S3E10: Glitter&Gold Goals with Mallory Dougherty

And that's how I live my day . Okay , let's just stack the bricks . Okay , it's love all . Okay , we're not going to think about winning this game yet .

We're just going to think about okay , I just need to get the next point , and sometimes it's I just need to get the next shot over the net , and I think that's indicative of a day and that's indicative of how I live my day and how I live my life .

Sometimes it's I just have to get through this next five minutes and then eventually at the end of the day , you go I didn't get anything done . And then you look at your list and you go , oh , I , actually I did . It's like didn't plan on winning the tennis match , but look , I did it , and it was just one shot at a time .

My tennis coach in high school always used to say the most important ball of the match is the one that you're currently hitting , and it's so true , and I think that's a great life lesson too . You have to just be present and the most important thing is the thing that you're currently working on .

Mallory also is the mother of two beautiful little girls who are in elementary school , and she is just a doer , a person who does all of the things . She is a huge supporter of her children's school and is always leading things and running things with the PTA and she is just a huge giver as well to our community .

So welcome , Mallory , for being with us today .

I studied advertising and marketing shocker so I got my degree from there and then , before my senior year , I met my now ex-husband . He moved from Fort Worth to South Carolina for a job and I met him and then we dated . I moved back to Pennsylvania for a few years and then I ended up moving .

He moved back to Fort Worth and I moved here to be with him . So that's how I rollercoastered it to Fort Worth . But when I was in Pennsylvania after college I sold wedding gowns . So I was in the bridal business for two and a half to three years and that's what kind of roundabout led me to the jewelry business .

To answer your question in a long story .

I moved back to Pennsylvania and I actually sold prom dresses while I was in college at the same bridal store . So my dad he was a CPA , he had done their taxes and all of their business stuff my whole life and he said if Mallory ever moves back here after college , she has a job , she will sell wedding gowns . We need her back .

So they offered me a job as soon as I moved back and so I sold wedding gowns and then I ended up doing some of the buying for them . And I feel like when I would style a bride or I would style prom dresses , I still sold prom dresses .

For me it was you could take the most simple white wedding gown and if you would add the most amazing belt or necklace or any type of accessory , it would totally change the entire thing and I would watch brides faces just absolutely light up if I would put a colored belt on a wedding gown .

I'm like , oh , you don't have to wear this for the ceremony , just wear it for the reception .

And their eyes would just like , all of a sudden it was transformed into something completely different and I said I think there's something here and that is my personal style too , like I just like to wear jeans and , honestly , my secret style is I buy the boys Hanes tank tops like the like they call them wife beaters .

I used to in the five pack for twelve dollars from Target and I put them with jeans that I like and then , if you put amazing accessories with it , all of a sudden it looks like something .

And so I just like felt very passionate about accessories and I said , so many people sell clothes , I knew I wanted something of my own , but so many people sell clothes and I'm like I just want to do just accessories , because you can change an entire outfit with a pair of earrings .

I have a memory of in third grade I made jewelry , like I made necklaces and bracelets , and I even remember my teacher's name and I remember I sat on the end row in third grade and I would make these necklaces and then I would take them to school , I would tape them with Scotch tape on the side of my desk and I would sell them at school in the third

grade . Like I'm kidding , I kid you not , and it's like I didn't remember that until a couple of years ago .

And I'm like I guess I've always been supposed to do this and I do remember as a kid always asking my dad for a cash register for Christmas , but I told him that I didn't want like the play one , I didn't want the little tights , like I wanted the one that like spit out a receipt and made the real sounds .

And I remember putting stickers on everything in my bedroom and I would have my dad come up and like shop in my store and just put all of my own stuff on sale because I just wanted a store . So bad . So I think it's always been there .

So what is your process with your jewelry and where you are able to find the beautiful things that you want to sell ?

So , whereas I would say the normal process that probably people are most familiar with is you have markets , so you have an Atlanta market , you have markets in New York City , you have markets in Dallas , you have markets in Las Vegas those are about the four biggest ones and then , a couple times a year , there's an accessory market and you'll go there and a

lot of the companies will have their items for sale and you'd place a wholesale order . You see all of these companies within a couple days . You come home and within a couple weeks , everything starts to ship to you . Right , that's what most people understand it to be .

The problem with that sometimes is that all of it starts to look the same and then everybody's carrying a lot of the same brands .

And what I really pride myself on and what I really strive to do and I feel like the biggest thing that sets me apart is I try to find these small , little , tiny businesses owned by moms with little kids that don't want to have a store , don't have the time for that , and I really try to support them , and so I really try to find these little niche items

that I love and that I would wear myself , and I try to support them . So , for example , I will go on Etsy , which is not a wholesale website at all , and I will go on Etsy and I will find pieces that I like and then I'll side message them and I say , hey , do you wholesale ?

And I've had girls and women say I do not , I've never done it , I don't know how to do it . I go okay , I'm going to give you a crash course If you're open to it . I would love to do that . And they'll say yes or no or whatever . So , for example , just before Cowtown , I had found a company on Instagram .

They had popped up on my feed like things you would like , and it was this earring company and they're in Australia . And so I reached out and she said we're actually in Australia . I'm like that's fine , we can ship . And I said would you be willing to ship to me in the US ?

Could I place a wholesale order , because I think your pieces are incredible and I think they would do really well with my clients ? And she said , sure , if you'll work with me a little bit , I need to figure out the shipping , but I'm happy to do it .

She said just by the way , you're the only person in the United States that I wholesale to and I'm like that's amazing , and so it's .

I just always try to find these little tiny businesses and I mix it in with the bigger ones that you're more familiar with , but I really try to find the smaller ones and just start conversations and become friends with these people and really support their dreams too , because they're absolutely supporting mine .

But most of the time it's just oh , that's unique and different , that catches my eye . And the other thing is because I don't create most of the items , while I do collab with some people and I do design some things .

I really have done some soul searching the last year or two , I would say , as far as what makes me different , what makes my business different Because you can buy jewelry from anybody .

You can buy it from Amazon , you can buy it from any boutique in Fort Worth , you can buy it from any boutique online , and I've really done some digging and what makes me different and I think it's the buying process that I take so much pride in , that and I am so careful about the things that I do choose to carry , because at the end of the day , it's

just me and at the end of the day , I feel like every single piece that I carry is a true representation of me and the things that I love and the things that I think my clients would love too .

What kind of you said catches your eye , but that's such an intangible thing obviously . What kind of things can make it a little bit yeah put into words what does it mean to catch your eye ? I get you , but as an artist , what advice would you even give a jewelry designer to be able to be a good candidate to get into ? A store like yours .

It's a really good one , I think first and foremost I look at quality , and there is so much out there , but whenever you've been doing it for a while you can start to tell just quality , and I feel like so many things now are just so fastly and readily made that I look for things that are unique , things that you know aren't sold everywhere .

That just has a certain take or it can be . I'm also like a very detail oriented person . So even if they choose to use a different color than , let's say , you see everywhere . So , for example , for those people that weren't able to make it to Christmas in Cowtown , I happen to have a hot pink Christmas tree .

I'm not the person who's going to have a standard green tree . So let's just say , if I'm looking at a pair of bow earrings , for example , and they're holiday earrings , if they would do a red bow with , like neon pink polka dots , that would probably catch my eye .

So I would say my style and my aesthetic going back to one of the previous questions is like classic with a twist , like classic with a little unexpected , if that kind of makes sense . So just something that , like you , wouldn't maybe typically see in a boutique that you've seen several other times before .

Somebody that's seen something but said no wait , I'm going to do that , but I'm going to do my spin on it .

The stores that I'm carried in are just friends of mine because once you've been in this , as you guys know , like this Fort Worth community , it's a lot smaller than it may seem and whenever you've been doing it for a certain length of time , no matter what the business , it just gets smaller and smaller and you just know people and where your product would fit

or where your service would fit for someone . So , for example , elle Maxine and I was talking to Mary about this the other night . I have known Brittany , for we used to live in Ridgemar together and I remember her coming to me saying I'm going to start a kid's clothing store and I'm like , oh , that's excellent , and a lot of people say those things .

But she's like , oh , we signed a lease , like we're ready to go , and it's just like our relationship just built upon itself . And then whenever she opened , elle Maxine , she texted me a couple of weeks before opening . She said we would love to carry your stuff in our store . And I'm like , oh , my gosh , that's such an honor .

And it's just that my stuff has also carried a house of blonde . Brittany , who owns house of blonde is a very dear friend of mine and she said the same thing .

So it was just like that Fort Worth community just collaborating and just knowing that , oh , we have the same clientele , and just knowing that , yeah , that will probably work , just based on a couple of different parameters . But it's more like friends helping friends . Truly , that makes sense .

I think I got more serious about the business last year and I was like , oh , I guess I should probably start working on that , because , normally , about the business last year and I was like , oh , I guess I should probably start working on that , because normally I would just buy what I saw and it just is an ongoing process , and so I work it differently

depending upon the product , if that makes sense . So , to be more specific , for higher priced items or more higher end lines that I carry , I normally , with certain styles , will only carry , let's say , one or two of each specific SKU number or item .

And I say , okay , let's see how that would do , let's see if people would feel comfortable paying that price because it is a higher end item , like , for example , like Neiman Marcus carry some of these brands . It's a certain type of level .

And then , let's say , with , like little stud earrings , which are super popular right now and I have carried those since the beginning , I'm like , okay , I know that these are probably going to sell because I've proven that process over and over again , so for those I'd buy 50 or 60 pairs at a time , because I've already proven that they will sell .

So it just really depends on , I would say , price point and whether or not it's a new or different product . As far as you know the quantities that I would buy right away .

We sell items on our store , we have digital products , we have resources that we do , we have trainings , and no matter what you are selling even if you're selling a service like speech therapy , like we do you're always having to price it . So I'm just thinking through the nuts and bolts of it .

Obviously , there's a wholesale price of the item , and then there's all of the expenses overhead , whatever , of your business , and then , after all , that's said and done is your profit . So do you have some kind of formula or any insight on how you figure out how to price your items appropriately ?

So , for example , if you want to get like nitty gritty , so let's say I design a product myself , which I've done , and I have it made in a factory , whether that be India , whether that be China , because , let's be honest , that's where a lot of it's coming from , not all of it .

There are products that I purchase and design that are coming from the US , like smaller quantities , but let's say I design one and it's made in India , for example , okay , that's going to be a much higher margin product for me , only because there's no middleman added in there , whereas if I'm purchasing an item from Sunshine Tienda , for example , at their wholesale

cost , it's a much , much lower margin item because they have to make their money on it first as the middleman and then it's sent to me . So those are like the two basic categories , but then that also comes at a cost , because if I'm designing something and I'm having it made in India . They're not going to let me buy five , I have to buy 200 .

So there's a much , much higher risk for me because I have to buy 200 , which kind of then justifies the margin , if that makes sense . And then also because I do some wholesaling .

I am not going to wholesale , let's say , sunshine Tienda's products to L Maxine because they can buy them at wholesale also , but the products that I designer have made that I have to buy 200 , of that I do have the margin for wholesale .

Those are the products that I can then wholesale to other companies because there's a margin there for me , because then I would become the middleman .

You gave my daughter a little bracelet in this little box and I was just thinking about it going . This is so well packaged and just the package itself made it feel so , so special . Did you design the packaging or are you getting that ?

But I have the custom size and then I obviously choose the colors and then on my bags , like I choose the ribbon color and all the colors and the sizing for that and everything . So that's basically curated from companies like factories that specialize in that . So I choose all the colors and the designs and that type of thing .

But I didn't start from scratch on those . But I just feel like , again , like packaging , it's like the . It's the first thing that somebody sees . You can decide if you're going to love an item more or less based on the box that it comes in .

There is a reason that a Louis Vuitton box looks very different than a box that you're going to get somewhere else . There's a difference and there's a reason and you're like I have to like it more if the box looks better and also it's a representation of me and my brand , Kind of going back , looks better and also it's a representation of me and my brand .

Going back to what I said earlier , it's all just a representation of me .

But I'm curious about the flip side , as a buyer and trying to get the product and the packaging for your products within that network of other buyers . Do they share information or , like I know this great person in India where they will help you design something ? Or is that all just trial and error ?

I approach it that way because I look at it as so many people have helped me along the way and there's enough room for everyone is how I look at it . So I would say friends share information , but it's very rare for I don't want to say a stranger , but somebody who you don't really know that well to just readily supply you with information .

I want to say that with some people it's almost hey , it took me six years to find this one person myself . How am I going to just give you that information when it took me six years to find them ? Do you know what I mean ? So I think there's a lot of that in this business , unfortunately . But the information sharing , I always think it's .

I think it's karma . If I give you this information , I am happy to help you . So many people have helped me . And if you want to buy your bags from the same person who I buy my bags from , my goodness , here's the information and it'll all come back in the end . It's all good . That's just who I buy my bags from , my goodness .

Here's the information and it'll all come back in the end . It's all good . That's just who I am as a person . But I can understand the other side of it too . So it's . I'm not putting anyone down for being a little bit more protective , but that's just . It just depends on the person .

There's quite a bit of competition out there and frankly , like you're saying , it's a long game , short game kind of idea too . It is Sure that might get you ahead right now , but you might burn some big bridges or you might really regret some of that competitive spirit later

on . So how do you stay in this hustle ? It's a hard thing to be able to stay in it .

Every day looks a little bit different , every conversation looks a little bit different , but I just look at it as and I've always been this person just in general , it's you're my friend , even if you're a stranger . Until you prove to me that you shouldn't be my friend , I will trust you .

Until you tell me not to trust you , or show me not to trust you , I will help somebody until I get burned , and then , if I get burned , I'm so sorry , but I don't . It's like I don't know where to go from there . But I feel like sometimes I've been too trusting of other people and given out too much information , and I've learned my lesson from there .

So I just I think a lot of it , though , is just treading with caution . Just I'm happy to give out the information , but I've learned to not give out too much information , if that makes sense .

Pipe and drape situation you get a black pipe and drape is what you get no carpet . Yeah , yeah . So how did you go about designing that ? Because it's like your jewelry box , like you've got to build the whole thing out . So how did you design that ?

So , actually , upstairs in my house , my office has built-in shelves and I've often used those as my backdrop for videos or pictures or whatever , and so I was asking myself questions as to if I had a brick and mortar store , what would I want it to look like ? Okay , it's in my head .

Now , how do I scale that down , put it in a 10 foot by 10 foot space and make it movable ? That was where I was . I didn't even have a bag with my logo on it , as , like last year April , like there was nothing . I had boxes , but I didn't really have bags because I didn't . I just used just generic bags when I would do smaller pop-ups .

But I'm like , oh boy , I felt like I had been called to the major leagues . I was like , oh gosh , like I'm now on the pitcher's mound , better get out of the dugout . Here we go . And of the dugout , here we go . And so I did a couple sketches , I started looking online .

I reached out to friends of mine who I already had known had done Cowtown and I'm like , okay , I need help 9-1-1 . What am I going to do ?

And honestly , I think I just started from the ground up and I said , okay , I knew that I wanted white shelving because that was recognizable and it was like on brand for who I was and what people already knew glitter and gold to be , and just pure display standpoint .

I knew that white shelves with a white background was going to be the best case scenario for my product to display itself , because if you have no background , things get lost . So I found shelves on Amazon . I think I got them on Amazon .

I bought a couple and then I said , okay , I have to set everything up , because I'm very particular about the aesthetic of everything Because , again , at the end of the day , that's all I've got . I'm not making it . So I said , okay , I took my bar room in my house . There was nothing in it , it was a blank space .

I took green painters tape and I taped out a 10 by 10 space on the floor and I said , okay , fine , I am going to build my booth step-by-step in my bar room and that way I could see what I liked , I could see what I didn't like , I could see what the flow was like , I could see what the spacing was like .

I could see oh , I didn't even think that I would need that . I do need that . Oh , the color of this looks great . No , it doesn't . So I truly , last summer , built out that entire space with bookshelves . I started with four bookshelves and I was like , no , it's not enough space , I need six .

I bought a cash wrap on Amazon and then I had to find a place that I could do like a little acrylic logo that I wanted in my head , and I just basically built it out step-by-step and I would make lists upon lists , like I'm a handwriting list person and I would just make okay , I need tissue paper . Oh , shoot , I'm going to carry ornaments .

If you carry ornaments , you need ornament boxes . I want my logo on those boxes . So it's every little step . I just had to just check mark and then with this year's booth , because it was a different layout than last year's , I had to change it up a little bit get a bigger rug , get different displays , because I didn't have .

I went from having three sides on a booth to having one backdrop on a booth , and that's a big deal , because then I had all these open sides and I couldn't have my six bookcases anymore , because then it would close in one side , making it pointless to have the end cap .

So then I had to buy these white cubes so that people could still see through it , and it's just a step-by-step . What do I want it to look like ? Okay , let's build it and we'll see what happens .

What do you like between the two ?

I love when people came into my booth this year and they said , oh my gosh , like I got a bunch of decor from you last year for Christmas . I just want to get these two sets to add to what I got from you last year . And it was so nice meeting you last year . I wanted to make a point to come see you this year .

That just fills up my cup to no end . But I've always wanted to be in sales . I think I've been in sales since I was like 16 . And my dream job as a kid was QVC . I wanted to be the QVC person . So it's like this just makes sense , like I wanted to be like the one co-hosting with Lisa Renna .

That was what I wanted , and so I guess it all makes sense now , except I don't have Lisa Brenna in my booth . But I just love talking to people , I love interacting with people , and I think some of that too is . I think it would be more exhausting those five days if I had a brick and mortar and then had to do that on top of it .

But because so much of my year , especially like January through August or September , is spent in my house , working online or through Instagram or whatever . It's so nice to go out and do those shows with complete strangers and really hear what people have to say , and I also learn so much Like I really try to listen . What are people saying ?

What are they like , what are they not like ? Do they want to spend that much on there ? Do they think that's a bargain ? And so I really try to take in as much information as I can while doing the selling . I love the styling of it . Like I love when someone says this is my favorite .

When someone comes into my booth and they come up to me with five bangles on and they say do you think this is too much ? Does this look on ? And they say , do you think this is too much ? Does this look ? And I like look at them and I show them the 16 that I'm wearing and I say , okay , I'm not the person to ask if it's too much .

Like I am too much and I'm probably not the person for that , but I will help you tone it down and I will help you with it . But I love the styling aspect of that too that I get to do at Cowtown which I don't get to do in person all year long .

This is like a family business and this is for them , and with them in the booth at Christmas and catch on your girls were there and I think your mom was there too . It's like a family affair . You have done modeling together .

You obviously are having to work and be on your phone while the girls are home after school , so can you tell us a little bit about what that looks like and what your goals and your dreams are for them and how it is with your business

?

And the answer is for them , and then it just gives me this motivation to just keep going , because so much of being a mom , as you guys know , it's not what you say , it's them seeing you and seeing who you are and seeing what you're doing and seeing how you interact and how you treat other people , and a lot of it is like them seeing my business in the

house go from the much smaller side that it was not that they remember a lot of it . I've always been doing it since they've been alive . But just seeing that it does make me happy , it does fill me up and it's you can do this too . There is no limit to anything that you can do . If I can do this , you can do this too .

There is no limit to anything that you can do . If I can do this , you can do this type of thing and every show I do , I have a picture of them in a picture frame and it sits at the top of the shelf and it's just . They are with me all the time . Even when they aren't with me , they are with me .

I carry them everywhere and I call us like the three musketeers . It's we are just one person is how I look at it and what's mine is theirs . I named the business Glitter and Gold 12 years ago when I started it , which is very generic , very basic , aware . That's when statement necklaces were a thing and we've moved on .

Now , if I were to name my business , the business name would be Willa's , which is Willow and Isla's names together . Obviously , like , I've thought this through and so I'm not saying that will never happen , because it may , but I just look at it as a reflection of me and they are a reflection of me and it's , at the end of the day , just for them .

And so , as far as my scheduling with them and working so , I didn't I was always just on the back burner . Whenever they were younger , I just did it here and there when I had time and it was more of a hobby . And then , when they got older , my goal was to have it be more of a full-time situation .

Then , two and a half years ago , I got divorced , so now I have one week with them and then one week without them , which it's so hard . However , I'm a very much a silver lining person , like we're going to find the positive here somewhere . I don't care what it is , we're going to find it .

One of the silver linings of that is when I don't have them , I work for 12 or 14 hours a day for seven days straight , so that when I do have them , I can be present with them and I can be there and I'm like , oh shoot , I don't have to tag all of that jewelry . I do a lot of the organizing . I do a lot of the website updates .

I do a lot of the follow-ups whenever I don't have them . That way , whenever I do have them , I can just do the selling part more and I schedule all of my shows around when I have them and when I don't have them .

So when I have them , there aren't many shows happening , if at all , and when I don't have them , that's whenever I'm able to do all of the other things so that I can just be their mom whenever they're with me .

But she loves to take all the earrings off of the earring cards , because when they come in , especially from factories , they come in on earring cards that I'm not going to put on mine or they have no earring cards . So she likes to take them all out . She puts them in piles , then she puts them on earring cards and they tag things for me .

And , honestly , as they've gotten older , I've tried to give them more and more responsibility . So , for example , at Cowtown , mary , I don't know if you were in the booth , but people were checking out and Isla was doing the whole thing . So she boxed in , she was behind the cash register .

So she rang them up start to finish , and so they've done little pop-ups with me and I've started teaching them that whole process as far as thank you , would you like a receipt , that type of thing . So as they've gotten older , I've really tried to give them a lot more responsibilities .

Another thing that I just really respect about you is that you play tennis a lot and you stay very physically fit , and I know that helps you stay mentally fit . It is just part of who you are . So can you tell us how you're able to prioritize that or what does ?

How does that go together for you of movement and your body and being physically fit , and how does that make you more mentally fit for your girls and your family and for your business ?

I think it obviously gives you self confidence enough to go out and talk to people , whether that's strangers or friends or whomever and I feel like honestly , like in my business and line of work , like I want to wear a certain clothes and I want to feel confident and comfortable wearing a sequin jumpsuit which I do often and I don't want to be like , oh , I

don't want to wear that because I just don't feel great

. So tennis has always been a part of my life . I've played tennis since I can remember and I just think that's a great full body . It clears my mind , it clears everything . It just gives me not only a physical restart , it gives me a mental restart too .

I think the tennis court , truly , other than sleeping , is the only time that my brain can truly shut off . Once I step on the tennis court , it's like it is only tennis . It really teaches you focus . It really teaches you okay , I can't think about what the score is right now . I say in my head , I say , okay , just stack the bricks .

And that's how I live my day . Okay , let's just stack the bricks . Okay , it's level . Okay , we're not going to think about winning this game yet , we're just going to think about okay , I just need to get the next point , and sometimes it's I just need to get the next shot over the net .

And I think that's indicative of a day and that's indicative of how I live my day and how I live my life . Sometimes it's I just have to get through this next five minutes and then eventually at the end of the day , you go I didn't get anything done . And then you look at your list and you go , oh , I , actually I did .

It's like didn't plan on winning the tennis match , but look , I did it , and it was just one shot at a time . My tennis coach in high school always used to say the most important ball of the match is the one that you're currently hitting . And it's so true , and I think that's a great life lesson too .

You have to just be present and the most important thing is the thing that you're currently working on . So , for example , when I was in Cowtown and I was doing it . I pretty much shut out the rest of the world . I pretty much was like guys , I have a Cowtown , I'll talk to you in six days and it's just .

If I wanted to do a good job at countdown and I wanted to be engaged with people and I wanted to be present , I had to truly give that my 100% focus , which is why I try to work so hard when I don't have the girls or even when they're at school , just so that I can be present and be the 100% mom that they absolutely deserve me to be .

So I don't know . I just think that a lot of the tennis is just how I live my life in general .

That would be me .

And again , I think I've just really had to learn how to prioritize , and what I was talking about earlier is just like okay , and a lot of times I truly tell myself this in a day . So I have all these to-do lists . I'm a handwritten , old-fashioned person , and so I'll have a list .

And then , to focus myself more , I will then go to the right-hand side and I will number . Okay , what is the next most important thing you have to do ? Because sometimes even the list can get overwhelming , as I'm sure you guys know . It's okay , I don't even know where to start . I know I have to do all this , but where do I go from here ?

And so I go . Okay , what's the next most important thing If that means I have to order the books for the visiting author , and that's the number one thing ? Okay , I can't go to number two until I check off number one , and so I just I get it all done somehow .

But it's just , I've really just had to try to learn how to prioritize , like what's important and what's not .

I really like glassware and I really like things have changed and progressed over the years as I have . I started this when I was in my 20s and I'm certainly not buying the same things I was when I was in my 20s , as I'm sure you ladies aren't either .

So the business has definitely evolved with me and I do carry some more decor items , but a lot of that truly is . This will just make the jewelry look better .

And , yes , there are things that I like and things that I would want in my house , but I've never really jumped on the band wagon as far as trends go , because they are fleeting , going back to what we were talking about nitty gritty in the buying .

If you buy all this stuff and it's trendy and then all of a sudden , the trend is over , what are you going to do with it all ? Most retail businesses fail because of inventory issues . That's the number one reason , because they overbuy and they don't think it through .

And then all of a sudden they're stuck with all this inventory and no way to sell it , because nobody wants it anymore . And I think I would much rather sell less product , but be true to who I am and stay in my lane , than try to follow these ever-changing and evolving trends . It would be like trying to sell iPhone accessories .

They come out with a new iPhone every three and a half days . All of a sudden it's a new size and new chargers . Now I can't sell the old chargers and so it's just . If you just stay true to yourself , it's like it'll solve so many issues . It's just be who you are , know your lane , stay in your lane . I have friends who sell clothes .

I have so many friends who sell clothes . That's amazing . I love that because I can go buy clothes from you . But it's if I just stay in my little accessory lane , I'm going to be okay . So there's like a saying I don't know if you've heard of it they don't shoot the rabbit when you're hunting an elephant , it's .

So I've really just tried to stay true to who I am and that's not always been cool and that's fine . But you know what ? It all comes full circle and I preach that to my girls all the time . I'm like listen , I was playing tennis in high school whenever you all were playing volleyball and softball and soccer and you guys were the cool kids in town .

Now everybody wants to play tennis , like I play tennis , and it's cool . It's if you just stay in your lane , it eventually will all come back around .

Is the best , really the best approach , to think of it one day at a time , of it's serving you for right now , and that is enough , and it's more than enough ?

So as of now , I think I'm going to just let the girls in some sense lead it , Because if I do it the way I continue to do it now , I'm so much more flexible and I'm so much more able to do things for them that I need to do . But my dream has always been to have a store and to have a brick and mortar and to have their name on it .

But if that's not what they want and that's not how I could best serve them as a mom and at least in these next couple years then we'll go that route .

But they're seeming to love it and they seem to love being at Cowtown and they seem to love that aspect of it and talking to people , and so if that's something that let's say in a couple of years that they would support and they would want me to do , then I would absolutely love nothing more than to do that but also the changing landscape of just so much

being online and me selling small accessories . It's just easy to do it out of my house . So I don't know . I haven't really fully answered that question . I don't think in my own brain , but for now it's good for today , and so I survived the rapid river today , and who knows what tomorrow will bring , but we're figuring it out .