Stories That Move
When we create videos for our clients, there's often an incredibly rich narrative that we can't include in the final cut. Being behind the scenes, we're fortunate to hear the depth and full context behind each story.
So in this podcast, we want to pull back the curtain and allow you to experience the extraordinary stories of extraordinary people we've been honored to connect with.
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Gain a new perspective.
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Stories That Move
Michelle Smith-Ledrew | Fashion is More than Clothing
Michelle Smith-Ledrew's fashion journey began with a childhood love of sketching outfits and creating "looks for less" in her small hometown of Mentone, Indiana. That spark of creativity eventually led her through the retail world, from managing high-volume stores in Florida to styling high-profile military clients near Washington DC. When life brought her back to Indiana in 2014, she recognized an opportunity in Warsaw's dynamic professional community—there wasn't a single boutique serving local women.
Glam Boutique was born from this gap in the market, but Michelle's vision extended far beyond selling clothes. "My passion has become a movement to empower women by building confidence through fashion," she explains. "There really is power in a great outfit." She understands that women juggling careers, families, and community involvement often lose themselves in the process. Her boutique creates a space where women feel seen, valued, and reconnected with their authentic selves through thoughtfully curated fashion experiences.
What truly distinguishes Michelle's approach is her dedication to fostering community rather than competition. "We've come to a space where now it's about building each other up," she reflects. This philosophy shines through her famous fashion galas, where she showcases women of all ages and body types from her clientele, many initially reluctant to participate but ultimately transformed by the experience. During the pandemic, this community focus became her lifeline, inspiring creative solutions like her "hug in a box" gift packages that kept her business afloat while supporting her staff.
Looking ahead, Michelle is excited to be part of Warsaw's downtown revitalization, having recently purchased a building to establish more permanent roots. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs reflects her own journey: be passionate about what you do, be present in your business, and truly understand your customer. Visit Glam Boutique at 108 East Center Street or online at glampresents.com to experience firsthand how fashion can become a vehicle for empowerment, confidence, and community.
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Well, the business itself has changed. I think we came from a place where it was very competitive Women in general were competitive with each other and I think we've come to the space where now it's about building each other up. We don't need to be hard on each other. We've already. You know there's already enough challenges as a woman, so that's been a beautiful transition to see and to be part of is to create this space where we build each other up, we cheer each other on, we love each other through the hard times.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to Stories that Move, brought to you by Dream On Studios. I'm your host, matt Duhl. Today's guest is a trailblazer in fashion, a passionate stylist and a powerhouse entrepreneur. Michelle Smith-Ledrue is the founder of Glam Boutique, located in downtown Warsaw, indiana. With over 30 years of experience in the fashion industry, michelle has built more than a business. She's built a business. She's built a movement. After launching her image and fashion consulting company in 2010, she opened her first boutique in Virginia and later brought that vision home to Indiana, where she helped to lead the downtown boutique movement. Here in Warsaw, michelle brings style and confidence to everything she touches, from her weekly fashion segment every Wednesday on WSBT 22's Hometown Living to her signature fashion galas to every single customer who walks through her door. This conversation isn't just about fashion. It's about bold moves, personal reinvention and creating spaces where women feel seen, empowered and inspired. Let's get into it and welcome Michelle Smith-Ledrew to Stories that Move. Michelle, thank you so much for being with us today on Stories that Move. Really appreciate you coming in.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me Absolutely Happy to be here.
Speaker 2:Yes. So for our audience, introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about you and Glam Boutique and what you're up to in the world today.
Speaker 1:Yes, busy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So my name is Michelle and I opened Glam Boutique in Warsaw in November of 2014. When I moved back home, I grew up in Mentone and went to Tippecanoe Valley and then for the past 25 years, I've lived kind of all over the world. We lived in japan for a while, lived in hawaii and had some great experiences, but, um, I was always drawn to come back and be near family, and when I moved back home, there really wasn't any boutiques which I always thought to be strange, because we have a very professional, dynamic community here.
Speaker 1:Yes, and so we went for it and we opened our doors, and it really has been just a dream come true for me.
Speaker 2:Awesome, yeah, awesome. So, aside from just the fact that there were no boutiques, what would you say is just kind of the heartbeat or vision behind what you do there?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think and this isn't always apparent when you start something right I think it's been my mission's become fine-tuned as we've gone along, but I really think that my passion. I do love fashion, but it's way more than about clothes than about clothes.
Speaker 1:I think the mission at Glam Boutique has become a movement to empower women by building confidence through fashion and there really is power in a great outfit, and that may seem trivial, but I don't know about you, but when you feel good about yourself and you feel like you look good, you're more productive, you're happier and you do better. So I really do believe and, as women, I have a soft spot for women too. We wear so many hats and I think it's very easy for us to kind of get lost as we go through the stages of life and being a mom and being a wife and volunteering and all the things that we do. I think it's very easy for us to lose ourselves in that process, and so to be able to really focus on somebody and give them our undivided attention and really bring out the beauty that comes from inside has really been my passion. So we've really tried to build a community and a culture that fosters friendship, relationships, trust and inspiration.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow, so definitely so much more than clothing, yes, so much more than clothing.
Speaker 1:And you know, like so many businesses, especially in this community, it's really it comes down to people more than it is ever about a sale or about profit. It really comes down to people and relationships, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, excellent, okay. Well, I'm excited to unpack more about Glam Boutique and some of your mission and vision there, but let's rewind just a little bit. Go back to Mentone and talk about childhood for you. What was life like for you growing up?
Speaker 1:I mean, I had a beautiful childhood. I had two amazing parents who supported me and loved me, amazing grandparents. I had two brothers. We were very close family. We had a lot of fun together. I was very involved in schools you and I were talking about before we started.
Speaker 3:I mean I love school.
Speaker 1:I went off to college, I left my small town, I went to IU and that was a bit of a culture shock for me. Had some fun while I was there, sure yeah. But I've always had this genuine love for fashion, and so that kind of has been threaded through my life and I would always kind of come back to it. I did start out in fashion, merchandising actually and I got to my first textiles class where you had to sew and do things like that, and I quickly realized, okay, I don't want to do that.
Speaker 1:So my degree is actually in business. I switched, but I've always come back to this industry. It's just something that has been in my heart. I switched, but I've always come back to this industry.
Speaker 2:It's just something that has been in my heart, I think, since I was born. So I'm curious about that. I mean, can you think of a moment, you know as a little girl, where you connected that dot of this?
Speaker 1:I love this, yeah, I used to sketch, so I used to sketch outfits, okay, and we were a middle class family, so there wasn't always a lot of extra money for, you know, the designer brands, the things that I dreamed of. So I think I became resourceful and how I pulled pieces together so that I could kind of create looks for less. Before that was a thing, and then I learned that I love to share that with others, because not everybody and that still surprises me, because I just feel like all women are born to love shopping and and to love it, but not all women do or are comfortable with it.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So I learned that it's kind of a An act of service, almost to share my love for fashion and help people pull things together to share my love for fashion and help people pull things together.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, so cool. So so, even more than you know, it wasn't you dressing up Barbie dolls or anything like that, like you were like actually putting outfits together?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's amazing. Yes, thank you. Yeah, I've always just um, you know, and I was like all probably small girls I was drawn to like um shows and and mag fashion magazines and always dreamed of, you know, these beautiful outfits, and so it really has always been in my heart.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, okay, okay. So went to school, uh, focused on business. What happened for you after school?
Speaker 1:So in the commercial retail world you're recognized by how you do on the floor and I got offered an assistant manager at a young age and then I was actually offered my first store. I was the youngest person in that company to be a manager. That required a move, and it was a move to Florida, so at 20 years old that was kind of appealing.
Speaker 2:Yeah right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I took a break from school, made that decision without my parents' help. That didn't go very well.
Speaker 2:Yes, how did that go? Yeah, that didn't go real well.
Speaker 1:And I learned that when I did go back to school that was now on my dime, which makes sense, right? But I wouldn't change anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It was an amazing experience, but I wouldn't change anything. Yeah, it was an amazing experience, so they moved me out from Indiana to Lakeland, florida, which is right in between Orlando and Tampa.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:And then I ended up at the highest volume store in the company which is also how you get promoted in the retail world which at the time was Orlando, florida, and it was just a great experience and I was surrounded by great people and that's really where I learned this part of the business.
Speaker 2:Excellent, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then eventually I did go back to school and I felt like I was in school then for a long time, because I finished my bachelor's and then went straight into my master's and by that time I was a young mom. Okay, so that presented its own challenge. Trying to get through that, yeah. But it makes you, I think, appreciate your education a lot more when you're working that hard for it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Then for you, at what point did it kind of become an entrepreneurial journey of not just working for someone else in that retail space, but you starting to do your own thing?
Speaker 1:So I actually started. I was living near DC and I started as I didn't have the capital to open a boutique, which was kind of always my dream. So I started smaller and I started as a fashion consultant and I was lucky because I had access to some high profile clients in the military world. So that opened a lot of doors for me and that's how I got started, opened a lot of doors for me and that's how I got started. And through that experience I met a beautiful young lady by the name of Wendy Rivera who owned a bridal boutique and she was expanding and needed a partner to kind of expand another part of her space. And that's where I came in. So we partnered on evening wear, cocktail wear. I did jewelry. There was a big pageant community in that area. There's also big military balls and politics, and so there was a big dynamic that helped foster that business. And unfortunately, six months after undertaking that I went through a divorce after 20 years, which is what brought me back home with my three boys Okay.
Speaker 1:Um, and it's amazing your perspective when all that kind of fell through. I was obviously devastated, because that had always. I felt like that was. I was inching into my dream.
Speaker 2:Sure.
Speaker 1:Um, but now that I look back on that, on that, they were the perfect partners, christian people very understanding. But I learned so much in those six months from them and most of everything that I do I learned under her wing.
Speaker 1:And she talked a lot about the experience, the client experience, and that has stuck with me. Anytime we bring anybody new onto the floor, that's the first thing we talk about is the client experience, and that goes beyond selling to them. It's how the store smells, it's consistency and what kind of music we play. It's how we speak to them. It's also product knowledge, so that when pieces come in from market, not just me but all the girls know what are the features, how do we wash this, you know where was it made? Those types of things. That all leads to this really robust experience that a lot of people aren't used to, because we live, kind of unfortunately, in a time and place where we talk a lot about customer service but it's lacking in a lot of places. I'm sure you've been a recipient of that as well.
Speaker 1:So it's really really important to me that our customer feels seen and valued, whether they buy something or not. The way I look at it, we have an opportunity to make their day better just by coming in and chatting with us for a few minutes.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, so good, okay. So focusing on that, that experience in the DC area, what did it mean for you at that time to kind of have this moment of you are helping? You know these people in military and kind of politics, heads of state, I mean that feels like a big deal.
Speaker 1:It was terrifying.
Speaker 2:Yeah Right, a little intimidating, yeah I felt like way out of my element.
Speaker 1:Um, I was obviously so, so grateful for the opportunity and I think in those moments you know you just have to be who you are and there's something that people find value in and I think you just have to believe in yourself in those moments. And at the end of the day, we're all just people and that connection is so important and just really important to be yourself in those moments.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so good.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So good and I would imagine that going through that experience, building some confidence in that, how much you're now able to carry that forward with you, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:I think in those moments it's so important to realize that you can build community through that, rather than a device of like she's up here and I'm here or she. You know what I mean. We're all just in this thing called life together and we're here to help each other.
Speaker 2:Yes, awesome, so beautiful thing called life together and we're here to help each other. Yes, awesome, so beautiful, so okay. So for you, you know you're, you're at this space of feeling like you're starting to realize your dream. Yeah, drastic change through a divorce that then brings you back home. Take, take me through that time of just what coming home meant to you, and then just what you sorted to, started to kind of sort out of. Okay, this is what I want to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, coming home, it was very important to me and what I didn't realize is that when I opened the doors to my business, 11 months later I would tragically lose my father and my brother. So, perspective again, I look back and I think, thank God I was here and I had that time with them, because the 20.
Speaker 1:some years prior to that I didn't live here, so I would only see my family once, maybe twice a year. So to be here and have that time with them, um, really was very special. And, um, my, my dad was a commercial banker, so he wasn't a big fan of this initially, you know, and he had his banker's hat on.
Speaker 3:He was protective of me.
Speaker 1:But we went through the statistics of how many businesses fail in the first year, and this wasn't a hobby for me. This had to pay my bills, you know. All of a sudden I found myself in this different situation and just had to pay my mortgage and take care of my kids and feed my kids and uniforms and all that kind of you know, important, those important things.
Speaker 1:But at the end of the day, I knew that I know this business. You know I've been on all parts of it. I've been in the commercial side. I was a buyer for a while, I was a merchandiser. So I knew that, I knew the business and I knew that my heart was here. I believed in this community being able to support something like that. And all it took for my dad to get on board was. I looked at him and I think he said one out of 10 businesses, would you know, make it in this world. And I said, dad, I'm a smith and I know this business.
Speaker 1:I've done my homework, which he greatly appreciated yeah um, he was a man that was always prepared yeah and I'll make it, and from then on he was in full support on board on board, wow yeah, and sent a lot of people my way oh, that's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome, so it's really special.
Speaker 2:That is very special and I know you know your dad and brother were community leaders and people that made an impact here and you have, yeah, honored them so much through your business and done so many things in their name, which is really incredible. Thank you, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, they're big shoes to fill, and although I never try to compete with what they did, I always just want to honor them by the way I live my life and the way I give back like they did and love others. You know they were two of the most selfless, loving, community-oriented leaders that I still have ever met, and so it provided a great motivator for me and taught me a lot of lessons really about running a business and being part of the community.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, amazing. So as you think about, yeah, just the journey that you have been on, you know, through these years in Warsaw, I mean, quite a bit's changed, even in just downtown. We're kind of in a moment right now that feels pretty special and exciting. So talk to me about that and just the ways that you've seen things evolve and change and just kind of your outlook on things today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, the business itself has changed. I think we came from a place where it was very competitive Women in general were competitive with each other and I think we've come to the space where now it's about building each other up. We don't need to be hard on each other, we've already. You know there's already enough challenges as a woman. So that's been a beautiful transition to see and to be part of is to create this space where we build each other up, we cheer each other on, we love each other through the hard times, so that in itself has been very beneficial to my business. But, as far as our community, it's just been so much fun and so exciting to see this revitalization, this new energy in our town and to be part of that. As you know, we opened down on Buffalo Street.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And which was a little bit off the beating path. It was more of a destination. We weren't getting a lot of people just walking you know walking by. And then in August we bought a building and so that's been really exciting and to just really pour our heart and soul into that and to know that we're planning more permanent routes in downtown and being part of that that movement has been really special.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I feel very, very blessed to be here and we went through. It hasn't always been easy, right, you know we got through the pandemic. I had actually opened a second store near Notre Dame through that, which was very stressful trying to open and close the business during that time. But it makes you more resilient and the silver lining is we have clients that that we love there that come and visit us once a month and you know it's perspective is so important in life. You know, and just how you frame your experience.
Speaker 2:Absolutely no, and I think you know. Encouragement for you too is that, as there is an just a renewed momentum downtown, exciting things happen, it's taken people like you who've?
Speaker 2:had a very long-term investment and you've stuck through. You know some of the thick and thin inside of that Um, so I want to talk a little bit about um. You know your galas, you did those for 10 years and and I think, um, you know for 10 years and I think you know those became pretty famous Warsaw things, for sure, and and just very fun and exciting things. And I think what stands out to me is how you would reach out to women in the community and bring them in to be runway models for your gala.
Speaker 1:I know somebody in particular that we could talk about for your gala.
Speaker 2:So somebody in particular that we could talk about? Yeah, I would love to, but yeah, I know in some ways uh famous for, oh my gosh, I hope Michelle doesn't ask me to do this thing, but but again, I think, speaking to just your heart, your vision for women, and yeah, we can. We can talk about my wife, Erica, who you convinced to model. I mean, she is okay, let's unpack this for a second.
Speaker 2:So she is she is not a shopper. She is not. She would not sit here and say she's someone that's into fashion. I mean, she's very artsy and she has. You know her her look and her vibe and she likes to be casual and all of those things. She would have said that your store was not for her before getting to know you. And you have just transformed her in so many ways that you convinced her to model in one of your things, which I'm still amazed at like so cool. And then now she just, she just loves you, she loves your store, she loves to step in there and all the things you said earlier about the just having people be seen and heard. That that is my wife, that is what she does and the work that she does, she does it so beautifully, yeah, and so I think when she connected that part of who you are in your business, she's all in.
Speaker 2:Wow, thank you, yeah, so talk to me about that. I'm just starting off with gala number one. Okay, let's do this thing.
Speaker 1:So I would love to talk about that. I'm very, very proud of the fashion gala and again, that comes back to a lesson that I learned from dad and Scott they knew and loved throwing a big party and everybody was always invited.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so that's. It started out as a celebration of business and you know, we got to our first anniversary. Okay, we're celebrating, we're throwing a party. I knew I wanted it to be big city in a small town. That was always important to me, something that had never been done Every year in this kind of it wasn't always in my brain, but it kind of this is how it happened. Every year I would try to outdo myself and what? How can we be more creative with it?
Speaker 1:And so it created this challenge to be different and also to think outside the box and to bring people in in the community that could do the same, which led to a lot of collaboration and having other small businesses come alongside and feature their talent. And I mean I started the same time as Jason with 110. Dave had just opened Oak and Alley and they were two of my first partners in that first gala. So we closed down the street, which had never been done before, as far as I know, yeah, and we had a fashion show in the middle of the street. We had food, drinks, just a ton of fun. Other than 11 months prior, obviously, I didn't know that was going to happen sure um, so we, we went forward with it, it's.
Speaker 1:It is kind of a blur to me, that first one yeah um, but then we built on it and every year then it's a different theme. It was always in a different venue. I didn't like to choose venues that were specifically for events. I tried to think of something more creative yes, um, and then invite downtown business owners to come alongside and partner with us, yeah, and to really like go all out and so, and then we would do a give back for the smith strong foundation, which was in memory of dad and scott. So it became kind of a joint celebration of business but also honoring my dad and scott.
Speaker 1:Yes, so it's very personal and very special.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, oh, yes, I love that, I love that and go ahead.
Speaker 1:Well I was going to say. And then the second part of your question about the models it has always been very important to me to not have 10 size zeros, 20 year olds, but to be more representative of everyday women and of our clientele. So I've always been very intentional about who's asked. They're always clients, sometimes staff, never strangers or professional models, but representative of our own staff and clientele. And with that comes different ages, different body shapes, different styles. And I think when you do that and you're very intentional about that, then everybody can feel comfortable and see themselves, you know, on the runway as well. So and not everybody, not everybody's a yes, the first time when I asked, like your, wife, I think she said no twice.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then we got her to say yes, yes, yes, no, and one of the just. I mean I was just blown away by this and so impressed because, as she was getting ready for your show, I think I asked her, like are you going in for like a fitting or what? And she's like no, no, no. And you somehow provided all these outfits for her that she said fit perfectly. She looks so good and you didn't measure anything like that's that? To me, that's a superpower. How, how do you do that?
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, I think it's really just understanding you know your products, I know how things fit, I know what um, how things lay and how it's going to look on the runway, and then also just making sure that you're not putting some especially for those moments as a show. You're not putting something on somebody that they're going to feel uncomfortable, because that translates on the runway. You want people having fun, feeling comfortable, feeling confident especially, and then it's magic what happens. There's usually 10, but it's magic what happens right before the show starts, because most people are nervous, even some of my veterans, you know I still get nervous. It's out of our comfort zone. You know more walking in front of our peers. Sometimes that involves our insecurities and feeling vulnerable, but there's this like sisterhood that happens and to see everybody kind of cheering each other on and hyping each other up, it is beautiful.
Speaker 1:I can remember one person in particular. I think it was my third gala. She was like Erica and she said no, time after time after time and I just kept asking and she finally did it and she was beautiful on the runway and she texted me that night and I will never. It's one of my most favorite memories and the 11 years I've been here. She texted me last night or that night and said did that really just happen? That was so much fun, I'm so blown away, um. So I don't know how else to communicate the beauty of feeling good about yourself and kind of challenging yourself that way, um, and feeling beautiful and empowered in that moment, especially as a woman who's been through a lot of seasons of life.
Speaker 2:Yes, so, powerful.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I told Erica this morning that I was interviewing you and she was so excited and I said what, what is, what's something I should talk to Michelle about? What should I know about her? And what she said was Michelle's one of the best collaborators I've ever met. That's so sweet. And so you all serve on the Main Street downtown board together and as I'm listening to you talk about even your early galas, that idea of bringing businesses together and again, that's kind of the moment we're living in right now where we're seeing a lot of collaboration, a lot of organizations working together, which has been so cool.
Speaker 2:Why has that been important to you and why do you think that should just be part of the fabric of who we are as a community?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, we can all learn from each other, right, and there's only so much that we can do. I can't do food well, you know. But I think also it's important to appreciate and showcase the other talents that we have in our community. And why not do that in one big event? And then we've done smaller ones too, where, you know, I think it's just important, if you have any type of a platform, to be able to help others along the way, and so anything that I can do for an up and coming person with a dream that's important to me, and being able to share whatever it is that I've learned along this journey with others and to be able to help feature them or get them kickstarted, I think is very valuable.
Speaker 1:But at the end of the day, too, we just have really talented people in this community, and why not, you know, reach out and ask for them to partner with you? You know, and they all, every time, blew me away, you know we would come up with a theme and then it would just get bigger and bigger and bigger, and I have people that have been involved with a gala since the inception, and this is not a Michelle event, you know. It got bigger and bigger because of the people that have been involved with the gala since the inception and this is not a Michelle event, you know. It got bigger and bigger because of the people that we partnered with and the people that believed in it. And you know, I think, especially in a small town, most people enjoy an opportunity to get dressed up and to have something different, to attend and see their friends out and have a fun night out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, very cool. Yeah their friends out and have a fun night out, yeah, yeah, very cool. Yeah, um, you and your business, you're known to be very generous in the ways that you give back, uh, to some of the nonprofits and the ways that you serve.
Speaker 1:Um, why has that been important to you? Yeah Well, cause we wouldn't still be here without the community without the community support.
Speaker 1:So, um, the mission has to be bigger than yourself. And, again, it's it's never been about money, obviously we're. You know, it's how I pay my bills. So profit is important, um, but it has to go beyond that and, um, although I I may not make the biggest donations, I try to do what I can as far as financial donations. But a lot of it, too, is just your time, you know giving. Giving your time, um pitching in where there's a need, um sharing resources, bringing people together. I think that's just as valuable as writing a check, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, for sure, and we have.
Speaker 1:So I really feel like this community is so special in the amount of nonprofits that we have that are so, so good. I know people come from bigger areas close by to use our services, yes, and so we have to appreciate all the wonderful services that we have in this community. I think it really makes us unique.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I couldn't agree more, Couldn't agree more. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. Yeah, um, so we have a number of uh, young business owners, entrepreneurs, people that listen to our show. Um, what would your encouragement be to them as they are journeying in their day-to-day business? Um, you know, maybe challenges they're facing, what? What would you say? Hey, as I think, on all the things that I've learned, experiences that I've had, do this thing, like this is the thing, not that there's magic bullets, but like you would just say, hey, this, I would really think about this, applying this to your business.
Speaker 1:I think the first thing is you have to be really passionate about what you do, and if the passion's not there, you know you're going to burn out, just like you would in any other job. Yeah, so I think you need to. If you are interested in being an entrepreneur, you really need to be passionate about what you're pursuing and then right there with it.
Speaker 1:For me, it's surrounding yourself with, with successful people, being willing to learn from them, building a community through your talents and and even your weaknesses, and finding where those can help you, and really being present in your business you know, in the boutique world, a lot of times I it's kind of set up as a hobby and a lot of times the um it's kind of set up as a hobby and a lot of times the, the owner you don't see them much. So I think for me it's really important to be not just the face of my business but in my business still seeing the clients, um, and how that translates. When I go to market, a lot of times I'm buying specific pieces for my like I'm thinking so and so and so would love this you know, and so I couldn't do that successfully without really investing in those relationships.
Speaker 1:Yes, so I think that's so important is to really surround yourself with good people and invest in your community and people around you. Yes yes, would you agree? I do agree, yeah.
Speaker 2:Absolutely no, and I think what you just said there with the yeah, just really having an understanding of your clientele.
Speaker 1:Yes, and that takes time.
Speaker 2:So smart it wasn't.
Speaker 1:It's not instant, you know, and I can remember going to my first market and them asking, which is a valid question, who's your customer, right? Well, when you haven't even opened your doors, you don't know exactly who your customer is, and that's even been fine-tuned, you know, over the years. And so I made guesses based on who I thought my customer would be. Yeah, and also to find pieces. That transcends ages. So, and those pieces exist, they're hard to find, but something that you know my 19 year old employee is going to wear, I'm going to wear it, my mom's going to wear it.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:You know that doesn't happen in every case, but then once you find your customer, you really kind of build a niche and you're thinking about that customer with every decision. Yeah, the way you caption a post on social media, the products that you're bringing into your store, the way the music, you know all those things with that one specific customer, because then you're doing your homework right. Who is my customer?
Speaker 1:Right and she's our customer, is very defined, she has a name, she has an age range, and then everything that we do speaks to that customer. And so then, when she pops in, she feels valued, she feels seen.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, so good, okay. So speak to the person like my wife Erica, that's out there, that again looked at your business, kind of saw you from the outside and said this isn't me, this is high fashion, I'm not high fashion, I'm not the customer. What would you say to that person?
Speaker 1:I think part of that stereotype is the name, the fact that it's glam and it feels glamorous. Part of that came from, as I was telling you earlier, when I was in a partnership. Their name was very long, so I wanted something short and, like I said, it all stemmed from pageant dresses and evening wear and it was all very glamorous. So we came up with glam. That was short at Avalor and Bride, which is what it was called. So that's how the name came to be and then we just stuck with it.
Speaker 1:so I think, um, I think a lot of people's perception, you know, is that it's all glamorous, but we have very casual clothes as well um yeah and so we've worked harder to build that um awareness that we don't just have. We, I mean, I think people come to us when there's a special occasion and we love that and we have to dress for them but, we also have really good denim, really good, just basic t-shirts, Um. So we appreciate Erica giving us a chance and popping in, but also like fun pieces that you can wear as a mom running around and chasing your kids and those types of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, great, okay. So back to to our entrepreneurs, our business owners. Talk about the hard seasons. Again, you went through an impossibly hard season. Personally Went through a pandemic, went through a recession. How do you encourage the business owners to hang in?
Speaker 1:Grit and being creative. You know I can remember, um, when we were going through that in this community, how, like the restaurants were so creative with, like you know, take a pizza home, or you know, the little kits, and that really inspired me. How can I stay relevant? Because at the end of the day, you know, I have a staff that's counting on me that didn't ask to be put in this position either. We came up with did we call that? I think we called it give a hug, hug in a box, something like that and the idea was to encourage online sales and you could give gifts I think we had different price ranges to a teacher or to a nurse, or to somebody that was going through more challenging times during the pandemic than others, and then, by doing that, if they bought one for themselves, then we would donate the other one, and that encouraged great sales for us because people understood the mission behind it.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:And then all that money was donated to my employees.
Speaker 1:So, it's just, you know, it was just a time to like be creative and try to make sure that I was taking care of the people that stood alongside me and trying to stay relevant in a time where people weren't dressing up, people weren't leaving the house, you know, and that was very challenging and at that time we didn't have as many casual pieces. You know you're not sitting around the home for the next three months or however long we were home, you know, in a dress. So you know it shifted even the way I did my buying. And then, you know, I mean there was residual effects. I mean we were stuck with a lot of inventory that we had to mark way down or donate, you know.
Speaker 1:So, it took a little time to get over that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm curious though and this is to me with entrepreneurs, I think, at least for me, and maybe it's a weird sickness of even in those challenging times, though, it's still fun. Yeah, right the problem, solving the like, figuring it out. There's just something to it that's just. I don't know that we're not giving up.
Speaker 1:We're not going anywhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're going to be here and let's figure it out.
Speaker 1:You feel empowered that you're not just a product of the circumstance. You're being proactive about what can I do? I do remember another situation and I worked with this wholesaler and thank God for them, but she was able to sell me at such a discount that I could put bundles together and the community knew, like the community knew, we have to do what we can to help support these businesses that may otherwise go under.
Speaker 2:And our community showed up.
Speaker 1:Yes, they did big time, and so we would put these bundles that were sold to me at a discount so that I could still make a little bit of profit. Um, together, and I can remember the orders coming in and I would just cry, you know, like, oh my gosh, you know this is a week's worth of groceries, you know, for the week. Just have those orders. And I can remember you triggered something when you said going through that they were still fun. But I can remember sitting at my kitchen table and packaging them up with such care and tissue paper and just being so joyful that we had that opportunity to make somebody's day a little bit brighter and some sense of normalcy. To make somebody's day a little bit brighter and some sense of normalcy, but also just the realness of having a little money coming in to be able to pay the bills and keep up with it.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, yes. So there's moments that I think just pull us back to our humanity and back to the basics, and it's where the politics doesn't matter the things that divide us don't matter, it's just the. What does it mean to come together? Um, and yeah, I think there there's something really powerful and amazing about that.
Speaker 1:I agree and I have found in my 55 years of living that um to be able to build community through a difficult time and to be vulnerable through that so that you can build community. Um has been so powerful and not only does it help others but it has helped me get through some really hard times.
Speaker 2:Yeah, awesome, awesome, okay. So, michelle, as we start to wrap things up here, um, what are you excited about for the future? What are you looking towards?
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm just excited to see what happens with our downtown community. You know, we're seeing investments in buildings and storefronts come into life. We're seeing more collaboration. We're seeing entrepreneurs think outside the box and bring really big city ideas to our small town. Were you at Dinner in Blanc.
Speaker 2:I was. I was out of town, but Erica was there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean amazing that that just happened in our little town, you know, in our small town, so, I'm excited to just be part of that and to see other people come alongside, want to be part of that. There's just a buzz and an energy that it feels such a privilege to be alongside of my business, neighbors and friends.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, excellent, excellent, okay, so people.
Speaker 1:And I'm excited to get Erica back on the runway.
Speaker 2:Maybe she'll only say no once this time.
Speaker 1:I think she's good. Now she's in. Okay, all right, good, good, good.
Speaker 2:Okay, so for those who are listening, that you know would like to connect with you, know more about your business. What's the best ways for them to?
Speaker 1:connect. So glampresentscom is our website. We're located at 108 East Center Street and we're on social media.
Speaker 2:Awesome, yeah, very good. Well, michelle, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, this was a blast. It was a blast, it was a pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2:Awesome. All right Well to all of our viewers and listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in for another episode of Stories that Move. We'll see you next time. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Stories that Move brought to you by Dream On Studios.
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