
Trust The Grind
Trust The Grind
#28 - Christie Vazquez | Brightside Boutique Founder
Christie Vazquez is the founder and owner of Brightside Boutique based in Baltimore.
In this episode, we hear why Christie created Brightside Boutique, how she scaled the business to five physical locations, and we talk about all the sacrifices and obstacles along the way.
Check out Brightside Boutique
https://www.shopbrightside.com/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKRN_aoBDoa/
Connect with Christie Vazquez
https://www.instagram.com/christie__vazquez/
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Hosted by Alec Martucci and Steve Ecker
Produced by Chris Harris
Trust the grind with Steve Ecker and Alec Martucci. I say to myself. I got this, I got this. I got so hungry. We keep going and you keep going. Welcome to trust the grind podcast. My name is Steve Ecker. Every week. Trust the grind dives into our awesome guests, discover their calling, manage the daily grind and how they make the most out of every day. Today's guest is Christie Vazquez. Christie Vazquez is an owner and founder of Brightside boutique based in Baltimore. In this episode, we hear by Christie Vazquez creative Brightside, but see how she scaled the business to five physical locations. And we also talk about all the sacrifices and obstacles along the way. Let's get right into this interview with Christie Vazquez Welcome to trust the grind today. We have Christie Vazquez. Who's the owner of Brightside boutique based in Baltimore with a killer online shelf shop as well. Christie Vazquez, thank you so much for making the time. Yeah, Thank you for having me. So Brightside boutique its first location was in fed Hill and then you also have four other locations in the DC Baltimore area. Could you elaborate on opening up the first fed Hill shop? And I believe there's something pretty unique about that shop as well. Yeah. Okay. So when I first opened, it was in 2011 and I originally did it with my ex husband. He was a tattooer and I was working in New York in fashion. And so we were together like all through college and I was, I, I went to fashion school and then I finished job in thousand and he moved down with me. So he was able to get like a pretty good clientele just by living down here and then, but I wasn't really finding anything that I, you know, that was like working for me. I feel like, you know, at a very young age I knew what I wanted to do. My focus was always in fashion. So I think that like, you know, I was, I was it for me, that's like a headstart when I was 18. I was like extremely hard on myself on like, what do I want to do? I need to figure this out. And I don't know, you know, some kids are not like that. So I think that that kind of put me in a better place than others. I started out, I got a scholarship in soccer. My parents were like, you know, keep going with soccer. Like, you know, they were like, we want you to keep this going all of college. I was always like the odd ball and like in my, you know, on my soccer team and stuff like that. And it just like, I knew that like I needed to go in that direction. So I ended up like leaving that, which was very hard. I had, you know, just had a lot of success. We like won a championship and it was really awesome, but I was like, I need to go into fashion. So that's when everything switched started studying fashion, went down to <inaudible>. I wanted a broad major. So I majored in like advertising and PR came back to New York and started working for Diane bumpers and work. I had friends from fashion school. So once I graduated Telsa and I was like writing every single one of them, like help me get a job. So that's how that happened. So I got my foot in the door there and I was working as an assistant for, for, you know, I started off as a receptionist and then I just kind of like moved my way up in these companies. I was assisting a CFO. I was assisting a CEO. I was assisting like actual designers, like Nanette Lapore and her husband. I started assisting Marcus and David from rag and bone. And so I was really eager and like really, really wanted to like, I feel like I needed to calm down. So, but I was very, very passionate and I was like seeing what people were doing and I really, really wanted to be involved in this stuff. And I think like I was getting frustrated because I wasn't getting taken as serious as I wanted to, but I, you know, I look back now and I'm like, I was, I was a child. And so I, you know, and I would, I feel embarrassed about like what I was doing. I was like showing them all these like ideas. Like I would literally go to like an Annette's office and be like, we should be doing this and we should be doing that. And I would show her all these things. And I like, think about it now. And I'm like, I wonder what she was thinking if she was like, like you are so cute, but like go sit down and like, you know, order my lunch please. But like, you know, and I think like right now, that's why like, I look at the girls that worked for me and like when they have their ideas and they want to do something, like, it reminds me of myself. So I don't really like push it away. But, you know, I was very, very eager to do my own thing. And my, my fiance at the time was like, you know, let's collaborate and like do this boutique together. And we'll, we'll start it in Baltimore because he had the clientele. And honestly there was like no boutiques at the time. There was like barely any shopping in Baltimore. So we came down here, we did it together. And my style was like very like New York city, like LA, like I was, you know, working in fashion. We had really, really fast fashion, really, really like trendy items in the store. So we started it and it was really cool. It was like a fun little concept that was together. And we, you know, we won like best boutique. The first year we had like a really big success the first year. And I think it had to do with the fact that like, you know, it was, I was, I knew Baltimore. I went to college in Baltimore. I lived there for a decent amount of time. I didn't just like come from New York city and be like, I'm coming in here aggressively and like showing you guys my stuff. Like I knew a lot of people here. I knew that I couldn't come in too crazy. I had to like calmly come in. So I think that there was, you know, that there was success there because it wasn't just like this clueless person coming in. Now I wasn't, as, you know, as educated I feel as though I am now, but I, I really, you know, I tried to do a lot of research coming. Yeah. I mean, that's, that was great. I mean, great encompassing of everything. I mean, also just the behind the scenes of being in the thick of working for these amazing designers in New York, I actually started out in New York as well, working on the corporate side on buying. So I've been in those meetings where I had like great, great ideas, quote, unquote, to like the higher and like going in bushy tail and stuff. And like, looking back, I'm like, I don't think that was, but like, but I think that's, I know I get like embarrassed, you know, I like think of moments in my head and I'm, it's not even embarrassed. It's just like, you know, what, what the hell was I thinking? I literally was like talking to this like CEO as if I was going to give her information that she didn't know. And, and the thing is, is like, she most definitely knew this information. It's, it's about like a, a younger person coming in that has a little bit more knowledge than like, maybe she might, as far as these new trends go and that might've been like what you were doing too. It's just like, we can, we, you know, as you get older and you work in this industry, you can't like be on top of everything. So there is something said for like young energy coming in. Absolutely. I mean, most of the time I was just straight up, shut down because I was working in like a piece of a machine. So the fact that like the CEO was listening that's I think that's pretty cool. And I think you should listen to new ideas. And even though like, some people, like you'd be like, all right, pump the brakes, like easy there. But I think that energy is certainly contagious. So you made the trip down to Baltimore. What was your, you said you're familiar with the area and things like that. What was the most surprising part when you first opened up the shop or during your expansion, would you say? I, I think that part of the success was like, like you said, I think it was like the energy. I, I was very, I was young and I didn't know exactly what I was doing. This was my first time doing it. But what I can say is that I was like obsessed with it and I was like, extremely passionate about it. And I was younger and I was very knowledgeable on the times and what I needed to do. And like, you know, I knew what the kids were looking at and stuff like that. So I feel like in that way, I was like ahead of maybe some people that had boutiques that were like successful because of like how long they've been open, but it was just kind of like this new, this new, I don't know, energy that was like brought into, into Baltimore. And I think that it's extremely difficult. Like, you know, you like you are so like as passionate as I was like, it's a very hard business to be in. And I think that like, people don't really understand the hours that you have to put in and like the time and the energy and the, I mean, like, you have to be at the store, like all the time, like rain, snow shine, like, you know, you have weddings that you miss, you have, and you know, like baby showers, you have like your best friend's birthday. Like all these things that like, I really, I was young. I was in my twenties and I just like all these things that I would have loved to have gone to. And I really missed out on a lot of stuff. So I think that like the most surprising thing for me was the amount of like how much it took out of like my life as far as like the other things went as far as like, you know, not business, but just like my personal life. It was like, it hit me hard that, you know, I had to work 24 seven. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You, you had to make some sacrifices in your social life to get the business life going that you want it because you are the point person. You are the, you know, the operator, you know, the chief person in charge And money and money doesn't come right away too. So, you know, I was like, sleep. I know it's like cliche, but it's like, I was sleeping on like my friend's like couch. And then like, I got the smallest apartment, like you've ever seen. And it took a long time to actually like make money. So I think that's like something you have to realize too, is that it just, it doesn't, the success doesn't come right away either. It's a good, slow, it's a slow thing. Yeah. And everyone always asks you questions about like success and the money part says I'm early in the journey right now building my business. And yeah, it's patience for sure. That's something that's like, not necessarily taught in business school or necessarily at corporate jobs when you're launching something where it's like, you got to show up, put in the reps and be patient because if you really believe in it, it'll click, but it's going to take some time to develop and formulate. Oh my God. Absolutely. Yeah. That's something I keep on telling myself and talking to entrepreneurs. Like you, it just kind of seems like a recurrent trend. So It wasn't to say like the brokest I've ever been was not. When I first opened the shop, it was like the, it was like, after I opened Fell's point, like it was the second shop and I was like, I felt really good. And then like, after that, I was like, Oh my God, like, this is, this is I have to grind. Like I really, really, really have to grind here because I'm my grind. And it's like, you know, you, you have to work 24 seven. Like you really do. You have to like figure it out. You know? So what made that expansion so tough? Was it taking on more inventory and more overhead essentially, you know, front end more cash. So people are always like, you know, I want to open a second shop. This is my advice. When you open up a second shop, you are, you are, your payroll is going up. Your inventory is going up. Your bills are going up and you know, and success just doesn't happen overnight. Like you're, you're building another shop. So you have to be patient with that as well. Like where you open up your doors and you have to allow people to discover that you're there, you have to put in that hard work for that second location. So, you know, it, it takes time. It takes time to have that success. So you really have to understand that, you know, a second shop, it looks good and people are going to congratulate you. And you're going to feel like, hell yeah, I made it, but you really you'd have to slow it down. And you have to realize that there is a lot that goes into it financially. And you know what I mean? Yeah. It's an, open-ended another piece, its own separate operation. And yet you've done that five times. So I applaud you on that because like on the topic of retail everywhere you read, you know, they always say like, Oh, like online, online, online, but you're actually still having the in-store presence, which I think is crucial because I don't think that's ever going to go away. And I think you need to establish foothold in person as well as an online shop This year with COVID and the shutdowns, like, you know, people always said to me, like when I first started, like, you need to have an online presence you need to like, what are you doing Kristy? Like, and also just so we're clear an online presence is very, very difficult. It is a lot of hard work. It's easy. So, you know, I didn't want to start it and it just be a joke. So I had to do it and I had to do it where it was consistent and we didn't give up. But what I was saying was when the shutdowns happen and like everything went down, there's two things about it that I can say is that people realize number one, how valuable like an online store is. And two, you realize how valuable brick and mortar was because when those when stopped, it was like, Holy, Holy shit. Like, this is, this is insane. Like, and you, and you realize that like the experience of going into a store is unlike no other. And people want to walk into places. They want to feel things. They want to touch things. They want to try it on. And you know, so when that was taken away, it was like, wow, like as much as people are like, the future is online, like get on online. And it is, it is. But it's also like, you have to understand that, like it's, you know, you look at like, you look at like all these massive department stores and all of these places that have closed, like in New York city. And it's like, yeah, online is valuable, but it's not everything it's, it's, you know, there's people closing left and right. And it's because they they're losing that brick and mortar. You know what I mean? So, Yeah, they're, they're not elevating the in store experience where, you know, a smaller shop like yours can really thrive on customer service and experience. Because like I mentioned, I worked at Macy's and Lord and Taylor, Lauren Taylor on fifth F isn't even there anymore, you know, it's nuts. Like it's, it's not all online, but I think it's just refining what the in store experience does. And when I walked into your shop at fells, I felt that that's why I reached out. I was like, wow, this, this feels like a New York store in Baltimore, which I haven't really necessarily felt walking around fells. And I thought it was really unique. So that's why I reached out. Yeah. And I was like, you also checked out your website. I was like, wow, you guys are doing phenomenal job on both. So really applied to on that. Yeah. Oh yeah. It's so much work. So I'm going to jump back a little and you know, you mentioned that, you know, some of the toughest moments were sleeping on someone's couch, not having enough cash. What got you through those moments? Okay. So, like I said to you before, like I was working 24 seven, I, you know, I didn't have employees, I had employers, but like, you know, I worked every weekend. I worked like every single day and you really have to get really involved. You have to get to know the customer, you have to ask questions, you have to like, you know, you can't just come in like and say, okay, I'm going to bring this. And like, if they don't like it, I don't know what, like, I don't know what to say. I'm going to leave, I'm going to close. So what really, I think made that transition for me was diving in and really, really getting to know the customer and asking, you know, a ton of questions and like seeing how they're shopping and what they're wearing and what they're wanting. So I think like really what got me through that was just me, you know, getting out of like my, I guess my New York city mentality and realizing that like, okay, this isn't a small little store anymore. I have two stores. I have to make this work. So how do I have to make this work? And it's really just, you know, figuring it out and like seeing who's coming in the store, seeing what they are, you know, attracted to. And I think for me, like I really, really had to identify our brand. I didn't really know what it was and I, and that was like an obsession for me. Like what is bright side? Like who is this girl? I have to figure out this girl. And I look, I literally have like notebooks of like me trying to write, like write it out and figure it out. And, and I, I tried to define who this girl was. And by doing that, we really were able to, we started making our own things. We realized that she is funny. She's cool. She's, you know, she likes these funny sayings. So w I mean, like, all these things just happened where we, we followed her, I guess you can say, like, we just tried to see what she wanted and what she was buying. And so it was like I said, it just started to turn into like, not so much about me now, granted, I put my, like, I put my touch on everything here at Brightside, but like, I really just try to like follow her and like figure out what she wants, you know what I mean? So it's like really was me just identifying who my customer was and like making a brand as far as you know. So I think that's like how we got through that, like second location. And, and I didn't want to go any further, like with the online store and like with tr you know, opening up another location until I like really, really identified that, you know, Absolutely being a student of the game, seeing how people are interacting with their products, taking notes along the way. And I think that's really good identifying that dream customer quote unquote, you know, was she looking for, was she shopping for, was she resonated with, and I really liked that you did the online shop kind of secondary. You wanted to make sure every, all the expert in the right basket for the retail store before diving, It was for the brand. Like, I didn't want to like put out a, a website and like, people be confused, like, who is this customer? Like, what is she? So, you know, like at the time it was like, you know, this is like 2015. So I was, you know, really trying to find like who these influencers are and you know, how I can, like, you know, I have to find these girls, I have to take pictures of these girls. I have to like, you know, show the customer, you know, who this girl is and how she's wearing these clothes. And, and that's kind of like what led to everything. And like, even just like launching the, we were, we were able to like, like, w like launch it, knowing who this bright side girl was, you know? Yeah. And you had all the creative assets in line clearly representing who you want it to be. And I noticed that you said that it's funny. She, I forget the other word you said, but I can see that translated Just like, wants to have a good time. And we were like, you know, and we have like, you know, we, we, when we buy, when we're buying gift items and we're buying like clothes and stuff, it's like, it's nothing has taken too seriously. Like, we have curse words in our store. We have like, funny, like memes on the mugs and on the, you know, the bags and stuff. And we realized that like, you know, our customer, like she wants these, once these things, like, she's not looking, it's not, you can go to Walmart, you know, and get like the more serious gift item or whatever. And we made it. So like, you're going to come to Brightside if you want to like, have a laugh or you want to have at the time. So that's kind of like where we, where we moved in that direction. And that's what I really admired about your store. When I walked in, I was picking up stuff and I was like, Oh, this is funny. You know, this is clever, you know, and you know, it's something about being different from that hallmark. If you, aren't going to give it some personality. Yeah. Give it some personality. And I think that's what people ultimately like, like to buy into, because they'll see right through it. If your brand isn't aligned to who you are, When we, when I decided to carry cards, okay. No one was carrying cards. Actually. I have my, my friend who owns a store in fells point, she was carrying cards. Her cards are very like pretty and like no, no curse words and stuff like that. So when we decided to go into like more of the gift approach, which again, that was one of the things that helped Fell's point too. It was like, we expanded into like gift items and stuff like that. We were, you know, the cards just were, I was like, we have to do something different. And the cards are just like, they're funny. And they're like, kind of disgusting. And like, But we realized that it's so funny. Like we have like old ladies buying, like, like cards that have like penises on them. And we were like, this is so funny. Like, our customer is like, she's that too. Yeah. And that experience has provided enjoyed to them, you know, because you're not going to get, you're not going to get a penis card at hallmark or like Stevia go to Brightside, shop online to, for all the funds I edit any plugs you want. I got you. But is that, so along the lines of that is that one of the most satisfying parts about having a store is just seeing customers interact with the products that you sell and the potential of giving it to someone and things like that. Yeah. I mean, I see like our customers and they are like so confident and so, and like, I love the way that they dress and I love their attitude. And like, I, that, for me, it's like, it's so rewarding to see these, like these amazing, you know, beautiful women coming into the store and just like, and liking what we're selling, you know, and, and buying it. And, and I also love to see just like, you know, all different types of people coming into, not just like, you know, this cool young girl, but like, like I said, like we have like old men that come into like bright side and buy like a Ray of fucking sunshine, like ha. And he like Continues to come in and buys like three more because he's like, I got to get these, this gifts. So like that to me, it's like, I love it. Like, I that's, that's definitely the most rewarding thing for me to see is just like, you know, Absolutely. Yeah. It's a, it's a something bigger than yourself when you make it. And I think that's what you should strive for when you make a business, have a positive impact and provide that joy to people. Yeah. You know, I mean, there, you have to, like, you have to stand out in your own way now. Like that's like our way, and I'm not saying that's the only way. That's just the route that I took, but, you know, there's, there's definitely like stores out there that I completely admire and love that do it a completely different way. And they have, they're an expert at their way. So you just gotta like find, you know, you got to find what works for you. And you got to find what, you know, what works for your customer. And you have to be true to, you know, yourself. And I know there's like a million stores you can look out and now you have like Instagram and you can like, you know, you can, you can look at what everyone else is doing, but you really have to stay tight on like your vision and like what you, what you want out of your business, you know? Absolutely. And I like the point that he said stand out and also do business different, because I think it's very easy to wrap up with what's going on in Instagram and try more that into what you do. But I think it's like, you gotta stay true to your values and what you define the brand as not necessarily always chase the trend, if it's out of line of your brand Or copy. I mean, like there's stores that like I am obsessed with that are like in LA and they're like, they're beautiful and they're, but they're super, super Bohemian. And they're like really like West coast. And like, I can take what I see from them and like find it as inspiration. But I know that, like, I can't bring that completely over here because we are the East coast and our style is different and we don't have this like Bohemian girl running around all over the place. So we can take some things from different places and kind of like, you know, Emily to your own version and your make your own type of brand, you know what I'm saying? And, and I think that's, Yeah, I think that's the best way to go. It's like find inspiration from other shops, but ultimately make it your own. I think that's the thing where I see so much, so many different like accounts, just copying one another. It's like give your own spin. That's what people resonate. Yeah. So on the topic of inspiration, where do you find inspiration? Let's say outside of the shop, like, is there any activity that just kind of really clears your mind? Well, I mean, once upon a time, like I would travel a little bit and that would be inspiring for me. I like absolutely love to see like people outside of Baltimore as well. I don't, you know, I think that that is very, very good to do as far as like, you know, leave your space a little bit, see what else is out there, get inspiration from like other people in different areas and see something maybe that you haven't seen before. And the kind of like, bring it back here and, you know, show them something different. That, that to me is, you know, very necessary. I'm like, like I'm obsessed with New York city. I always will be. I think that like, every time I go there, like it, it just like inspires the hell out of me. So I just, I don't know, like, I'll always just like need a weekend trip there just to get like inspired, you know what I mean? And also the food. Oh my God. Yeah. I can relate to that. I live in New York for three years and recently just moved back to Baltimore area and yeah, there's some, something about the energy that is so contagious. It's absolutely, it can be exhausting, but also exhilarating at the same time, which is I'm going to ask. So for anyone that's just starting out a business, you know, hindsight's 20, 20, you know, what, what advice or recommendations would you have for someone just launching whether a general business or it could be a boutique shop? I mean, like I said before, you, you really have to be prepared for the amount of work that it takes. Like, you know, you're never going to work harder in your life than when you decide I want to open up my own business and you have to be patient. Like we said, you have to know that like, success isn't going to happen right away. Unless you're really, really lucky. I mean, I've seen that too, but you know, a lot of the luck just doesn't happen. It comes from like hard work, but, you know, take your time, you know, know that it doesn't happen right away. You know, I would say, save your money. You know, if you do make money, don't go spend all your money, take your time with that as well. It's like, you know, things happen, you know, you have a bad season or, you know, there's different things that like come into your way where you just have to, like, you have to be calm about it. You know what I'm saying? And do a lot of do the research. I mean, like prior to opening up Brightside, like I just say like, Oh, I want to open up a store. And I just did it. Like I researched the hell out of it. I, you know, read a bunch of books. I, I mean, at the time, it's not that ancient ago, but it was like the information that you have now versus the information I had then is like insane. Like now the amount of podcasts that are out there that you can like listen to, like is it's unreal, the amount of information that you can get. And I mean, these things were not available when I first started. So, okay. I would say just gather all the information that you can because it's all over the place right now. So take advantage of that. Like completely, Absolutely. I mean the power of the internet and finding out anything you want to do, you know, any profession, any career, you can Google opening up a store and there's going to be multiple argue articles about how to do what to think about what to research. It's pretty like unreal. And also, I, I really, I think nowadays, you know, where back in the day, when you're running around and talking to these old men, it was kind of like who you knew, you know, the classic like, Oh, who, you know, that's how you get far now. It's like, you can literally introduce yourself to anyone. Like, for me, I would have like, back in the day, I would have had to go into your store, ask for the owner, you know, this to be like, Oh, like, is she there then? Who knows? But like now I just, yeah. I just sent a message. I was like, yeah, let's set some up. And it's like the power of the internet. It's really, really cool if it's used appropriately in the right motives, you know, and things like that. What's what's next for brights Brightside. I was about to say bright shop, but I stopped myself. Good name too. So right now we like with, with everything that happened this year, we're really, really have taken the time to put a lot of our energy into like the online aspect. So we were, you know, everything happened in March and we kind of just like, you know, look, I mean, I have like my core team, like the one my office team and, you know, we, we sat down and I was like, guys, like, we are an online store right now. Like, that's all we have. So we have to like transition our mindset. So we really, you know, we went, we went in and we put a ton of energy into this online store. We changed a lot about it. We made it way more user-friendly than in what it was. We had to change a lot of like what we were doing as far as like inventory went. And we were working out of a very small room and it w we were like on top of each other. And so, you know, in the past month we had the opportunity to, you know, expand and we got an office, like an actual like office, and we got a studio and we really, you know, we had to take the steps to, you know, try to make the online presence and the online store as best as possible. So right now, you know, for me, my goal is to make it. So our online store is, you know, more successful than like any store. So far it's been successful than probably half the stores. So now we're, I'm really trying to focus like my efforts in that, where that, what, like, with that, I need to make sure that I have the inventory and everything for that online store. So I needed the space to do that. And that's why we expanded our, our offices. And we got like, you know, an area for receiving and for, you know, product and stuff like that. So this year is going to be a lot of time spent on that because we really don't know what's going to happen. I'm hoping that like, you know, everything will get better once, like the vaccines come out and we can get back to a normal life, but we don't know how long that's going to take. So we're gonna just going to keep doing what we're doing with the wet, with the, you know, with a brick and mortar. And that's just to like, you know, we can't have events right now. Like we can't, you know, all these things that we typically would do, we can't have like these enormous store sales. So we have to just keep it, like the way that it is. And, you know, you can come to Brightside, you can find whatever you need to find. And then once things change, we can like kind of transition and like, do more of the things that we were doing in the past. But, you know, I think right now, like the, you know, the energy needs to go into, you know, the online and the marketing and the social media and stuff like that. Like we just started a Tik TOK and you know, now I'm like, we should do this and that, like, so our efforts need to go into that right now because that's like, our customer is on her phone and she's at home. And we have to like, you know, make the most out of that. You're already a step ahead. And also open it up. A online shop is essentially opening up another store with all these different app integrations and things. It's not like a simple, like, sign up for a domain and you're good. Oh my God. Okay. We, and I try to tell people that, you know, it's like, you know, I think if you have like a small gift store, I think that like, you know, and I'm not going to say that's easy either, because that's definitely not, that's not, none of this is easy, but like, as far as like, you know, a clothing store goes to make it authentic and to make it like branded and to like fit your vision, like, you have to take the photos yourself and like, you can't just, you know, I, I, before I hired Emma, like who does my website with me and the photography and stuff like that, I was like doing this stuff myself. And I was like, trying to figure it out on my own. Like, I, you know, I bought my backdrop, I bought my strobe and my camera. And I was like, trying to figure this out. And I was like watching YouTube videos on like how to edit photos. Honestly, it was like me just trying to teach myself how to like, take photos. Now I did it. And it didn't look as good as Emma's, but I, you know, it made it. So I was able to like launch a website and to, you know, at least have an online presence. Now I then started like, hiring, like some freelance people that did it, like, you know, help me here and there. But I really realized, like I needed someone to do it full time. You got the ball rolling, but your energy needs to be elsewhere. Not uploading pictures to the website. Yeah. So I was like spending days, like, you know, editing. And I was just like, Oh my God, I can't like do this all the time. I have like so many other things that need to be doing. And so that's when it comes to like, you know, hiring somebody now, that's what we were saying before. It's like, you can't just be like, I, you know, I'm going to open a store and I'm going to like, have an online store and I'm going to just like hire somebody. And it's like, you don't understand, like, you know, when you hire somebody, you're going to be spending more money. So take your time and educate yourself and learn it yourself. Like, there is some, like, there's so much information on the internet. They have like, they have people showing you on YouTube, like how to do anything on photos. It, it, it's actually not like there's so many illustrator, Photoshop tutorials. I've just watched for a very specific question. And there's a video and I'm just like, this is amazing. In the past, when I first started, like I would hire interns and I'd be like, do you know, Photoshop? I need you to know Photoshop. And then some of them would, they'd be like, yes. And that was like one of my main requirements when I hired interns, like, you know, back in the day. So now when they come in, I'm just like, okay, sit down. Like we have to teach you CAMBA. And we just like, teach them Canva. And, and that's, you know, I say, you know, if you want to get an internship at Brightside, we really teach you like, what is needed for your future? Like, I don't know if they have like Canva going on at like Telson university right now, but I really feel like they should. They started absolutely. It can be a free program too, which is nice. Okay. So are you ready for the rapid fire questions? Let's do it. If you had to choose one red or white wine, what's the first thing you do in the morning Water wash my face and moisturize my face. I started to start the day off. Right. Feeling good. Got hydrate. Was the last book you read A hairdresser called Jen Atkins. And it's called blowing my way to the top. If you could be an animal, what animal would you be? Yes, that would be a lion because I just wouldn't want anyone like coming there my way. What are your favorite kind of flowers? I, I like roses. I think they're pretty classic. Yeah. What's one thing you wish everyone would do. This is gonna sound like a little mean, but not really. I feel like all damn day. I'm like, I want people to like, do their job. Like I lose my mind all day. I'm like, why, why can't I call customer service sometimes? And I like, I call like places for help or I, you know what I mean? Like anything like, and I just feel like people are just like, mine can help you out with that. And I'm like, Oh my God. And you know what I realized as I got older, I'm like, why didn't I do, why didn't I like choose to do this for a living? Because I just could like, answer the phone and be like, I can't help you with that. But people just accept it. Yeah. And I'm like, how's this acceptable. Like, I didn't think growing up that that was acceptable or like that, that could land you a job. But I, I, I know now that you can do that for a living, you can say I can't help you out with that though. Yeah, absolutely. Great, great perspective. All right, Christie Vazquez, thank you so much for joining us. Where can, where can everyone keep up with you? Check out I spouse, bright shop, right side. You can follow us on bright side, underscore boutique on Instagram. Our website is shot brightside.com. And my personal Instagram is Christie Vazquez. And then it's underscore underscore Vasquez. So, you know, I post stuff about the shop and like goofy videos of my employees and my child. So, but yeah, Definitely check it out with my niece and fellows. So if you need some gifts Genuine. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm a little bit of everything. So Christie Vazquez, thank you. Once again, If you enjoyed this episode, please share this with a friend. This is the best way to help trust the grind podcast world. But more importantly, this could provide some inspiration and have a big impact on your friend. Christie Vazquez was a great guest and I really enjoyed learning about how she's scaled Brightside boutique into the business as it is today. As we talked about earlier, nowadays, everyone talks about e-commerce, but people still want that in-store experience. Christie Vazquezdoes a phenomenal job making this experience stand out. If you are in the Baltimore DC area, be sure to check out Brightside boutique in person, if not check out their Instagram @brightside_boutique or brightsideboutique.com.<inaudible>.