05/21/2026
Y'all this is just "raw" truth here of operating a small brick and mortar. We struggle every single day - trying to keep a fully stocked Storefront, adds up to a HUGE investment VERY quickly!
Oh the photo of all the orders… the one every boutique posts when they want you to believe they are absolutely KILLING IT. 👀
This isn’t one of those posts. And I’m sure I’ll get some hate for saying it, but I’m prepared for that. ✌🏻
First, I want to thank all my loyal customers. Y’all know who you are, and you’ve supported me through every season of this business. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. 🫶🏼
Now let’s talk about the REAL side of boutique life that nobody wants to hear.
All of these orders would have felt amazing… if they weren’t mostly marked down items. These orders came from a massive sale I had to run just to pull my investment back out of the inventory I stocked for the storefront.
This is what it looks like when an investment doesn’t work out the way you hoped.
Storefronts do not operate the same way online boutiques do. We physically invest in inventory, fixtures, rent, utilities, employees, packaging, displays… all before a single item sells. The product is already sitting there waiting to be purchased.
A lot of online boutiques can post a photo, collect your payment, then order the item afterwards and ship it once it arrives. I know because over the last 14 years, I’ve been BOTH.
This business has never been a hobby for me. This is how I feed my kids. My husband didn’t “buy this for me.” I’m not some bored housewife that decided owning a boutique sounded cute.
I built this business from the ground up with grit, sacrifice, long nights, risk, creativity, tears, and a whole lot of faith.
So when you see boutique owners posting giant stacks of orders, don’t automatically assume they’re thriving while you’re failing. Sometimes those stacks are survival. Sometimes they’re liquidation. Sometimes they’re someone trying to recover from a risk that didn’t go the way they planned.
And if you’re a small business owner sitting in that season right now… I see you, because I’ve sat in those shoes too.
If all of these orders would have come through at regular price, we would still have a store✌🏻
