Every business journey brings bumps and bruises along the way, but keeping your end goals in mind brings clarity in the face of distractions. In today’s episode, a fellow Profit First professional shares her lifelong entrepreneurial journey–and she’s not finished yet! Even though her focus is on the boutique business space, her tips, insights, and lessons learned apply across all types of businesses.
Ciara Stockeland began owning and operating businesses in her early teens. As a serial entrepreneur, her business mindset and tenacity led her to open her first store, Mama Mia, a high-end maternity store in Fargo, ND, in 2006. Shortly after, she opened Mode, a designer outlet store next to Mama Mia. In 2008, Ciara chose to merge her two stores into Mode and develop the concept into a franchise. Her vast experience in both retail and wholesale industries led her to launch the first to-market wholesale subscription box for boutique owners, which she built and sold within 18 months. Most recently, Ciara has launched The Boutique Workshop, a coaching program for retailers. Ciara has been recognized as a Small Business Champion through Score, and most recently was awarded the Outstanding Franchise Small Business Award. She is active with Score, an organization that is the largest network of expert business mentors across the nation. Additionally, Ciara has been an active member of the International Franchise Association and an advocate for small businesses with her seat on the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council. On the personal side, Ciara has completed an Ironman triathlon and is currently training for another. She lives in Franklin, TN, with her husband, two children, and Bentley, the family dog.
Join us to hear the highs and lows in Ciara’s entrepreneurial journey, along with tips on pinpointing your passion and capitalizing on opportunities with your endgame in mind!
Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential Production in collaboration with Small Business Consulting Group.
Show Highlights:
- Where Ciara’s inspiration for entrepreneurship came from as a young girl, and how she started her first business, an acting company for students, at age 13
- How Ciara discovered her passion for being a “disruptor” for retail business and selling products
- How Ciara capitalized on opportunities and her problem-solving skills to open her first and second retail stores and later merge the two
- The steps Ciara took to franchise her business and begin her subscription box service
- Lessons learned from growing to 13 franchises before selling the brand and moving on to her next steps
- What it takes to build a business with the clear intention of selling it later
- How Ciara built her coaching program as an outgrowth of questions she received and problems she could solve for other business owners
- How Ciara’s coaching program, The Boutique Workshop, works with a membership level and a mastermind group, which offers peer support, benchmarking, and one-on-one coaching
- Lessons learned about simplifying a business with inventory management challenges
- The value in knowing your numbers—even if they are ugly!
- How Ciara has seen Profit First principles smooth out the “entrepreneurial roller coaster”
- Why Ciara came to Profit First and how this system has impacted her business
- Highlights of Ciara’s advocacy work with the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council
Links and Resources:
Connect with Ciara: www.theboutiqueworkshop.com
Visit the website to take the free class, Profit First for Retail, where Ciara takes a simple look at bite-sized pieces of what retailers need to know.
Visit the website to find The Boutique Workshop podcast. New episodes are released weekly!
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