Show Notes:
This series is not just to share the highlight reel of real retailers’ success, but also the ups and downs as retailers grow into their confident CEO role to see that success. It is a journey.
Meet Melanie Kolb. Melanie’s shop owner journey is a remarkable one. Her business growth and her love for her customers has grown since day one due to her hard work, following her dream, and pushing through the hard things with determination. Like many, Melanie started out as a hobbyist, progressed to booths and soon grew to vintage pop up markets. But she wanted to stop traveling and create a destination shop. She made a pivotal decision to set up shop on her beautiful farm in Alabama, donned her CEO hat and set up marketing strategies to attract her customers to her farm, using things like Facebook Lives selling her french farmhouse decor.
We discuss fear of failure, reverse engineering, keeping customers happy, planning, and knowing your financial numbers. All CEO decisions that helped Cedar Grove Farms become the destination shop that it is today. As Melanie said, “No one’s expecting us to be perfect except ourselves. If we let that go, we’re a lot happier. Just be consistent, do what you love, love on your customers, and everybody’s happy.”
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Radio Republic | YouTube | PlayerFM | Stitcher | iHeartRadio
A Quick Glance:
[0:41] Melanie Kolb – an introduction
[2:35] About Melanie’s destination shop – Cedar Grove Farms
[4:02] Melanie’s retail journey
[8:05] Reverse engineering
[11:07] Understanding the numbers
[15:11] How to let go of things that we know are good to expand on opportunities that are unknown?
[19:30] What does it mean to be a CEO?
[21:23] What’s next for Cedar Grove Farms + Closing Remarks
About Melanie Kolb:
Melanie was a former homeschooling mom looking for a creative outlet as her kids graduated high school. She always loved vintage and home decor but thought she needed a design degree to pursue that interest. She dipped her toe in by selling in booths and then pop up markets. Then Covid hit and gave Melanie an opportunity to start her own business at home.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest
A quote from Melanie…
“Love your customers to the point that they love you in return.”
Resources mentioned:
Retail Made Simple
Level Up Mastermind Group
Retailer’s Inner Circle
Superfans by Pat Flynn
For more support from Wendy:
Retail Made Simple – Wendy’s on demand course for shop owners wanting more from their business
Retailer’s Inner Circle – Join Wendy inside the best retailer’s community
Wendy’s FREE Resources for shop owners
More ways to connect with Wendy
