July 19, 2024 • 49 mins
From dreaming of one day owning a “boutique by the sea” as a little girl growing up in West Virginia to realizing that dream in Surf City, North Carolina, Simran Canterberry has managed to balance motherhood, a thriving online business, and the opening of her Blue Ridge Boutique storefront, complete with its own app! She’s an energetic businesswoman with a big smile and a big heart. In this episode, she shares her family history, her passion for family and fashion, and all the ways you can shop and save at Blue Ridge Boutique.
Address: 108 Charlie Medlin Dr, Unit D, Surf City, NC 28445
Phone: (910) 233-2311
Hours: Mon-Sat, 10am -5pm
Website: blueridgeboutique.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Topsail Insider, where you can hear all
about the businesses and eventsin the beautiful coastal towns
in the greater Topsail area ofNorth Carolina Coming up.
If you've been on Facebookchecking out ladies' clothing
lately, you've no doubt seen thelovely Ms Simran Canterbury
(00:21):
showing you all of the fabulousitems you can find at the Blue
Ridge Boutique in Surf City,north Carolina.
She is a dynamo, a smartbusinesswoman with a big smile,
a big heart and loads ofpositive energy, and I am
thrilled to have her in thestudio today.
We'll be discussing her WestVirginia roots, her Surf City
storefront, online sales fromher website and Facebook, and
(00:44):
she even has a Blue RidgeBoutique app.
Stick around for all this andmore on today's episode of
Topsail Insider.
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(01:08):
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(01:30):
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(01:51):
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(02:33):
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Visit SurfCityLineNCcom fortheir full menus.
The best service and beachvibes on the island await you at
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Whether you're a local orvisiting from out of town,
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(03:01):
Hello everyone and welcome toTopsail Insider.
My name is Krista and I am yourhost.
Today we are talking to MsSimran Canterbury.
She is the owner of Blue RidgeBoutique in Surf City, north
Carolina.
Welcome, simran, and thank youfor joining me today.
Thanks for having me.
I'm really excited to be here.
Yeah, I have to say that everysingle time your store or your
(03:22):
name comes up, people just lightup talking about you.
They love your store, they loveyou and, as much as you still
carry a huge following in WestVirginia which we're going to
talk about, you've made quite animpression here in these beach
towns.
Before we dive into yourbackground a little bit and your
why, let's go ahead and givethe listeners an overview of
(03:43):
what Blue Ridge Boutique is andthe products you offer and where
you're located and such yeah,of course, like you said, we're
Blue Ridge Boutique.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
We're located in Surf City, north Carolina, right
behind the Salty Turtle.
We're a women's boutique.
We carry a little bit of kids.
We focus mainly on bright,colorful, patterny clothes,
accessories, anything that youneed to create a fun outfit.
We are open every day, 10 to 5,except Sunday, because that is
the Lord's Day and we need oneday of rest.
Amen.
(04:09):
But we are just here to makesure that all the girls in Surf
City women, ladies, childrenlook and feel their best all the
time.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I also think that folks often mispronounce your
name.
I did, until I spoke with youon the phone and it's Simron,
not Simran, which is what I wassaying, and I think, a lot of
other people.
I imagine that a lot of peoplemispronounce your name as well.
So for anyone who's beenwondering or maybe you've been
saying it wrong, no hardfeelings, she forgives you?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
No, of course not.
So I usually go by Simran butSurf City.
I've created Sim because that'sa lot easier for people to say.
So I'll answer to pretty much.
I've been called Skymarin.
I've been called Simran.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
I mean, if you just say the S-I, I'll probably turn
around and answer.
That's so funny because most ofthe people that I talk to they
do say Sim, oh, sim, she'sawesome.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So I just felt like that was easier for everybody,
and that's what we just get withnow.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Okay, but it's Simran .
Correct Is the correctpronunciation of the full name.
Okay, since we're talking aboutit, could you just share the
origin and the meaning of yourname, because I thought that was
pretty cool yeah of course.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So my grandpa, we call him Nana.
His name is Senthok Chawla.
He came to the United Statesfrom India.
He took a ship from India toItaly and then he made his way
to West Virginia where he becamean engineer.
So my name means to recite thename of.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
God, the culture is called Sikhism.
The Sikhs they're oftenconfused.
They wear the turbans.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, so they're not Hindus, but they're their own
religion and it's called Sikhism.
Got it Okay?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I want to talk a little bit about your grandpa
Nana.
He came here by himself andeducated himself.
Can you tell me a little bitabout how your family just one
by one came over here, yeah, ofcourse.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
So he came in 1959, which sounds like a long time
ago, but I guess it really is,it is.
So he went from a ship toNaples, italy, and then he flew
from England to New York.
He took a bus to Pittsburgh.
He started his undergrad degreeat the Carnegie Mellon
University.
He wanted to come to Americabecause there was just a lot of
corruption happening in Indiaand his dad wanted him to come
(06:10):
here to see better opportunities.
He didn't know anything of theAmerican culture.
He always laughed about hotdogs because he didn't really
understand.
Like, hot dogs to us areobviously a food, but to someone
who doesn't know or isn'taround here, you don't.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
And even things like revolving doors at the't around
here, you don't?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, he thought it was a dog, yeah, so like, and
even things like revolving doorsat the hotel, things that we
don't think about.
Somebody who's coming from adifferent country that long ago
didn't really understand.
He came to WVU in Morgantown todo his master's in
instructional engineering.
It was at that point he feltlike he was obligated to bring
his siblings one by one.
So at that point, when he hadcome here, he had two small
(06:50):
children, my aunt and uncle, andhe left them behind with my
great mother.
Her name was Nani, so shestayed behind with the kids.
He left them when they were twoand four, but he didn't fully
reunite with them until theywere 10 and 12.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Now, that's a long time.
So that's a long time.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So the family dynamic is very important.
So he, one by one, brought hissiblings to America.
He knew that he had to figureout how to get them here because
he was funding the whole thingat this point.
So he worked with congressmenand professors so that his
siblings could have a mission toeither WVU or West Virginia
Tech.
He got a job with West VirginiaDepartment of Highways.
(07:20):
He took care of their needs.
He paid for everyone's tuitionand airfare.
All of his siblings prosperedwith different careers here.
Did they all go intoengineering as well?
So we have some that wereengineers, some that were
mathematicians, just a littlebit of everything.
He left a few behind thatdidn't want to come.
He had a sister that was awell-known poet and author, but
he still has brothers livingright now and siblings in
(07:43):
Missouri, michigan, westVirginia, north Carolina and
Canada.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
He came over and just really made the most of
everything.
So eventually your mom did comeover here, correct?
You told me a really cool story.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
There were arranged marriages.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
There still are today , that's still a thing of today.
So my mom was actually born inthe United States.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So she was born in West.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Virginia.
So it was.
My mom has three siblings, twoof which which were born in
India, and then her and then myuncle were born in the States.
But, like you said, prearrangedmarriage is still a thing that
happens.
You don't?
It's not publicized, so youdon't really see it in your face
.
My mom won a pageant calledMiss Sternwill Regatta.
That's where she met my dad,miss what Sternwill Regatta,
sternwill.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Regatta.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yes, so she met my dad there.
He owned a bar in downtownCharleston, west Virginia.
She was set to be married to adoctor in Hawaii.
It was all planned out, it wasready to go.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
They had taken her to my aunt's house in Maryland
where they were going to startthe process of the arranged
marriage.
Was she going to fly to Hawaiiand marry and then live there?
From what I've heard, that'swhat was supposed to take place.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
So who threw the wrench in the plans?
My dad drove up to Maryland ina white van and came and got her
.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
You didn't mention that.
That's pretty scary.
My aunt was not home.
Were there windows on the vanRight?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I don't know my aunt was not home, so it was just the
gardener, the housekeeper thatwas there and she knew that mom
wasn't supposed to leave.
But mom just went and left andstarted a life there Was there a
fallout there?
was.
So my mom was considered theblack sheep for a long time,
because she was the first onethat had broken away from that
(09:22):
system, missed the culturalnorms.
But you have to think, though,how much courage and strength it
took to like you've beenindoctrinated in this culture
your entire life and then to godoing something you've never
done before, knowing that you'regoing to disappoint your family
, knowing how they feel.
So ultimately, she got pregnantwith me.
My dad and her got a divorce,unfortunately, but at that time
(09:45):
we were living in a trailer.
So my mom knew that the key togetting us out of the situation
we were in was education.
So she felt the need to proveto the Indians that she did not
make a mistake, that she knewwhat she was doing and she was
going to raise somebody that wasgoing to not necessarily she'd
already broken the cultural mold, but was going to make
(10:06):
something of herself.
So I always felt in my heartthat I had to do it for my mom,
so that she wasn't considered ablack sheep.
She had done something correct,and I feel like that's probably
why I'm not necessarily hard onmyself, but so driven and
focused, because I wanted my momto know that what she did
wasn't for nothing.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I love that you and your mom are pretty close.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, we are.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Did she get an?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
education.
She did so, my mom.
She knew that her ticket outwas a education.
So she got a degree in earlyeducation and while all this was
happening, when she waspregnant with me, she also went
back to live with mygrandparents.
So imagine how that's tough.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That is tough, I don't.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I can't even imagine what that would feel like for
her.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
She did what she had.
She did what she had to do.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
She saved up enough money for us to move to a
trailer there.
She put herself through school,got us out.
I mean, just made something forherself.
So if it wasn't for her kind ofpassion and drive to want
better for me and her, I don'treally know where we'd be today.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, your family history is pretty cool and
unusual and not something I hearvery often.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Of course, you said that you always dreamed of
owning a boutique I think yousaid boutique by the sea even as
a little girl.
What was it like for you firstof all, growing up in West
Virginia, and when did thispassion for boutique clothing
start?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I've always had a love for fashion.
My grandma and I call her mamawe would go to Goodwill all the
time because boutique shoppingwas expensive.
So I knew from a young age thatif I wanted to wear boutique
clothing I would have to find itsecondhand.
So every Wednesday she wouldpick me up from school and we
would scounder the racks atGoodwill and I knew what I was
looking for.
I knew the big brands that Iwanted to wear to kind of fit in
and feel cool.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But I could do that on a smaller scale because we
knew all the good wills by heartat that point.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
We camped a lot as kids.
I always wanted to go to thebeach.
My mom and stepdad he's greatthey always wanted to go camping
in the mountains.
And I just said one day I knowI'm going to move to the beach
and I'm going to open a storeand I'm going to have pink
chairs hanging from my wall.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
But we moved down here.
Things kind of took a slowerturn and I was still hoping that
(12:07):
we would open the store.
But there were a lot of stepsand processes that we had to get
to get to the point where weare now.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Do you remember the first time you ever saw the
ocean?
What made you fall in love withhaving a beach town boutique?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
So we always with my grandparents, my nana and nani
and my mom, we would go toMyrtle Beach, so we would go to
the pavilion and there was justsomething about Broadway at the
beach that just made you excited, walking on the boardwalk.
It was just that life andexcitement that you knew that
people were not stressed becauseof work.
It was not.
You can't even explain it.
It's just like that positiveenergy walking the boardwalk and
(12:40):
I knew that I wanted that, butI didn't know how to create that
energy as a kid.
But I saw all the shops.
We would go late at night.
I don't know if you rememberthere was a dragon at the golf
course at Broadway at the beach.
He would come up.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Oh no, I don't, so we would always go and watch the
dragon.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And I would see how busy these stores are and I was
like, wow, what are they doingto bring people in?
Even my nunny and we would justwatch the people going back and
forth and I thought, what is itlike to own a store, even at
Broadway, at the beach?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I can just see you as a little girl sitting there the
wheels turning, even at a youngage.
Yeah, you married your highschool sweetheart.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
I sure did Tell me a little bit about your husband.
Okay, so we met when I was 15.
We went to the same high schooltogether.
Our high school cafeteria wasdivided.
You had people that lived inthe creek Davis Creek.
They sat where they called itthe creaker corner, and it was
all separated, like you wouldsee in a movie, by different
jock types.
Yeah, Football players.
Yes, very clicky.
My husband came from thecreaker corner, so that was on
(13:35):
the outside of the cafeteria andI stayed on the inside.
But I thought, well, let'sventure out and see, because
clearly nothing great is comingfrom the inside.
So let's see what the countryboy has to offer from the
outside.
That's funny.
So we met when I was 15.
He came to pick me up for ourfirst date.
I'll never forget he drove aFord F-150 truck.
(13:55):
Back then I was kind of stilllike how I am now.
I would get along with everygroup, but a little bit preppy,
but just a little bit differentthan my husband was.
So he came and picked me up inhis Ford F-150 that had the
words redneck and camo letterson the back of his glass and I
was like, oh wow.
I don't know where this is goingto go from here, but we dated
all throughout college and highschool.
We went to prom together andthen we ultimately moved here
(14:15):
together to start our family inSurf City.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
So Myrtle Beach was where you got to know this area
and now it makes sense why youended up here in this area being
coastal.
So tell me how you ended up inSurf City for your store.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah.
So my husband, when we were inhigh school we would for like
senior trips in college we wouldgo to different beaches in the
area.
So we stayed at Carolina Beach,we stayed at Holden Beach, oak
Island, topsail, wrightsvilleall the beaches here and we just
fell in love with it.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but Iused to watch a lot of One Tree
Hill.
And I just wanted to be inWilmington and it was just so
fascinating to me so we would goand do all these tours and I
(14:51):
would just tell him I want tomove here one day.
But once we did move down here,he got a job.
We had just bought a house inWest Virginia when we were in a
job to redo the Oak IslandBridge, so that's what's brought
us down here.
Okay, so your husband's also anengineer.
He is.
When he was in high school he'sa jack of all trades.
He would work contract work.
He can lay floor.
(15:11):
He can build you a table, hecan build he just said he built
out your storefront.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
He sure did, yeah, so he was.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
He built the bridge.
Where again In Oak Island, theyredid that big Oak Island
Bridge.
So that's what brought us downhere.
I didn't have a job at the time, so I just worked at different
boutiques learning the ropes.
Then we I guess we're having amidlife crisis.
I don't know if you have amidlife crisis without kids but
we bought a motorcycle and so wewould just drive the motorcycle
to Myrtle Beach so that I couldgo back to Broadway at the
(15:40):
beach it.
I'm not a motorcycle person.
I was reading a romance novelon my book on my phone while I'm
on the back of this motorcycle,the phone dropped.
Oh, we ran over it on the wayto Topsail.
Not that it was bad, but Idon't like not being in control,
(16:01):
so if I just focus my energy onsomething else, I wouldn't
think about it.
That's funny.
We saw that they were developingall this land and I thought,
wow, we had been to all of thesedifferent beach areas, been to
Wrightsville, been to Carolina.
Well, I hadn't really exploredTopsail and there was something
about it that was just.
You had that same hometown feelas West Virginia, but on the
beach.
So when we drove through it Isaid it wasn't as commercialized
(16:22):
as Carolina Beach, it wasn't asritzy as Wrightsville Beach.
It was the perfect mix for us.
So we saw that they wereclearing land and I just put
that in the back of my head toone day come back to.
We didn't make any plans then,we just enjoyed the day.
But I always, in the back of myhead, fell in love with the
Surf City area.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, Okay, there's a lot of engineers in your family
, but what did you study whenyou went to college?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I have a degree from Marshall University.
My degree is in marketing and Ihave a minor in
entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
When did you open your online store?
You started your business inWest Virginia.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I did so.
We got married in 2017.
We were on the way back fromour honeymoon.
We had a small wedding.
We saved up our money.
Nobody paid for it.
We went to Italy for two weeksNice.
It was amazing.
We traveled around and I just Iknew that I wanted to open a
boutique, so we would go to allof these little boutiques at the
Amalfi Coast, in Rome, inFlorence, and I was like wow,
Even in going to a differentplace and seeing other boutiques
(17:18):
, knowing that that's what youwant to do in your heart.
But not knowing how you're goingto get there.
It's still cool to see how theydo stuff, how their layout was.
I still have on my phonepictures that I've taken of
displays in the Amalfi Coastboutiques.
So we got married.
We were coming back and thesong Country Roads comes on.
You know that's West Virginia'stheme song and it said we knew
that we wanted to move.
We didn't have plans to move atthis time.
(17:39):
We were still in West Virginia.
And it said Blue RidgeMountains, shenandoah River.
My mom loves the mountains.
We would always travel throughthe mountains Anywhere we could
get near.
Blue Ridge Mountains is wheremy mom wanted to be.
So I told myself even at thispoint when we hadn't moved Blue
Ridge Boutique just has a nicering to it.
It does, and I'm going to takeBlue Ridge Boutique to the beach
one day, lord willing, ifthat's.
(18:05):
I wanted to be like VineyardVines Patagonia.
I wanted to be like a lifestyleboutique.
So at the beginning he went tomarket.
He was more interested in eatingChick-fil-A at the little
vendor booth than actuallyworking, but he did model for a
little bit.
I'll have to go back and dosome throwback pictures, but we
had some men's clothes, somekids' clothes and that's what we
started with when the boutiquelaunched online.
(18:26):
So it launched online inOctober of 2017.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
There's no storefront , so all of the clothes are
coming into your home and you'reshipping them out from home as
they're being ordered.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Correct.
So we had also.
Even from that point, I knewthat there were so many
boutiques Everybody.
The market even at that pointin 2017, was becoming saturated
with boutiques, so I needed tofigure out what was going to
keep us standing apart, andthat's what I've kept in our
business.
Everybody can do what you do,but you have to have an edge
that sets you apart fromeverybody else.
So in 2017, that edge that setus apart wasn't embroidery.
(18:57):
There wasn't.
There was monogrammingembroidery businesses.
There were boutiques, but therewasn't a lot that was together.
You would order clothes in andthen embroider personalized
stuff on it.
Yeah, so we would have boutiqueclothing on our online store
and then we would also carrylike comfort colors, pocket tees
and do embroidery.
I was terrified of thatembroidery machine.
I like being in control and Icouldn't control it.
So after my husband would getdone being an engineer all day
(19:23):
he would sit on that embroiderymachine and embroider clothes.
Oh, you have a good husband.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
He's great.
I love him.
That's amazing.
Okay, so your husband did allthe embroidery.
When did you decide to stop theembroidery?
So?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
actually the embroidery still happened right
up until we opened our store in.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Searcy, oh really it did yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Because I knew that that is what would keep us
afloat when the boutique wasn'tdoing it, because everybody
always needed somethingmonogrammed or personalized.
I did it by myself for a littlebit, but I would still ask him
to do it majority of the timebecause he was just better at it
than I was.
Are you still doing any of ittoday?
So we're not.
We have friends at Savvy'sEmbroidery.
They do all of our embroideryfor us now.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
So you still offer it ?
You're just outsourcing.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
How was the business going?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
online.
So back in 2017, you wereseeing a lot of customers really
order online.
But while we were online, Iknew that we also needed to get
in front of a larger audience.
So any festival you could thinkof under the sun in West
Virginia I would sign up for.
They had the Pumpkin Festival.
It was a Thursday throughSunday festival.
You were there from 8 o'clockin the morning until 9 o'clock
(20:25):
at night.
I would just lug all of mystuff to set up there the
Cupcake Festival, the HarvestFestival, anything I could to
get people to shop with us, tosee us and that's what we did
until we moved in 2020.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Okay, so you're selling at the festivals, you're
selling online, but you stillgo up to West Virginia for an
event each year and you stillhave a lot of customers in West
Virginia.
I think you said 96%.
Is that right?
90% of your customers are stillin.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
West Virginia yeah, so that's huge.
In 2021, I created a eventcalled Junefest West Virginia
Junefest.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
That's what I wanted to find out about.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Tell me about this.
So Junefest was a way I knewthat there was just not enough
hours in the day.
I just couldn't keep lugging mythings while we were in North
Carolina back to West Virginia.
It was just not feasible.
But I wanted to go to an eventwhere I would have a lot of
other vendors there, basicallymake my own event.
So that's what I did.
So I created Junefest, which isa small business vendor event.
(21:25):
Always happens the Saturday,father's Day weekend in West
Virginia.
We just had our fourth annualJunefest.
We're going to be working onour fifth one soon.
But we've slowly grown biggerand bigger.
So the last event we had over110 small businesses that are
coming from North Carolina likeus.
Virginia, west Virginia, ohio,kentucky, you name it.
(21:45):
We're kind of like a hub a bighub event.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Where are you having this?
I know you're in West Virginia,but where are you setting?
Are these all?
Speaker 2 (21:52):
tents?
No, so we had started.
There was a small littlebuilding.
It's called the India Centerand that was where we had it the
first year, but we quicklyoutgrew that.
So now we rent out theCharleston Area Coliseum and
Convention.
Center where they have alltheir concerts and conferences
in the capital city.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
That is big.
Yeah, you were pregnant withyour first child.
That's your daughter.
That was pretty soon aftergetting married.
How did this affect yourbusiness?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I nannied, in high school and college.
I loved kids, but I neverreally saw myself with children.
I like to do things when I wantto do them how I want to do
them.
So my husband and I had a greatroutine set up.
We knew our flow together.
We just knew what worked.
So I found out that I waspregnant with my daughter and I
had a really hard time, honestly, because I didn't have a
storefront at this point and inmy head, if you had children,
(22:42):
your dreams had to be put onhold.
So it took me a while tounderstand that having a child
and bringing a child into thisworld is not a hindrance, it's a
blessing.
And my husband kept sayingwe're going to get through this,
You're going to be a great momand you're still going to be
able to have your dream.
And I truly didn't believe him.
I thought at this point for mydaughter, I thought I had to
give everything up, but thatwasn't the case.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
You continued on with your business.
Yes, you didn't even pause.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
So when I was seven months pregnant, I started the
first annual June Fest.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
So I lugged all of our stuff by West Virginia.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Didn't slow you down at all.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Just loaded it up and we went up there While my
daughter was home.
Everything was all upstairs inour frog, so I was being a mom
during the day, working until 2or 3 in the morning.
Shipping orders would sleep,then she's up at 7.
It was getting too much, so Ireally needed to think.
(23:34):
This is not sustainable.
We were doing really well ononline sales, so financially we
were okay, but I had to get itout of my house because I never
felt like I was truly presentwith my family, because I think
UPS would always drop off stuffat the house.
My husband was always takingstuff upstairs, the inventory
was starting to honestly takeover our house.
Yeah, and then it hit me in theback of my head oh, remember,
(23:56):
we drove by on the motorcycle inSurf City and we saw that that
plaza was going to be openingsoon.
So we reached out to Wellman'sConstruction, who owns the plaza
, and put it in works.
But I truly didn't believe itwas happening.
Because here I am, it's a bigleap.
It's a big leap.
It was very comfortable in myhome.
I had everything I needed.
But for my mental health, mysanity and for me being a mom, I
(24:18):
knew I had to get it out ofthere.
I truly didn't believe that itwas going to happen.
Because in my head again, I'mthinking oh, I have a child, I
have a daughter.
Society kind of tells you youcan't be a mom and you can't
have a child.
You have to kind of pick one.
Pick one that you want to dowell, yeah, yeah, but I chose
both, and that's okay, you canchoose yourself and still be a
great and encouraged me and knewthat I had to do that for
(24:47):
myself and for the sake of beinga mom.
So we opened the storeSeptember of 2022.
My daughter had just turned oneyears old.
She stayed at the store with me.
She grew up in the store.
We didn't have employees atthat point.
The plaza hadn't even finished,so we wouldn't.
Sometimes we would have it'sbrand new, it's brand new, it's
brand new.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I think they finally have all the stores filled at
this point, but it just happened.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yes, it was us and a couple of others.
I couldn't afford a place.
My daughter and I would staythere from 10 to 5, monday
through Saturday.
I worked six days a week.
We had an air fryer.
We still have an air fryer.
We had a TV.
We were just hanging out.
My kid grew up in that store,in the store, and that's such an
awesome thing because customerswould come in and it was like
she had.
Where I came from, westVirginia, and my family wasn't
(25:29):
here my daughter Rhett.
She was able to get family fromcustomers so they would come
and talk to her and bring hertreats and just be like be a
surrogate and grandma.
They were able to fill the rolefor her that she needed.
She grew up in the store.
Customers loved it.
She loved to take the money.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
She would love to scan Look at this
entrepreneurial spirit, though,that you gave her at a young age
.
So can't you just see her whenshe steps into adulthood?
She's going to be like Ialready know how to do this.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah, one of my biggest things as a mom, what I
want to project onto my child,is that you don't have to listen
to what everybody says.
You have to do, ultimately,what serves the Lord and what
makes you happy at the end ofthe day.
And I think that I'm I hope I'mshowing her that that's
feasible and that that's doableto do, because you can't whether
you're a mom or you're in yourcareer, you have to make time
(26:22):
for yourself and things that youtruly are passionate about.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I totally think you're setting a great example
for that.
I know you just had your secondchild.
It's your son.
Yes, right, because I actuallyfollowed you online looking at
your videos and you're gettingfurther along in your pregnancy.
But I guess maybe straight on,when you're modeling the clothes
or you're doing your fit videos, yeah, I couldn't even tell.
And you're like I am 36 monthspregnant right now.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Where is it?
It's all about the angle, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
And you're like.
So this fits a little snug here.
But you know it's a box cut.
But I loved how you continuedoing that all the way through
your pregnancy.
So the pregnancies definitelydidn't slow you down at all.
Is your son spending as muchtime in the store as your
daughter did?
Praise the Lord, we can affordemployees now.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
So I'm not there 10 to 5 Monday through Saturday,
but I still make it a point tobe at my store.
My son comes with me when we go.
He's got a little crib in theback, he just hangs out.
So I worked up until he came ona Thursday I was induced,
worked up until Wednesdayevening.
Tuesday I was induced, workedup until Wednesday evening, and
you had him on Thursday, yes,and then so he came Thursday,
(27:27):
stayed at the hospital Friday,saturday, tuesday I was back at
the store.
Oh my gosh.
You really are a dynamo.
Well when you really love whatyou do.
It's hard.
That was my first.
I always tell people Blue RidgeBoutique was my first child, so
it's a I do mom.
Some days I thrive more as amom.
It's just a balancing act thatI'm probably never going to
(27:48):
perfect, but you have to work onit daily.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Before we move on, just tell me real quick about
your two children.
What are their?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
names.
So my daughter her name camefrom my husband's grandmother,
loretta, so we'd spelled it alittle bit differently.
We call her Rhett for short,love that.
And then my nana, who came fromIndia.
His mom's name was Maya, so hername's Loretta, maya Canterbury
, we call her Rhett.
Everybody knows her as littleRhett.
And then I just have my sonnamed Truett and I wanted so
their names both end with TT.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
I love both names, so it's.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Truett, James Canterbury and Rhett and Truett
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I went into your shop a while back and I found the
perfect pair of flats and I gotto say the price was super
reasonable and I love them.
Tell me about the clothes andthe accessories, but also the
price points you choose for yourclientele.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Growing up, like I said, I shopped a lot at
Goodwill because that's what wecould afford.
Going to an affordable boutiquejust wasn't a thing anywhere.
Honestly, when we would travelboutique, you knew you were
going to spend X amount ofdollars when you walked in.
So when I started Blue RidgeBoutique, I wanted to be very
conscientious, because I knowthat there are some people who
have money to spend and thenthere's some people who live
paycheck to paycheck and,honestly, both of them are okay.
(28:57):
Everybody deserves to havesomething nice.
So that's what I implement inmy business.
We have a wide variety.
You can come in and buy a $3claw clip, or you can come in
and buy $180 pair of Spanx.
I wanted something at everysingle price point.
Whether a little girl was doingchores to get an allowance, she
could feel proud to come in andthere was something that she
could buy.
Or a lady that was moreestablished, that had a little
(29:20):
bit more to spend and caredabout a bigger name brand.
That's what we have too.
So I'm very conscientious ofbringing bigger brands in as
well, because people don't knowus.
The main reason that I'm doingthat is to get the people in the
door by saying oh wow, blueRidge Boutique carries Spanx.
Oh wow, blue Ridge Boutiquecarries Dolce Vita.
Then, once you come in ourstore, learn a little bit about
(29:40):
us.
We can keep you as a customerwith the wide variety of price
points that we truly have.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Love about us.
We can keep you as a customerwith the wide variety of price
points that we truly have.
Love that you have the ladiesstaples.
You've got tops, summer dresses, bottoms and you have the
swimsuits are so cute.
I saw those online.
You can go toblueridgeboutiquecom to see all
of the wonderful clothes thatthey sell online.
Is everything that you haveonline also in the store?
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Yeah, so we try really hard to make sure that
our app user, our online shopper, is getting the same experience
that they will get in store.
All of our inventory is on allplatforms.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
What size ranges do you carry?
I noticed in the store and onthe app and online that you
offer size inclusivity.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Yeah, so that's something that we really strive
and care about.
I think that for a while,people just considered a
boutique to have size zerothrough, whatever.
That's not right.
You should be able to shop at aboutique no matter what size
you are and feel beautiful andstill have an affordable outfit
that you love Absolutely.
So that's why I'm really big oncarrying things when I have the
opportunity to.
(30:40):
Some brands obviously don'tallow us because of that's just
how they're run, but we get theoption to carry small through 3X
.
I always jump on it because Iknow that everybody wants to
feel beautiful and they should.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Talking about your accessories.
You sell earrings, you sellpurses, hats, shoes, but you
also offer quite a bit moreunder that accessory tab.
What are some of the hottestitems that you have?
Speaker 2 (31:03):
We're big on accessories.
I really want us to be theone-stop shop if you're going to
go to a birthday party, so wecarry a lot of like fun,
knick-knacky, giftable items too, whether that is a mug that
you're going to give your friend, we have little prayer boxes.
Just I want everybody to beable to come in pick something
out.
We carry little kids items, soif you're going to pick out
(31:24):
something for somebody, that'stwo or 200, we got you
no-transcript.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
This is where I want folks to really pay attention,
because your sales areincredible.
Let's go through your salesprocess, because you can go in
the store, of course, but if youreally want the deals, you need
to be on Facebook and you needto get your app on your mobile
device.
And I think it's so great thatyou have a Blue Ridge Boutique
(31:55):
app, and I'm going to pick yourbrain about that later.
Okay, I don't even know if Ineed one, but I want an app,
right yeah.
So just tell us about the app,walk us through the different
ways and the days that you dropnew sales items, because it's a
lot of information, so let'sjust spell it all out here.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
So we created our app during the thick of COVID you.
So we created our app duringthe sick of COVID.
You couldn't shop anywherebecause we were on shutdown, but
you could shop online.
People were stir crazy.
They wanted to buy things.
So that's when Blue RidgeBoutique really took off, during
COVID, because we became thehub for online shopping.
We did it just through Facebooksales.
For a long time we had aFacebook group and then we were
(32:34):
presented with an opportunity tocreate an app and I thought,
wow, the momentum is reallygoing with these online sales.
Why not?
I mean, what do we have to loseat this point?
So we created an app and thathas really just helped us.
It's been a game changer,honestly.
So, yes, you can shop in store,but to really find what is
super hot and trendy right now,you need to download the app.
So I drop new arrivals everyTuesday and Thursday at 7 pm.
(32:57):
Make sure you get thenotifications.
Just enable notifications sothat your phone and I promise I
don't blow y'all up, but you getnotified when new arrivals drop
.
So these items are dropping onthe app before they hit the
sales floor.
So items that drop on Tuesdayon the app are not going on the
sales floor until Wednesday.
Things that are dropping onThursday on the app are not
hitting the sales floor until.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Friday I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
Yeah, so that is something that we offer to our
exclusive app customers andsometimes people will see that
things are selling out on theapp before it even makes it to
the sales floor Wow.
So we have a lot of customersthat are shopping online that we
ship to, and then a lot of themare honestly doing in-store
pickup because they know that ifthey want that item, that they
better jump on it becausethere's a high potential it
(33:41):
could sell out.
Sometimes we'll offer restocksof items, but I really just try
to make sure that we don'tsaturate with the same item.
I want everybody to have aunique piece of ours and then
just to stay affordable, becauseyou know that that's one thing
that I truly do care about.
Every Tuesday at noon on ourapp, we have 20 Tuesday where I
drop a $20 new arrival just forfun.
(34:02):
It could be a dress, it couldbe a pair of shoes We've sold
$20 shoes before Just somethingthat you can grab and feel
excited about.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
That's really cool.
So if you're putting somethingon the app on a Tuesday or
Thursday and it's not on thefloor yet and you have six of
one item and all six of thoseare sold that night, but it's at
7 pm, right, correct, 7 pm itgoes on sale.
It's sold out.
Sometimes you can be waitlistedand you place the second order,
but you get your ordersimmediately, like you know how
(34:32):
many sold at that time and howmany?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
is left so that's kind of a little bit tricky.
We always just pray that itworks out.
So when we buy something atmarket through one of our
vendors, we don't know if it'sgoing to sell.
We take a risk.
Every time I pray that y'alllike it.
Sometimes you love it.
Sometimes I think things thatare going to sell don't sell.
Things that I don't think thataren't going to sell sell out.
So it's really a guessing gameon our behalf.
(34:54):
That's why I always try to takeone of the girls to market with
me or pick their brain, becauseI think two brains are better
than one.
They're also at the store withme seeing what sells daily, what
people are saying.
So we really try to tune in andlisten to what our customers
want.
But on our app you have anoption to either waitlist an
item.
So if it sells out you hitwaitlist.
You will get an opportunity toget that item if we restock it,
(35:15):
if you restock it, if I restockit.
That's not a guarantee, butlet's say, if somebody returns
something you would be notified.
But the key to gettingsomething that you truly want,
that we're going to sell out,that we've sold out of, is to
waitlist preauthorize.
So I know it sounds like mumblejumble, but waitlist
preauthorize means that you havealready-authorized the purchase
on your card.
You do not get charged until Ihave the merchandise in hand
(35:39):
ready to send to you.
But when it does come available, it hits your cart first and
it's sold to you before it hitsanybody else's shopping cart.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
This is why it's so important to get those
notifications, so that you don'tmiss that opportunity, because
you don't know if you're goingto get a second shipment in or
not?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
It's like a little gamble, whether you're going to
get it or not.
It is kind of exciting.
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I know another element to the unknown.
Yeah, you still have a VIPFacebook group.
I do, but you're not selling asmuch through Facebook Lives as
you once did right Correct.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
So during the thick of COVID, people were shopping
on their phone mobile devicesall the time.
There's still a lot of storesthat do Facebook Lives, but now
as a parent, I don't have thatmuch time in the evening to
watch somebody talk for an hourto be honest, yeah it's true.
So that's why I really like ourapp because you can get the
information right away.
You don't have to wait for me tosit there and ramble on for
$900 about clothes.
(36:31):
I just want you guys to be ableto shop immediately, not have
to wait.
But one thing that we do offerin our app, which I think is so
cool and such an added benefitand so many of you guys love it,
is each item that we sellmyself or the girls that I work
with we do a fit video of everyitem, so you're not seeing it on
a model you've never seenbefore.
It is a real life girl thatworks at our store and we have a
(36:52):
fit video.
So we're going to tell you howtall we are, what size we are,
how it fits, how the materialmakes us feel, all of that good
jazz.
So we know that sometimesshopping online is a risk
because you don't truly knowwhat you're getting in terms of
how it would fit on your bodystyle.
So we really try to go thatextra step to make sure that you
feel confident in your onlinepurchases.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
I love the fit videos .
Even though I'm not the samesize as you, I can tell.
If you say I normally wear sizefour, yeah, this is a size
small Then it lets me know whatI should get.
And then you also put them onyour moving the fit videos.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
And they're short videos.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
They're not long wide videos that you do have to sit
through.
You can scroll through the appand see a style that you're like
oh, I like that top and thenwatch that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
just very brief fit video yeah, it's about 20
seconds.
Just hit the play button.
I'll tell you how it makes mefeel and how I feel like it
would make you feel, and then wemove on.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Where did you get all of this inspiration?
Did you see someone else doingfit videos Like, how are you
learning how to do all of thistechnology and incorporate that
into your sales process for yourboutique?
Because I haven't seen it fromother boutiques.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Maybe it's out there and I just haven't seen it.
Yeah, so when I was in highschool and college, I worked at
a boutique called Yared Shoes,the owner, emily Couch.
We worked together all the timeand she taught me everything I
knew.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
Was she doing the app and the Facebook Lives and the
Fit videos too?
Speaker 2 (38:15):
She wasn't.
So when I was working therethey were big on in-store
shopping.
So that's where I learned howto treat customers in-store.
Going the extra mile, I saw howcustomers would come in just to
see Emily because she was justsuch a positive ray of sunlight
and I wanted to figure out how Icould imitate that.
I wanted people to be able tocome to my store and say I saw
Sim today and I went in thestore and Sim was working Like.
(38:35):
I just want people to feel goodthey do Well, thank you.
I hear that from everybody butthe fit videos.
That was me wanting to shoponline.
If you go on let's say, forexample, you go on Belks you're
seeing a girl on a whitebackground.
You don't know what size she is, you don't know how tall she is
.
She's super lean, just like acoat hanger there and you don't
(38:58):
know anything about her.
I want you to say, oh well,simran wears this in this brand,
maggie wears this in this brand.
I want you to put our girls andmyself with our store and know
how it fits our body and how itwould relate to you.
It's great.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Your business sense is amazing and I feel like I
could learn so much from you.
But in the pre-interview youmentioned Google's inverted or
reverse image search, which Iknew nothing about.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Thank you for that, because now I'm going to start
doing that.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
You find a picture or a product that you want and
then you put it in this Googlesearch inverted image search
thing and then it tells you likeyou can find a similar product
to this much cheaper.
So it's for people who are on abudget but they like really
nice things, but you can findalmost like a knockoff, yeah.
So tell me how you've takenadvantage of that platform.
Speaker 2 (39:47):
So when we go to market unless it's like an
exclusive brand that Zipcoterritory protects majority of
the time we're all able to carryabout the same thing Any
boutiques are.
It's up to the boutique ownerhow they want to price things.
You could market up 100%.
You can market up 50%.
You market up 20%.
People always laugh I want tomake enough money so that my
family can eat dinner, but I'mnot eating filet mignon.
(40:07):
I want to eat chicken.
So I want everybody to be ableto afford something.
So I'm not out to price gou.
What I really key in, for wekeep our prices, what I feel is
safe and comfortable andrespectable.
So with that, let's say, you goon a boutique app and you say,
oh my gosh, I love this top, butit's $98.
And I just $98 just really isnot in my budget right now.
You don't know the brand, youdon't know anything about it.
(40:29):
You're going to screenshot thatpicture, right, and you're
going to go to your Google and,instead of typing something in,
you're going to upload thepicture and it will pull.
I guess Google AI.
It's a little bit.
It's a little bit above me, butthis is how I'm thinking it's
working, because it's how it'sgetting us sales.
People are going to pull it.
It's going to show upeverything in that pattern and
that style of that clothing item.
We show you every boutique,whether or store anywhere in the
(40:52):
United States or in the worldthat's carrying something
similar and it shows you theirprice point.
So we are getting new customersliterally everywhere that I
have no connection to, becausethey are doing these Google and
averted searches to find us andknowing that we are not price
gouging them.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
You're not marking up your prices as much as some
other boutiques may be doing,yeah, and so when people put in
that picture, your store, blueRidge Boutique, pops up as a
less expensive option, and sothey can click on the link and
go to you and place your order.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Yep, that's what they're doing.
They're seeing us, it pulls up.
It doesn't necessarily filterby price, so you're going to
have to scroll a little bit tosee where it is, but that's what
it's doing and it's pulling usup every single time, so smart.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Before we move on, I just want to talk about your VIP
group on Facebook.
You said you have 10,000members in this.
Facebook group.
Do we need to still go and be apart of that community?
Speaker 2 (41:42):
So before our app was introduced, the concept of it
was brought to me.
We sold everything on Facebookgroups, so that's where people
would want to go to purchase.
That's not like that anymorenow that we have our app.
But when you see us posting onInstagram you're seeing Blue
Ridge Boutique posting.
It could be myself or one ofthe girls, but when you see us
posting on our VIP group, you'retalking directly to me.
(42:03):
It is coming from my Facebookpage.
That's where we're right nowtalking to customers, getting
their input.
You're talking directly to me.
We're getting that personalinteraction that you may not get
on Instagram.
So I'm really big on knowing mycustomer wanting to hear about
how your daughter's first day ofballet went.
That's our home base.
That's where we started.
I'm not going to forget wherewe came from and that's what
(42:23):
we're learning about ourcustomers.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
As a person, Before we wrap up.
Neither you nor your employeesare pushy with your sales in the
store, which creates a verycomfortable shopping environment
.
So many people just can't standpushy salespeople and there's
nothing like that in your store.
Can you share why thisphilosophy is important to you
(42:48):
at Blue Ridge?
Speaker 2 (42:48):
Boutique.
Yeah, like I said, I've workedat a lot of boutiques that
worked on commission.
That's how you got paid and Ijust didn't feel like it was
wasn't my.
I didn't want to force peopleto buy anything.
I don't know anything about you.
I don't know what your budgetis.
I don't really know what you'relooking for.
So for me just to forcesomething on you so that I can
get paid, that doesn't makesense for anybody.
That's not helping the customer, which is truly what we care
about.
We're in the store to be your.
(43:10):
We're never going to pushanything on you or make you feel
uncomfortable, because I justfeel like that's human decency
honestly, I find that highlyuncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
I do too, and sometimes it feels fake.
So people are telling you youlook fabulous in something and
you're standing there looking inthe mirror and you know you
don't.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
No, and I always tell our customers.
I will never lie to you.
Because when you go out andsomebody asks you where you got
your outfit from and you sayBlue Ridge Boutique and it looks
bad, that's a bad reflection onme.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
I didn't think about that.
So we are very honest with you.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
That's a good point, so I want it to always reflect
that you love your outfit,you're confident and other
people see that when you wear it.
One of the things that wereally care about and I didn't
truly understand the meaning ofit until I became a mom is
sometimes you just as being afamily-friendly place.
So I don't know if you noticed,but we started carrying Diffin
Dots.
I always wanted to carry DiffinDots.
(44:00):
So come in the store.
Honestly, I don't even care ifyou buy anything.
I just want you to feelcomfortable when you're in my
store.
People bring their kids in allthe time.
They sit on the couch.
We have a quarter bouncy ballmachine.
I know what it's like to needto get your kids out of the
house.
You can't break anything in mystore because if you could, my
daughter already would have.
So I don't keep anything.
Reach level eye levels thatkids can break Smart.
(44:20):
We just want people just tocome in and just walk around.
It's hot right now.
Come in, get a quarter for thebouncy ball.
You need a snack for your kids.
I got a boatload of them in theback.
We will help you out.
Just get out of the house andfeel safe and comfortable coming
in our store and not feelingobligated like you have to buy
anything, so the Dippin' Dots,especially because it's hot here
right now and it's a good break.
(44:41):
So it's such a nostalgic thing.
So I loved Dippin' Dots.
As a kid.
My goals were to always open aboutique by the beach.
Checkmark that I wanted to hangpink chairs on the wall.
Checkmark that my husbandbegrudgingly painted them pink
when I went to the antique storetrash on Oleander, because they
always put their trash out onThursday night.
So I would go on Thursday nightsand check out chairs, so we use
(45:02):
those as hangers.
He's like I've never seenanybody put pink chairs on their
wall.
But it was a vision and I knewwhat I had and we wanted to
carry Dippin' Dots.
So pink chairs, dippin' Dotsand by the beach and we've got
it all covered.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
That's awesome.
Okay, so future plans.
What can you tell us about anyfuture plans?
Speaker 2 (45:24):
whether it's personal , professional or both.
So we are currently in theearly stages of working on
opening a second location.
That's exciting.
I'm excited.
We can't disclose where it isyet, but we can tell you that
where we're looking at opening,there are no other boutiques
around us.
Okay, we would have theexclusive territory to carry all
of the brands that you guysknow and love.
So, personally, right now I'mlearning, and still it's a
(45:44):
struggle every day, but it'ssomething that I'm working
toward.
Different seasons of life havedifferent goals and different
priorities, so right now, mypriority is just to be really
present with my children and bea great mom and also a business
owner.
So that's why I employ suchamazing girls that work
alongside of me, so that whenI'm having to step back and
(46:05):
focus on my role as a mom, mystore is not suffering.
So we're always juggling, likeI said, those roles between
motherhood and businesswomanhood.
But just knowing that it's okayto choose something different
in each season, we're not meantto choose the same thing forever
.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
Going back to the second location.
Is that a done deal?
Speaker 2 (46:27):
It is not, so we're waiting for the ground to break
on a complex All right, we'llstop there.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
I just was curious, like how far along you were in
the process.
Okay, all right, we'll stopthere.
I just was curious, like howfar along you were in the
process, okay.
So lastly is final thoughts.
So what is the key message orthe takeaway that you want to
leave our listeners with today?
Speaker 2 (46:44):
I really just want everybody who steps in Blue
Ridge Boutique to feel warm, tofeel welcomed and to feel loved.
We don't care whether you'refull-fledged in makeup, whether
you just rolled out of bed,whether you have $900 to spend
or nine cents.
We're gonna find something foryou to shop with us and make you
feel good about yourself.
(47:05):
We accept everybody.
We just want you to feelbeautiful and special when you
walk inside a Blue Ridgeboutique.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
It's time to give out that contact information, so
take it away.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Okay, so you can call or text us.
We answer during normalbusiness hours, monday through
Saturday, 10 to five.
That's going to be 9 1 0 2 3, 32 3 1 1.
We're located behind the saltyturtle at 1 0, 8 Charlie Mellon
drive, unit D, serve city, northCarolina.
You can find all of ourfashions at
wwwblueridgeboutiquecom, or wehighly suggest you go to the
(47:39):
Google Play Store for Androidusers or the Apple Store for
Apple users and download BlueRidge Boutique app.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
And you can also find and follow Blue Ridge Boutique
in their socials.
I will have the links for theirInstagram, facebook and also
that Facebook VIP group for youthere.
So if you missed any of thisinformation, go ahead to those
show notes and click away.
Thank you, listeners, forjoining us today.
I appreciate your supportalways and thank you again,
simran, for being on TopsailInsider and telling us all about
(48:09):
Blue Ridge Boutique.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (48:13):
Hey, if you enjoyed today's episode of Top Soul
Insider, please show yoursupport by clicking the follow
or subscribe button on yourfavorite podcast listening
platform.
You can also follow us onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter and
YouTube.
Please also go totopsoulinsidercom and join our
mailing list by clicking on themake me a Top Soul Insider
button.
(48:33):
While you're there, you canclick the send me a voicemail
button and let me know exactlywhat you're thinking.
Your message just might be onan episode of Topsail Insider.
You can email me at Krista atTopsailInsidercom, or call or
text me at 910-800-0111.
Thank you for listening andsupporting Topsail Insider and
(48:55):
our local businesses andnonprofits.
These are our neighbors and ourfriends, and together we build
a mighty and a beautifulcommunity I'm super proud to be
a part of.
I'll see you around Topsail.
Welcome to Topsail Insider, where you can hear all
about the businesses and eventsin the beautiful coastal towns
in the greater Topsail area ofNorth Carolina Coming up.
If you've been on Facebookchecking out ladies' clothing
lately, you've no doubt seen thelovely Ms Simran Canterbury
(00:21):
showing you all of the fabulousitems you can find at the Blue
Ridge Boutique in Surf City,north Carolina.
She is a dynamo, a smartbusinesswoman with a big smile,
a big heart and loads ofpositive energy, and I am
thrilled to have her in thestudio today.
We'll be discussing her WestVirginia roots, her Surf City
storefront, online sales fromher website and Facebook, and
(00:44):
she even has a Blue RidgeBoutique app.
Stick around for all this andmore on today's episode of
Topsail Insider.
It's time to indulge andexperience the finest coastal
hospitality on Topsail Island,with Saltwater Resort and Suites
in Surf City, north CarolinaDesigned to exceed your
(01:08):
expectations.
Guests can enjoy elegant suitesfeaturing premium, luxurious
bedding, fully equipped kitchenswith dishwashers, 75-inch flat
screens, en-suite washers anddryers, and gorgeous ocean views
.
With the grand opening of theirnewest location, you can now
relax in their saltwater poolopening at the end of July, and
(01:30):
their modern clubhouse.
Perfect for unwinding andsociales redefining luxury on
(01:51):
Topsail Island.
Come on out to Surf City Linefor the best made-from-scratch
beach and bowls on TopsailIsland.
Treat yourself to theirdelicious bowls with shrimp
steak, fish, chicken or pork, orenjoy their peel-and-eat shrimp
(02:11):
.
Beach break salads and more.
They offer a full bar servinghandcrafted cocktails,
incredible margaritas and theyproudly serve North Carolina
craft beer.
The line boasts the biggestdeck on the island with three
levels for listening to livemusic, relaxing in the sun, or
head on up to the top deck toenjoy your meal with ocean views
(02:33):
.
Visit SurfCityLineNCcom fortheir full menus.
The best service and beachvibes on the island await you at
2112 North New River Drive.
Whether you're a local orvisiting from out of town,
celebrating a special occasionor just soaking up the sun with
family and friends, it's alwaysa great time at Surf City Line.
(03:01):
Hello everyone and welcome toTopsail Insider.
My name is Krista and I am yourhost.
Today we are talking to MsSimran Canterbury.
She is the owner of Blue RidgeBoutique in Surf City, north
Carolina.
Welcome, simran, and thank youfor joining me today.
Thanks for having me.
I'm really excited to be here.
Yeah, I have to say that everysingle time your store or your
(03:22):
name comes up, people just lightup talking about you.
They love your store, they loveyou and, as much as you still
carry a huge following in WestVirginia which we're going to
talk about, you've made quite animpression here in these beach
towns.
Before we dive into yourbackground a little bit and your
why, let's go ahead and givethe listeners an overview of
(03:43):
what Blue Ridge Boutique is andthe products you offer and where
you're located and such yeah,of course, like you said, we're
Blue Ridge Boutique.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
We're located in Surf City, north Carolina, right
behind the Salty Turtle.
We're a women's boutique.
We carry a little bit of kids.
We focus mainly on bright,colorful, patterny clothes,
accessories, anything that youneed to create a fun outfit.
We are open every day, 10 to 5,except Sunday, because that is
the Lord's Day and we need oneday of rest.
Amen.
(04:09):
But we are just here to makesure that all the girls in Surf
City women, ladies, childrenlook and feel their best all the
time.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I also think that folks often mispronounce your
name.
I did, until I spoke with youon the phone and it's Simron,
not Simran, which is what I wassaying, and I think, a lot of
other people.
I imagine that a lot of peoplemispronounce your name as well.
So for anyone who's beenwondering or maybe you've been
saying it wrong, no hardfeelings, she forgives you?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
No, of course not.
So I usually go by Simran butSurf City.
I've created Sim because that'sa lot easier for people to say.
So I'll answer to pretty much.
I've been called Skymarin.
I've been called Simran.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
I mean, if you just say the S-I, I'll probably turn
around and answer.
That's so funny because most ofthe people that I talk to they
do say Sim, oh, sim, she'sawesome.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So I just felt like that was easier for everybody,
and that's what we just get withnow.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Okay, but it's Simran .
Correct Is the correctpronunciation of the full name.
Okay, since we're talking aboutit, could you just share the
origin and the meaning of yourname, because I thought that was
pretty cool yeah of course.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So my grandpa, we call him Nana.
His name is Senthok Chawla.
He came to the United Statesfrom India.
He took a ship from India toItaly and then he made his way
to West Virginia where he becamean engineer.
So my name means to recite thename of.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
God, the culture is called Sikhism.
The Sikhs they're oftenconfused.
They wear the turbans.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, so they're not Hindus, but they're their own
religion and it's called Sikhism.
Got it Okay?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I want to talk a little bit about your grandpa
Nana.
He came here by himself andeducated himself.
Can you tell me a little bitabout how your family just one
by one came over here, yeah, ofcourse.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
So he came in 1959, which sounds like a long time
ago, but I guess it really is,it is.
So he went from a ship toNaples, italy, and then he flew
from England to New York.
He took a bus to Pittsburgh.
He started his undergrad degreeat the Carnegie Mellon
University.
He wanted to come to Americabecause there was just a lot of
corruption happening in Indiaand his dad wanted him to come
(06:10):
here to see better opportunities.
He didn't know anything of theAmerican culture.
He always laughed about hotdogs because he didn't really
understand.
Like, hot dogs to us areobviously a food, but to someone
who doesn't know or isn'taround here, you don't.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
And even things like revolving doors at the't around
here, you don't?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, he thought it was a dog, yeah, so like, and
even things like revolving doorsat the hotel, things that we
don't think about.
Somebody who's coming from adifferent country that long ago
didn't really understand.
He came to WVU in Morgantown todo his master's in
instructional engineering.
It was at that point he feltlike he was obligated to bring
his siblings one by one.
So at that point, when he hadcome here, he had two small
(06:50):
children, my aunt and uncle, andhe left them behind with my
great mother.
Her name was Nani, so shestayed behind with the kids.
He left them when they were twoand four, but he didn't fully
reunite with them until theywere 10 and 12.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Now, that's a long time.
So that's a long time.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So the family dynamic is very important.
So he, one by one, brought hissiblings to America.
He knew that he had to figureout how to get them here because
he was funding the whole thingat this point.
So he worked with congressmenand professors so that his
siblings could have a mission toeither WVU or West Virginia
Tech.
He got a job with West VirginiaDepartment of Highways.
(07:20):
He took care of their needs.
He paid for everyone's tuitionand airfare.
All of his siblings prosperedwith different careers here.
Did they all go intoengineering as well?
So we have some that wereengineers, some that were
mathematicians, just a littlebit of everything.
He left a few behind thatdidn't want to come.
He had a sister that was awell-known poet and author, but
he still has brothers livingright now and siblings in
(07:43):
Missouri, michigan, westVirginia, north Carolina and
Canada.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
He came over and just really made the most of
everything.
So eventually your mom did comeover here, correct?
You told me a really cool story.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
There were arranged marriages.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
There still are today , that's still a thing of today.
So my mom was actually born inthe United States.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So she was born in West.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Virginia.
So it was.
My mom has three siblings, twoof which which were born in
India, and then her and then myuncle were born in the States.
But, like you said, prearrangedmarriage is still a thing that
happens.
You don't?
It's not publicized, so youdon't really see it in your face
.
My mom won a pageant calledMiss Sternwill Regatta.
That's where she met my dad,miss what Sternwill Regatta,
sternwill.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Regatta.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yes, so she met my dad there.
He owned a bar in downtownCharleston, west Virginia.
She was set to be married to adoctor in Hawaii.
It was all planned out, it wasready to go.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
They had taken her to my aunt's house in Maryland
where they were going to startthe process of the arranged
marriage.
Was she going to fly to Hawaiiand marry and then live there?
From what I've heard, that'swhat was supposed to take place.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
So who threw the wrench in the plans?
My dad drove up to Maryland ina white van and came and got her
.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
You didn't mention that.
That's pretty scary.
My aunt was not home.
Were there windows on the vanRight?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I don't know my aunt was not home, so it was just the
gardener, the housekeeper thatwas there and she knew that mom
wasn't supposed to leave.
But mom just went and left andstarted a life there Was there a
fallout there?
was.
So my mom was considered theblack sheep for a long time,
because she was the first onethat had broken away from that
(09:22):
system, missed the culturalnorms.
But you have to think, though,how much courage and strength it
took to like you've beenindoctrinated in this culture
your entire life and then to godoing something you've never
done before, knowing that you'regoing to disappoint your family
, knowing how they feel.
So ultimately, she got pregnantwith me.
My dad and her got a divorce,unfortunately, but at that time
(09:45):
we were living in a trailer.
So my mom knew that the key togetting us out of the situation
we were in was education.
So she felt the need to proveto the Indians that she did not
make a mistake, that she knewwhat she was doing and she was
going to raise somebody that wasgoing to not necessarily she'd
already broken the cultural mold, but was going to make
(10:06):
something of herself.
So I always felt in my heartthat I had to do it for my mom,
so that she wasn't considered ablack sheep.
She had done something correct,and I feel like that's probably
why I'm not necessarily hard onmyself, but so driven and
focused, because I wanted my momto know that what she did
wasn't for nothing.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I love that you and your mom are pretty close.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, we are.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Did she get an?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
education.
She did so, my mom.
She knew that her ticket outwas a education.
So she got a degree in earlyeducation and while all this was
happening, when she waspregnant with me, she also went
back to live with mygrandparents.
So imagine how that's tough.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That is tough, I don't.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I can't even imagine what that would feel like for
her.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
She did what she had.
She did what she had to do.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
She saved up enough money for us to move to a
trailer there.
She put herself through school,got us out.
I mean, just made something forherself.
So if it wasn't for her kind ofpassion and drive to want
better for me and her, I don'treally know where we'd be today.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, your family history is pretty cool and
unusual and not something I hearvery often.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Of course, you said that you always dreamed of
owning a boutique I think yousaid boutique by the sea even as
a little girl.
What was it like for you firstof all, growing up in West
Virginia, and when did thispassion for boutique clothing
start?
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I've always had a love for fashion.
My grandma and I call her mamawe would go to Goodwill all the
time because boutique shoppingwas expensive.
So I knew from a young age thatif I wanted to wear boutique
clothing I would have to find itsecondhand.
So every Wednesday she wouldpick me up from school and we
would scounder the racks atGoodwill and I knew what I was
looking for.
I knew the big brands that Iwanted to wear to kind of fit in
and feel cool.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But I could do that on a smaller scale because we
knew all the good wills by heartat that point.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
We camped a lot as kids.
I always wanted to go to thebeach.
My mom and stepdad he's greatthey always wanted to go camping
in the mountains.
And I just said one day I knowI'm going to move to the beach
and I'm going to open a storeand I'm going to have pink
chairs hanging from my wall.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
But we moved down here.
Things kind of took a slowerturn and I was still hoping that
(12:07):
we would open the store.
But there were a lot of stepsand processes that we had to get
to get to the point where weare now.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Do you remember the first time you ever saw the
ocean?
What made you fall in love withhaving a beach town boutique?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
So we always with my grandparents, my nana and nani
and my mom, we would go toMyrtle Beach, so we would go to
the pavilion and there was justsomething about Broadway at the
beach that just made you excited, walking on the boardwalk.
It was just that life andexcitement that you knew that
people were not stressed becauseof work.
It was not.
You can't even explain it.
It's just like that positiveenergy walking the boardwalk and
(12:40):
I knew that I wanted that, butI didn't know how to create that
energy as a kid.
But I saw all the shops.
We would go late at night.
I don't know if you rememberthere was a dragon at the golf
course at Broadway at the beach.
He would come up.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Oh no, I don't, so we would always go and watch the
dragon.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And I would see how busy these stores are and I was
like, wow, what are they doingto bring people in?
Even my nunny and we would justwatch the people going back and
forth and I thought, what is itlike to own a store, even at
Broadway, at the beach?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I can just see you as a little girl sitting there the
wheels turning, even at a youngage.
Yeah, you married your highschool sweetheart.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
I sure did Tell me a little bit about your husband.
Okay, so we met when I was 15.
We went to the same high schooltogether.
Our high school cafeteria wasdivided.
You had people that lived inthe creek Davis Creek.
They sat where they called itthe creaker corner, and it was
all separated, like you wouldsee in a movie, by different
jock types.
Yeah, Football players.
Yes, very clicky.
My husband came from thecreaker corner, so that was on
(13:35):
the outside of the cafeteria andI stayed on the inside.
But I thought, well, let'sventure out and see, because
clearly nothing great is comingfrom the inside.
So let's see what the countryboy has to offer from the
outside.
That's funny.
So we met when I was 15.
He came to pick me up for ourfirst date.
I'll never forget he drove aFord F-150 truck.
(13:55):
Back then I was kind of stilllike how I am now.
I would get along with everygroup, but a little bit preppy,
but just a little bit differentthan my husband was.
So he came and picked me up inhis Ford F-150 that had the
words redneck and camo letterson the back of his glass and I
was like, oh wow.
I don't know where this is goingto go from here, but we dated
all throughout college and highschool.
We went to prom together andthen we ultimately moved here
(14:15):
together to start our family inSurf City.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
So Myrtle Beach was where you got to know this area
and now it makes sense why youended up here in this area being
coastal.
So tell me how you ended up inSurf City for your store.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah.
So my husband, when we were inhigh school we would for like
senior trips in college we wouldgo to different beaches in the
area.
So we stayed at Carolina Beach,we stayed at Holden Beach, oak
Island, topsail, wrightsvilleall the beaches here and we just
fell in love with it.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but Iused to watch a lot of One Tree
Hill.
And I just wanted to be inWilmington and it was just so
fascinating to me so we would goand do all these tours and I
(14:51):
would just tell him I want tomove here one day.
But once we did move down here,he got a job.
We had just bought a house inWest Virginia when we were in a
job to redo the Oak IslandBridge, so that's what's brought
us down here.
Okay, so your husband's also anengineer.
He is.
When he was in high school he'sa jack of all trades.
He would work contract work.
He can lay floor.
(15:11):
He can build you a table, hecan build he just said he built
out your storefront.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
He sure did, yeah, so he was.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
He built the bridge.
Where again In Oak Island, theyredid that big Oak Island
Bridge.
So that's what brought us downhere.
I didn't have a job at the time, so I just worked at different
boutiques learning the ropes.
Then we I guess we're having amidlife crisis.
I don't know if you have amidlife crisis without kids but
we bought a motorcycle and so wewould just drive the motorcycle
to Myrtle Beach so that I couldgo back to Broadway at the
(15:40):
beach it.
I'm not a motorcycle person.
I was reading a romance novelon my book on my phone while I'm
on the back of this motorcycle,the phone dropped.
Oh, we ran over it on the wayto Topsail.
Not that it was bad, but Idon't like not being in control,
(16:01):
so if I just focus my energy onsomething else, I wouldn't
think about it.
That's funny.
We saw that they were developingall this land and I thought,
wow, we had been to all of thesedifferent beach areas, been to
Wrightsville, been to Carolina.
Well, I hadn't really exploredTopsail and there was something
about it that was just.
You had that same hometown feelas West Virginia, but on the
beach.
So when we drove through it Isaid it wasn't as commercialized
(16:22):
as Carolina Beach, it wasn't asritzy as Wrightsville Beach.
It was the perfect mix for us.
So we saw that they wereclearing land and I just put
that in the back of my head toone day come back to.
We didn't make any plans then,we just enjoyed the day.
But I always, in the back of myhead, fell in love with the
Surf City area.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, Okay, there's a lot of engineers in your family
, but what did you study whenyou went to college?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I have a degree from Marshall University.
My degree is in marketing and Ihave a minor in
entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
When did you open your online store?
You started your business inWest Virginia.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I did so.
We got married in 2017.
We were on the way back fromour honeymoon.
We had a small wedding.
We saved up our money.
Nobody paid for it.
We went to Italy for two weeksNice.
It was amazing.
We traveled around and I just Iknew that I wanted to open a
boutique, so we would go to allof these little boutiques at the
Amalfi Coast, in Rome, inFlorence, and I was like wow,
Even in going to a differentplace and seeing other boutiques
(17:18):
, knowing that that's what youwant to do in your heart.
But not knowing how you're goingto get there.
It's still cool to see how theydo stuff, how their layout was.
I still have on my phonepictures that I've taken of
displays in the Amalfi Coastboutiques.
So we got married.
We were coming back and thesong Country Roads comes on.
You know that's West Virginia'stheme song and it said we knew
that we wanted to move.
We didn't have plans to move atthis time.
(17:39):
We were still in West Virginia.
And it said Blue RidgeMountains, shenandoah River.
My mom loves the mountains.
We would always travel throughthe mountains Anywhere we could
get near.
Blue Ridge Mountains is wheremy mom wanted to be.
So I told myself even at thispoint when we hadn't moved Blue
Ridge Boutique just has a nicering to it.
It does, and I'm going to takeBlue Ridge Boutique to the beach
one day, lord willing, ifthat's.
(18:05):
I wanted to be like VineyardVines Patagonia.
I wanted to be like a lifestyleboutique.
So at the beginning he went tomarket.
He was more interested in eatingChick-fil-A at the little
vendor booth than actuallyworking, but he did model for a
little bit.
I'll have to go back and dosome throwback pictures, but we
had some men's clothes, somekids' clothes and that's what we
started with when the boutiquelaunched online.
(18:26):
So it launched online inOctober of 2017.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
There's no storefront , so all of the clothes are
coming into your home and you'reshipping them out from home as
they're being ordered.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Correct.
So we had also.
Even from that point, I knewthat there were so many
boutiques Everybody.
The market even at that pointin 2017, was becoming saturated
with boutiques, so I needed tofigure out what was going to
keep us standing apart, andthat's what I've kept in our
business.
Everybody can do what you do,but you have to have an edge
that sets you apart fromeverybody else.
So in 2017, that edge that setus apart wasn't embroidery.
(18:57):
There wasn't.
There was monogrammingembroidery businesses.
There were boutiques, but therewasn't a lot that was together.
You would order clothes in andthen embroider personalized
stuff on it.
Yeah, so we would have boutiqueclothing on our online store
and then we would also carrylike comfort colors, pocket tees
and do embroidery.
I was terrified of thatembroidery machine.
I like being in control and Icouldn't control it.
So after my husband would getdone being an engineer all day
(19:23):
he would sit on that embroiderymachine and embroider clothes.
Oh, you have a good husband.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
He's great.
I love him.
That's amazing.
Okay, so your husband did allthe embroidery.
When did you decide to stop theembroidery?
So?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
actually the embroidery still happened right
up until we opened our store in.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Searcy, oh really it did yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Because I knew that that is what would keep us
afloat when the boutique wasn'tdoing it, because everybody
always needed somethingmonogrammed or personalized.
I did it by myself for a littlebit, but I would still ask him
to do it majority of the timebecause he was just better at it
than I was.
Are you still doing any of ittoday?
So we're not.
We have friends at Savvy'sEmbroidery.
They do all of our embroideryfor us now.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
So you still offer it ?
You're just outsourcing.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
How was the business going?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
online.
So back in 2017, you wereseeing a lot of customers really
order online.
But while we were online, Iknew that we also needed to get
in front of a larger audience.
So any festival you could thinkof under the sun in West
Virginia I would sign up for.
They had the Pumpkin Festival.
It was a Thursday throughSunday festival.
You were there from 8 o'clockin the morning until 9 o'clock
(20:25):
at night.
I would just lug all of mystuff to set up there the
Cupcake Festival, the HarvestFestival, anything I could to
get people to shop with us, tosee us and that's what we did
until we moved in 2020.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Okay, so you're selling at the festivals, you're
selling online, but you stillgo up to West Virginia for an
event each year and you stillhave a lot of customers in West
Virginia.
I think you said 96%.
Is that right?
90% of your customers are stillin.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
West Virginia yeah, so that's huge.
In 2021, I created a eventcalled Junefest West Virginia
Junefest.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
That's what I wanted to find out about.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Tell me about this.
So Junefest was a way I knewthat there was just not enough
hours in the day.
I just couldn't keep lugging mythings while we were in North
Carolina back to West Virginia.
It was just not feasible.
But I wanted to go to an eventwhere I would have a lot of
other vendors there, basicallymake my own event.
So that's what I did.
So I created Junefest, which isa small business vendor event.
(21:25):
Always happens the Saturday,father's Day weekend in West
Virginia.
We just had our fourth annualJunefest.
We're going to be working onour fifth one soon.
But we've slowly grown biggerand bigger.
So the last event we had over110 small businesses that are
coming from North Carolina likeus.
Virginia, west Virginia, ohio,kentucky, you name it.
(21:45):
We're kind of like a hub a bighub event.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Where are you having this?
I know you're in West Virginia,but where are you setting?
Are these all?
Speaker 2 (21:52):
tents?
No, so we had started.
There was a small littlebuilding.
It's called the India Centerand that was where we had it the
first year, but we quicklyoutgrew that.
So now we rent out theCharleston Area Coliseum and
Convention.
Center where they have alltheir concerts and conferences
in the capital city.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
That is big.
Yeah, you were pregnant withyour first child.
That's your daughter.
That was pretty soon aftergetting married.
How did this affect yourbusiness?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I nannied, in high school and college.
I loved kids, but I neverreally saw myself with children.
I like to do things when I wantto do them how I want to do
them.
So my husband and I had a greatroutine set up.
We knew our flow together.
We just knew what worked.
So I found out that I waspregnant with my daughter and I
had a really hard time, honestly, because I didn't have a
storefront at this point and inmy head, if you had children,
(22:42):
your dreams had to be put onhold.
So it took me a while tounderstand that having a child
and bringing a child into thisworld is not a hindrance, it's a
blessing.
And my husband kept sayingwe're going to get through this,
You're going to be a great momand you're still going to be
able to have your dream.
And I truly didn't believe him.
I thought at this point for mydaughter, I thought I had to
give everything up, but thatwasn't the case.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
You continued on with your business.
Yes, you didn't even pause.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
So when I was seven months pregnant, I started the
first annual June Fest.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
So I lugged all of our stuff by West Virginia.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Didn't slow you down at all.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Just loaded it up and we went up there While my
daughter was home.
Everything was all upstairs inour frog, so I was being a mom
during the day, working until 2or 3 in the morning.
Shipping orders would sleep,then she's up at 7.
It was getting too much, so Ireally needed to think.
(23:34):
This is not sustainable.
We were doing really well ononline sales, so financially we
were okay, but I had to get itout of my house because I never
felt like I was truly presentwith my family, because I think
UPS would always drop off stuffat the house.
My husband was always takingstuff upstairs, the inventory
was starting to honestly takeover our house.
Yeah, and then it hit me in theback of my head oh, remember,
(23:56):
we drove by on the motorcycle inSurf City and we saw that that
plaza was going to be openingsoon.
So we reached out to Wellman'sConstruction, who owns the plaza
, and put it in works.
But I truly didn't believe itwas happening.
Because here I am, it's a bigleap.
It's a big leap.
It was very comfortable in myhome.
I had everything I needed.
But for my mental health, mysanity and for me being a mom, I
(24:18):
knew I had to get it out ofthere.
I truly didn't believe that itwas going to happen.
Because in my head again, I'mthinking oh, I have a child, I
have a daughter.
Society kind of tells you youcan't be a mom and you can't
have a child.
You have to kind of pick one.
Pick one that you want to dowell, yeah, yeah, but I chose
both, and that's okay, you canchoose yourself and still be a
great and encouraged me and knewthat I had to do that for
(24:47):
myself and for the sake of beinga mom.
So we opened the storeSeptember of 2022.
My daughter had just turned oneyears old.
She stayed at the store with me.
She grew up in the store.
We didn't have employees atthat point.
The plaza hadn't even finished,so we wouldn't.
Sometimes we would have it'sbrand new, it's brand new, it's
brand new.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I think they finally have all the stores filled at
this point, but it just happened.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yes, it was us and a couple of others.
I couldn't afford a place.
My daughter and I would staythere from 10 to 5, monday
through Saturday.
I worked six days a week.
We had an air fryer.
We still have an air fryer.
We had a TV.
We were just hanging out.
My kid grew up in that store,in the store, and that's such an
awesome thing because customerswould come in and it was like
she had.
Where I came from, westVirginia, and my family wasn't
(25:29):
here my daughter Rhett.
She was able to get family fromcustomers so they would come
and talk to her and bring hertreats and just be like be a
surrogate and grandma.
They were able to fill the rolefor her that she needed.
She grew up in the store.
Customers loved it.
She loved to take the money.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
She would love to scan Look at this
entrepreneurial spirit, though,that you gave her at a young age
.
So can't you just see her whenshe steps into adulthood?
She's going to be like Ialready know how to do this.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah, one of my biggest things as a mom, what I
want to project onto my child,is that you don't have to listen
to what everybody says.
You have to do, ultimately,what serves the Lord and what
makes you happy at the end ofthe day.
And I think that I'm I hope I'mshowing her that that's
feasible and that that's doableto do, because you can't whether
you're a mom or you're in yourcareer, you have to make time
(26:22):
for yourself and things that youtruly are passionate about.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I totally think you're setting a great example
for that.
I know you just had your secondchild.
It's your son.
Yes, right, because I actuallyfollowed you online looking at
your videos and you're gettingfurther along in your pregnancy.
But I guess maybe straight on,when you're modeling the clothes
or you're doing your fit videos, yeah, I couldn't even tell.
And you're like I am 36 monthspregnant right now.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Where is it?
It's all about the angle, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
And you're like.
So this fits a little snug here.
But you know it's a box cut.
But I loved how you continuedoing that all the way through
your pregnancy.
So the pregnancies definitelydidn't slow you down at all.
Is your son spending as muchtime in the store as your
daughter did?
Praise the Lord, we can affordemployees now.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
So I'm not there 10 to 5 Monday through Saturday,
but I still make it a point tobe at my store.
My son comes with me when we go.
He's got a little crib in theback, he just hangs out.
So I worked up until he came ona Thursday I was induced,
worked up until Wednesdayevening.
Tuesday I was induced, workedup until Wednesday evening, and
you had him on Thursday, yes,and then so he came Thursday,
(27:27):
stayed at the hospital Friday,saturday, tuesday I was back at
the store.
Oh my gosh.
You really are a dynamo.
Well when you really love whatyou do.
It's hard.
That was my first.
I always tell people Blue RidgeBoutique was my first child, so
it's a I do mom.
Some days I thrive more as amom.
It's just a balancing act thatI'm probably never going to
(27:48):
perfect, but you have to work onit daily.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Before we move on, just tell me real quick about
your two children.
What are their?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
names.
So my daughter her name camefrom my husband's grandmother,
loretta, so we'd spelled it alittle bit differently.
We call her Rhett for short,love that.
And then my nana, who came fromIndia.
His mom's name was Maya, so hername's Loretta, maya Canterbury
, we call her Rhett.
Everybody knows her as littleRhett.
And then I just have my sonnamed Truett and I wanted so
their names both end with TT.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
I love both names, so it's.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Truett, James Canterbury and Rhett and Truett
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I went into your shop a while back and I found the
perfect pair of flats and I gotto say the price was super
reasonable and I love them.
Tell me about the clothes andthe accessories, but also the
price points you choose for yourclientele.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Growing up, like I said, I shopped a lot at
Goodwill because that's what wecould afford.
Going to an affordable boutiquejust wasn't a thing anywhere.
Honestly, when we would travelboutique, you knew you were
going to spend X amount ofdollars when you walked in.
So when I started Blue RidgeBoutique, I wanted to be very
conscientious, because I knowthat there are some people who
have money to spend and thenthere's some people who live
paycheck to paycheck and,honestly, both of them are okay.
(28:57):
Everybody deserves to havesomething nice.
So that's what I implement inmy business.
We have a wide variety.
You can come in and buy a $3claw clip, or you can come in
and buy $180 pair of Spanx.
I wanted something at everysingle price point.
Whether a little girl was doingchores to get an allowance, she
could feel proud to come in andthere was something that she
could buy.
Or a lady that was moreestablished, that had a little
(29:20):
bit more to spend and caredabout a bigger name brand.
That's what we have too.
So I'm very conscientious ofbringing bigger brands in as
well, because people don't knowus.
The main reason that I'm doingthat is to get the people in the
door by saying oh wow, blueRidge Boutique carries Spanx.
Oh wow, blue Ridge Boutiquecarries Dolce Vita.
Then, once you come in ourstore, learn a little bit about
(29:40):
us.
We can keep you as a customerwith the wide variety of price
points that we truly have.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Love about us.
We can keep you as a customerwith the wide variety of price
points that we truly have.
Love that you have the ladiesstaples.
You've got tops, summer dresses, bottoms and you have the
swimsuits are so cute.
I saw those online.
You can go toblueridgeboutiquecom to see all
of the wonderful clothes thatthey sell online.
Is everything that you haveonline also in the store?
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Yeah, so we try really hard to make sure that
our app user, our online shopper, is getting the same experience
that they will get in store.
All of our inventory is on allplatforms.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
What size ranges do you carry?
I noticed in the store and onthe app and online that you
offer size inclusivity.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Yeah, so that's something that we really strive
and care about.
I think that for a while,people just considered a
boutique to have size zerothrough, whatever.
That's not right.
You should be able to shop at aboutique no matter what size
you are and feel beautiful andstill have an affordable outfit
that you love Absolutely.
So that's why I'm really big oncarrying things when I have the
opportunity to.
(30:40):
Some brands obviously don'tallow us because of that's just
how they're run, but we get theoption to carry small through 3X
.
I always jump on it because Iknow that everybody wants to
feel beautiful and they should.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Talking about your accessories.
You sell earrings, you sellpurses, hats, shoes, but you
also offer quite a bit moreunder that accessory tab.
What are some of the hottestitems that you have?
Speaker 2 (31:03):
We're big on accessories.
I really want us to be theone-stop shop if you're going to
go to a birthday party, so wecarry a lot of like fun,
knick-knacky, giftable items too, whether that is a mug that
you're going to give your friend, we have little prayer boxes.
Just I want everybody to beable to come in pick something
out.
We carry little kids items, soif you're going to pick out
(31:24):
something for somebody, that'stwo or 200, we got you
no-transcript.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
This is where I want folks to really pay attention,
because your sales areincredible.
Let's go through your salesprocess, because you can go in
the store, of course, but if youreally want the deals, you need
to be on Facebook and you needto get your app on your mobile
device.
And I think it's so great thatyou have a Blue Ridge Boutique
(31:55):
app, and I'm going to pick yourbrain about that later.
Okay, I don't even know if Ineed one, but I want an app,
right yeah.
So just tell us about the app,walk us through the different
ways and the days that you dropnew sales items, because it's a
lot of information, so let'sjust spell it all out here.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
So we created our app during the thick of COVID you.
So we created our app duringthe sick of COVID.
You couldn't shop anywherebecause we were on shutdown, but
you could shop online.
People were stir crazy.
They wanted to buy things.
So that's when Blue RidgeBoutique really took off, during
COVID, because we became thehub for online shopping.
We did it just through Facebooksales.
For a long time we had aFacebook group and then we were
(32:34):
presented with an opportunity tocreate an app and I thought,
wow, the momentum is reallygoing with these online sales.
Why not?
I mean, what do we have to loseat this point?
So we created an app and thathas really just helped us.
It's been a game changer,honestly.
So, yes, you can shop in store,but to really find what is
super hot and trendy right now,you need to download the app.
So I drop new arrivals everyTuesday and Thursday at 7 pm.
(32:57):
Make sure you get thenotifications.
Just enable notifications sothat your phone and I promise I
don't blow y'all up, but you getnotified when new arrivals drop
.
So these items are dropping onthe app before they hit the
sales floor.
So items that drop on Tuesdayon the app are not going on the
sales floor until Wednesday.
Things that are dropping onThursday on the app are not
hitting the sales floor until.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Friday I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
Yeah, so that is something that we offer to our
exclusive app customers andsometimes people will see that
things are selling out on theapp before it even makes it to
the sales floor Wow.
So we have a lot of customersthat are shopping online that we
ship to, and then a lot of themare honestly doing in-store
pickup because they know that ifthey want that item, that they
better jump on it becausethere's a high potential it
(33:41):
could sell out.
Sometimes we'll offer restocksof items, but I really just try
to make sure that we don'tsaturate with the same item.
I want everybody to have aunique piece of ours and then
just to stay affordable, becauseyou know that that's one thing
that I truly do care about.
Every Tuesday at noon on ourapp, we have 20 Tuesday where I
drop a $20 new arrival just forfun.
(34:02):
It could be a dress, it couldbe a pair of shoes We've sold
$20 shoes before Just somethingthat you can grab and feel
excited about.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
That's really cool.
So if you're putting somethingon the app on a Tuesday or
Thursday and it's not on thefloor yet and you have six of
one item and all six of thoseare sold that night, but it's at
7 pm, right, correct, 7 pm itgoes on sale.
It's sold out.
Sometimes you can be waitlistedand you place the second order,
but you get your ordersimmediately, like you know how
(34:32):
many sold at that time and howmany?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
is left so that's kind of a little bit tricky.
We always just pray that itworks out.
So when we buy something atmarket through one of our
vendors, we don't know if it'sgoing to sell.
We take a risk.
Every time I pray that y'alllike it.
Sometimes you love it.
Sometimes I think things thatare going to sell don't sell.
Things that I don't think thataren't going to sell sell out.
So it's really a guessing gameon our behalf.
(34:54):
That's why I always try to takeone of the girls to market with
me or pick their brain, becauseI think two brains are better
than one.
They're also at the store withme seeing what sells daily, what
people are saying.
So we really try to tune in andlisten to what our customers
want.
But on our app you have anoption to either waitlist an
item.
So if it sells out you hitwaitlist.
You will get an opportunity toget that item if we restock it,
(35:15):
if you restock it, if I restockit.
That's not a guarantee, butlet's say, if somebody returns
something you would be notified.
But the key to gettingsomething that you truly want,
that we're going to sell out,that we've sold out of, is to
waitlist preauthorize.
So I know it sounds like mumblejumble, but waitlist
preauthorize means that you havealready-authorized the purchase
on your card.
You do not get charged until Ihave the merchandise in hand
(35:39):
ready to send to you.
But when it does come available, it hits your cart first and
it's sold to you before it hitsanybody else's shopping cart.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
This is why it's so important to get those
notifications, so that you don'tmiss that opportunity, because
you don't know if you're goingto get a second shipment in or
not?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
It's like a little gamble, whether you're going to
get it or not.
It is kind of exciting.
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I know another element to the unknown.
Yeah, you still have a VIPFacebook group.
I do, but you're not selling asmuch through Facebook Lives as
you once did right Correct.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
So during the thick of COVID, people were shopping
on their phone mobile devicesall the time.
There's still a lot of storesthat do Facebook Lives, but now
as a parent, I don't have thatmuch time in the evening to
watch somebody talk for an hourto be honest, yeah it's true.
So that's why I really like ourapp because you can get the
information right away.
You don't have to wait for me tosit there and ramble on for
$900 about clothes.
(36:31):
I just want you guys to be ableto shop immediately, not have
to wait.
But one thing that we do offerin our app, which I think is so
cool and such an added benefitand so many of you guys love it,
is each item that we sellmyself or the girls that I work
with we do a fit video of everyitem, so you're not seeing it on
a model you've never seenbefore.
It is a real life girl thatworks at our store and we have a
(36:52):
fit video.
So we're going to tell you howtall we are, what size we are,
how it fits, how the materialmakes us feel, all of that good
jazz.
So we know that sometimesshopping online is a risk
because you don't truly knowwhat you're getting in terms of
how it would fit on your bodystyle.
So we really try to go thatextra step to make sure that you
feel confident in your onlinepurchases.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
I love the fit videos .
Even though I'm not the samesize as you, I can tell.
If you say I normally wear sizefour, yeah, this is a size
small Then it lets me know whatI should get.
And then you also put them onyour moving the fit videos.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
And they're short videos.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
They're not long wide videos that you do have to sit
through.
You can scroll through the appand see a style that you're like
oh, I like that top and thenwatch that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
just very brief fit video yeah, it's about 20
seconds.
Just hit the play button.
I'll tell you how it makes mefeel and how I feel like it
would make you feel, and then wemove on.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Where did you get all of this inspiration?
Did you see someone else doingfit videos Like, how are you
learning how to do all of thistechnology and incorporate that
into your sales process for yourboutique?
Because I haven't seen it fromother boutiques.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Maybe it's out there and I just haven't seen it.
Yeah, so when I was in highschool and college, I worked at
a boutique called Yared Shoes,the owner, emily Couch.
We worked together all the timeand she taught me everything I
knew.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
Was she doing the app and the Facebook Lives and the
Fit videos too?
Speaker 2 (38:15):
She wasn't.
So when I was working therethey were big on in-store
shopping.
So that's where I learned howto treat customers in-store.
Going the extra mile, I saw howcustomers would come in just to
see Emily because she was justsuch a positive ray of sunlight
and I wanted to figure out how Icould imitate that.
I wanted people to be able tocome to my store and say I saw
Sim today and I went in thestore and Sim was working Like.
(38:35):
I just want people to feel goodthey do Well, thank you.
I hear that from everybody butthe fit videos.
That was me wanting to shoponline.
If you go on let's say, forexample, you go on Belks you're
seeing a girl on a whitebackground.
You don't know what size she is, you don't know how tall she is
.
She's super lean, just like acoat hanger there and you don't
(38:58):
know anything about her.
I want you to say, oh well,simran wears this in this brand,
maggie wears this in this brand.
I want you to put our girls andmyself with our store and know
how it fits our body and how itwould relate to you.
It's great.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Your business sense is amazing and I feel like I
could learn so much from you.
But in the pre-interview youmentioned Google's inverted or
reverse image search, which Iknew nothing about.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Thank you for that, because now I'm going to start
doing that.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
You find a picture or a product that you want and
then you put it in this Googlesearch inverted image search
thing and then it tells you likeyou can find a similar product
to this much cheaper.
So it's for people who are on abudget but they like really
nice things, but you can findalmost like a knockoff, yeah.
So tell me how you've takenadvantage of that platform.
Speaker 2 (39:47):
So when we go to market unless it's like an
exclusive brand that Zipcoterritory protects majority of
the time we're all able to carryabout the same thing Any
boutiques are.
It's up to the boutique ownerhow they want to price things.
You could market up 100%.
You can market up 50%.
You market up 20%.
People always laugh I want tomake enough money so that my
family can eat dinner, but I'mnot eating filet mignon.
(40:07):
I want to eat chicken.
So I want everybody to be ableto afford something.
So I'm not out to price gou.
What I really key in, for wekeep our prices, what I feel is
safe and comfortable andrespectable.
So with that, let's say, you goon a boutique app and you say,
oh my gosh, I love this top, butit's $98.
And I just $98 just really isnot in my budget right now.
You don't know the brand, youdon't know anything about it.
(40:29):
You're going to screenshot thatpicture, right, and you're
going to go to your Google and,instead of typing something in,
you're going to upload thepicture and it will pull.
I guess Google AI.
It's a little bit.
It's a little bit above me, butthis is how I'm thinking it's
working, because it's how it'sgetting us sales.
People are going to pull it.
It's going to show upeverything in that pattern and
that style of that clothing item.
We show you every boutique,whether or store anywhere in the
(40:52):
United States or in the worldthat's carrying something
similar and it shows you theirprice point.
So we are getting new customersliterally everywhere that I
have no connection to, becausethey are doing these Google and
averted searches to find us andknowing that we are not price
gouging them.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
You're not marking up your prices as much as some
other boutiques may be doing,yeah, and so when people put in
that picture, your store, blueRidge Boutique, pops up as a
less expensive option, and sothey can click on the link and
go to you and place your order.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Yep, that's what they're doing.
They're seeing us, it pulls up.
It doesn't necessarily filterby price, so you're going to
have to scroll a little bit tosee where it is, but that's what
it's doing and it's pulling usup every single time, so smart.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Before we move on, I just want to talk about your VIP
group on Facebook.
You said you have 10,000members in this.
Facebook group.
Do we need to still go and be apart of that community?
Speaker 2 (41:42):
So before our app was introduced, the concept of it
was brought to me.
We sold everything on Facebookgroups, so that's where people
would want to go to purchase.
That's not like that anymorenow that we have our app.
But when you see us posting onInstagram you're seeing Blue
Ridge Boutique posting.
It could be myself or one ofthe girls, but when you see us
posting on our VIP group, you'retalking directly to me.
(42:03):
It is coming from my Facebookpage.
That's where we're right nowtalking to customers, getting
their input.
You're talking directly to me.
We're getting that personalinteraction that you may not get
on Instagram.
So I'm really big on knowing mycustomer wanting to hear about
how your daughter's first day ofballet went.
That's our home base.
That's where we started.
I'm not going to forget wherewe came from and that's what
(42:23):
we're learning about ourcustomers.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
As a person, Before we wrap up.
Neither you nor your employeesare pushy with your sales in the
store, which creates a verycomfortable shopping environment
.
So many people just can't standpushy salespeople and there's
nothing like that in your store.
Can you share why thisphilosophy is important to you
(42:48):
at Blue Ridge?
Speaker 2 (42:48):
Boutique.
Yeah, like I said, I've workedat a lot of boutiques that
worked on commission.
That's how you got paid and Ijust didn't feel like it was
wasn't my.
I didn't want to force peopleto buy anything.
I don't know anything about you.
I don't know what your budgetis.
I don't really know what you'relooking for.
So for me just to forcesomething on you so that I can
get paid, that doesn't makesense for anybody.
That's not helping the customer, which is truly what we care
about.
We're in the store to be your.
(43:10):
We're never going to pushanything on you or make you feel
uncomfortable, because I justfeel like that's human decency
honestly, I find that highlyuncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
I do too, and sometimes it feels fake.
So people are telling you youlook fabulous in something and
you're standing there looking inthe mirror and you know you
don't.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
No, and I always tell our customers.
I will never lie to you.
Because when you go out andsomebody asks you where you got
your outfit from and you sayBlue Ridge Boutique and it looks
bad, that's a bad reflection onme.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
I didn't think about that.
So we are very honest with you.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
That's a good point, so I want it to always reflect
that you love your outfit,you're confident and other
people see that when you wear it.
One of the things that wereally care about and I didn't
truly understand the meaning ofit until I became a mom is
sometimes you just as being afamily-friendly place.
So I don't know if you noticed,but we started carrying Diffin
Dots.
I always wanted to carry DiffinDots.
(44:00):
So come in the store.
Honestly, I don't even care ifyou buy anything.
I just want you to feelcomfortable when you're in my
store.
People bring their kids in allthe time.
They sit on the couch.
We have a quarter bouncy ballmachine.
I know what it's like to needto get your kids out of the
house.
You can't break anything in mystore because if you could, my
daughter already would have.
So I don't keep anything.
Reach level eye levels thatkids can break Smart.
(44:20):
We just want people just tocome in and just walk around.
It's hot right now.
Come in, get a quarter for thebouncy ball.
You need a snack for your kids.
I got a boatload of them in theback.
We will help you out.
Just get out of the house andfeel safe and comfortable coming
in our store and not feelingobligated like you have to buy
anything, so the Dippin' Dots,especially because it's hot here
right now and it's a good break.
(44:41):
So it's such a nostalgic thing.
So I loved Dippin' Dots.
As a kid.
My goals were to always open aboutique by the beach.
Checkmark that I wanted to hangpink chairs on the wall.
Checkmark that my husbandbegrudgingly painted them pink
when I went to the antique storetrash on Oleander, because they
always put their trash out onThursday night.
So I would go on Thursday nightsand check out chairs, so we use
(45:02):
those as hangers.
He's like I've never seenanybody put pink chairs on their
wall.
But it was a vision and I knewwhat I had and we wanted to
carry Dippin' Dots.
So pink chairs, dippin' Dotsand by the beach and we've got
it all covered.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
That's awesome.
Okay, so future plans.
What can you tell us about anyfuture plans?
Speaker 2 (45:24):
whether it's personal , professional or both.
So we are currently in theearly stages of working on
opening a second location.
That's exciting.
I'm excited.
We can't disclose where it isyet, but we can tell you that
where we're looking at opening,there are no other boutiques
around us.
Okay, we would have theexclusive territory to carry all
of the brands that you guysknow and love.
So, personally, right now I'mlearning, and still it's a
(45:44):
struggle every day, but it'ssomething that I'm working
toward.
Different seasons of life havedifferent goals and different
priorities, so right now, mypriority is just to be really
present with my children and bea great mom and also a business
owner.
So that's why I employ suchamazing girls that work
alongside of me, so that whenI'm having to step back and
(46:05):
focus on my role as a mom, mystore is not suffering.
So we're always juggling, likeI said, those roles between
motherhood and businesswomanhood.
But just knowing that it's okayto choose something different
in each season, we're not meantto choose the same thing forever
.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
Going back to the second location.
Is that a done deal?
Speaker 2 (46:27):
It is not, so we're waiting for the ground to break
on a complex All right, we'llstop there.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
I just was curious, like how far along you were in
the process.
Okay, all right, we'll stopthere.
I just was curious, like howfar along you were in the
process, okay.
So lastly is final thoughts.
So what is the key message orthe takeaway that you want to
leave our listeners with today?
Speaker 2 (46:44):
I really just want everybody who steps in Blue
Ridge Boutique to feel warm, tofeel welcomed and to feel loved.
We don't care whether you'refull-fledged in makeup, whether
you just rolled out of bed,whether you have $900 to spend
or nine cents.
We're gonna find something foryou to shop with us and make you
feel good about yourself.
(47:05):
We accept everybody.
We just want you to feelbeautiful and special when you
walk inside a Blue Ridgeboutique.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
It's time to give out that contact information, so
take it away.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Okay, so you can call or text us.
We answer during normalbusiness hours, monday through
Saturday, 10 to five.
That's going to be 9 1 0 2 3, 32 3 1 1.
We're located behind the saltyturtle at 1 0, 8 Charlie Mellon
drive, unit D, serve city, northCarolina.
You can find all of ourfashions at
wwwblueridgeboutiquecom, or wehighly suggest you go to the
(47:39):
Google Play Store for Androidusers or the Apple Store for
Apple users and download BlueRidge Boutique app.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
And you can also find and follow Blue Ridge Boutique
in their socials.
I will have the links for theirInstagram, facebook and also
that Facebook VIP group for youthere.
So if you missed any of thisinformation, go ahead to those
show notes and click away.
Thank you, listeners, forjoining us today.
I appreciate your supportalways and thank you again,
simran, for being on TopsailInsider and telling us all about
(48:09):
Blue Ridge Boutique.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (48:13):
Hey, if you enjoyed today's episode of Top Soul
Insider, please show yoursupport by clicking the follow
or subscribe button on yourfavorite podcast listening
platform.
You can also follow us onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter and
YouTube.
Please also go totopsoulinsidercom and join our
mailing list by clicking on themake me a Top Soul Insider
button.
(48:33):
While you're there, you canclick the send me a voicemail
button and let me know exactlywhat you're thinking.
Your message just might be onan episode of Topsail Insider.
You can email me at Krista atTopsailInsidercom, or call or
text me at 910-800-0111.
Thank you for listening andsupporting Topsail Insider and
(48:55):
our local businesses andnonprofits.
These are our neighbors and ourfriends, and together we build
a mighty and a beautifulcommunity I'm super proud to be
a part of.
I'll see you around Topsail.
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