We were lucky to catch up with Sandy Carlson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sandy, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I’ve spent the last 30 years in the Senior Healthcare industry and have been blessed with a career of helping seniors and their families through the most difficult times in their lives. I have always had a dream, however, of owning my own boutique! My passion has always been to help others and my goal is to create a shopping experience for women of all ages and sizes. EVERY woman deserves to feel and look beautiful! I want to help woman with that feeling and I know God will show me the way!
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?
After retiring from a 30 year career in healthcare, I took the leap of faith and decided to pursue a dream! With the support and encouragement of my loving family and friends, made it happen last June. I opened Presley Boutique in Salado, Tx in June of 2023. When looking for a location, I really wanted a place that had meaning and was special! My husband called me to meet him at this location and as soon as I saw the cute cottage I said, “We stayed here for our fifth wedding anniversary!” For many decades this cottage was called the Baylor Cottage and was part of the Salado Inn Bed and Breakfast. It is next to the Wedding Village Venue and housed hundreds of newly married couples after their weddings. It was also rented out to couples celebrating anniversaries, birthdays and other special occasions and I knew this is where I wanted my new home to be!
The cottage is so quaint and charming with its wood floors and high ceilings and has the historical feel of Salado. I can’t wait for you to come us to experience the personal touch, one on one assistance and be pampered with a glass of wine or other cold beverage while you shop! Even the smell of the shop is relaxing and will make you feel calm, tranquil and peaceful.
Our goal is to make your shopping experience one you’ll want to come back to again and again!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I have a college degree in Marketing but unfortunately the way to market products and services in 2024 is entirely different than back in the stone ages when I was in school. Even though I have been in Corporate America for over 30 years, I had a Marketing Department that handled all of our public relations/advertising for our company. The biggest challenges that I have had to overcome is learning social media marketing!!! Before I opened my business, I never had Facebook or Instagram or ANY type of social media accounts. I am learning from ground zero. I do not have any employees or departments to help so yes, it is true that it is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks !!! I am constantly learning and watching videos as well as signing up for classes to learn more and more about how, when and what to post to maximize my audience! I’m learning about algorithms and How to grow my media presence! I read a lot of articles and watch a lot of U tube videos. Consistently is key and not over-posting is important! I’m definitely not where I want to be yet, but I will continue to be a sponge and learn as much as I possibly can. I would also recommend helping your local small businesses by responding to their posts!!! This is so important for them to build their following! Don’t just scroll past their posts, but give them some love by liking it or better yet, making a comment!!!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
My business is located in Salado, Tx which is a rural community with less than 3000 residents. We depend heavily upon tourism and that makes it difficult to attract and retain loyal repeat customers! We rely also on our Chamber and the city planning committees that plan community events to attract people to come to Salado! We are blessed to have such great support of the city and Chamber!!! I rely on social media to get brand awareness out! I post everyday on new arrivals and events in the community! I don’t have a budget to spend on advertising so word of mouth and reputation is critical for me. I can not underestimate the importance of customer service!! Good customer service leads to loyal repeat customers!!! I try to make every person that comes in feel important (because they are!!!). I offer a beverage and pamper them. I offer a comfy chair and a complimentary beer for the guys! It is all about the experience not just the shopping! I give first time customers my card and ask them to follow me on social and ask them if they would mind giving me a positive google review! I also ask customers if they could post their new clothes from Presley Boutique and tag me so I can share with my followers.
Contact Info:
- Website: presleyboutique.com
- Instagram: presley_boutique
- Facebook: Presley Boutique
- Linkedin: Sandy Carlson
- Twitter: Presleyboutique
- Youtube: Presley Boutique
- Yelp: Presley Boutique