Opening A $102K/Month Boutique Business (See What It Takes)

For fashionable entrepreneurs, opening a clothing boutique is a great way to turn your passion into a career. That’s what Lee Smith did when he opened Urbanity.

This video is sponsored by Shopify, a leading name in eCommerce solutions. Find out more here: https://www.shopify.com/upflip

Lee was a fresh college graduate when he started Urbanity in 2009. He saw an underserved market in the Seattle retail sector for one-stop style and aimed to fill that niche. In the years since, he’s expanded to two locations and built a reputation as a top Seattle source for exclusive products from top fashion brands.

In this video, we’ll get the inside scoop from Lee on how to start a clothing boutique. We’ll find out how much it cost to get started, how to market your boutique to build a client list, and how Urbanity stays on top of fashion trends and gets exclusive access to unique brand-name inventory for their customers.

Along with their brick-and-mortar locations, Urbanity has an eCommerce portal on their website. We’ll ask Lee his tips for starting an online boutique and setting up the eCommerce side of a fashion retail space. He’ll also share his revenue figures and what percentage of his sales come through his online store, along with strategies for increasing traffic and growing sales both in-person and online.

If you want to get into fashion retail, the advice in this video can help you go from the idea stage to “I’m opening my boutique today!” You can learn more about Urbanity or check out their inventory at their website.

Resources:
Start or Grow Your Business with UpFlip Academy - https://bit.ly/3WzIEfC
Find Out More About Lee's Boutique Business - https://urbanityshop.com/

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:58 Meeting Lee
3:46 Initial Budget
5:16 How Long It Took To Break Even
6:25 Tips For Getting Financing
7:27 Monthly Revenue
9:12 Advice for Finding Clothing Boutique Brands
10:21 Profit Margins
12:02 eCommerce Site Revenue
13:46 Inventory That Doesn’t Sell
15:10 Social Media
16:45 Being An Exclusive Boutique Store
18:19 Choosing a Location
19:13 Inventory Management
20:38 Staying Ahead of Trends and Competitors
21:40 Cost to Run a Boutique Store
22:26 How Lee First Got Customers
24:43 Advantages of Having a Brick and Mortar Store
25:18 Initial Store Buildout
27:27 Biggest Challenges Lee Faces
28:22 Contracts and Collaborations
29:23 When A Celebrity Wore His Brand
30:40 Hiring Employees
31:23 1 Thing He Hates as a Business Owner
32:24 Tools To Find Brands and Trends
33:14 Skills That Contribute To Success
35:47 Advice for Entrepreneurs

#boutique #clothingboutique #openingaboutique