We recently connected with Sara Jo Poynter and have shared our conversation below.

Sara Jo, appreciate you joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

First and foremost, I want people to remember me as one who loved the Lord. It is because of His grace and mercy that I am even still here. The legacy I want to leave behind is go for what you want. If you believe it then you can achieve it. I am my own boss, I choose my destiny. I make my own rules. If I don’t enjoy what I am doing then I jump ship. I want people to remember me as funny, a hustler, a go getter, a not scared to try anything. Anything is a possibility if you work for it. Be nice to everyone because it is NOT what you know but who you know in so many aspects of life. Do not be scared to try. If you do not believe in you then why should anyone else. I want to be known as honest, fair, trustworthy and one with great work ethics. My glass is half full always!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I owned a boutique for 10 years that I sold one year ago today. I started it with $300 and a trip to Dallas Market. I kept rolling it and rolling it and I went from a Kia Sorento and a home office space to a 20 foot custom trailer to travelling every weekend and being in as many as 6 stores at one time while also doing heavy volume online sales and weekly pop ups. I am an athlete by talent and I learned discipline many moons ago. Motivation has an expiration-discipline is what keeps you afloat after the motivation wears off. I was solo. Running all of my own social media, shows, finances, ordering, pricing, tagging, modeling, shipping, selling, hauling and setting up. I worked all of the time but I loved it. I felt as though I never had competition because I am one that wants everyone to win. I would collaborate with store owners for special events, and open houses and pop ups. I was always me with my ads, my style, my attitude. I HATED when someone would ask me what I thought. Ex. How does this top look on me? I would say I think it looks like I want the sale BUT if you have to ask me then that means that you don’t love it-so take it off and try something else. I am not concerned with others opinions. If I like it I am wearing it, doing it, buying it and going for it. I was never a sales person. I showed up and we had a FUN time. I made so many friends and we were always laughing. I was really interested in my clients lives. My shoppers became my friends way quicker than my friends became my shoppers. If I tell you that I will do something you have my word that it will get done. If I borrow 25cents from you you bet that it will be paid back. I expect/expected the same in return. I had to teach a lot of people this lesson but it was so worth it for my well being:) I am the oldest of 4 so I do have lots of experience with leadership skills. I have an entrepeneural mindset if it is to be it is up to me. I found a way to make things happen, and if at first I didn’t succeed then I would try something else. If something didn’t sell well then I would re-do the pairing of accessories or wear it differently to attract a new eye. My personality is what set me apart. You would never see me on my phone and just sitting- I worked. I never had a show that didn’t pay off in some way. It might not have made a great deal of money but maybe I learned about a new vendor or venue or met someone I could collaborate with .

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My attitude, my personality, my hustle. The show host/store owners KNEW I was a woman of my word. I got to my spots on time, my area was set up in a timely manner. I was neat and organized. I communicated and I BLEW out social media. Every store I was in and every show that did no matter the size I advertised like it was my VERY own. My friends and regulars would travel hours away just to come to a show I was in because they knew that I had a reputation and a following. My peers would often say how do you do all of this on your own? I don’t stop when I am tired I stop when I am finished. I would get the show host to mail me fliers for my upcoming shows and I would advertise at the show I was in for upcoming dates/events. I had a huge list of contacts from each city where I would tag them when I was coming to their city. I made contact email list by city as well. I would do giveaways for sharing. Word of mouth is ALWAYS your best advertisement and it is free:) Be involved in your community, your church, your schools, helping others always makes you feel good and you get to know a lot of people outside of your normal circle.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

I sold my boutique one year ago today. I can tell you to keep up with everything from day one. Keep good records. Pay your bills and taxes on time. Be detailed from the get go or as soon as you can. Get your systems in order and follow them. I had to be able to account for everything and show proof of everything. You can’t just say oh yeah I made this much or I do this you have to be able to show proof. Your social media has to have a following. Your potential buyer has to see value in what you are selling. Make notes on how you do certain things steps by step, so that you don’t have to go back. Take lots of pics of you with your business b/c after it sells you will one day want to look back and remember:)

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