Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Hirst. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I was contemplating what to do with my life and my degree as I recently graduated from University. I was working at a pub as General Manager and while my boss was great and gave me a lot of managerial freedom I knew I didn’t want to wear a kilt and sling pints for the rest of my days. I decided to get certified as a wedding planner. I took a course and had the idea that I would work in the high season and travel in the low. In theory, it was perfect. A friend of mine that also worked at the bar said she wanted to open a bridal store and I thought, PERFECT, we will find a place for your shop, I’ll meet with clients in it and we will have a business that feeds each others. We found a sketchy 700 sq ft storefront and spent 6 weeks with our significant others making it presentable and lots of help from my mother (and now business partner) who was working as an interior designer in my hometown of Markham. We bought 19 dresses from a shop that was shutting down in a neighbouring town, asked her a few questions, mostly about how the heck we were going to pull this off, took one of her carbon copy invoices to model our own and then the journey began. I put my creative muscle to work, without any point of reference and tried to figure out how we were going to make this fetus of a dream into a reality. We dabbled with consignment, which really appealed to our Guelph bride, but that was unsuccessful. What stuck was the fact that I wanted a place where brides didn’t have to travel all the way to the city (Toronto) to find something great, something that made them feel beautiful, and that wasn’t in a space where their mother likely bought her dress. That was the basis, bring style and experience elsewhere. After about 4 months my then business partner had to leave Canada to return to a sick family in Scotland and I was left with the chance to continue this budding business alone. With the support of my partner and my mother coming to help every week, I worked 10-5 at the shop and then 5-close at the bar, the reaction to our little business was so positive I didn’t want to give up, but without my support network 80 hour work weeks just weren’t going to happen. After 6 months and a ridiculous schedule I asked my mom if she wanted to be business partners for real. While she initially said no, we celebrated 11 years this month, and would not have gotten there without her.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
TMB is made up of 2 people with no background in retail but about a decade of experience in the hospitality industry and 3 decades of interior design. We are a mother daughter team that cares about experience, exceeding expectations and highlighting that finding your wedding dress should be fun, easy and low stress. We bring modern designs and talented designers to Guelph so brides can find their dress without fuss. We pride ourselves on our relationships with our designers, making the dress shopping experience individualized and their dress dreams realities. We boast 350 styles in an inclusive size range of 4-30, 4 large bridal suites to try on styles privately with those closest to you and a cocktail lounge that has an exclusive membership to our brides. At the core we care about style, inclusivity and the dress shopping journey of all brides.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’m sure the most popular response to this is COVID, but it is the most relevant. Being an in person business, and a luxury one at that we were absolutely crippled by the shutdown. During that time we were still receiving dresses and maintaining clients for the time when we could be open again. We did everything we could virtually, including appointments, we got on every social channel and tried to stay top of mind for those meeting the love of their lives during this wild time.
Any advice for managing a team?
Managing a team is the hardest and most rewarding thing that I have ever done. We average around 15-30 staff at any given time and the saying good help is hard to find is probably as true as the day it was spoken. The key is once you find those key people, the people that care about your dream like you do, you do what ever you can to motivate them and keep them. Listening to what people want, finding what lights them up within their role and cultivating creative ownership has been one of the best ways to keep the best people. Taking time to help new staff understand where you came from in your early days, the successes, lessons and laughter in between helps new people bond with you and your business. Check ins that help highlight and uncover skills that each person has and wants to flex in order to professionally develop and challenge themselves are important. Giving opportunity to support and encourage peoples natural abilities, in the end we all want to be useful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tmodernbride.com
- Instagram: @tmodernbride
Image Credits
Sandra Monaco Photography @sandramonacophoto