About my company:
Boutique Box helps busy women leaders find clothes they love that fit and we partner with emerging designers you wouldn’t find in department stores, connecting the dots through our Intelligent Style Framework. Through your Boutique Box Membership, you receive personalized recommendations and expert styling support, as we help you curate a wardrobe that reflects your confidence, authenticity, and influence—effortlessly.
What Was Your Biggest ‘A-ha’ Moment?
I was a few years into building my personal styling business and had seen two things — women needed a bit more ongoing support than just one session (but most insisted they just wanted/needed one session) and where they really needed the support was in buying the right pieces — size, style, quality — that they’d love and wear vs. going back to the sale rack. Then, I also knew from my background as a merchandiser that so much that went on sale wasn’t bad, it just didn’t find a home in time. I’d been noodling on how I could make it easier to say yes to the support and that was where the idea for Boutique Box came from in a moment of AH-HA — if I have a warehouse of clothes to pull from for women, we can offer them a personalized shopping experience and we don’t need a never-ending onslaught of ‘newness’ but can curate quality pieces and sell through the full assortment over time. This was the idea when I first launched it in 2012, but with that soft launch I also realized I couldn’t buy inventory without a huge investment and that was too risky. So, I quickly pivoted to a hybrid service/product model that grew the business until my next pivote in 2018.What’s the single most important reason for your success?
Never give up. And secondly, trust your gut. I never gave up even when I wasn’t seeing wild success because I was seeing some things working and a path to success, even if the solution still needed some fine tuning. I knew the idea was right, it just needed some iterating for product-market fit.
For another woman thinking about starting a business in personal styling/ membership boxes, what is your biggest lesson or takeaway you can share with them to keep them encouraged when their motivation is at its lowest?
Building a service based business takes building a big network / marketing funnel and TIME. You have to build trust and prove you can solve their problem. And, you have to deeply understand the customer psyche. You learn this through experience. I honestly don’t typically recommend people start a personal styling business unless they feel it’s their calling. This may come off as harsh, but having good style for yourself and enjoying clothes doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to translate someone else’s authentic style and that’s what a great stylist does for their client — guides them in becoming their authentic, embodied style. But if you’re called to serve women in this way, know that it can take time so give yourself that grace (and perhaps have a part time job to also give yourself financial space which helps you stay in the creative space you need to be in for marketing and business development).
As a woman, what do you think your superpower is?
How I see people and help them see themselves and their possibilities. I give them a safe space to BE for the becoming. And honoring / seeing their unique gifts.
Connect With Catherine:
Founder + CEO Boutique BoxSpeaker: Intelligent StyleCurious about Boutique Box, but want to try it out first? Book a Trial Box.