Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Ward.
Hi Tiffany, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am the owner of Indulge Salon & Tanning and my best friend, Cherre Hinton is the Salon Manager. During COVID we wanted to help local boutiques that were severely impacted by having them bring some of their inventory to the salon and sell for them on consignment. Our guests loved it! And it was a great way to support businesses that people were not frequenting during that time. We felt people would also appreciate being able to visit one place to have less exposure to COVID. Our guests loved it! They loved getting a little sampling of all the local boutiques and being able to get everything done in one place. As things regulated, we no longer had the pop up boutiques in the salon. We still carried some local jewelry makers items though! Including Baubles & Bobbie’s – which we have had since 2015! In 2021, My husband, Nick, and I purchased the building our salon is in and we had open retail space for lease. We approached Cherre and her husband, Chris, to see if they would like to open a full boutique in the open space. Our guests missed having it, we knew what they were looking for, and could bring in things they asked for, plus – We all have business backgrounds and Cherre has quite an eye for fashion and jewelry! So we decided to open a boutique focused on providing fashionable, reasonably priced clothing for women of every shape. We love having Judy Blue Jeans because they are so comfortable and fit nearly everyone perfectly! We opened Winton + Co February 11, 2022! Winton is a combination of our last names – Ward and Hinton. Cherre does our ordering and merchandising, Nick takes care of all the accounting and book work, I manage the social media and PR, and Chris helps out wherever needed and is a good and creative solution finder. We also have my daughter, Skylar, doing our social media and our whole salon team loves helping out with the store too. It’s become a fun project for us all.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh man! LOL Of course there have been struggles. Every business comes across at least a few. However, I don’t think any of ours are too severe. One of the bigger struggles we have had is simply stated, sales. The boutique market is down and people do so much online shopping that it really impacts us. We are looking into having an online presence, but for now we are just in store. Another struggle was what to have in inventory. We had a lot of plus size styles available when we first opened and tried to get the word out because Cherre and I have both been plus size, and know how hard it can be to find stylish clothing. However, it was really hard to sell. We still have some plus size items but not as many as we aren’t able to bring as wide of a range in because it just didn’t sell. Catering to all sizes is something important to us, so that was hard to let go.
The cool thing that we do have going for is that we are connected to Indulge Salon & Tanning, so there is some organic foot traffic and cross promoting we are able to do.
We also all have full time jobs and other businesses that we run, so balancing all of that can be challenging. We always wish we had more time to devote to Winton, and we have lots of great ideas but implementation can be tough. Each of us as couples have 3 businesses to run, so 5 in total. Plus Nick and Chris both work outside of any of the businesses. We all have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, but we love it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We specialize in helping people see themselves the way others do – to see all their beauty inside and out. We hope to help them find their confidence. Everyone is their own worst critic. Women are especially hard on themselves – at all ages and stages of life. As hairstylists it is our job to help people to feel their best and when you look good, you feel good. We do the same thing with the boutique but we do it through clothing and accessories. We focus on providing looks that are flattering for everyone. There are some body shapes that just have a harder time shopping and we cater to them as well, especially tall, pear, and apple shaped women. We also carry Judy Blues – a denim line that is comfortable, flattering, high quality, and affordable! The Holy Grail of denim! We are sure to source clothing that is stylish, comfortable, flattering, and affordable. We want everyone to leave our business feeling their best selves. And to top it off, most of our styles span many generations! It’s so fun to see people look in the mirror and feel as beautiful as we see them.
We are most proud of how we are able to serve and support our community. We have given to or been involved with many local non-profits. One of our favorites is One Bright Star, an organization that provides support for families who have lost a child. This year they had a Kentucky Derby theme for their annual gala. We hosted a fun event in the store for people to make custom derby hats for the event and all proceeds were donated to One Bright Star. Another great event that we participate in is the Zonta Style Show in the fall. We do multiple fashion shows in the year, but it is fun to know that one is helping Zonta International. It feels so good to serve others. We have hosted a number of events in the store as fundraisers as well as attend many fundraisers. We love going to the local galas, getting all fancied up, and raising money for these dedicated organizations. It’s also a fun double date night with best friends!
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Do your homework researching the business model, your demographic, and how like businesses are performing in your area. That will help you to find your niche.
Put a solid business plan together with a financial cushion because inevitably something unexpected will come up.
Expect the unexpected.
And lastly, you must be passionate about what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wintonboutique.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wintonboutique/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wintonboutique
