Brian Curee: 0:11

Welcome back to the Vero Beach Podcast. I'm Brian and.

Shawna Curee: 0:14

I'm Shawna.

Brian Curee: 0:14

And today we are sitting here at the Apricot Lane Boutique with Ashley Barron.

Shawna Curee: 0:18

Wait, you sound like you're on 1.5 speed.

Brian Curee: 0:21

All right, let me slow that down. Ashley, we're so glad to be here. Would you take about 30 seconds to just tell us a little bit about yourself?

Ashley Borenz: 0:29

Well, I moved to Vero Beach in 2010, so about 15 years ago, and we were raising our daughter, who's 17 now, and we me and my husband both worked at Lowe's, so we worked in big box retail. Then we just I just decided that I was going to open my own business.

Brian Curee: 0:44

Would this be considered like kind of like a fashion retail store?

Ashley Borenz: 0:47

Yeah, it's a high end retail store, fashion style styling boutique for women.

Brian Curee: 0:52

So what sparked your interest in launching a retail store?

Ashley Borenz: 0:56

for women. So what sparked your interest in launching a retail store? I always worked in big box retail and I always liked the idea of having a smaller, more personable store that I could run, that you can really connect with the customers and the employees, give a very nice place for someone to work and enjoy coming to work and also giving to the community. And me and my husband just love Vero Beach and what it means to everybody here. So just rooting down and having something that we can build and be part of the community really is what started me wanting to open a boutique. How many people are on your team here? It's three of us now.

Ashley Borenz: 1:27

Okay, Well four of us, counting me, and then the three employees.

Brian Curee: 1:30

Nice, nice. And how long have you guys been in business?

Ashley Borenz: 1:34

About seven months. We opened in. We opened December 12th.

Brian Curee: 1:37

All right. So at the end of this year, you'll be celebrating your first year.

Ashley Borenz: 1:40

Yes.

Brian Curee: 1:41

Nice, that's exciting.

Ashley Borenz: 1:42

Very exciting.

Brian Curee: 1:43

Yes.

Shawna Curee: 1:44

What made you realize that you might want to be a business owner when you work?

Ashley Borenz: 1:47

for a company, a big company. You see a lot of the flaws they have Me and my manager, jamie. She's my best friend. We started this business together. She was a manager at Lowe's also. She dealt with customer service and the front end and I dealt with big departments. I thought it would be great to open a store that we could just totally change things around.

Shawna Curee: 2:06

Yeah, I love that. So I've worked for Sam's Club in the past and Home Depot in the past and one thing that frustrated me was how limited you are at customer service, like you have to follow the policies. You know you can't do this and you can't do that, and I can imagine that it's so freeing to be able to kind of make policies that make sense to you.

Ashley Borenz: 2:25

Yes, because obviously working for those companies, especially Home Depot I worked for Home Depot too. Your hands are tied with everything.

Brian Curee: 2:31

Ashley, this is really good to be talking about because this brings up a topic that I wanted to talk to you about.

Brian Curee: 2:36

So one of the things that when we were looking at launching the podcast and the website, some of the things that we were going back and forth with how does this work with franchises and stuff like that. So we were trying to do some research and learn about that, because we have some franchises that are reaching out to us, but we were like we don't want to do like a podcast for like Home Depot I mean, this isn't like a Home Depot podcast. When your request came in, we're checking out I'm like, okay, you are part of a franchise, but then we started learning there was different types of franchises and that you are a local business owner. So this makes total sense. Yes, we should have her on the podcast because she is a local business owner. So, with us learning this, because this is a locally owned business, maybe you could give us some insights on what was it like for you starting this and maybe you can even explain the difference.

Ashley Borenz: 3:16

Biggest difference in a franchise and big box corporations is that franchises are singularly owned. But this one Apricot Lane they let you hold the reins. You will never go into an Apricot Lane here there's a few like around the Orlando area You'll never go into one and see all the same clothes. So I'm very I'm able to get by clothes for the style of Arrow Beach and then when you have college towns you'll you'll have those based for those teams and then up North you'll have more of the high styles and the name brands. You all are able to pick and choose and then change out. If something doesn't work for me that works for another apricot lane, I can change. I have all the reins to pick the vendors. They just guide you. They tell you this is what's worked for us, this is what hasn't, but they'll let you pick and choose what you want to do at your store.

Ashley Borenz: 4:03

In January I went to a market out in Dallas, texas, and we shopped. It was my first one, so we all shopped together and they told us which ones to go to. It was my first one, so we all shopped together and they told us which ones to go to, but I was shopping with a couple that just opened one in Montana and then another one was there and she just opened one, I want to say, in Santa Marie, california. We went to the ones from Montana and I'm like none of my people were worthless and they're like go to the one. You think. So it's like opening your own business, but with the guidance. And it was very nice in that fact, because there's a lot of things that people, people like myself you think having a business is working for yourself, being free, but then you realize you're the accountant, you're the HR manager, there's a lot of hats you got to wear.

Ashley Borenz: 4:48

Things you would never know what license you have to pull, what you have to do for taxes. It was very nice having that guidance, but also knowing that you are the, you are the owner and you can do what you want, is nice too.

Brian Curee: 4:55

Those are things you don't see on social media. You know about being an entrepreneur. You know your first year, you're learning a lot and that that does make that. Is nice to have that backing to help give you guidance. I wanted to bring that question up because there might be some people that listen and say, well, hey, isn't that a franchise? Is that a local business? We were educated in this. This makes sense. This is a local business and we want to support your local business as well. So thank you for helping us shed some light on that as well.

Ashley Borenz: 5:19

Opening this franchise shed a lot of light on for me because I worked in big corporate so I thought it was kind of similar, but it turns out it's not. It's business ownership with guidance.

Brian Curee: 5:28

You know you're on your seventh month, so you maybe not have had many, but then again I know business things can happen, so has there been any challenges or surprises since you started the business?

Ashley Borenz: 5:38

I was pregnant when I started, so the biggest challenge for me was getting over that. I thought once I had my baby I'd strap him on my back head out to work every day, work 10 hour days and I'd be the woman you know. Yeah, and I think the biggest hurdle is realizing that that's not the case. That's not. I mean, I'd like to believe I'm superwoman. I just have a hard time asking for help. But that was the biggest thing Opening a business, having a baby. You have to ask for help and you have to be secure with you know, the people that you choose to help you.

Brian Curee: 6:08

Yeah, I think you'll look back and really appreciate that you learned that your first year. A lot of business owners don't, and they do it for 20 years and struggle letting go of things and allowing people to help them because it's their baby. But it's very hard when you held on to it for so long. Later you can be able to look back and realize even more how much of a blessing it was.

Shawna Curee: 6:25

Yeah, it's another blessing of having your sweet little baby. Like he forced you to learn that lesson right now, he really did and you can ask my store manager, jamie.

Ashley Borenz: 6:34

She's my best friend, so she knows how I am too. But she was very much like OK, I get it, I'll come to you, I'll ask you what you want. And then, finally, after he was born, I was like just do whatever you have to do. I can't come in today. I look like a mess. I haven't slept in days. And she's like are you sure, do it?

Shawna Curee: 6:53

Yeah, that's awesome, we are not getting on FaceTime right now.

Brian Curee: 6:57

I will tell you that much. When it comes to running a boutique. What does that mean to you, like on a personal level?

Ashley Borenz: 7:03

Honestly, it means running a boutique, means making friends in the community, trying to build relationships and just be part of her everyday life, meaning our shoppers and do what you can for the community. I don't know about you, but when I shop at boutiques I love the style and how unique it is, and that's another way you can connect with people.

Brian Curee: 7:25

My styles used to be just a white t-shirt and blue jeans. I would always buy like when we were when me and Shana first got married. We've been married for 23 years. We're celebrating next week.

Ashley Borenz: 7:35

Congratulations. Thank you.

Brian Curee: 7:36

And back then, when we were first married, we'd go out and buy clothes and I would buy a six pack of t-shirts same color and a couple pair of jeans, and I'd be like that gave me through the whole year. Now I'm like, styled up a little bit. You have to when you live here in Bureau.

Shawna Curee: 7:49

That is very true, and he's like I am not putting on a pair of jeans, not?

Brian Curee: 8:00

anymore. No, no, it's like, yeah, it's half pants.

Shawna Curee: 8:01

Is that your stylish way to say it?

Brian Curee: 8:02

That's my stylish way to say it, yes, half pants. As we get ready to wrap up this episode, I would love to know what's something that you've learned about yourself since becoming a small business owner.

Ashley Borenz: 8:10

That I'm a that I'm a control freak. People have said that to me before, but I've definitely learned that. Now I know that I have a control problem and luckily my son Bryson, has helped me relinquish that. He's helped me. Let go.

Brian Curee: 8:26

I bet. So that's how it all started. In the next episode we'll talk about what the day-to-day looks like behind the scenes.

Shawna Curee: 8:31

Catch you next time, neighbor.