May 31, 2025 • 20 mins
What does it take to create a thriving local boutique in an Amazon-dominated world? At Seahorse Lane Boutique, owners Audrey and Mike have discovered the secret ingredient: genuine human connection.
Step inside their Vero Beach shop where customers aren't just shoppers—they're welcomed friends deserving to be seen and valued. "We reflect love," Audrey explains, describing how her team matches customers' energy and creates an experience that transcends typical retail interactions. The store's thoughtfully curated merchandise, including their custom-designed Vero line, serves as the medium through which they fulfill what Audrey describes as more of a "ministry" than a business.
The journey hasn't been without challenges. From humble DIY beginnings with repurposed shutters to navigating the existential crisis of COVID-19, the boutique has weathered significant storms. Perhaps most revealing is their candid story about opening—and subsequently closing—a downtown shoe store when they realized it didn't align with their priorities. "I just remember thinking, this can't be it," Audrey shares about the moment she knew change was necessary. Their willingness to adapt rather than stubbornly persist demonstrates the wisdom that's helped them thrive for over twelve years.
Behind the beautiful displays and carefully selected merchandise lies the reality of balancing business with raising two children, constantly evaluating inventory, designing products, and nurturing a team culture that extends their welcoming spirit even when they're not physically present. Mike reveals that Audrey's superpower is her remarkable consistency—showing up day after day with the same passion and care that launched the business initially.
Curious about how local retail can still create magic in a digital world? Visit Seahorse Lane Boutique to experience firsthand how shopping can feel like coming home. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to catch their weekly lives showcasing new arrivals, or explore their website for a taste of Vero Beach style delivered to your doorstep.
The Vero Beach Podcast & MyVeroBeach.com is presented by Killer Bee Marketing, helping local businesses in Vero Beach reach more customers. Learn more at killerbeemarketing.com
Presented by Killer Bee MarketingHelping local businesses in Vero Beach connect with their neighbors.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brian (00:00):
All right, well, welcome back to the Vero Beach podcast.
This is episode two with Audreyand Mike from the Seahorse Lane
Boutique, and today we'reactually going to dive into what
it looks like on a day-to-daybasis.
And I do want to kind of goback a little bit from our last
episode, because I love that youpointed out about how you guys,
when you took that step and youhow do I phrase that in here
(00:25):
you go, but that's not reallygoing to work.
Shawna (00:27):
The way, I'm saying it now you went, you went, but you
started off using what you had.
Brian (00:32):
You had a tent.
I always mess this up because Ialways say it's a DIY, but
that's wrong.
Right, it's DIY and I'm like Ithink DIY sounds better, but
then I have to call itdo-yourself-it and I'm like I
think DYI sounds better, butthen I have to call it
do-yourself-it but it'sdo-it-yourself.
But that's what you were doing,do-yourself-it.
That doesn't really work, doesit.
(00:54):
But that's what you did, right.
You're building things out ofshutters and stuff.
Audrey (01:01):
Like shutters I found in the garage.
Shawna (01:02):
That's what I love.
Now we call that upcycling.
Yes, that's right, that's rightso, audrey.
Brian (01:09):
so tell us, what does a typical day look like for you
here at the Seahorse?
Audrey (01:14):
Oh man, well, each day is a little bit different
because now okay, so when Istarted the business I did not
have any children, and so now wehave two kids they're seven and
four and they're busy andthey're funny and they're a
little bit crazy, and so my dayis a little bit more fluid I
(01:37):
guess that's the right word,because I'm tending to them,
making sure they get to school,making sure they're not sick,
and once they're all taken careof, then I go into business mode
, and so that could start with,obviously, checking in with my
team.
That is the biggest thing I doevery single day.
(01:58):
Whether we're in town or out oftown, I always check in with my
team.
I'm not always in here onschedule each week.
We have a wonderful team ofwomen that have worked for us
over the years, that have helpedkeep this thing moving forward.
They love on our customers justexactly like I would do myself.
(02:19):
I always say we reflect love,and that's what they do, and I
also ask them like hey, whensomeone walks in, you know
whether they're having a greatday or not so great day or just
a middle of the road day.
I want us to kind of try tomatch their energy, come around
them, support them and help them.
Brian (02:41):
So I love that the energy .
I think that's right too them.
Shawna (02:47):
So I love that.
That matches the energy.
And the first time that Iwalked in and Betsy was at the
counter and she was so sweet tome and it almost made me tear up
.
Because you know, sometimes youwalk into a place and no one
even says hi to you and you'relike feeling low or feeling
unseen.
And then also someone who'sbeing paid to like work at a
store and welcome you doesn't.
Then you're like, okay, I'mjust going to go home.
But I just walked in and I feltwelcome and it smells so good
(03:09):
when you come in here and it'sso beautiful and you see all the
beautiful fabrics and colorsand it's just such a welcoming
place to walk into.
Mike (03:17):
Yeah, we appreciate that.
You know retail these days canbe tough.
There's a lot of e-commerce outthere, a lot of people shopping
online, and to reallydifferentiate yourself in the
retail space, to bring people inthe door, you have to cultivate
an exceptional experience, andI think that's what Audrey's
been able to do, through justher love and compassion and
(03:40):
really expressing the importanceof providing that to the
customers through the women thatwork for us.
It makes it so that when womencome in here, they feel like
they matter, like they'regetting taken care of, that they
have a friend and thoserelationships that we build over
the years in the business.
(04:01):
That's what keeps people comingback.
Audra does a great job pickingout the clothes and you know the
jewelry and all of that, but Ireally think what keeps people
coming back is the relationships.
Yeah, which?
Shawna (04:14):
really, you know, it's the culture that you've built
that keeps good people workingfor you.
So, you know, I would neverwant to take away from that
either, because you can doeverything right and hire all
the right people and then, ifyou treat them badly, they're
out, and so it's just abeautiful thing that you guys
have built.
And, yeah, I just I I I saidthis in our first kind of
(04:35):
episode about why we wanted todo this.
But one of the things that's soimportant to me is, um and I
think I mentioned this to you,audrey, when met that it's so
easy to order something onAmazon or run into Walmart or
run into Target.
But my hope with theseinterviews is that people will
hear your story, want to come inand experience this for
(04:56):
themselves, meet you and yourwonderful team and then, when
they need something, they thinkof you first, not Amazon, and
that's my hope for this, becausethere's so much to be gained
from keeping these beautifullocal businesses going and
thriving, and so, yeah, that'smy hope for all of this.
Audrey (05:16):
I love that.
Human connection is how God madeus right.
It's how he designed us, howwe're going to operate best us
right.
It's how he designed us, howwe're going to operate best and
having a physical store wherepeople care about you from the
moment you walk in.
You are seen, I dare to sayknown and loved right From the
moment you walk in.
We try to offer that experiencehere and that's going to be a
(05:41):
special treat that's going to behard to find.
Moving forward in the world andthe way we're headed and the
trends that we're seeing, it'sgoing to be harder to open a
small business, a brick andmortar business, and so we're
just we're trying to keep thatexperience just top notch.
(06:01):
We're trying to serve youreally well when you're here,
and we're also growing withtechnology too.
Like I talk about, you know,it's the human connection.
Well, that's our in-personexperience.
We are on Instagram, we're onFacebook, we're doing lives.
Now, once a week We've beengetting on in front of the
camera showing everyone what wegot.
(06:24):
That was a new thing for us,but we're having a lot of fun
with it.
So I'm sure some listeners knowabout live selling.
Some boutiques do this andwe're trying to stay on the
forefront of connecting with ourcustomers through technology as
well.
It is my heart to love onothers and it really feels more
(06:45):
like a ministry.
Right?
We get to love on others, liftthem up, encourage them, take
care of them.
We just do that through themodality of clothes, jewelry,
accessories.
That's how we do that.
Brian (06:57):
I love that.
What would you say has been oneof your biggest challenges so
far?
Audrey (07:04):
Yeah, so our biggest challenge was definitely COVID A
lot of small businesses aroundthe world.
We all had to shut down at thesame time and we thought, well,
what do we do?
And so I remember my cousinJessie.
She just looked at me and waslike, hey, we're going to get
through this.
It was just her and I at thatpoint.
(07:25):
Other team members were able tocarry on with different things
and so I didn't have many teammembers to take care of at that
moment, which was actually ablessing.
So we started doing deliveries.
So I remember I would come inhere, do stories show people
(07:45):
what we had, and we had launchedour website probably six months
prior to that, and so peoplecould go on order online and I
think I was doing like freedelivery If you order over $25,
almost anywhere in Bureau, likeI had all these zip codes that I
would deliver to, and so ourcustomers kept us in business
(08:08):
through that time.
They're the ones that ralliedaround and supported us and said
, hey, I'm going to shop withher and support that small
business, and that's what got usthrough that time.
Mike (08:24):
Outside, of adapting to all these different you know,
market and economic eitherthreats or opportunities.
It's really the struggle of theday-to-day right now, I think,
for us is just balancingparenting, you know, working
nonstop, making sure that we'reloving and kind to each other.
You know, at the end of a fullday of running around and you
(08:45):
know working through challengesat the store or at my job.
But we get through it together.
It takes a lot of prayer, a lotof leaning on.
You know our team.
You know Audrey would love tobe in the store all the time.
You know loving on hercustomers.
You know styling them, makingthem feel confident what they
(09:06):
wear and all of that.
But the reality of it is as abusiness owner.
She wears a lot of hats.
Audrey (09:11):
Now that we're over 12 years into business ownership, I
generally have an idea of theflow and the pace of the
merchandise that you see comingthrough here.
So I'll check numbers, I'llcheck inventory quantities and
my team has such a good pulse on.
Hey, this is selling super fast.
(09:33):
You may want to reorder it.
Or this is selling and can youdesign it in this new color,
especially our Vero line?
I know we'll get into that soon, but we have so much that we
design here.
Everything on this wall behindyou is something I designed or,
with my team, we designed Everycolor fabric.
(09:54):
It's a lot of ordering, a lot ofthinking through what's the
customer going to feelcomfortable in?
What does she want to buy for agift for someone?
What does a husband want tocome in and be able to get his
wife or a child, get their momfor Mother's Day or for a
(10:16):
birthday?
So I'm always thinking aboutwhat do I want to get, what do I
want to wear and what does Mikewant to wear and what does he
want to get, and just trying toreally hone in on those products
.
There's so many products outthere, right?
But how do we make meaningfulproducts and curate a meaningful
selection so that we can reallycut through the noise in here,
(10:36):
and we try to bring you the bestof the best at a good price
point.
Brian (10:43):
You answered one of the questions I was going to ask you
.
What was something that peopledon't see or understand about
what you do and I think, whatyou just shared about and what
you shared too, mike, aboutAudrey.
You go out and you're lookingat these clothes, you're
touching them, you're seeing howthey're feeling.
You're thinking what is it thatthe community would want?
What would make them feelcomfortable?
Those aren't the kind ofthoughts and work that goes
(11:07):
behind scenes of just buyingthings online.
That's where it startsseparating a local shop that
you're here, you're present andyou're here for the community
and you care about them and whatyou're putting out there.
So I absolutely love that.
All right, so I would love toask you guys, before we wrap up,
two more questions.
The first one is has there beenany funny or surprising moment
(11:30):
that you'd want to share withwith the listeners in the Vero
Beach community?
Audrey (11:34):
Okay.
So this store was going verywell.
I had my, my son, so my firstchild, and we thought like we
needed to grow, we need to domore, we need to have another
store downtown, and my husbandwas on board and so he actually
(11:56):
left his job that he had at thetime to join me to open a shoe
store, and it's very close towhere Taco Dive is.
So, some of the listeners willremember the shoe store.
It was so beautiful.
I was looking at picturesrecently Like we did such a good
job in that store.
Brian (12:16):
Did you say you put your soul into it?
I just had to say that.
Mike (12:20):
She really did.
She was all over every detailof the shelving, the wallpaper,
the design of it, all of it, andit was really on her heart.
She was like we don't have ashoe store downtown and I feel
like I can do this.
And I said, just like when westarted the business, I said go
for it, let's do it.
And the surprising thing was itdidn't work out.
(12:43):
I think we had it for it'sabout one year.
Okay.
So this is when I knew itdidn't work out.
I think we had it for it'sabout one year.
Audrey (12:49):
Okay, so this is when I knew it didn't work out.
This is when you know you'vegot to make a change Again.
Right From the first episode, Iwas sitting in the shoe store,
Mike was home with our son and Iwas just sitting there waiting
for customers and I thought thiscan't be it, Lord, this can't
be it.
I'm just sitting there waitingfor customers and I thought this
can't be it, Lord, this can'tbe it.
I'm just sitting around waiting.
(13:10):
He's home with Gunner.
I want to be home with Gunner.
I want to go back to one store.
I don't want all this.
Let's streamline this thing.
And so I remember during thatseason that we had the shoe
store.
Because I had just a little bitof extra time, I was sitting in
there a lot.
We ended up launching ourwebsite.
It's proving to be such a greatresource for our local
(13:34):
customers and just in the US ingeneral, we're shipping things
out every day.
But I just remember thinking,yeah, this can't be it.
I need to make a change again,and I have to.
I got to close this store.
Mike (13:47):
Yeah, the challenge with the shoe store was that
inventory doesn't turn asquickly as clothing and jewelry
and you know most people arecertain size right in the middle
.
But when you buy things likeshoes, you got to buy really
small shoes and larger sizes andyou're always kind of hanging
(14:11):
on to some inventory and so thatinventory doesn't turn into
cash as fast.
And when you're a small business, cash is what it's all about.
You've got to be able to turninventory, produce the cash so
that you can buy moreinventories, you can pay your
employees, all that kind ofstuff, and it just it wasn't
moving fast enough.
And it was one of those timeswhere you have to think about
(14:32):
you know, where am I in life,what are my priorities, how am I
spending my time and what is myreturn on that investment of my
time?
And for Audrey, that returnwasn't enough at the shoe store
to justify being stretched, notbeing as home as much as she
would like to be, not being inthis store as much as she would
(14:52):
like to be, and so she had theforesight to say you know what?
It's time to move on, Knowingwhen to try to grow and when to
pull back so that you can rollthrough some of the different
challenges that come and go.
Brian (15:12):
It's so interesting.
The first episode we ended withgo and now we're ending this
episode with.
Sometimes you have to know whento stop and there's a right
time.
You knew this is the time I'mlaunching this business.
I'm going, but there's alsotimes that you have to evaluate
what your priorities are and isit lined up with what your
(15:34):
ultimate goal is for success.
It's harder sometimes to saystop, but that's part of
business too.
That's part of being anentrepreneur.
As we wrap up this episode,audrey, I would love to know
what would you say you'velearned about yourself since
starting?
Mike (15:49):
I can tell you what I've learned, yes, about.
Audrey (15:52):
Audrey, there we go.
That's great, even better, evenbetter.
Mike (15:56):
She has a special ability to be consistent, to show up and
you know it's easy to getstarted on something right and
to like be super excited andjust go, go, go, go go.
But not everybody can withstandthat, you know they get bored
(16:16):
and you know they're ready tomove on to something else and
unfortunately a lot of smallbusinesses do kind of come and
go sometimes.
And Audrey's ability to beconsistent, to show up day in
and day out to just shepherdthis business along, you know,
and her team and you knowwanting this, like this deep
connection with our customers,there's just something about it
(16:39):
that it's rare.
Yes, we said go.
You know, with the shoe store,you know, we said hey, it's time
to stop that.
But in all of it it's beenAudrey's consistent presence in
this business day in and day out, and it's very impressive.
And look, she does the samething at home.
(17:01):
She's consistent at home, shecares for our children, all of
that, and so it's a trait thatshe has that is special and it's
why she's gotten to where sheis.
Audrey (17:12):
You know, what's funny is okay.
When you said consistency, myfirst boss, chuck, at State Farm
, he used to say you just haveto show up and he really just
instilled this the customers aregoing to come and go, the sales
are going to come and go.
Right, as long as you keepshowing up, it's going to work
(17:34):
out.
I don't know how else to say it.
You just got to show up and soI love that.
You recognize that about me andabout this business.
And Mike, he's always beensupportive and I have never said
anything like anything I havesaid.
He's always said let's do it,let's go.
(17:56):
It's like he has no limits on meand my ideas and what I want to
do and when I want to do it heis mostly just let's go.
And so I just think you have tohave that kind of support and
that kind of encouragement inyour life to make this leap of
(18:21):
business ownership Like y'allit's not been just me, right, I
think the Lord like His Spiritin me and getting to see myself
kind of grow and develop as abusiness owner, as a mother, as
juggling all these new hats.
Mike's talked about consistency.
I think God sustains us andstrengthens us through each
(18:43):
challenge and each season thatwe go through as well.
Brian (18:47):
Well, hey, let's go ahead and get ready.
We're going to end this episodeand make sure you guys come
back for the next one, becausethe next episode we're going to
talk about why Vero, why VeroBeach and what you guys love
most about Vero Beach.
So we're excited to get intothat conversation.
If you're enjoying the podcast,make sure you click subscribe
and leave us a review.
We'd love to hear your review.
And again, if you have anyquestions or thoughts, click
(19:08):
that text us button and you cansend us a text.
All right, well, welcome back to the Vero Beach podcast.
This is episode two with Audreyand Mike from the Seahorse Lane
Boutique, and today we'reactually going to dive into what
it looks like on a day-to-daybasis.
And I do want to kind of goback a little bit from our last
episode, because I love that youpointed out about how you guys,
when you took that step and youhow do I phrase that in here
(00:25):
you go, but that's not reallygoing to work.
Shawna (00:27):
The way, I'm saying it now you went, you went, but you
started off using what you had.
Brian (00:32):
You had a tent.
I always mess this up because Ialways say it's a DIY, but
that's wrong.
Right, it's DIY and I'm like Ithink DIY sounds better, but
then I have to call itdo-yourself-it and I'm like I
think DYI sounds better, butthen I have to call it
do-yourself-it but it'sdo-it-yourself.
But that's what you were doing,do-yourself-it.
That doesn't really work, doesit.
(00:54):
But that's what you did, right.
You're building things out ofshutters and stuff.
Audrey (01:01):
Like shutters I found in the garage.
Shawna (01:02):
That's what I love.
Now we call that upcycling.
Yes, that's right, that's rightso, audrey.
Brian (01:09):
so tell us, what does a typical day look like for you
here at the Seahorse?
Audrey (01:14):
Oh man, well, each day is a little bit different
because now okay, so when Istarted the business I did not
have any children, and so now wehave two kids they're seven and
four and they're busy andthey're funny and they're a
little bit crazy, and so my dayis a little bit more fluid I
(01:37):
guess that's the right word,because I'm tending to them,
making sure they get to school,making sure they're not sick,
and once they're all taken careof, then I go into business mode
, and so that could start with,obviously, checking in with my
team.
That is the biggest thing I doevery single day.
(01:58):
Whether we're in town or out oftown, I always check in with my
team.
I'm not always in here onschedule each week.
We have a wonderful team ofwomen that have worked for us
over the years, that have helpedkeep this thing moving forward.
They love on our customers justexactly like I would do myself.
(02:19):
I always say we reflect love,and that's what they do, and I
also ask them like hey, whensomeone walks in, you know
whether they're having a greatday or not so great day or just
a middle of the road day.
I want us to kind of try tomatch their energy, come around
them, support them and help them.
Brian (02:41):
So I love that the energy .
I think that's right too them.
Shawna (02:47):
So I love that.
That matches the energy.
And the first time that Iwalked in and Betsy was at the
counter and she was so sweet tome and it almost made me tear up
.
Because you know, sometimes youwalk into a place and no one
even says hi to you and you'relike feeling low or feeling
unseen.
And then also someone who'sbeing paid to like work at a
store and welcome you doesn't.
Then you're like, okay, I'mjust going to go home.
But I just walked in and I feltwelcome and it smells so good
(03:09):
when you come in here and it'sso beautiful and you see all the
beautiful fabrics and colorsand it's just such a welcoming
place to walk into.
Mike (03:17):
Yeah, we appreciate that.
You know retail these days canbe tough.
There's a lot of e-commerce outthere, a lot of people shopping
online, and to reallydifferentiate yourself in the
retail space, to bring people inthe door, you have to cultivate
an exceptional experience, andI think that's what Audrey's
been able to do, through justher love and compassion and
(03:40):
really expressing the importanceof providing that to the
customers through the women thatwork for us.
It makes it so that when womencome in here, they feel like
they matter, like they'regetting taken care of, that they
have a friend and thoserelationships that we build over
the years in the business.
(04:01):
That's what keeps people comingback.
Audra does a great job pickingout the clothes and you know the
jewelry and all of that, but Ireally think what keeps people
coming back is the relationships.
Yeah, which?
Shawna (04:14):
really, you know, it's the culture that you've built
that keeps good people workingfor you.
So, you know, I would neverwant to take away from that
either, because you can doeverything right and hire all
the right people and then, ifyou treat them badly, they're
out, and so it's just abeautiful thing that you guys
have built.
And, yeah, I just I I I saidthis in our first kind of
(04:35):
episode about why we wanted todo this.
But one of the things that's soimportant to me is, um and I
think I mentioned this to you,audrey, when met that it's so
easy to order something onAmazon or run into Walmart or
run into Target.
But my hope with theseinterviews is that people will
hear your story, want to come inand experience this for
(04:56):
themselves, meet you and yourwonderful team and then, when
they need something, they thinkof you first, not Amazon, and
that's my hope for this, becausethere's so much to be gained
from keeping these beautifullocal businesses going and
thriving, and so, yeah, that'smy hope for all of this.
Audrey (05:16):
I love that.
Human connection is how God madeus right.
It's how he designed us, howwe're going to operate best us
right.
It's how he designed us, howwe're going to operate best and
having a physical store wherepeople care about you from the
moment you walk in.
You are seen, I dare to sayknown and loved right From the
moment you walk in.
We try to offer that experiencehere and that's going to be a
(05:41):
special treat that's going to behard to find.
Moving forward in the world andthe way we're headed and the
trends that we're seeing, it'sgoing to be harder to open a
small business, a brick andmortar business, and so we're
just we're trying to keep thatexperience just top notch.
(06:01):
We're trying to serve youreally well when you're here,
and we're also growing withtechnology too.
Like I talk about, you know,it's the human connection.
Well, that's our in-personexperience.
We are on Instagram, we're onFacebook, we're doing lives.
Now, once a week We've beengetting on in front of the
camera showing everyone what wegot.
(06:24):
That was a new thing for us,but we're having a lot of fun
with it.
So I'm sure some listeners knowabout live selling.
Some boutiques do this andwe're trying to stay on the
forefront of connecting with ourcustomers through technology as
well.
It is my heart to love onothers and it really feels more
(06:45):
like a ministry.
Right?
We get to love on others, liftthem up, encourage them, take
care of them.
We just do that through themodality of clothes, jewelry,
accessories.
That's how we do that.
Brian (06:57):
I love that.
What would you say has been oneof your biggest challenges so
far?
Audrey (07:04):
Yeah, so our biggest challenge was definitely COVID A
lot of small businesses aroundthe world.
We all had to shut down at thesame time and we thought, well,
what do we do?
And so I remember my cousinJessie.
She just looked at me and waslike, hey, we're going to get
through this.
It was just her and I at thatpoint.
(07:25):
Other team members were able tocarry on with different things
and so I didn't have many teammembers to take care of at that
moment, which was actually ablessing.
So we started doing deliveries.
So I remember I would come inhere, do stories show people
(07:45):
what we had, and we had launchedour website probably six months
prior to that, and so peoplecould go on order online and I
think I was doing like freedelivery If you order over $25,
almost anywhere in Bureau, likeI had all these zip codes that I
would deliver to, and so ourcustomers kept us in business
(08:08):
through that time.
They're the ones that ralliedaround and supported us and said
, hey, I'm going to shop withher and support that small
business, and that's what got usthrough that time.
Mike (08:24):
Outside, of adapting to all these different you know,
market and economic eitherthreats or opportunities.
It's really the struggle of theday-to-day right now, I think,
for us is just balancingparenting, you know, working
nonstop, making sure that we'reloving and kind to each other.
You know, at the end of a fullday of running around and you
(08:45):
know working through challengesat the store or at my job.
But we get through it together.
It takes a lot of prayer, a lotof leaning on.
You know our team.
You know Audrey would love tobe in the store all the time.
You know loving on hercustomers.
You know styling them, makingthem feel confident what they
(09:06):
wear and all of that.
But the reality of it is as abusiness owner.
She wears a lot of hats.
Audrey (09:11):
Now that we're over 12 years into business ownership, I
generally have an idea of theflow and the pace of the
merchandise that you see comingthrough here.
So I'll check numbers, I'llcheck inventory quantities and
my team has such a good pulse on.
Hey, this is selling super fast.
(09:33):
You may want to reorder it.
Or this is selling and can youdesign it in this new color,
especially our Vero line?
I know we'll get into that soon, but we have so much that we
design here.
Everything on this wall behindyou is something I designed or,
with my team, we designed Everycolor fabric.
(09:54):
It's a lot of ordering, a lot ofthinking through what's the
customer going to feelcomfortable in?
What does she want to buy for agift for someone?
What does a husband want tocome in and be able to get his
wife or a child, get their momfor Mother's Day or for a
(10:16):
birthday?
So I'm always thinking aboutwhat do I want to get, what do I
want to wear and what does Mikewant to wear and what does he
want to get, and just trying toreally hone in on those products
.
There's so many products outthere, right?
But how do we make meaningfulproducts and curate a meaningful
selection so that we can reallycut through the noise in here,
(10:36):
and we try to bring you the bestof the best at a good price
point.
Brian (10:43):
You answered one of the questions I was going to ask you
.
What was something that peopledon't see or understand about
what you do and I think, whatyou just shared about and what
you shared too, mike, aboutAudrey.
You go out and you're lookingat these clothes, you're
touching them, you're seeing howthey're feeling.
You're thinking what is it thatthe community would want?
What would make them feelcomfortable?
Those aren't the kind ofthoughts and work that goes
(11:07):
behind scenes of just buyingthings online.
That's where it startsseparating a local shop that
you're here, you're present andyou're here for the community
and you care about them and whatyou're putting out there.
So I absolutely love that.
All right, so I would love toask you guys, before we wrap up,
two more questions.
The first one is has there beenany funny or surprising moment
(11:30):
that you'd want to share withwith the listeners in the Vero
Beach community?
Audrey (11:34):
Okay.
So this store was going verywell.
I had my, my son, so my firstchild, and we thought like we
needed to grow, we need to domore, we need to have another
store downtown, and my husbandwas on board and so he actually
(11:56):
left his job that he had at thetime to join me to open a shoe
store, and it's very close towhere Taco Dive is.
So, some of the listeners willremember the shoe store.
It was so beautiful.
I was looking at picturesrecently Like we did such a good
job in that store.
Brian (12:16):
Did you say you put your soul into it?
I just had to say that.
Mike (12:20):
She really did.
She was all over every detailof the shelving, the wallpaper,
the design of it, all of it, andit was really on her heart.
She was like we don't have ashoe store downtown and I feel
like I can do this.
And I said, just like when westarted the business, I said go
for it, let's do it.
And the surprising thing was itdidn't work out.
(12:43):
I think we had it for it'sabout one year.
Okay.
So this is when I knew itdidn't work out.
I think we had it for it'sabout one year.
Audrey (12:49):
Okay, so this is when I knew it didn't work out.
This is when you know you'vegot to make a change Again.
Right From the first episode, Iwas sitting in the shoe store,
Mike was home with our son and Iwas just sitting there waiting
for customers and I thought thiscan't be it, Lord, this can't
be it.
I'm just sitting there waitingfor customers and I thought this
can't be it, Lord, this can'tbe it.
I'm just sitting around waiting.
(13:10):
He's home with Gunner.
I want to be home with Gunner.
I want to go back to one store.
I don't want all this.
Let's streamline this thing.
And so I remember during thatseason that we had the shoe
store.
Because I had just a little bitof extra time, I was sitting in
there a lot.
We ended up launching ourwebsite.
It's proving to be such a greatresource for our local
(13:34):
customers and just in the US ingeneral, we're shipping things
out every day.
But I just remember thinking,yeah, this can't be it.
I need to make a change again,and I have to.
I got to close this store.
Mike (13:47):
Yeah, the challenge with the shoe store was that
inventory doesn't turn asquickly as clothing and jewelry
and you know most people arecertain size right in the middle
.
But when you buy things likeshoes, you got to buy really
small shoes and larger sizes andyou're always kind of hanging
(14:11):
on to some inventory and so thatinventory doesn't turn into
cash as fast.
And when you're a small business, cash is what it's all about.
You've got to be able to turninventory, produce the cash so
that you can buy moreinventories, you can pay your
employees, all that kind ofstuff, and it just it wasn't
moving fast enough.
And it was one of those timeswhere you have to think about
(14:32):
you know, where am I in life,what are my priorities, how am I
spending my time and what is myreturn on that investment of my
time?
And for Audrey, that returnwasn't enough at the shoe store
to justify being stretched, notbeing as home as much as she
would like to be, not being inthis store as much as she would
(14:52):
like to be, and so she had theforesight to say you know what?
It's time to move on, Knowingwhen to try to grow and when to
pull back so that you can rollthrough some of the different
challenges that come and go.
Brian (15:12):
It's so interesting.
The first episode we ended withgo and now we're ending this
episode with.
Sometimes you have to know whento stop and there's a right
time.
You knew this is the time I'mlaunching this business.
I'm going, but there's alsotimes that you have to evaluate
what your priorities are and isit lined up with what your
(15:34):
ultimate goal is for success.
It's harder sometimes to saystop, but that's part of
business too.
That's part of being anentrepreneur.
As we wrap up this episode,audrey, I would love to know
what would you say you'velearned about yourself since
starting?
Mike (15:49):
I can tell you what I've learned, yes, about.
Audrey (15:52):
Audrey, there we go.
That's great, even better, evenbetter.
Mike (15:56):
She has a special ability to be consistent, to show up and
you know it's easy to getstarted on something right and
to like be super excited andjust go, go, go, go go.
But not everybody can withstandthat, you know they get bored
(16:16):
and you know they're ready tomove on to something else and
unfortunately a lot of smallbusinesses do kind of come and
go sometimes.
And Audrey's ability to beconsistent, to show up day in
and day out to just shepherdthis business along, you know,
and her team and you knowwanting this, like this deep
connection with our customers,there's just something about it
(16:39):
that it's rare.
Yes, we said go.
You know, with the shoe store,you know, we said hey, it's time
to stop that.
But in all of it it's beenAudrey's consistent presence in
this business day in and day out, and it's very impressive.
And look, she does the samething at home.
(17:01):
She's consistent at home, shecares for our children, all of
that, and so it's a trait thatshe has that is special and it's
why she's gotten to where sheis.
Audrey (17:12):
You know, what's funny is okay.
When you said consistency, myfirst boss, chuck, at State Farm
, he used to say you just haveto show up and he really just
instilled this the customers aregoing to come and go, the sales
are going to come and go.
Right, as long as you keepshowing up, it's going to work
(17:34):
out.
I don't know how else to say it.
You just got to show up and soI love that.
You recognize that about me andabout this business.
And Mike, he's always beensupportive and I have never said
anything like anything I havesaid.
He's always said let's do it,let's go.
(17:56):
It's like he has no limits on meand my ideas and what I want to
do and when I want to do it heis mostly just let's go.
And so I just think you have tohave that kind of support and
that kind of encouragement inyour life to make this leap of
(18:21):
business ownership Like y'allit's not been just me, right, I
think the Lord like His Spiritin me and getting to see myself
kind of grow and develop as abusiness owner, as a mother, as
juggling all these new hats.
Mike's talked about consistency.
I think God sustains us andstrengthens us through each
(18:43):
challenge and each season thatwe go through as well.
Brian (18:47):
Well, hey, let's go ahead and get ready.
We're going to end this episodeand make sure you guys come
back for the next one, becausethe next episode we're going to
talk about why Vero, why VeroBeach and what you guys love
most about Vero Beach.
So we're excited to get intothat conversation.
If you're enjoying the podcast,make sure you click subscribe
and leave us a review.
We'd love to hear your review.
And again, if you have anyquestions or thoughts, click
(19:08):
that text us button and you cansend us a text.
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