THE THINGS YOU DON’T SEE BEHIND A BOUTIQUE

I was sitting in my office the other day surrounded by clothes, shipping bags, receipts, tags and probably a cup of coffee that I had reheated at least twice.

And I thought...

This is definitely not the part they show you on Instagram.

When I started Edge & Ivory, I pictured the fun parts.

Choosing clothes.

Putting outfits together.

Taking beautiful pictures.

Talking with customers.

Packing an order and knowing someone was going to be excited when she opened it.

And those things really are fun.

What I didn't picture was how many completely unrelated jobs come with owning a boutique.

Apparently, when you own a small business, you are also the buyer, photographer, stylist, accountant, shipping department, website manager, marketing department, customer service department and occasional IT person.

That last one is particularly questionable.

I have absolutely no business being the IT person.

Yet here we are.

I've learned how to build things on a website that I didn't even know existed a year ago.

I've learned how to print shipping labels.

I've learned more about sales tax than any woman should ever have to know.

I've learned how to create discount codes, turn shipping on and off, run a sale and fix something when the sale I just proudly announced doesn't actually work.

That one was humbling.

And I've learned that boxes reproduce overnight.

I swear they do.

There are days when Edge & Ivory looks exactly like I imagined it would.

The office is clean.

The racks are organized.

New clothes are hanging beautifully.

Orders are packed.

Everything is under control.

Those are wonderful days.

Then there are days when I'm stepping over an open box, looking for a missing receipt, answering a message, trying to remember whether I ordered something in a medium and wondering why there is a pair of pants sitting on my kitchen table.

Those are probably the more realistic days.

But here's the funny thing.

I really like it.

Not every single task, mind you.

There are a few things I would happily hand over to someone else and never think about again.

But I like building something that's mine.

I like opening a box and seeing something I chose months ago finally arrive.

Sometimes I pull it out and think, Oh yes. I knew this was going to be good.

Occasionally I pull something out and think...

Well, that looked different online.

You win some. 😊

I like figuring out how I want Edge & Ivory to look and feel.

I like deciding that something isn't quite right and changing it.

I like hearing from a customer who wore something she bought from me and loved it.

And I still get excited when an order comes through.

Every single one.

I don't think I ever want to become so accustomed to that little notification that I forget there is an actual person on the other side of it.

Someone went to my website.

She looked around.

She found something she liked.

And she chose to buy it from my little boutique.

That's pretty special.

There is a lot about owning Edge & Ivory that I'm still figuring out.

Some days I feel like I know exactly what I'm doing.

Other days I'm googling something that I'm fairly certain every other business owner learned on Day One.

But maybe that's what building a business really looks like.

Not perfectly styled racks and pretty photographs all day long.

It's trying things.

Making mistakes.

Learning something new.

Changing your mind.

And occasionally celebrating because you finally figured out how to make the printer do what you wanted.

So the next time you see a pretty Edge & Ivory post, just know that somewhere outside the frame there may be three cardboard boxes, a roll of packing tape and a cold cup of coffee.

And I'm probably looking for my scissors.

Again.

Joanna, Edge & Ivory Boutique