work in progress, like I'm
I when it's yours. So I never used to carry
business cards for my stores. Think about that, Yeah, Like
I'd be wearing my clothes from the stores and I
(24:40):
wouldn't have business cards with me. I had business cards,
I wouldn't carry them because I felt like there was
something I don't know wrong about pushing my business.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Motion talking about your Yeah. No, I think that there's
a lot of times where we we think about and
you know, mentioned it before. I've to some people that
represent other products, other companies, and they're very, very very
good at talking about other people's business or getting you know,
oh you love this. I got this here, I got
this here, this is how much I paid for it,
this is where you can go get it about something
(25:14):
we find at TJ Max. However, this is your, your brand,
your clothes, And so I think there is that feeling
of I can't I can't try to be too success.
I have to be a little bit smaller.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
And wanting money, right, wanting money for me.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I grew up during like Wall Street, like eighties, like
Greek is Good and all that, and I feel like
all those movies, all they really taught you was, you know,
you shouldn't be greedy. You you know, like there's something
like that's great, right, The want of money, you know,
is like a bit bad thing. And so what first
started it for me to do to make the shift
(25:57):
was this idea that if I wanted to continue doing
something and making an impact and doing what I need
the money. It's not a luxury, it's not a there's
a certain amount of money that needs to come in
to to fuel that. And then and then there was
also this idea of like I was never one to
(26:19):
ask for a raise or you know, but I would
feel like I was maybe like being underpaid or you know.
And it was funny in my day job, like you know,
a year year and a half ago, I it was
like the first time I kind of advocated for myself
and I had a specific number in my head, and
(26:40):
I don't know, something like why shouldn't I ask for
what I I know? And I did research like I
wasn't asking for a number that was like a crazy
number and I got it, and I don't know, there
was something like it felt right. Yeah, And I feel
like the more you kind of dip your toe into
it and you have some success with it, and you
(27:04):
you know, you're let that. I know that I'm bringing
value every day I look at how much I bring
into the company. I do. That's just how I was raised,
and it's like, okay, close this deal for this, you know,
sold this. We had this amount of you know, this
amount of orders coming in, like and I know I
worked towards that. I knew what I brought to the
(27:25):
to the business, and so for me, it was just
it was that last step of advocating that I couldn't
get beyond. And so you know, once I think I
crossed that, it's really important because now that I do
consulting too, I feel like I needed to learn that
lesson before consulting, because consulting to me is even different
(27:48):
than a salary, right, Like, it's you know, you're you're
you're commanding an amount, and to a certain extent, we
feel like we need to justify that amount. And sometimes
people think it's the like that actual job that you're
doing that specific project, but it's really the thirty plus
years of experience that you bring into that and getting
(28:10):
used to that. But I do feel like the more
you do it, it gets easier.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, And I think that it's definitely something I learned.
I noticed this in corporate and I've always been I
think I saw the same movies in the eighties and
had the other perspective being like, whoa I could actually
like make money and building other people's money and not
even like what so I thought investing was like this
was exactly what I needed to figure out. But when
(28:36):
I was in corporate, and I've been on the side of,
you know, being an individual contureor being a manager, and
I think a lot of people assume that everybody remembers
exactly what you did the whole you know season, and
they don't. And so I would keep and I tell
this to some of my clients too when they're talking
about going negotiating for a raise or talking to And
(28:57):
it's easier when you have evidence in proof, because I
think our brains want to be like no, no, no,
they're going to fire you. Worst case scenario, you're going
to be let go. They're going to think you're super selfish.
You're going to think you're terrible. But if you say
I closed this, I did this, I got this done,
and this done, that just kind of builds that folder.
I had an email folder and it was basically self.
When I would get something completed or I'd work on
(29:19):
a project, I would keep that there, and then it
wasn't just to make me feel better about myself when
it was time to talk about bonuses or salary or negotiate.
I wanted to make it as easy as possible for
my manager to be like, okay, yeah. Because we had
a grid, some people would be here, most people would
be in the middle, and then some at the bottom.
It was like a bell curve. I knew how it worked.
(29:39):
I wanted to make it as easy as possible for
that person to make that decision and have it be
to promote me or to because there was all the proof.
They didn't have to say it was favoritis her, or
is this or they just had these feelings. And I
think a lot of people don't do that because they
think but they should remember they should No, this was important.
(30:01):
There's a lot of other things going on there's plenty
of other people that report to them. They don't, so
don't assume they do. But also, you know, it is
intimidating to ask. I think a lot of people, a
lot of women feel like, but they're gonna think I'm greedy,
and then they wonder why somebody is getting so much
more for the same job than them because some men
weren't trained to feel like that's greedy, to be like,
(30:24):
I need money to pay my bills and support my family.
They're like, they're conditioned.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
To do that. Yeah, that to me is the norm
for that.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
That's normal. That's normal, And so I think that is
something that a lot of women having, that keeping being
your own biggest cheerleader, having those things that can kind
of tell your brain, yes, you do do some research,
what is this role pay? If I went to get
another job in the same industry, would they be paying
(30:55):
me twenty thousand dollars more, ten thousand dollars more, equity?
All of that? Did you just kind of then your
brain learns that, like, Okay, this is fair, and fair
is something that I think a lot of people can
get behind because that sounds different than I just want
more money because I like having money and I like
sending money, which is also totally fine. I like money,
like spending money.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
But yeah, to your point about keeping that list. So
what it did for me was twofold like I did
the same thing. So I it was really funny because
I put off asking because I wanted to complete my list,
and I'd been working on my list for a couple
of weeks. It's really funny because he came to me
to say, you need a raise, and I had already
(31:39):
been so I was already almost at the arm. It
was really weird how it happened. And what having that
list also does is it gives you the confidence yeah,
because you go, oh, yeah, I did this, and I
did this, and I did this, And so any part
of you that was thinking, oh am I being greedy?
(31:59):
Am I you? By the time you get through that list,
you go, yeah, I should be asking what am I crazy?
Like I should ask?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
And I had some people that would ask for braces
and promotions that had done nothing. They'd done like a
mediocre job, but they didn't they felt like entitled to it, right,
And so it was funny how you'd have these people
who were getting everything done behind the scenes, quietly, maybe
not even taking credit for any of the work, and
then all of a sudden there'd be somebody else being like,
I've been here six months, I deserve a raise, and
I'm like, what, like, uh no. But it was interesting
(32:31):
when it was the men versus the woman.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
It's it's it's a different mentality and.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
They're not you know, it doesn't mean I'm gonna say yes,
But it didn't mean I was going to fire him
for asking either. It was just like, okay, no, but
maybe if you work on this or do some of
these things, then we could talk about it. Meanwhile, the
other you know, some other people would be absolutely probably
going home maybe being pissed off or frustrated because they
didn't get promoted or I wasn't coming to talk to them.
(32:57):
And I was like, you know, we have kind of
corporate structure. This is the time period that it happens,
you know. But who knows if if some of those
conversations that we have in our head would go very
differently if we had them out loud with a person.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
And I also kind of feel like putting it out there,
right even if I didn't get the amount that I
wanted to, then we could work towards it, or you
to your point you when you like other people who
might be going home frustrated, like you kind of do
that to yourself if you don't ask, like you, it'll
be no. As long as you don't ask.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Absolutely you're guaranteeing it's a no. Where like it might
be a no. But I think if the thing about
having done your research and your homework and having a
good at least a good case for it, almost like
you know, if you were like a trial, like, Okay,
this is kind of like I'm coming up with evidence
I have I have done good work. Maybe it's not
(33:56):
a yes right now, but it might be a yes
in the future, or it might show oh that you
are looking for something similar to other or that you're competent,
that you're doing all these things. And I think that yeah,
just assuming that people are just gonna remember or know
especially they might need to not even know that it
was you doing the work or how much you contributed,
I think it's I think it's really it's kind of
(34:19):
like its own project, just such a small project to
do that and to make sure because when you get
those opportunities to make more money, they don't come every
single day when you're working in a corporate role or
you're working you know, like when you're like with consulting,
like you set your fee, you have to know what
you bring to You have to kind of set your
pricing properly, which is also something that can be very
(34:42):
tricky for entrepreneurs to do because they feel like, oh,
I could sell this for this top tier price, but
if it's my stuff, I should be getting it away,
right because that's that's nicer. Yeah, so tell me what
the consulting business tell me a little bit about with
Because you have the unique perspective of both sides buy
our seller, what does that insider knowledge help you when
(35:02):
you're when you're training and talking to your consulting clients.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
So I know what each side needs, right, So if
you're a wholesale customer, I know when a buyer is
making their decision what they're looking at, you know. So
I'm really product like product is my thing. So it
really is about like understanding from the buyer side. If
(35:26):
I if I'm working with a wholesaler, Okay, it needs
to be in this price point, it needs to be
packaged this way. You need to put that in this
kind of catalog you need to have upc like all
of like the but there's also an understanding of the
vision and the branding and how to align yourself appropriately
(35:46):
and then how to sell it on the other side,
the buying side, So like from the from the retail side,
it's interesting because I do feel like a lot of people,
especially if they're smaller retailers, don't necessarily get trained. It's
sort of like, you know, I'm buying a store. Everybody
(36:07):
wants to open a store. Yeah, which is.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
People want to open a store, or you see people
on like Bar Rescue or like you just they want
to open a restaurant or a bar because they like
spending time in them. It's super fun and they have.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
No no business, no.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Knowledge of the behind the scenes that makes that experience.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
By the way, that is my goal job is to
be on Bravo and be like like like Bar Rescue.
Speaker 5 (36:36):
We love.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
I feel like it's great to have that vision and
to know what you do. But I do feel like
there's a part of it, that whole, that whole part
behind the scenes that is the reason why some are
profitable and some are not. It is not that it's
not that external piece.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
It's when you're story management, it's understanding what half of them.
And I will tell you this because I'm on the
whole sale side and I work with even big retailers.
Do you know how many of them don't do the
analysis or have the time to do the analysis necessary
to So what happens is I walk into a store
and just from my years of having my own store
(37:16):
and department store off price, like I've done it all,
I walk in and to me, I walk in and
I say, is this spot paying for itself? I so
like every piece, every footprint, and a store should have
a money maker on it, even if you have other
fund You need those other fun things right to make
(37:36):
it interesting. But you also need to know your money makers,
and you need and I think there's an element of
retail that is very sort of emotional, and so people
who open stores sometimes don't have that background to understand
their inventory turn or their sales per square foot or
(38:01):
you know, transitioning markdowns. When do you mark it down?
When do you like all of those things which are
to me, you know, second nature. So I walk into
a store and I'm a me like, okay, like i
I'll travel for for Periwinkle, my the jewelry company, the
wholesale jewelry company, And I'll walk in and you know,
I'll talk about Periwinkle for maybe like five or ten minutes,
(38:24):
and then it ends up always becoming about the rest
of the store. Like I'll and something be in the
front and I'm like, oh, that's still selling for you,
and they're like no, And I'm like, why is it
still in the front of your store? Like, you know,
Like so there's there's this element of you know, looking
at things and understanding what should be happening, and I
don't think that happens a lot. So it gets sometimes
(38:47):
like it's just even small tweaks, and a lot of
times they instinctively kind of know like that's been sitting
for a long time, it needs to move or but
they don't really know the process.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
So and so is this process because I know, we
talked about growing Periwinkle sales by like thirty percent, you know,
is that it like is it knowing the process? Because
I feel like there's a lot of times where people
like I seriously think they feel like they need to
just do more of the same or more of what
they're doing better, where I think you're looking at it
(39:20):
from a completely different perspective, not like, oh this hasn't sold,
I need to put it in more people's faces. It's
like no, like Sime, it back so right.
Speaker 3 (39:30):
So for me now in this side, I so I
always so my whole thing is be of service, and honestly,
like so, we brought in an additional So what's really
funny is I got my raise and then I picked
up for the company a million and a half in
sales last year, which you know, there's a part of
me that I said to myself, well, thank god, because
(39:51):
I would have felt really guilty. But I forgot the raise,
didn't like you know what I mean. Then I was
sort of like, oh yeah, I crushed that. So what
we're doing differently than most wholesale companies is I always
say be of service and remove the obstacles. And I'm
lucky enough to have owners who understand this. And it's
(40:14):
really about it's jewelry. It's not a fine wine. It's
not going to get better. You need to turn the inventory.
So for me, it's partnering with retailers in a way
that most brands don't. And it's okay if this item
hasn't sold in six months, We're going to credit you
for it, and let's get you back into what's working.
It's send me your selling so I can analyze it
and see what's working, what's not working. It's really doing
(40:36):
the work that they don't have the time to do,
and partnering with them in a way where I'm almost
like they're fractional buyer for the line where you know,
and not many sales managers have that expertise, so it's
just kind of just and my boss knowing this, I said,
(40:57):
a buyer is not going to buy something if they
can't see it. He created a whole system behind this
idea of us assorting for people and suggesting the orders
where it's just an easy drag and drop for me.
I can run sales and create these assortments for people
based on what's really turning versus Oh, I like that style,
and it's made all the difference in the world so.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Smart removing the obstacles making it like that alone has
so much, so much value, And I think, yeah, it's interesting, Beau.
People trained in different ways and so even I think
that's where having different roles entrepreneurship corporate all of that
even if you feel like I can't believe you know,
I'm not using the I'm not using the degree that
(41:42):
I paid this much money for. I'm doing something totally different.
I switched from this job to that. All of it
is building up that knowledge and you don't know exactly
where it's going to fit in, but usually somewhere along
the line, whether it's that fractionable and whatever it was
that that person needed that they didn't have in their
traditional sales team, that can make such a massive difference.
(42:03):
And so it's not necessarily going to be one training
session that teaches you all the things you need to know.
So I think that's I think that's great that you
figured it out how to how to help people with
you know, everything that you've learned in your journey. So
it was so wonderful to meet today. I would love
for you to know it's just been such a great conversation.
(42:24):
I love what you're doing. I would absolutely watch that
show You're the Body You of Fashion. That is it's
just very fascinating to me because I feel like these
people have these best intentions, good heart, all of that,
but they're there's something missing that like I feel like
somebody like you can certainly help with how can people
find you if they want to learn more about you
(42:44):
or any of the businesses.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
So, really, good Robin Co is what I'm on Instagram with,
what I'm on Facebook with and then LinkedIn. I'm just
Jennifer Casera. But honestly, if you went to good Robin
Co with me, all right, send me a message, You're
gonna get to me. Honestly, I want to say, it's
so funny. Instagram is where I get the most. But
(43:08):
if they went to the Good robincode dot com, you
can actually send messages as well through the website, so
and it's a great place to see the collection. So yeah,
I would love that.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Well, thank you so much for joining me. I'm a
huge fan. I'm going to go check out the website,
and I hope everybody, if you're listening and you felt
someone inspired by this conversation, please please go review the
show share it. I think it was such a such
a helpful conversation to learn, you know, different sides of
business and entrepreneurship and those money money stories that we
tell ourselves that we all could use some work on.
(43:40):
If you're looking to work on your own financial future
and you'd like to set up a time to chat
with me, please head over to Misty Lynch dot com
or you can find me at Soundufinancial Advisors dot com.
Take care and we'll talk again next week. Thank you
for joining us on another insightful episode of Demist Buying Money.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave
a review. Stay tuned for more engaging conversations on our
(44:02):
next episode, and remember knowledge is the key to financial empowerment.
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