With Hart

Ep. 5 | Readiness is not a feeling, it’s a decision - Part II

• Karlee Hart • Season 1 • Episode 5

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This episode is Part II of a continuation from last week’s deep dive in Episode 4. Picking up where she left off, Karlee walks through the next chapter of building Beachkrew: expanding beyond Ocean City into Charleston, Sullivan’s Island, Avalon, and now Nantucket.

She shares the emotional weight of launching new stores, managing burnout, and navigating imposter syndrome, all while staying scrappy and self-funded. From flooded storefronts to dream locations, Karlee unpacks the real behind-the-scenes of signing leases she wasn’t sure she could afford, designing collections solo, and making decisions that felt bigger than her.

This episode is a reminder that you don’t have to feel ready, you just have to start. 

Karlee Hart

Beachkrew Website

With Hart – Real Talk on Entrepreneurship, Brand Building & Business Ownership

Hosted by Karlee Hart, founder of Beachkrew. With Hart dives into the highs, lows, and lessons of building a brand from the ground up. Whether you're a dreamer, doer, or in the thick of scaling your business, this podcast is your go-to for unfiltered insights, mindset shifts, and actionable advice.

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Welcome back. I am going to make this part two of the last episode being part one of kind of walking through all of just my journey with the stores and from one city to another, and what kind of led me in each direction and why and just so many moving parts with each one. So I apologize if there's things I'm really skipping over and I'm excited to learn what you guys want to know more about as we start to launch these, we really cool to hopefully start chatting with more of you about what you're going through, or just some of the little things that hopefully I can help with. Or maybe you guys, you know, definitely are going to be helping me too, which will be awesome to create that community. And But just to dive back in so I know I was really going through like, what led me to Charleston and in the meantime, really deciding to pave my own way in Ocean City and open up my own storefront there. And just kind of that summer was honestly like the summers are always go by so fast. There's so much going on, and it's kind of like a joke. The train really takes off at the end of June when school's out and everybody's back down the shore in new Jersey and everything just happened. So it's kind of like, hold your breath, make sure you've had as much planned and prepped as possible, but really just being able to, you know, blow out all the little and big fires along the way. So I think we I definitely can say I've never been fully equipped or prepared or ready to walk into any of these stores or decisions or even these podcast episodes. Like, I just kind of sometimes like to throw myself into things and to learn as I go. I think because you can get really caught up and wondering what if or how or with who. But in my eyes, you don't really learn that or or able to have the opportunities to actually figure that out unless you dive into it fully. So with Ocean City, it was really exciting. You know, once people who came to the smoothie shop now are supporting me in an actual retail setting with, you know, Beachkrew on the front of the door and on our windows and have actual mannequins and things that, you know, retail stores do have. And to really, again, create that vibe for Beachkrew and what it was going to be and what it meant to us and to the community. So that was really awesome to see people start showing up day by day. I remember Memorial Day weekend. It was rainy that weekend. So we had, you know, even more people out shopping since they couldn't be on the beach. And I just remember I put my time lapse camera on at one point. I just like, put my phone over on the counter, and I was ringing people up and talking to people a ton. And I think I only had one other girl with me on that day, and it was just one of those wow moments of so many people coming in and finding where we were and spreading the word about us and actually enjoying the quality and the effort that was put into the brand. I think that's that's something that I've really appreciated, is that all this time and energy that I spent and said the designs, the applications, the fabrics, the fits, really just wanting that oversize classic sweatshirt that's going to be so timeless for you for years and years to come. We were getting so much feedback. And even when things we'll get into this more on this episode and kind of talk about failure. But even when things you know are negative or if people are kind of criticize, saying or wondering more, kind of not giving you, you know, exactly what you want to hear, remind yourself feedback is feedback is feedback. Like just because it is a negative doesn't mean you can't take it and then turn it into something positive. And I think getting, you know, just a little spiel about what I would love to get into more is that is what failure is to me. It's like if you don't have those moments of pain and you can't find those moments of purpose either. And I will say that there's no way I can go into every single emotion that I felt or every single hard time that I've been through. But walking into a storefront grand opening as a 23 year old, I think I was at the time. It is wildly intimidating and a lot of imposter syndrome and even like, you know, just who's going to show up? What are they going to think? What are people from my hometown thinking? What are strangers who see me on the internet thinking? And it's really just constantly walking in with, again, that authentic curiosity of even like just wanting people's feedback and opinions, wanting to learn more about how to handle inventory better, how to, you know, set up a retail store where people are in the flow of things and they like what they're, you know, walking to on this side and what sets to put on this wall. Like, there's so many things that I always told myself I might not know now, but I know if I kind of give myself a little more research or a little more time, I can definitely figure it out. And again, it's a whole, you know, mindset behind the podcast, really, to just to encourage you in that way. I always see that as an exciting moment when it's like, okay, there's so many unknown things ahead of me. I'm sitting here in the seat today with new storefronts opening that will get into and, you know, just so many things happening, new employees that I'm onboarding. And I, I think it's exciting. And I have to change my perspective to, yes, things could fail. People could not be the right fit. Storefronts could not work out. The product that I put in that I'm designing for hours and hours on end behind the scenes right now could not be what people want. But again, I can only imagine it will be feedback to then move on to the next thing, or to do it better the next time, or to understand that maybe we are doing it right and it's not for that person. Know you can't please or do everything for everyone. So I think that that summer at Ocean City, going back and forth between the Charleston pop up that was downtown and my actual flagship store in Ocean City, I learned so much that summer. I think my mindset that summer needed a lot of shifts that I honestly maybe haven't learned until a couple of years later now. So, you know, that's that's hard. It does take time, some time to learn the lessons. But I had two really strong employees there. My cousin actually came on full time with me that summer, starting in May. And then Leah, who was my intern before in the summer before I graduated that May as well. So they were both a year younger than me and came on full time, so they just fully took on everything. They were fully bought in running the shop, and I just wanted them to do their thing. I want to be, you know, bottlenecking things, where it was all about, you know, me and I had to say this and do that. I wanted them to make their own decisions. So I really let them do their thing in that store and really just bring it to life themselves. You know, after I felt like I had spent so much time really dedicated to Ocean City, I wanted to make sure I was giving Charleston the same amount of time as well, because we definitely had a smaller staff and a longer season and, just very different vibe. So I definitely spent a decent amount of time down in Charleston and really just trying to connect and network and build my community there. And I think that was it was good. And, you know, is also defeating because sometimes I would be sitting in our Charleston store, which was a lot smaller and a lot less traffic, when I wanted to maybe be plugged in and be in Ocean City and enjoy, you know, the summer heat of things there. And again, just kind of the sacrifices that any business owner has to make of you can't be everywhere at once. And again, just kind of letting my team do what I wanted them to do. I really want to be building a team led company. So again, to not bottleneck things and to not be micromanaging things, I was proud of them, what they were doing and then proud of my Charleston staff as well. Very small but knee at the time and was just going back and forth. So that was definitely a challenge to just always having to adapt to a new environment every other week or really understanding like what my routine was as a business owner. I had no office. I didn't have any type of like apartment or anything of my own up in new Jersey. So, you know, just kind of be thrown back into just a busier, crazier lifestyle. So it's just really interesting. I think I probably will go back and forth maybe every other week or, maybe, you know, a couple times a month just trying to travel as much as I could. But that was definitely pretty exhausting, too. So I'm just trying to find that balance was always interesting that summer. But then the fall came around and we were doing really well in Ocean City and, you know, the pop up in Charleston. I'll just be honest, it was doing really well. And all the feedback there was incredible. But it wasn't in a, you know, prime location. There wasn't a lot of foot traffic. It was more a destination. And not being in the beach towns, I was kind of like, man, like, I would love to be on Sullivan's Island or maybe, you know, and folly and just kind of care for Hilton Head. Like I was really exploring the different towns and understanding which town really held. And, you know, was able to get the vibe that I felt Beachkrew gave because we're a beach town, you know, brand, that's what we're all about. So it felt a little bit off brand, I think to be in a downtown city location. So that fall came around and, you know, I was able to be like, okay, all these random people who I've never met before have followed us on social media with a lot of, you know, friends and family rolling into and a lot of people I did know who were supporting me, like a lot of people were coming and I knew it was working. You know, if they found us in some location, really off the beaten path, it wasn't on King Street and the, you know, heart of downtown Charleston, then I know something's working, but I just am not seeing it to the point of where I think this could be a really sustainable, you know, location and storefront for us. And I've also mentioned this in the first episode, but we really want our stores to be those community hub. So I knew having a really small space where basically smaller than like a bedroom of a storefront, it was really fun and I love looking back on it and all the memories there, but I knew again, I just wanted more. I wanted something bigger, and I felt like I needed to prove to myself, too, that it was working in a new place so far away from home. But what was the next step? Because I was debating, closing up shop in Charleston completely and really just focusing on, you know, new Jersey beaches maybe specifically or, not even getting that far yet, but really just being like, hey, I'm not sure it's working, but I'm not sure if it's working to the level I need it to, to kind of sustain those decisions. And, you know, the lifestyle of traveling, again, just trying to, you know, figure out, okay, like, what does even success mean? And how are we defining that? And what does failure mean? And how do we accept that? And, and kind of, you know, move to the next decision. So it was that fall. And I'll never forget I think it was November. I guess this is 2023. I was able or I, my friend was visiting and I dropped her off at the airport and our Charleston, you know, pop up location was only open on weekends, but I always so myself, you know, I can always say that my storefronts are also warehouses, offices just like homes for our team and myself. So I went to sit in there on a random Tuesday morning, and I would really got close with the studio, who's next door with me. So one of the managers came running through and she was like doing something in one of the other rooms. I was like, hey, how are you? We got talking and she was like, hey, we just got, you know, an inquiry. The guy who owns a space on Sullivan's really wants us our studio to be on Sullivan's, but we don't know how fast we can get machines. We don't know the logistics yet. Like, we have no idea. But he needs to know really soon. So I was like, well, hey, like, my dream is to be on Sullivan's. There's any way I can help you out if you want me to pop up in there while you're waiting, just so you can, like, lock in the space or whatever it is, let me know. I would love to be on Sullivan's. And I was in the heat of being like, am I even saying in Charleston? Does this all this travel and, you know, things being so far apart makes sense. I definitely love Charleston, though. The lifestyle and everything, like I said, just matched up so well with our brand and everything that I was building. So really would have been pretty defeated to leave, but also knew if it was the best thing for me personally and my business at that time, then that would be the decision. Again, just kind of like a lifestyle decision and building a sustainable scale, scalable, you know, business model was what I really wanted to do. So I was like, okay, I want to be in a beach town. What are we going to do? This girl comes in, she's like, Hey, Sullivan's. I'm like, how can I get involved? Basically. So I don't know if it was necessarily right or wrong at the time, but I sat down with the owner of the company, the manager and myself, and basically pitched to them that I've done pop ups in other places. Obviously they saw how small. Yeah. Amazing. My storefront and that location downtown was doing, and they were like, we really love your stuff. We think this would be cool, let's do it. So I said, okay. So the space on Sullivan's was already kind of separated into two, where, there's a little bit of a build out where there is kind of a front room, and then there's like this back room that's really big. So we decided the party city. I would be in the back and Beachkrew would be up front. So meanwhile, I guess Ocean City was probably closing up for the season. You're still open most days a week and doing online orders, holiday shopping, all of that, which is exciting. Meanwhile, I'm like trying at all times to come up with new drops and new apparel and plan all of that, which is a full time job. I'm still doing social media all by myself at that time, so I had so much going on, and meanwhile I was always just trying to figure out how to grow and scale and put beach gear in the best position possible. So I definitely was still by myself for a long time, which was really hard and definitely something. Again, I can go into more detail about, just kind of all the stress and weight and, and responsibility that I held and, and really still do today, which is also exciting. But, yeah. So I went to all the space. Okay, let's do it. So we were sitting, you know, in these offices signing leases and then the back of my brain, I'm like, what the heck am I doing? All my imposter syndrome is falling in of being like, you can't do this. You shouldn't do this. You're not good enough. No one's going to like this. You don't know Sullivan's. No, you're not from here. And and grow up here. And just all these voices in my head are telling me you can't. You should. And don't do it. And and really just fearing failure. And those are the moments. Again, I'll say this a million times, like you have a split micro second decision to be like, I'm, I'm, I can do this, I will do this. I'm going to try. And also accepting in those same moments of I'll try. I could be a little crazy for jumping into this, but it's also okay if I do fail. And I think that that is something that really scares a lot of people. I don't want to fail, you know? I don't want to look, like an idiot or whatever in front of people I grew up with or even to myself. You don't want to fail and prove yourself wrong, but something I'll say is, I think the failure is a lot of times they're either blessing in disguise, whether they're big or small. They're not actually really failures. They truly are pinpoints of feedback and lessons and opportunities to understand how you're going to move forward next. Because I can think of every little failure, a big failure I've had. And it's always been like, oh, thank God, I feel like two of like, that thing didn't work out. So now we're totally taking it in this new direction or hey, like that was the wrong hire for that position. But now we have the resources to be able to take something to a whole new level, or thank God that blew up, because now I'm actually realizing that it, you know, I didn't want it to move forward. It would have caused further harm to the business. So again, I think just sitting down with yourself, taking inventory with your own dreams, your own abilities, your goals, understanding what help you do need in certain areas before you jump into decisions. For sure. But there is sometimes that moment of just jump, take the leap. What actually is holding you back? I always tell myself, if fear is the only thing that's not a good enough answer. If there's other legitimate reasons that I, you know, should definitely question a decision of, such big commitment. Because retail stores are really big commitments. There's a lot of upfront cost that goes into it. Inventory based businesses as well are also the same way. So really having to figure out, like, can we do this with, you know, the current business we have is this sustainable for our team and the means that we have now or not? So, for me in that position, I was like, well, you know, what the heck? I'm just going to be in this little front space of the shop, and I'll be with the studio, and it's probably going to have a lot of things that come up that, you know, like studio times versus shopping times that will cause problems. But let's just lock in and let's figure it out and let's have, you know, a lot of good conversations about that before we open. So the studio was starting to figure out how they were going to rent, renovate everything. I was kind of waiting for them to figure out because I want it to be totally their thing, even though, you know, we were going in on the lease together, and then I would kind of figure out the front space. Well, then what do you know? They're figuring out how to design the machines and the back and everything. And Charleston and Sullivan's Island specifically are known for their flooding and how bad some of the flooding can get, which I was. I have seen, you know, for a year of living there but wasn't fully aware. So this massive flood comes through on a really bad storm, collided with like a really bad King's tide. High time. And the storefront in which we're in now was completely empty, thankfully at the time, but it was flooded and I'm going to say like at least five, six inches full of water. I'm not sure exactly the height of it, but it was really bad. And the police studio was a true blessing to them, I hope in disguise again, like felt like maybe a failure. But a blessing of just if floods come back through, there's no way for them to be lifting these heavy machines off the ground. And, you know, I think they made a really smart decision of, hey, this is not for us right now. Let's not force this. We really can't actually sustainably be here with our heavy equipment, with the possibility of flooding and all that goes into that. So, you know, the owner called me and was like, hey, car, we really need to back out of this. They're going to let us. But if you want to, you know, go in, just continue to talk to them. And she was so encouraging and, and really gave me a lot of faith and strength that I could do this. And, you know, I still remember those times where I was on my morning walks, talking to the owner and the manager, both together and separately at the studios, and they're like, hey, yeah, we think you got this. You know, you believe in yourself and you should, but make the decision for yourself and, and we'll see what happens. So I had one of these very pivotal moments of each crew of my dream location was standing right in front of me. Not only now, though, would I be just a little pop up in the front of the store. And what initially I thought was my small commitment. Now I was standing in front of me of opening a full storefront, taking on the full rent, the full overhead, having to create a build out once again, making sure there was dressing rooms and a front and a back because we just do so much from restocking, restocking all day long. So we really need a big back space. We also had no warehouse at the time. So those back rooms again, like in Ocean City as our flagship stores were super crucial to us as a brand. We really needed the space for our inventory being very tangible. So, you know, again, it just became this big moment of, do I want to stay in Charleston and Sullivan's? Do I want to stick this out? Really having, you know, those check ins with myself of what is this all about for me? What am I chasing after? Am I able to make this big commitment that I can't necessarily prove or maybe be successful? Like, do I have the funds, the resources, all of it? All of those questions flooded my mind, and all I could remember in those moments were the people who had already showed up to the Charleston pop up. The way I knew that with more marketing and more posting and just more community based events, really connecting with the community that was already there and so incredible. And also just the natural foot traffic of tourists. I started talking to the local businesses, hey guys, what's the foot traffic like? What should I expect? I was just like, you know what this is a dream of mine, and I really can hope and pray and believe that it will work out. I hope all of this happened for a reason for me to be in here. But let's, you know, just dive in and figure it out. So that's what I did. I went back to the same office, sign the lease again, fully for myself this time, and Beachkrew and I brought my cousin and, you know, my other employee, Leah. So Meredith and Leah were coming down and we got them an Airbnb in Charleston for the month of January. And the three of us, just fully got after renovating this space and hiring some subcontractors to come in and help, you know, hang Paul's on the wall or again, build that dressing room, retail design for us. And it's kind of nice because now I know. Okay. And every store like this is what I need. So I'm definitely learning as I grow and I've, connect with this one brand that I love. They have an outlet store down in Bluffton, so I always drive down there before I open a stores and try to shop this, like, discounted furniture. That's really nice. So yeah, just like doing what I can to make it happen. I didn't need the nicest, you know, a furniture full price. I didn't need, ten people on my team. It was just like, I'm, you know, full time at this. I know I'm going to throw myself all in. I know that I can call on the support and lean on the people that I do have, so let's just do it. So I made and designed a whole like Sullivan's collection and worked with, a young girl who was really good at designing. And I would tell her what I was trying to put together, and she would help me put some designs together that I could do it myself. And, yeah, we launched our first Sullivan's collection and put together a little influencer event. And really, again, like everything that we knew to do, we just wanted to do it bigger and better and a little bit more planned and organized each time. So it was fun to look back on the different openings and be like, okay, that stuff like, could have been better. That could have been more organized. Maybe we should have had more, you know, gifts for the customers or different things. But I'm just learning as I go. Always, you know, taking screenshots of different things that I see or collecting information. I hopefully always do it better. But again, just being able to kind of just jump in or something to add in that perfectionism, you really have to figure that of, all right, this is good enough for right now. It's great. And again, just knowing that when the scaling comes and when you're able to kind of dive into, you know, hopefully growing your company, you're able to make those, you know, times to really invest in making things better. But yeah. So Sullivan, thankfully, we had an awesome grant opening weekend. I'll never forget. We didn't lock the door. We had, you know, advertised a 10 a.m. grand opening. We didn't lock the door, and we were kind of sitting there, so getting ready and tidying things up, and I think it was like 940 and I started to see a couple people stroll in and they're like, can we come in? And we're like, yeah, come in. And then the other people came, and then the other people came and more people came,

and all of a sudden it was 10:

00 and our shop was already full. And thankfully, you know, my parents were there and my two employees who are literally family and really good friends that I've grown up with, like it was just such this proud moment of knowing that not everything was perfect, knowing that the story wasn't perfect, the design, the layout, how we got there and that we were all there, just kind of able to like, soak in the moment together and to see that people were going to show up. And, you know, those little moments of like, oh my gosh, like, is this going to work? It's so encouraging. You know, and then and then things happen. So it's always like the beginning, you know, that hopefully you have those moments too, of like, it doesn't have to be grand and big, but just like those little small things of knowing that people will show up and knowing you have built a community and you can, you know, really pat yourself on the back for that and then just, you know, creating the less of what can get better. So, yeah, I'm trying to think, I mean, we were in Sullivan's and again, just really seeing that I could take Beachkrew now that first leap of like, okay, we're in a smoothie shop. And then it was a second leap of, okay, you know, we're in this flagship store and we are filling it to the brim with inventory. We are selling out really quickly of things and just kind of, again, proving that little confidence decision after decision. And then it was the Charleston pop up downtown. And then, you know, going to Sullivan's and seeing how all that happened and people are showing up there, you just start to build these confidence that really starts to outweigh the anxiety, the panic attacks that definitely happened, you know, leading up to that grand opening, the fear of failure that I had a conversation about this recently where I think failure is such an interesting thing because it really takes away so much joy and so much faith and belief that you can have in something where, you know, sitting here today, I'm walking into two new store openings this summer, and it's almost like that fear of failure is what causes all these things in my body or in my brain. But, it's really I have to remind myself that that's just going to steal again. So much of that joy and that excitement that I want myself to be able to have and to, you know, have the moments where everything's really piling up and getting stressful and everybody need something from me, and I'm getting all the text and some things, you know, not working out right, or this person is doing a great job. And also being able to stop, pause, reflect. I encourage you to do this and be like, look at how far you've come. I don't care if you are ten years in your business, three years, you know, for like me or you're just starting one, the fact that you're at where you're at and if you're still listening to this podcast, I you really have to believe that, you know, you're a high achiever and you go getter and you want to do something, bigger and, and, you know, do more with your life. You're going to have to, you know, have those switches where it's like, I'm not ready to I might not be, but I'm made for this. I can do this. Or what if I fail? Okay, but what if it works out? It's all those quick little things. And again, I'm just so like, I could go hours and hours of conversation talking about those mindset shifts. Because even with my friends and different things that are going through, I see it time and time again. It really is like no matter what you're going through, you have a decision to make of that pain and that struggle and the uphill battle is going to be for a purpose. Or if you're going to kind of just let it continue to eat at you and wear you down. And I just encourage you today to to take those moments right down on two sides of a paper, everything that's going wrong and, you know, everything that can now go right because of it, or the story that you've been telling yourself. And on the other side of the paper, write down, you know, affirmations why those won't be your stories that you tell yourself anymore. Actually, I did that recently. It was really interesting. So all the stories I tell myself. But again, I think as I'm walking into this season of so, so much fear and so much uncertainty, if I can continue to grow and scale, I have to continue to look back, really to just have any confidence to move forward in a good way of. All right. You know, I know this is what works. So let's just keep doing it and doing it better. And, you know, not comparing and and looking back to myself or other people's journeys or whatnot all too much. But yeah. So then I'm like, you know, opening Sullivan's, we're in Sullivan's, and then we're in Ocean City as well. So I have these two storefronts again, 12 hours apart. They're both rockin and operating and hiring managers and staff and and really figuring out what that would look like. I have to be honest, I think I started to kind of go in my shell at that point over the past year, I think I was just so overwhelmed by my own decisions, by my own risks, my tolerance level was very high. I guess I know I'm a real go getter, but I'm just human at the end of the day, and there's been a lot of things that really just pile up. And I'm so thankful for the team that I've had and the things they've been able to take off my plate or even just do on their own. But there's so many things that I still was trying to take on myself, and it ended up with, you know, for the past really year or two years, I've just had to spend like ten, 15, 20 hours a day on my laptop because that's where all the websites, the product design, the communication, the social media, like all of the planning and the operating really goes on on my laptop. And then I wasn't really able to to be in the stores. And, you know, I've had this story in my head, a little bit of when I walk into a store that I would love to be in, I'm so excited, and I walk in and I just see the things that, like, I haven't done well enough or I didn't order enough of, and I'm trying to, you know, tell myself, obviously those are good problems to have, but to just be able to, again, kind of have that moment in life of the balance on the, you know, balance beam or the seesaw or whatever of of taking those moments to say, okay, I need to get better at this. But also I have done this well. And and really being able to kind of live in, you know, the middle of the to somewhere, but yeah. So that summer again was just so awesome and it was really cool to see, like what types of products people were loving and buying and Sullivan's and a very hot, you know, more year round environment versus in Ocean City, where is again, maybe more of that nostalgia and overall just that summer mentality mindset and a lot of cooler nights that maybe don't have been down in South Carolina. So as a creative director and the designer, again, it's been cool because there's been some pieces that I just realized I wasn't able to bring in and have really, you know, expanded into a lot of manufacturing over the past, you know, a couple of years now and a lot of lessons and up and downs with that. Oh my goodness, that we can definitely get into. But again, just kind of learning each store has its own vibe, its own, you know, style and and really able to tap into, again, what are people asking for? What do people want to see more of? Don't try to reinvent the wheel all the time. To you know, like that is the greatest feedback you can get is from your customers. So really plugging into them is so important and I've learned so much from them. And that is another thing. Again, why besides just the conversations that I have with people in the stores of where they're from or their beach town or what product they love the most, that's really cool. And we encourage the girls to write it down and report to us to our HQ team, especially to me of like, hey, they really liked this blue hat or everyone's asking for, you know, this white one back. That's what's really fun about the retail environments too. So, so yeah, just again, another, you know, summer of of really figuring all of this out and, and going through all the ins and outs. And then I just kind of woke up one day and I realized that I just had this real pull to be kind of back plugged in up north. I think I had given, like, so much of myself up north and then so much of myself down here in Charleston, and we really were building a team down here at that point where I just knew, like the next phase, I think was ready up north for us and was excited to kind of see what, you know, doors. Hopefully I would open and the people that would come and to my life and the connections and understand what was next. So then that this past summer, now we're and you know, the year of 2024 and I have Sullivans and Ocean City going, I was connected with a girl who owns a cycle studio in Seattle and Avalon, which is really close to Ocean City. And meanwhile I had like always, I always go to Avalon. Really funny story about my parents actually met right across the street from where my Avalon location is now. So that's a really cool, full circle moment, just like for the family and for them. My mom was in Ocean City all the time. My dad was in Avalon and they got connected there and the rest is history. And here I am. But yeah, so that's really cool. And if you listen to one of my previous episodes, I also shared how I actually had a job at the Lululemon, which was two doors down from my store now as well. So that's just been so full circle and so crazy. I had that Lululemon job for a couple months when I was dropping out of college and starting my business, so to now be opening a storefront for this brand that I believed in, you know, so much when other people might have been like, she's crazy, or what is she doing? I just believed in that. And I know that it would become something if I just, you know, kept the intentions pure and and made it authentic. And people really understood that which meant the world to me and only made me, you know, want to preach that more and and dive more into that myself. And to keep pushing through all the pain and the failures, to get to that point. So it's been really, really cool to be opening and renovating that Avalon store and, and know that, you know, it is kind of a made it point for me. And maybe the first ones I'm allowing myself to actually like, accept and to understand is like, you will have those moments and you should and again, you should be able to celebrate in a circle moment for me with my story and knowing my parents met across the street years back. But yeah. So I again just felt like I knew almost that, like, you know, I needed to really plug in up north. And I met somebody, the cycle studio owner, who connected me with a realtor. So I would, like, go to Avalon all the time. I would go to the smoothie shop. That's right. Next to the storefront where we have now, and the Lululemon and the restaurant that's across the street, and got connected with this girl. And she gave me the contact of the, Avalon realtor because I was like, hey, you opened up a store there really quick. Do you mind, like, telling me who helped you with that? And, you know, so awesome. And she's like, yeah, this guy's great. So I called him, and what do you know? Basically, like, it felt like overnight. I think I had like three days to decide the location that I'm in now. Told you all the reasons why, but it's a dream location for sure to be in. It's really awesome spot was becoming available in October. So after the season, the woman who so sweet and adorable, in that store that was there decided to retire and close up shop. So again, I had this opportunity of do you want to go all in on this next dream and sign this lease? Or, you know, walk away and do something different? And I was just like, wow, we have a lot going on. This is the middle of the summer. And I, you know, I'm caught up in a lot of things going on personally and, you know, in the business and everything. But it was just, again, one of those, can I do this? Will I do this moments. And I was like, absolutely, you know, we've really figured so much out. I have a team growing of a lot of part time staff. One full time employee, like, I'll say her name a million times. She's been with me since the beginning, which is so cool. We grew up together in high school. So I'll definitely have a whole episode about growing a team and leading a team. It's been a really interesting and and cool journey. But yeah, so I was like, all right, and sign the lease for Avalon. So ironically, that was at the same time that we were going to a pop up in Nantucket. So earlier on, I just started a couple months back, I remember I was sitting in Sullivan's Island, and I was actually chatting with my friend who grew up at the Cape and went to Nantucket a few times and grew up in Boston area. And, she was working for me and her summer off from school. And we were just chatting and I was really saying how much I just love Cape Cod and loved Nantucket. All of you know that everything that it embodies, I feel like is so Beachkrew. So just like Charleston, it was really the same moment for me where I was like, I just need to get there, I need to do this, but how is it going to happen? And really just dreaming these big dreams silently or maybe out loud to a few people? But yeah, so I started messaging some different Nantucket businesses and being like, hey, do you guys allow any pop ups? We would love to come and and have a Nantucket pop up this summer. So I think I locked it in in June for July. So it was a very quick turnaround of, you know, designing and quick Nantucket collection planning all of that out, still operating everything else in the meantime. Onboarding some people and just training and so many things going on and had decided to go home, sign for Avalon, then travel to Nantucket and, just really that was like a complete surrender moment of so many surrender moments of really just having to trust God fully at that point of just being like I, you know, have no idea what all this is going to take. We've proven we can get this far. We've proven that, you know, just with a couple of us, we can really make a lot happen. So I can only imagine if we're growing. We could hire more people and just be able to, you know, grow that foundation because I think that's what always was kind of missing was that real foundation, the real standards that were set, the real understanding of what you're showing up, you know, to not only give the vibe to the customer, but what we expect you to do, you know, for our team and to be able to be plugged in as a team. So for all these sessions happening, it was like, all right, we'll walk into, you know, another store, but we really need to figure out, you know, how we're going to make this all work, because now it's just actually growing. And and I am choosing, you know, really to expand to the next location and do the next thing and just throw myself into these environments with the business and, and really just being so scrappy. I definitely have always been that way. So just diving into it. But yeah. So I knew, like once I got back from Nantucket and the summer was ending, I really needed to sit down and figure out, you know, who to hire and how to make the business sustainable long term. But for a while, it was just it was doing its thing. And and we were able to succeed off of that. And again, I think really just that authenticity and, showing the customer, you know, who we were and not just like always having to look perfect on social media, but being in person and really having those, again, like authentic connections with them. I think I can't thank my customers and my community enough. They've really given us the fuel that we've needed and we hope that we're giving them, you know, something really great in return to. So that's been my favorite part about deciding and and opening and operating these retail stores is just all those special moments that really do carry on everything to where it's been. We would be nothing without the Beachkrew, that is for sure. But yeah, so I guess I'll talk about too. Like we were in Nantucket and I just was so absolutely, absolutely thankful and so happy to be on Nantucket. It is really just such an incredible world of its own, and being there and being in an environment like that again, just like Charles and just like Avalon, the shore, Ocean City, all of it. Like they just embody these spirits and just this sense of belonging, you know, come as you are, just get involved and and put yourself out there and explore the world that's so beautiful around you. I just love that. And again, just embodied the brand so well. So I knew that with a following that we had kind of built in New England, naturally, and with a couple of giveaways that I did with a company there. I heard a lot of people wanted us to get there, and it was my dream. So I was like, all right, let's do it. So we got to the pop up. And I do have to say, it was a lot of I finally learned how to like, boost ads on Instagram and stuff. So, you know, I had a little bit of money that we were able to put into boosting. And I'll never forget. I mean, it did well. And I think when you, you know, boost and it's doing well and people are coming to it, then it keeps going naturally. And we just targeted this one ad towards Nantucket and telling them that we were going to be there for the weekend. And we had this really cute outdoor space. And people just started coming. And it was a Saturday and Sunday event. You know, it was just such a classic, like beach cruise scene where people are coming and either they knew about us or they didn't. They were foot traffic based. They had no idea. Or they came just for us. But, you know, we had those same moments of, we saw your ad, we saw you on TikTok, we saw you on Instagram. We had to come. And, you know, I just would I love, like knowing more about that of like, well, what brought you here? You know, like, how are you? Where are you from? Tell me your story. Because again, it just helps me design and create and scale the business when I really understand what their needs are as a customer too. So that's why I just love being in person so much and exploring these new areas and new clientele and just the vibes that go with each location. But I will say we really crushed it at that pop up and had, you know, so much fun doing it. And it started like down pouring rain and we moved everything inside and people were still coming inside from the moment we opened to closed. And it was just really cool moment for me of Charleston, really. And Sullivan's really prove something to me about the brand of being able to scale it along the East Coast and not having to be from, you know, the town to actually dive into it and just kind of taking that leap. But then it was also happening in Nantucket that weekend, too, of like, oh my gosh. Like, you know, I think we really have something here. So, you know, we've been renovating Avalon this fall and now it's March of 2025. And I just started kind of putting some feelers out there with some realtors on the Cape and in Nantucket. And you know what? I you know, I there was one space that was available. So I took a solo trip there myself, probably a month ago, and just had this feeling like, I have so much peace about this decision, even though it scares the heck out of me. I know with the team that I've onboarded lately, the help that I do have now, the people who are so bought in and committed and you know the little success that we did have that weekend, giving myself these reasons of all the reasons why it could work, and also understanding again, like fully being prepared almost to accept defeat and failure if it happens and making sure that, you know, we are setting ourselves up for success. But you can't guarantee anything in life. And you know, there's always those days where it downpours and things, you know, don't go as planned. But I think that's what's cool. It's like, all right, move inside or okay, like, you know, this big catastrophe happens. Well, thank God, because, you know, maybe we couldn't work with that one factory. So now we're going to find a better one. Like, there's been so many things along this past couple months, even honestly, that have happened. And I always find myself a little bit in this moment of, like, Carla, you have to decide how to think about this, how to feel about this, accept feedback, accept failure, accept, you know, disappointment in a way where it's only going to shape you to get better. Because I think we all can think of times in our lives and, you know, I've failed personally so many times, and I love that. That's the reason that I want to sit here, is to kind of talk you through that and hopefully, you know, again, relate to areas of your business or your life that you're in today. But yeah, I know I want to like, you know, expose anything that's gone wrong, and always will be trying to think of ways I can talk about it. But I think what is cool is, you know, I can think in sports or probably in different stories that I've heard in your life. It's fine. What's working? Do it well and continue to build, you know, and sustain a foundation that can be revolved around that. I think that's what's important is everyone's trying to find their needs. Sure, the problem that they're solving or what works for them, but sometimes you get so caught up in what you should or shouldn't be that you're not just following the path that you want. And I think that for me, I've always loved loungewear. I've always loved big, oversize sweatshirts. I've loved, you know, moments where I feel like I'm put together and stylish, but I'm also super comfortable. So I've always loved community and and really bringing people together. And I absolutely love the beach. I've, you know, been that girl who wants to go up on the boardwalk, even and, like, buy a sweatshirt that I'll have forever. But I always was like, well, this sweater, it's not very high quality and I'm not going to have that for a long time. So just like so many different pinpoints in my life where I was like, this is something that I think really needs to like, I could do something here. And I think that if you're looking for your niche or you know you want to open up a store, start to kind of write down or pinpoint those moments of like, what in your life has worked? Where are you passionate about being? Or you know, what's sustainable and what's not? And something I will say as well that I've learned through, honestly, a business coach that I have to is sometimes leveling up. It's always about level up, level up, but sometimes it's like this side to side growth or even growth that feels like downwards of just like planning that foundation. I think that's a lesson that I've learned is sometimes you can get so caught up, you know, the fridge broke or the Wi-Fi is not working, the POS reader won't work. You know, the customer found this hole in their sweatshirt or whatever it is, like there's always gonna be so many little and big things. Like I said, having to change factories last minute, all my orders being super delayed. Like, there's a lot of things, that do truly, you know, go right and wrong. And I think just being able to again find your niche, find what works for you and understand how to just start the baby steps. The again, like takes no talent mentality. Is really, really, really and crucial. I want to encourage you just to keep, you know, showing up, to keep putting yourself out there, to keep making those connections and understanding that failure definitely isn't final. I think failure and those hardest times of your life, if you can frame your mindset to be like this, like stop in those moments where you're having the anxiety you're having, you know, the moments of just wanting to throw in the towel and being like, I felt this way before and you know, I didn't die and this didn't all go up in flames. And I can get through this and start to see that without those really tough moments, you're not building character. You're not building the business that you want. You're not building those relationships that you wouldn't have had otherwise. Like, for me, I sometimes just get excited when I even see, you know, myself or friends. And we're in this conversations where they're going through something hard and I'm like, hey, like, this is the moment where you can change everything. And it really starts with that mindset shift to know that you're not a failure. You've you've truly never failed. I, I think that's such a hard word because it's like, you know, accepting failure, accepting the feedback. But again, like understanding that failure is such a word that has a bad, you know, thing around it, but it's also just a sign that like, you're trying, you're doing this, you're getting after it. And I just want to say, if you have failed in small or big ways, or if you're on this success where you're like, things are working out, we're rolling with this, like failures coming, you know, there's going to be little things. But just like, congratulations, you're moving on to something. You're going through something that is going to get you better. And I believe that, you know, you'll use this adversity to see the light at the end of the tunnel and then hopefully, like this podcast for me, I want to be able to use all the things that have gone right and wrong that I have gotten through to now, hopefully equip you guys or inspire you guys, and I hope that you can have that same mindset as well of maybe, you know, somebody will stumble in your path one day that you can inspire who's going through something similar to you, and you can have those conversations knowing you made it, knowing you decided to keep showing up for yourself and just be able to look back, and see everything kind of working out in your favor. You know, if you just continue to, to show up and stand up, and believe in everything that you're building, that's really important to know that people aren't always going to believe or see. But you have to and, I believe that you will because you're here listening to this podcast. And again, you probably want more out of your life and just want to do something really great. So thanks for listening to this one. I hope I was able to walk you kind of through what led from one store to the other. And again, I'm so excited to keep this conversation rolling with you guys right.