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

Alright, Kristen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

My goal was to always have my own store. I was just so scared to do it. In October of 2019 I opened my own online boutique and have loved every minute of it! When the perfect spot came available I jumped on it and opened my brick and mortar in the Fall of 2020. Opening during the pandemic was terrifying. I thought many times I would fail because of how everything was going in the world and was scared I was making a mistake. If I could go back in time, I would have just opened my online boutique sooner and not have worried so much!

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

I’m Kristen, mom to two amazing girls and married to my biggest supporter for 13 years! I have always had a love for fashion and shopping. I’ve told people many times I could be a professional shopper haha!

I knew when I was in high school that I wanted to be a boutique owner. I also loved going to cute little stores and finding all the neat things. Once I became a mom and quit my everyday job I wanted to find something that let me connect with people and also help contribute to our family financially. I found a direct sales company and liked their clothing so I took the risk and made the investment to start my own business. I did this for 4 years and just didn’t feel fulfilled. I wanted to pick the styles and prints and to have other items besides clothing. I also wanted to have more of a say in my business, like when a sale could happen etc.

I decided to leave that company and start my own online boutique. After 10 months of just doing online the perfect spot became available so I jumped on the chance to have an actual store front. I was so scared, but it was so worth it!

I love being able to shop for items for the store and help people find the perfect outfit or gift. We carry a large selection of women’s clothing in sizes S-3x, jewelry, accessories, home decor, gifts and KC apparel.

I’m most proud of how far this little dream has come. It has been a lot of work and tears, but it has been so worth it.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

As cliche as it may sound I’ve built the majority of my business through word-of-mouth. I truly feel that by me being the main person that works my store, I’ve been able to build relationships with my customers. Being able to help them find the perfect outfit or gift and just getting to know them is really what it’s all about for me. Of course I do lives and post on my social media apps, but most of the time when someone comes in they say “oh my friend told me to come here!” Which always makes me so happy!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think being size inclusive has been huge for my business. And for being a mid-size gal myself it helps people to see things not on a model and on a real person.

And like I said before, I really think being present at my store and helping customers has really helped me build my customer base.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.woodlandandwillow.com
• Instagram: woodland_and_willow