We recently connected with Toni Duclottni-Harich and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Toni, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea?
House of Haute didn’t start out as a retail fashion house, it actually launched as a digital production house for fashion and beauty brands and individuals which lead to me creating a dedicated YouTube channel in late 2009. Before getting to this point I had many other jobs that helped prepare me for the space, including being a sound engineer, graphic designer, and later on, a news correspondent. During the process of creating content, I developed a loyal following and would spend hours each week responding to emails from my tight knit YouTube community regarding questions about where to shop for stylish affordable fashions similar to the pieces I shared with them every week.
When starting a business, I believe the most import question you can ask yourself is, “Where/what is the problem? Can I clearly identify it?”. In my case, the problem found me and it was at that point when I realized that I need to create the solution. Over the course of 5 years, House of Haute began to morph into a retail store more than a production company and with that came an entirely different business model. I spent about a year teaching myself how to source, buy, and predict trends. While I did leverage my following on YouTube to establish my customer base, I still had to identify my client avatar. It’s imperative for any company or brand to do this. Understanding who you’re selling to or want to sell to determines about 90% of your business actions. Over the years my avatar has slightly changed but it’s my belief that we’ve just grown together. So naturally, some things do change but underneath it all she’s still the same person albeit a little more refined.
When I launched House of Haute the online retail store in late 2014, it initially didn’t go as well as I’d hoped for the first year and a half. I quickly realized trial and error was going to be a part of the process and season after season, I got better. I also learned a lot from the mistakes that I’d made previously, like buying for the sake of cost or because it was something that I personally liked for myself rather than for my avatar. Without any outside backing or investors, every step I made was critically important. Launching a successful boutique isn’t one of those things that you can start with $500 in my opinion. Sure some people do but it’s not likely for everyone. You have to start right so that you’ll be set up for success. I didn’t have a warehouse starting out, my house was the warehouse until I out grew it.
The first 3 years were 100% online. Year four, I ventured off into popups (those also came with a learning curve of its own). While I never envisioned a traditional retail space, I knew that I would love to have space where people could not only shop, but have an entire elevated experience. I didn’t know what that looked like initially, but it came clearly into focus in January of 2020 as I worked on my vision board for the year. That’s when I made up my mind that we needed not only a much larger warehouse space, but we a “shoppable” permanent home. I wanted a place that felt like a chic clubhouse that welcomes everyone who chooses to enter. It was a weird vision to have during the year that turned us all upside down by way of a pandemic. Having the ability to shift fluidly on the axis is so crucial in this industry. No one ever imagined a pandemic would rip through the world like a tsunami causing all sorts of economic chaos and destruction in addition to the millions of lives taken, but here we are. I had come to the realization that this could be the end of House of Haute. We were down to 1-3 sales per week. Once again I had to identify the problem and create a solution that made sense so, I shifted. I started making the highest quality and most unique reusable face masks I could possibly create. The masks saved my business: fluidity at its finest.
In the middle of it all, life was still happening although very differently. It wasn’t 6 months after creating that vision board that I found it in full manifestation mode. August 15th, 2020 was the day I got the keys to our new boutique and warehouse. Rather than taking the traditional route of hopping right into retail space, I went after flex space instead because it solved all of my immediate problems. Flex space gave me the ability to have a boutique up front and have a full blown warehouse in the back, not to mention — flex space is almost always less expensive than retail space. This made sense for us because we already had a customer base and didn’t need walk-up traffic to survive. Being able to shift has truly been the sustaining factor in our survival which included building studio space in our warehouse for our own photoshoots as well as others creating additional revenue without additional overhead costs.
Growth has always been apart of the plan to reach the “end goal”. One thing I learned is; in order to grow you have to be ready to scale and in order to scale you have to have built a great team. It’s more than just hiring the first person that walks through your door, it’s about understanding whether or not this person can be an asset to your vision but also how can you serve and better them as a person. I often refer to my team as “Small but Mighty”. We have accomplished the likes of companies 5X our size. Currently, we are yet again at another turning point needing to expand into a larger space. We have plans to expand the rental division and event space in the new location as well as take on new teammates.
This experience is one I can’t really say I’d change because the mistakes were like curated learning moments. I’ve actually taken the pain points from this process and developed Haute Pink Labs, an educational resource company. The entire premise for this company is based off the curriculum I wrote covering my journey step-by-step with emphasis on the mistakes I made as an entrepreneur in general.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Sure, I’d love too! I’m Toni Duclottni-Harich, a wife to an amazing husband, a mom to teenage young men, a servant by way of sound engineer at my church, and the founder of House of Haute Inc, Haute Pink Labs, and Dorcas House. I grew up in Dallas, but left a part of my heart in LA where I spent my 30’s. My life in 4 words: God, family, work, food. I love God, my family, my work, and I love eating different foods from around the world… which means travel is included.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
House of Haute, the brand was built on community with fashion at its core. As mentioned before, the only reason the boutique exists is out of the desire to serve our tribe. Had it not been for the repeated request for help, I seriously doubt we’d be here. I have always been a super creative and have loved fashion since I was little girl so naturally the solutions I created were for problems I enjoyed solving. Obviously, our clothing fulfills the needs of our client avatar but our creative space and studios that we rent out and the workshops we offer fill the needs of other business owners and creatives. Ultimately, we are here to establish a safe space that’s uplifting and inspiring. We are one of the few boutiques that offer a lux shopping experience where complimentary styling services, beverages & cocktails are a standard without having the pressure of spending thousands of dollars. House of Haute was built on community and serving others and that is where we shall always remain.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
One of the biggest mistakes I see new entrepreneurs make is undervaluing the customer. It seems like a no brainer, but in reality we can get so caught up in “the business” of running a business that we can forget about the very people that keeps that business going. It’s so critical that a client avatar is established. It’s the only way you’ll be able to properly serve your ideal customer. You have to know just about everything about them, not just their age, gender, and demographic. Knowing where they shop, what type of foods they like, what movies appeal to them, where do they travel or do they travel, what big box stores do they favor, what type of shoes they typically where (heels, flats, sneakers, etc), and so on. When you know information in depth about your client, you’ll know how to speak to them through your actions rather than just words. Your brand will speak to them which will attract them to whatever it is you are selling/offering.
It’s important to also make your customers feel apart of the brand. Sometimes it’s the smaller things such as a handwritten note on your personalized card stock while other times it may be investing in those that invest the most in you by hosting a private dinner or exclusive activity that reminds your customer how important they are to you. Annually we host our top clients at a nice high-end restaurant and gift them with thoughtful swag bags. When you treat a client/customer better than they expected, they are likely to tell someone else about your brand. Word of mouth is in my opinion still the greatest source of advertisement. It’s free and highly influential. Almost a third of our new business is referral based. On average we have an 96% retention rate which is amazing for retail. Focus on great customer service and you’ll not only gain customers but more importantly retain the ones you have.
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
When I talk about having fluidity or the ability to shift within the company, it’s also about opening the door for additional streams of income. For us, being in a brick and mortar location has gifted us so many more opportunities to generate additional cash flow. We built a photography & video studio inside of the warehouse to meet our own needs of keeping up with inventory content. However we don’t use it everyday so I created a rental division where we not only rent out the studio, but we also rent out equipment, photographers, stylists, the store itself, and flower walls. When I initially envisioned this space, hosting popups for other brands and companies was at the forefront because it was major pain point for me when I was online only and wanting to do popups. Clients have the option to rent out a space within the store, the entire store, or even the warehouse depending on their needs and vision. This is definitely area we are expanding on in the very near future.
Adding additional streams of income is always a part of the conversation when envisioning the evolvement of my company. I will add this; “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”. Sometimes, we can spread ourselves too thin and jump into things that will negatively impact the core focus. My advice would be to try and figure out ways to maximize the components of your business, rather than chase new adventures that may end up being a distraction.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.houseofhaute.com
- Instagram: @houseofhaute
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/houseofhaute
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/houseofhaute
- Twitter: @houseofhaute
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/houseofhaute