Circle Boutique - A Year in Business

How do you source your products?

We do not buy in our own products but we carefully select items which we are offered to sell on behalf of clients. The shop is very small and Caroline and I know that we have to choose items carefully. They have to feel relevant and we always have to ask ourselves…would I want to wear that? 

What does a typical day look like for you? 

Everyday is different. You never know who is going to walk in! Coffee is always forefront of my mind when entering the shop. Our opening hours are quite short due to having children and needing to collect them from school. So the shop is open Monday to Saturday, 10-4. 

Do you have staff and if so, how many?

It is mostly Caroline and myself in the shop but we are very lucky to have Alison help us out on a Monday and the occasional additional day. 

When looking for staff where do you advertise? Do you try to employ local staff?

We are potentially looking for help with our website but we aren’t sure what we are looking for yet. The website is an area which I need to focus more attention on and as we only sell one off items it is very time consuming getting items on line. 

Do you find most customers supportive?

The majority of customers have been incredibly supportive and some have become friends. We have a lot of regulars which is so lovely. They are fully aware that the stock changes all the time and that we have new pieces in every day. We always encourage customers to tell us what they are looking for so that we can let them know if something with their name walks in through the door we can let them know.

We don’t offer returns as we are selling secondhand clothes so we always encourage customers to try items on before buying. 

We try to be as competitive as we can. Obviously we want to get back as much as possible for the customers we are selling for but the pricing has to be attractive so that items sell. We understand that items can cost a lot of money originally and bear that in mind with the pricing but we have to be realistic about what we can achieve. It is a difficult balance sometimes and probably my least favourite job. Luckily there are two of us doing the pricing so if one of us is struggling then the other person can take over.

What software do you use (e.g. Square, Shopify, Quickbooks etc) and would you recommend it? 

We use Shopify for our website. I have used Quickbooks for accounting but have been recommended Xero so I am looking into it. 

Do you have social media profiles and/or website? If so, do you manage this yourself or have an external agency do it for you? Do you use any tools you would recommend? 

Caroline and I both have separate Instagram accounts. We try and post every day. Since Instagram changed it’s algorithms I noticed that my regulars weren't contacting me about my daily posts so now I am trying to do a short reel daily and it is proving to be quite effective. I miss the aesthetic aspect of Instagram though and I personally prefer the stills.

How do you market yourself and what challenges do you face? What have been the best marketing strategies for your business? 

Caroline and I are both quite shy but I think we have both had to overcome that in order to promote what we do and market ourselves. I hate having my picture taken and so does Caroline. The daily videos I do on Instagram have definitely taken me out of my comfort zone but I am learning to care less about my insecurities and to just get on with it. It definitely gets easier the more that you do it!

What has been your biggest successes? 

I think the shop has been our biggest success and also the fact that customers are returning time and time again. We love being there and doing what we do but when we get lovely feedback from customers then it makes it all so worth it and makes us want to be even better at it!

What mistakes have you made (has been your biggest regrets) and what (how) would you do differently?

I don’t think we have any regrets. We are still learning on the job and gaining confidence in our abilities and where we want to take the business. We are both ambitious and want to keep raising the bar

Do you have any future plans to enhance the business? 

The website needs regular updating and moving forwards, we are going to have an area in the shop where we can photograph items more easily and get them online if it is quiet. It means having less items of clothing in the shop but think it will be a good balance. The website is important and we need to be able to keep up with it. 

What support do you need, if any? 

All ideas are always welcome. If someone has had a good experience in the shop then we always appreciate them spreading the word. Caroline and I believe in shopping locally and supporting other small businesses. We all need to support each other on the high street otherwise we might not have one in the future.