We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joelle Scholl a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Joelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Oh I love this question. In my opinion, the bridal industry has been stuck in the “this is the way we have always done it” mentality. Which didn’t work for me and definitely doesn’t appeal to today’s brides.

Typically a bridal boutique will have “sample” gowns in a one or two sizes for brides to try on and order. So if a bride likes a style and the shop doesn’t have a size that will fit her, they will use big clamps to try to give the bride an idea of how it will fit.

Also. it generally takes anywhere from 5-8 months for a gown to come in. It arrives in a standard size, therefore the bride is also required to have it altered to her body for a perfect fit.

This sounds reasonable unless a. you don’t have time to order, b. your body doesn’t fit the samples sizes (goes for plus and petite sizes) or c. you can’t envision what a gown will look like unless it actually fits and d. being worried that you ordered a gown that may or may not look like you want it to look when you receive it months after being ordered.

When I started The Barefoot Bride, I had no idea that this was the case. I had a December wedding, started shopping in May and was immediately met with OMG … you don’t have time to order. You’ll have to pay extra fees to rush your gown, etc. I was confused and no one wanted to explain how it worked. It felt like a scare tactic and turned me off completely to shopping (something I wasn’t exactly crazy about in the first place)

I had been working as the international quality/service assurance manager for a major shipping company and am wired to try to figure out how we can do things better. Whelp, bridal shopping definitely needed a revamp in my opinion so I started a little side gig where brides could come shop and try on gowns in their size!! Ahhh it was mind blowing to brides who had shopped before coming to see me.

Quickly, we grew from a few gowns to over 2500 gowns that you could try on and take home with you the same day. It made sense for our instant gratification consumers as well as brides who just wanted to get married when they wanted to get married.

We started consigning gowns but quickly found out that we could obtain NEW gowns to sell at discounted prices – think TJ Maxx business model. BUT also provide service that bride’s were craving. A no judgement, fun, silly, exciting place to celebrate one of the most memorable days of their lives.

The Barefoot Bride didn’t want to be stuffy or pretentious. We wanted to have FUN and celebrate our brides. Our space is colorful, whimsical and loud! OK … think rock and roll, cheering and a possible flash mob at any moment!

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 had been in a career for 20 years and single for some time. At 40, I decided to take my dream job and head to the Caribbean with my company. Three months in I met my husband who happened to live in Memphis *where I was based before moving.

So here I am, an “older” bride with the chance to travel all over the world to find a wedding gown. I was disappointed by every store I visited and they all seemed to be the same. Gals dressed in black, telling me how amazing I looked in every gown I tried on and pushing the OMG … you don’t have enough time to order line.

I was reeling from the move back to Memphis and very nervous about choosing a gown so I started purchasing and selling gowns online. Most had been worn and I never paid much for them so I could break even or make a few bucks back if I didn’t like them. Eventually about 3 weeks before my wedding, I saw a gown that was it. My daughter said go try it on and I was done!

Which got me thinking. If I’m this old and I’m frustrated with the proces, surely younger gals of the amazon overnight generation would be too. So I opened a 500 sf bridal consignment shop to test the waters. I was working 50 hours a week at my regular job and taking appointments every weekend.

It grew so fast that I retired from FedEx and jumped in the bridal world with both feet! No pun intended. I found ways to work with designers, manufacturers and bridal boutiques that had overstock to sell their inventory so they could clear out space in their warehouses and shops.

14 years later, here we are. 2500 gowns ~ sizes 00-30 ~ priced at up to 80% off retail and we’re tariff proof. Not a bad way to spend the second half of your career.

Our mission is to make every bride feel special. It’s not about selling gowns for us. My gals do not work on commission nor make tips so there is zero incentive to pressue our clients. We know that this is a huge day for them and sometimes we may not have what they are looking for but we will do our best to find the best gown, in budget and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it.

Any advice for managing a team?

I’m extremely particular about putting together a team.

My number one focus is on the bride’s experience which means lots of training, shifting and communication on the part of myself and my team. We work closely together to make this happen from the appointment request, confirmation, appointment and follow ups.

We have very open lines of communication and what I like to call “check my math” convos to see if they agree with something I’d like to change. I include them in all aspects of the business, which my peers say is a terrible idea. They are encouraged to bring me “we can do this better” ideas too! Some work. some get vetoed but we all respect eachother as peers and a team rather than employee/boss.

We attend markets in Chicago, NY and sometimes Atlanta as well as continuing education seminars geared for the wedding industry.

The feedback I get from them is that they are so happy that they have a process and guidelines which are expected from everyone so there is no question as to who is responsible for what. We work together for the good of the business and our brides. Which has been so fun even though it’s work.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Luckily I had a great position with FedEx for 20 years so I funded everything with my savings and profits from those gowns I bought from my wedding.

I’m also a hustler so I work appointments as well as own the place. We joke that I’m not the boss …. but when it comes to paying for things I am definitely the owner.

I’m very frugal so I have found many creative ways to reduce costs. For example. I had a lease for 5 years in an office building so I didn’t have to pay utilities. If we don’t need it, I won’t buy it. If my staff says we need it, then I KNOW we need it but expenses are well thought out. Even today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.barefoot-bride.com
• Instagram: @beabarefootbride
• Facebook: thebarefootbriderocks
• Linkedin: joelle-scholl-thebarefootbride

Image Credits

KP Fusion