She Started a Boutique While Teaching Full-Time: Angela Merrihew of Majestic Threads Co.

What happens when you're a full-time teacher, a mom of twins... and decide to launch a clothing boutique anyway?

In this episode, I sit down with Angela, founder of Majestic Threads Co., to talk about what it's really like to build a business in the middle of a very full life. In less than a year, she's gone from online sales and pop-up events to launching her own mobile boutique—and she's done it one step at a time.

Along the way, we talk about:

•  Why Angela considers her ADHD an entrepreneurial superpower 
•  How she balances teaching, motherhood, and growing a business 
•  Why listening to her customers has shaped every step of her boutique 
•  The excitement (and risk!) of buying inventory months before the seasons change 
•  The power of community over competition 
•  The meaningful story behind the name Majestic Threads Co.
•  And more!

One of the best moments is hearing how Angela honors her dad's legacy through her business, while building something her own children can one day look back on with pride.

If you've been waiting for the "right" time to start something, I hope this conversation reminds you that sometimes the next small step is all you need.

Connect with Angel & Majestic Threads Co:

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Visit their website.

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Credits:

Editing: Greg Herman

Music: “Corporate Inspiration” track - by Oleksandr Savochka at Pixabay

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Every single time I place an order, I'm playing roulette. I'm gambling. I have no idea if it's truly gonna land with a customer or not.

Speaker 0:08

Hi everyone, and welcome to Highlight Her. Before we get into the episode, I invite you to hit that follow button. It helps the show get delivered into your feed and is a free way to support the podcast. Today's featured guest is Angela Merrihew from Flat Rock, Michigan in the United States. I met Angela at an event held by one of our recent guests, Lisa of Posh Nail Studio. Angela was easy to talk to and had a lovely mini boutique set up in a small side room. I'm excited to learn more about her journey and her hopes for the future. Let's get started and add her to the highlight her circle of season two. Hi, Angela. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to learn more about your boutique and your journey, but I do have a couple of unusual questions that I like to ask first. I love unusual. Let's go for it. All right. First, what do you think is your superpower as an entrepreneur? My ADHD.

Speaker 1 1:00

That's undefined. Tell us more. Um, I've always been somebody who has a thousand tabs open and I just work better as a human who has a thousand tabs open. It's just, it's who I am. It's where I thrive and it works for me.

Speaker 1:13

I love that. And I think as listeners hear your story, they'll understand why a little bit more. Absolutely. And then um, have you recently had a moment where you thought, this is why I do this?

Speaker 1 1:24

Every single time I do an event, it reinvents itself every time I do an event, every time I meet somebody, and my customer base is so large. That's why I do this. This is why I do that. So every event. Are there interactions that come to mind? I was just at an event last weekend where a mother-daughter were shopping, and I have a lot of mother-daughters that tend to shop. And it's really fun to watch mother-daughters shop together. Me being a daughter and my mom and I being shopaholics shopping. And you know, when you're a kid and you're shopping with your mom, your mom is in the dressing room helping you. But I have created this boutique where mothers and daughters can shop together so they can both find something. And so it's fun to watch that.

Speaker 2:03

That sounds interesting. I wonder if the if the um if there's been a little bit of flip of rules where in your boutique they can both find things for each other and the daughter can help the mom a little bit.

Speaker 1 2:14

Yes, that's exactly what it is. I had a I had a mother-daughter last weekend where the daughter was trying on something for a concert and the mom's going to the concert too, and she was able to find something. Mom, this is so cute. This is totally you, you know. And of course, the mom's the one who is always like, Oh, I'll buy that for you. It's really it's really fun to watch.

Speaker 2:31

Awesome. So let's go back to the beginning. You mentioned in your bio that you've been teaching for 17 years. We actually have that in common. I don't remember if I told you that or not when we first met, but I also taught elementary school in a former life. And that takes a lot of work. It does. And then you're also a mom to young twins. I am. And that takes a lot of work. Yes. And I think you might have already answered my question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. What made you think, hey, why don't I start a clothing boutique in my spare time?

Speaker 1 3:00

Well, it's something they've always wanted to do. Uh, it's something that we've talked about. My husband and I have talked about for many, many years. I'm just an entrepreneur by heart. And people have always come come to me for fashion. I remember in my early 20s, you know, when we would go out, my girlfriends and I, everyone shopped my closet. They would come in, wear my pieces that I had purchased. And then from there, as I became a teacher, people were like, Oh, send me the link. Where did you get that? Where did you get that? And it was just a no-brainer. My husband is really my husband who was very much like, Are we doing this? You know, like this, what what are you doing here? You know, and so he really pushed me into the boutique space.

Speaker 3:35

That's so fun. Yeah. And how long have you been open? Since September, actually. So September. So only nine months? Yes. Wow. That makes me even more proud of you.

Speaker 1 3:47

You seem very established. It's been uh, you know, it's been something that I hit the gas pedal on, and I've been so fortunate that I've created a space for women to follow along and keep back and they know the quality of what they're getting. They know that I can help style them. And I think that it really does help that I have been someone that people have trusted in that space, you know, in general. And just I think that people have just really, you know, I've been very fortunate and I'm so thankful for every customer that has shopped or shown up. Um, because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be growing this quickly.

Speaker 4:21

So take us back to September. What did your first month look like?

Speaker 1 4:24

So September is when I officially opened and like launched on social media. But in August is kind of when, you know, I did like the behind the scenes, the the filing of the of all the things, the paperwork, the sales tax, the making sure my CPA and everything was on board. But then September, October, November was pretty much me just kind of navigating what is this going to look like? What do online sales look like? Because that was the first space. And I knew that I needed to get, I needed to do a pop-up. I knew I needed to get somewhere where people could feel the clothes, see the clothes, touch the clothes, try them on. And so that was my big, my big push was where can I pop up at? And so I started looking for events in the downriver area because there's no greater place than the place I'm from. And so I started looking for events in the downriver area, and I saw that somebody was looking for a vendor. Uh, it was actually a knock on wood uh in wine dots. Okay. And uh she did a vendor event, like the holiday event, and I did a pop-up there, and that was my first one, and it just spiraled from there. Exciting. Yeah. No, that those first two months, it was just kind of navigating what it looks like. People, you know, kind of like what is she doing? You know, trying to build that curiosity on social media and go from there. How do you decide what to take to your pop-up? Uh, so at first it was just what I had, and um everything is very small and curated. And so it was just that first couple orders I did was very much based on what I liked. And it was the holiday season, so that did help because people are looking for certain things, you know. Uh, it was Halloween and then Christmas. And so I knew I could stay within color palettes that made sense. Um, I'm always looking for something that's you can wear beyond the holiday, but I mean it's it is difficult with Christmas time, and that's just kind of where I started. What it was first, it was what I liked, and then it was kind of things in my stories on social media what people liked, so they would vote on things, just kind of evolved from there.

Speaker 6:12

I like the idea of inviting your audience into your business and letting them vote on things. What kinds of things have they voted on for you?

Speaker 1 6:20

Dresses, denim, graphic tees. You know, like I'll ask people things like I've asked, like, do you want me to bring in athleisure? Are you looking for more like niche things? So just kind of seeing which direction, you know, because this is all about my customers. So I'm gonna get up every day and dress my body with something that's from the boutique, but to ensure that I'm meeting my customers' needs and what they're looking for from a boutique is always my number one priority.

Speaker 6:44

So we talked about inviting your customers in. Have you gotten a lot of referrals, like word of mouth?

Speaker 1 6:50

Um, I think right now I live in a in a space of like my friends and then their friends, uh, especially at events. So, like my girlfriend will bring a friend with her, and then that friend becomes a loyal customer.

Speaker 7:03

So, have there been any challenges in those nine months that you had learning curves or something that you weren't sure about that you had to figure out and work through? Every day.

Speaker 1 7:12

This is a very fast-paced space to be in. Clothes are ever changing, styles are ever changing, uh, people's needs are changing, people's bodies are changing. And so every single day I'm learning a better way to dress myself to help women dress themselves. It's nonstop. Ordering, I think that's one of the biggest things for me is that every single time I place an order, I'm playing lulat, I'm gambling. I have no idea if it's truly gonna land with a customer or not. You know, sometimes I flop and sometimes I hit the nail on the head. And so that's a that's a big good thing I like to do. Yeah, it sounds a little scary. It is, yeah, because you know, essentially taking my own money to start a business and and making sure that I can be successful at it because you know, I have little kids and so I'm taking a gamble for them and I'm taking a gamble and everything.

Speaker 7:58

Do you ever hope to merge into being solely an entrepreneur? Or is or is this something you're gonna ride through retirement and then focus solely on?

Speaker 1 8:09

I don't know. Uh that's the conversation that my husband and I have all the time. What direction is this gonna go? And I I truly don't know. Um, we went from doing little pop-ups to nine months later having a mobile boutique that we have, you know, turning the trailer into something. I didn't see that happening until a couple months down the road. People are like, oh, I think you're gonna have a brick and mortar. And I'm like, I don't know if I want to be tied to that. I don't know. My kids are little, you know, and family will always come first. And so if it lends the opportunity that it provides more time with my family, then absolutely. If it doesn't, then I pivot and I go from there. So right now I'm I would say I'm going on vibes. I love that.

Speaker 8:47

So you mentioned your trailer, and I've been really excited for you watching that develop. Can you tell us where that idea came from? Yeah, and tell the audience a little bit more about what it's gonna be.

Speaker 1 8:59

Yeah, absolutely. So just being in the vendor space and doing events and every event I've done have gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger in the boutique world. There are boutiques that do create like a cargo trailer into a mobile shopping experience. And so there's a very slim amount in our area, but like nationwide can see, you know, as I follow boutiques and things, I see their progression. And so it was like, I can do that. My husband and I are campers, we have a 40-foot fifth wheel, so towing an 18-foot trailer doesn't seem, you know, doesn't seem difficult for us. You know, it's intimidating for a lot of people, especially women, to pull and tow a trailer. And I'm not intimidated by that. And so my husband and I, you know, we've talked and we just thought that that made the most sense because the day and age where we live right now, everyone wants instant gratification. You want to be able to go on on a big box website, name that name, and then it shows up at your door the next right. Uh, and so I can create that in the moment for people and go to my customer versus my customer having to come to me uh somewhere right now. And I think that that allows for people to, you know, to shop. I can be in an event that they're already planning on going and they can kind of do two things at one time. And that's kind of the idea of the mobile space is being able to meet my customers' needs, but also, you know, meet the needs that that the boutique needs right now, which is people is it finished yet? I don't remember. Almost. It is almost finished. We've taken like the last week off. We've just had a lot of things with me being a teacher at the end of the school year, and my goal is I'll launch it in the next week to two weeks. So I'm really excited about that.

Speaker 10:37

So this will actually go live after your trailer has launched. Yes. Do you want to talk about what you have in mind for your soft launch or do you want to keep it a surprise?

Speaker 1 10:47

Yeah, so essentially it's gonna be based on weather. It's gonna be more of like grand opening. Here we are. This is what we're doing. It's happening tomorrow. Um, it's just gonna be essentially based, you know, whatever day it is, it's gonna be based on weather because I want to make sure that the first day that we take it out, it's gonna be a nice sunny day. Uh, I want to be able to have people come and shop. I don't want to have the weather uh going against me because that is something I have dealt with. That's been a major pivot for me all season is the weather. So I'm gonna I'm going on vibes on that one too. Yeah, but by July, fully by July, the beginning of July, we will be fully mobile in the booty in the trailer. So we won't be doing very rarely will we doing any events with a with a pop-up tent anymore. So I'm excited.

Speaker 11:33

So people need to follow you on Facebook and Instagram to be able to know where your trailer is going to be. Yes, they will. All right. And I was poking around your link tree, and I think our listeners might want to go over there. Do you want to give your link tree a shout out? And then I'm gonna tell them why to go over there.

Speaker 1 11:49

Yeah, so you'll find my link tree in my bio on both my Facebook and my Instagram. I use the Linktree as a one-stop shop for everything that you can find. On my Linktree, you will find the connection to my Facebook, my Instagram, my TikTok, my Pinterest, and then my events are on there. My website is on there, and the the Linktree is at is at Majestic Threads Co. So it is the name of the company. There's no underscores or anything, it's just Majestic Threads Co. That's something that I did when I knew I was going to launch the boutique, is I ensured that before I did anything that I could solidify the name on all inst on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, everything that it was cohesive when I filed my LLC. So I didn't because sometimes when you get on those websites, you have to change something, but everything is pretty cool all the way through.

Speaker 12:34

When our audience goes to Majestic Reds Co. on Linktree, they're going to find at the very top, enter a giveaway. And it enters them into a gift card giveaway and I'm assuming adds them to your newsletter.

Speaker 1 12:48

Which I I currently do not have a newsletter that I am doing just because being a teacher, you know. Um, but at over time, that's the plan is to be able to send out uh like an email list. And that is exactly what it is. It allows me to get the information out to them, uh, events, event changes. Maybe if there's a weather cancellation, maybe there's a sale, maybe there is whatever it may be. It will connect people to that.

Speaker 13:11

I love that. So they can get on the wait list then by entering that giveaway.

Speaker 1 13:16

Yep. So the the what that does is the giveaway is once a month based on the events I have. I go back in and I do a drawing for somebody who I've met at an event, and you can go in and put the event in of where I met you. And then I go back through and I post it on my Instagram in my stories, and I tag them in it, and then they receive a $50 gift ticket from me to show that is super savvy on your part for so many reasons.

Speaker 13:40

You're you're building connection with them. I'm sure you talked with them at the event. So it's like sparking a remembrance for them. And oh yeah, I had so much fun with her. And oh my god, I won. And then also you get to use that on your social and look, look at the fun that we're having over here. And then it's smart that you're building that list so that when you have the time to connect and make a newsletter, you already have all these people that want to know where you are. Yes.

Speaker 1 14:09

And I and the the most important thing is I don't ever want to send or spam somebody something if they don't want it. And so it allows them to do that on their terms, and that's really important. Super smart on your behalf.

Speaker 14:21

Well, girl, you have a lot of good ideas and good thinking. Is there anything that you had to learn that didn't already come to you? You seem to have a lot of natural entrepreneurial skills. Is there anything that you had to learn?

Speaker 1 14:36

Patience to watch my business grow. Um, it's it's like one of those things, you know, as a as a parent, you know, people will always tell you the days are long, but the years are short. It's very much like that when it comes to watching your business grow. As that uh there are days where it just, I think to myself, like, am I gonna be able to do this? And then I wake up and nine months later, it we're we're already, we're already rounding a corner. And I'm thinking about, oh my goodness, I have a one-year anniversary of a business coming up, and what am I gonna do? You know? So it's very much the patience and the balance of that, balancing the scale.

Speaker 15:06

You mentioned the changing nature of clothing and seasons and body types, and even like as we gain and lose weight, depending on what season of life we're in and what we have going on. So, how far in advance do you watch what's coming? So you can decide what you would want for the boutique.

Speaker 1 15:23

Well, I got up at 6 30 this morning. Uh, I get up before my family every single day and I work the boutique in the pockets of my time being a teacher. My time is dedicated to my students from 8 30 to 3 30. So I do have to get up in the morning. And so, prime example this morning at 6 30, I was doing Christmas. I know, Christmas. I was already trying to figure out what direction we were going for Christmas. We are already into fall buying, and so I buy things now that won't even come till September, October. So I'm all it's it's a weird space to be in. I'm always three to four months ahead in my buying, but I'm still in a space where people are just starting to look for summer here. And so I'm also trying to fill the gaps with summer pieces that people need, but the ability to get some of those things are very, very difficult. You know, people will come to an event and they find a pair of pants. I can think of these pants, I have these blue and white striped pants that people love, and I have a yellow sweater that people love, and they want me to reorder it, but I can't because I purchased it in February and it came in April and they bought it right away. And so once it's sold out, it's sold out. And so it's it's that it's that really far in advance, but I also need to live right now.

Speaker 16:30

And you're also in the Midwest, so that adds an element of challenge as well because our weather fluctuates and like we were hot, I feel like we had a hot March and then we got cold again. So people aren't sure what to shop for, really, sometimes.

Speaker 1 16:45

Yeah, there's those big transitional pieces, like a space in the boutique that I struggled in was from December to March. I really struggled to figure out what to bring in for my customers because living here it's very cold, but we're also over the holidays. Nobody wants to see the plaid anymore. They don't want to see the silvers and the champagnes, they want to move into different colors. Well, the next color phase would be pinks and reds because we're moving into February, and that's Valentine's Day. But Valentine's Day is only one day, it's not a whole season like Christmas is. And then people go on spring break, and from February to March to April, people are on vacation. And so I have to try to, I had a really hard time trying to find a balance of what that transition looked like for women. So now I know moving into next year, what would be a better balance for people?

Speaker 17:32

So what did you find that helped you with those transitions?

Speaker 1 17:35

Yeah. So one of the things I didn't, I wasn't sure about was sweaters. I didn't know people still wanted sweaters. And there was a woman who said at a uh event I did in March, I'm always looking for a sweater for the office brighter and lighter for the you know spring and summer months because I have to wear a sweater because it's cold at my job. And I was like, sweaters, I always need to carry sweaters, whether it is July, whether it is April, but it's just what does the sweater look like and what's the material of the sweater? And that was a big eye-opener for me because I was over it. My customers are not. So, what sweater do you have for summer in your boutique? I have a couple of sweaters that are a little bit, I have some sweaters coming still too, um, that are more like brighter. Um, they're gonna be colors in the pastels. Actually, lime is a really popular color for summer lime and tomato. I know we're uh so just kind of you know meeting those needs of like lighter, brighter. I have a sweater um that I've had since February. No, I've had since December, sorry. Um, that's been a cream color that's been able to kind of resurface itself for the summertime. I can see that doing well throughout the year. So it's just knowing that, just knowing taking taking a sweater that people love and a style that people loved and bringing it in in a different color.

Speaker 18:52

You mentioned your one year anniversary coming up. Do you have ideas of what you want to do or are they still percolating?

Speaker 1 18:57

I decided to open a boutique at the busiest time of my life. September is the craziest, most that's so true.

Speaker 19:06

I didn't even catch that.

Speaker 1 19:07

And I decided that that would be a really, really good idea. And so um, I don't know. I haven't, you know, I haven't fully decided what that'll look like yet.

Speaker 19:15

Yeah, because you'll be doing back to school.

Speaker 1 19:17

Yeah, I no matter what, we'll always do an event in November, that Friday before Black Friday in the small business world, especially the boutique space. They call it a pink Friday. Um, and so I will absolutely be doing an event that day. I did one this year, this past year, even though I had been open for two months, I did it out of my home and invited guests in that I didn't even know. Um, and so I know that this year will be bigger and better. So I do know I have that on my on my docket, but who knows what September will bring.

Speaker 19:43

And you'll have your trailer.

Speaker 1 19:45

I will.

Speaker 19:45

Are you looking to take your trailer into a like a bigger radius outside of Downriver?

Speaker 1 19:51

Yeah, so I currently do. I mean, I've gone through I've been in Ohio. Um, I've done uh up into our Meta. So right now I'm kind of staying like within an hour, an hour and a half from where we are. I want to be able to make it a day trip. I don't ever want to take too much time away from my family because you know, like I do have two, two, three and a half year olds. And so if mom's away, someone has to be with them. So who is that someone? And so most of the time that someone is my husband. And you know, he works a full-time job too, and his kids are his life, and he will do anything for our family. But I also sometimes need him with me, depending on depending on the event and the workload of what I need. And so we it does help when the event is closer to home so that I can leave in the morning the day an event, or I set up the day before and we go as a family, the four of us, and the kids go. And then the next day I do the event, and then he comes with the kids to help me pack it up. So it's just kind of finding that that good balance. But the trailer will afford me the opportunity to do everything same day. I won't have to do things in two-day increments anymore. So keeping it close to home is a priority.

Speaker 20:51

I like that. As you're talking, I'm wondering, do you see any spots for your kids to work with you as they get older? Right now they're too little, but I'm imagining like even elementary school and junior high, high school as they get older. Do you think about that at all? I do.

Speaker 1 21:06

My biggest concern actually isn't about them working with me. It's how am I going to balance their life with the boutique? Because 95% of events are going to be on weekends. And how do I that is the one thing I always think about. How am I going to get them to dance class and figure skating and softball and soccer and baseball and hockey? If mom has to be gone on the weekends, how how are we going to do that? And so I know that there's going to be spaces where I'm not going to be able to be there. And, you know, the idea of that already is like it's a little heavy, but at the same time, if I'm building something for them, it you know, it will be what it is. So and I think that that I think that comes from me having a dad who owned it. My dad owned a small business. And so he worked every single day from sunup to sundown, but he never missed it. He never missed a figure skating competition, whether it was in Port Huron or you know, it was two, three hours away. Traverse he would drive there, watch my one minute figure skating program and then drive home and be back to his business. And so yeah. So who knows? I don't know what I don't know what it looks like, but I don't know what it looks like for them. I don't even want to take away from what I want them to be able to be capable of doing.

Speaker 22:15

So what are you most excited about for Majestic Threads Co. these days? Uh just the continuous building.

Speaker 1 22:22

You know, I'm really excited about the trailer. I'm really excited for people to have that experience. One of my biggest fears with that too was locking myself in a space where people coming into a trailer it didn't afford them the opportunity to move as freely. And so um it's like an excitement and a fear at the same time. So I'm trying to navigate that. But right now it is getting that getting that out and being able to do more events with more foot traffic to go to the visit.

Speaker 22:47

I'm excited to see the finished product.

Speaker 1 22:49

I can't wait yeah me too when we get off this and do this my husband gets to go out there and finish it.

Speaker 22:55

So in between all that we have yeah well let's get on to our lightning round are you ready? Right absolutely let's do it coffee or tea? Coffee. Early bird or night owl uh both. Uh that's what I was gonna guess. Is there a tool or app that helps you run your business? Chat GPT helps me. Is there a favorite way to unwind after a busy day? Uh yes scrolling aimlessly on social media.

Speaker 1 23:18

And then do you have another female entrepreneur that you'd like to highlight uh one of my uh really good friends that gone to her business Sarah who runs 24 Lux in FlatRock I think that she would probably be a woman that I think about quite often. Lux like L-U-X E? Yes in FlatRock she's the first one that pops up.

Speaker 23:36

Well Angela before we end our episode I was curious why did you come up with the name Majestic Threads Co.

Speaker 1 23:43

So it actually stems from my dad. So my dad owned a business called Majestic Screw Products Majestic Screw Products afforded me the opportunity to do anything I ever wanted as a child. So growing up as a figure skater that is not something that is light on the pocketbook and my parents never had to me and so if I ever wanted to do something I I was able to do it because of that business. And yeah so that it I couldn't name it Majestic screw products because that just wouldn't make sense. And I wanted to make sure that I had always told my husband that if I ever do anything since the day I met him that I wanted to make sure that that majestic piece was in there. My dad played hockey as well and so his hockey team was named after it was majestic screw products and he had his business and he uh was a horse guy and he my parents owned a farm as well I mean you know I grew up in Allen Park Allen Park Michigan and we had a 19 and a half acre farm we lived in Allen Park but we had property in New Boston that name just kind of moved itself through my my entire life and so it made sense for that to be a part of what I was creating. So my dad passed away in 2011 opportunity to keep that legacy going. Did he ever tell you why he chose Majestic I I'm sure it probably was a business that he purchased I have I you know I I think I would have to ask my mom that question um but I do think that that probably has something to do with it. I think that it was the business that he had kind of uh jumped into too when he moved here and my dad loved jeans it's all he ever wore were jeans he was a very simple man my dad was simple and so the threads piece I was always trying to figure out how do I put that in there for name purposes. It worked itself out perfectly because I like to call it MT Co a lot.

Speaker 25:29

And you get to carry your dad with you.

Speaker 1 25:31

Yes all the time I'm always like okay dad what like where where am I going with this? Yeah and I asked my mom questions like I actually when I was purchasing the trailer I was very torn on do I purchase the trailer and how do I purchase it and what's the best thing to do and just all those pieces and I was just like I just wish my dad was here and literally I had a dream that night. Oh I'm gonna start crying now.

Speaker 25:51

Well here that's a wonderful thing and then like you said you you're doing this for your kids and so that's an extra piece of the legacy that you're giving them that it's not just you it's started with your dad. Absolutely I cry very beautiful you don't have to ask that out it's totally okay. It's okay I um two two or three interviews ago the girl said something and it just I'm like oh my word you're making me cry and I could it's like oh it irony it was um Krista from Puppy Pooh Patrol she made me cry and that's not a business that you would think would make you cry right of course not but so you'll have to listen to the episode when it comes out because I'm not gonna let Greg edit that out either I said so anyway. So if someone wanted to start their own kind of hybrid business your online and your physical do you have one piece of advice that you would give them yes strap your boots on and go.

Speaker 1 26:47

Don't ever expect someone to show up don't ever expect people to just like automatically show up. You have to physically put yourself out there and I think a lot of people think that they can just start some online business and it's just gonna go viral that's not that is not how it's going to be so it's so important to get out there and and build a community.

Speaker 27:08

Community first always that keeps popping up in my interviews particularly with the downriver entrepreneurs that I've interviewed it feels unique because I haven't experienced it before. So maybe our audience if they're in a different space you know a different part of the world or the country and they also have a high community involvement when it comes to business they can comment and tell us where they're from and what they've experienced. I did not experience that growing up I don't know if it was just because I went to a private school and in uh junior high and high school and so that was kind of my world that kind of guided the world and we weren't really as much into community event type things or did you experience a lot of that growing up I mean I'm from downriver and so it's just I I mean I guess I just don't know anything different.

Speaker 1 27:57

You know it's uh it is truly the six degrees of separation when you live in a downriver area. You know people can say what they want you know people make jokes about downriver but there's truly a pride that comes from people from living here. If you grew up in Allen Park you you know someone from Taylor and Lincoln Park and why not and and all and grows it like there there isn't going to be some some city that you don't know someone from and so I think that builds that community you know and it's that big phrase I love that community over competition.

Speaker 28:30

Yes Emily of the therapy collective she mentioned that same phrase I think that another business to shout out is go talks.

Speaker 1 28:37

I think Chelsea yes Chelsea is uh phenomenal at that she um has built an incredible business and she is um somebody who opens her doors uh to other and then Sarah 24 like you know and in and Lisa and I you know knock on wood you know like Melissa there there's just there's so many I just love to see it especially from women and these are women owned businesses too and I love to see that you know it's a community over competition I love it.

Speaker 29:04

Me too well audience remember you can follow Angela on Facebook TikTok Pinterest Instagram if you want just all the things go to LinkTree Majestic Threads Co. And you will get the link to her website as well at that spot. So you can go shopping if you want or find out where to find her and her trailer because by the time this episode releases her trailer will be live and I'm so excited for her. I'll make sure to put all of that in the show notes. Speaking of show notes you can also find there the link to subscribe to the podcast newsletter so you can get each episode delivered Angela thank you very much for joining us today.

Speaker 1 29:41

No thank you you are building such a community within the within the community and you don't realize how much you show up for other businesses and I see it. I see it all over so yeah um so you are building something really great here and you know I love watching you do that too like you deserve that shout out as well because you you always show up for every business I see you liking and commenting and sharing things and if it wasn't for you doing that these businesses wouldn't be able to do what they're doing as well. So thank you.

Speaker 30:11

I appreciate that thank you very much I also really enjoyed our conversation today and audience thank you for listening today if you liked to know what we discuss after the episode ends you can head on over to After the highlight collection on Patreon