Tina Cole and Erin Gieck have co-owned The Xchange Boutique on East High Street since late 2012, after merging two separate clothing resale stores.
The two carry a large load with few employees as they seek to run a competitive, thriving store with hopes of growth and expansion for the future. We sat down with Cole and Gieck to talk about how they manage and where they hope to go as they move forward.
Name: Tina Cole, Erin Gieck
Organization: The Xchange Boutique
Age: Cole, 34; Gieck, 35
Hometown: Cole, Oceanside, California; Gieck, Jefferson City
Last book I read: Cole, "I'm not a big reader;" Gieck, "Twilight"
Favorite movie: Cole, "Coming to America;" Gieck, "I don't really have one."
If I wasn't doing this, I'd be ...: Cole, "I don't know ... this is it;" Gieck, "in the printing industry."
Q. How would you describe your job?
Cole: "Basically helping people all day. Helping people put outfits together. Most of the time I'm sitting back (behind the counter) processing clothes, so it kind of feels like doing laundry all day."
Gieck: "I enjoy working with customers ... It's kind of like shopping all day sometimes, because we are."
Q. What was the career path that brought you to this position?
Cole: "I did some of everything trying to get here, but I just always wanted to own my own business ... There wasn't too much retail, I did a little bit here and there in college for odd jobs, but it was just a love for junking and thrift stores."
Gieck: "I did go to school ... for marketing and management, but I was always in the printing industry. But this was always like my little girl dream. I used to go thrift store shopping all through college in Springfield, and it was just something I always enjoyed. Once I ran into Tina (Cole), she had already had The Bag Lady and then we discussed opening up the kids' store. We literally discussed it and within two weeks, we were signing a lease. I was working at (the News Tribune) then in the classifieds ... I was kind of scared to take that leap, and I was just like, "You know what, I've just got to go for it. I've got to believe in it in order for it to work.' And so I quit the paper, and it just kind of happened."
Q. Who influenced you to enter this profession? (Or who was your biggest influence?)
Cole: "My dad just always saying if that's what you want to do, do it. Both my parents are really supportive and just instilled, "If you want to do it, do it.'"
Gieck: "My dad owned his own business, so basically just seeing him put in the time and the effort."
Q. What's the biggest professional achievement you've realized?
Cole: "We're still here. It can't get any better than that."
Gieck: "Just being here. We're still here, so that's the biggest achievement."
Q. What's the most common mistake people make when entering your profession, and how can it be avoided?
Cole: "They try to do too much too fast. We built really slow and really steady and we started really small, very small. We just grew. Erin (Gieck) and I got together in 2012 ... and then 2013, combining our two stores into one. We're business partners now through and through, and I think that was the best way for us to do it. We take pride in the fact that we don't owe anybody but ourselves, we don't have big financing or things like that. We do things as we can afford them, and if we can't afford it, we don't do it... We're happy with the way that we've done it and how slowly we've grown and how steady we've become. That's what it's all about."
Gieck: "I don't know. It's a hard profession. I guess not being financially prepared because there's times when you're not even getting drive-in traffic. You have to be financially prepared. It is extremely unpredictable."
Q. What's the biggest lesson you have learned?
Cole: "I'm still learning."
Gieck: "Your employees and your business, everything comes first. It's another financial preparation thing."
Q. What's the biggest challenge facing you in the next year?
Cole: "Our biggest thing is being able to participate in everything, cause we're so small, it's just Erin (Gieck) and I. We get help from our friends in peak times and things like that, but we don't spend lots of money with employees and things like that, it's truly on our backs. That's always our biggest challenge. Being able to be prepared when there's big things going on downtown and being completely staffed to accommodate for the larger events and having people that want to work during those times. We're here so much ... I've got a life, I want to leave here and live it. So maintaining just a steady balance during those peak times when we need help, that's really a challenge."
Gieck: "We're constantly growing, so every month is a challenge. Sometimes you have to pass on stuff that you don't know is going to sell right away. Keeping the boutique filled, Because we strive on being organized and being a boutique and not a thrift store, so the more we grow, continuing to have that boutique feel to it."
Q. Why did you decide to locate in Jefferson City?
Cole: "Because it's growing. And it's growing about as slowly as we're growing, so it's a nice slow, steady (pace)... Slowly but surely it's creeping up there."
Gieck: "I'm from here; I'm not leaving here. I'm not going anywhere else; my family is here. Of course, we had a need for a children's store and that's when me and Tina (Cole) went into business."
Q. What can Jefferson City do to improve itself?
Cole: "Allow it to grow. Be open to the fact that not everyone is like you. Everyone doesn't have to be like you to be OK. I think that is the biggest problem. Sometimes I feel like we don't allow a lot of things in this town and that's not good. Not that I agree with everything that wants to come to town, but I would still allow it because everyone doesn't agree with me. We all have different beliefs, so we should honor that. Something else that Jeff City should improve on is something for these kids to do, because they just hang out downtown. They are doing nothing, and there's nothing for them to do. Where can they go? I see that as a problem being a merchant down here. After about 4 p.m. when it's nice out, kids are just hanging out and they're disruptive, and that's kids. But if you give them something to put their energy towards, like the younger kids have Boys and Girls Club and sports and things like that. But when you get to the high school level, if you didn't make the team, it's not like momma can just pay the fee and you still be on the team and have something to do. I think that's something major, we need some type of complex for them to hang out."
Gieck: "I just think bringing jobs to Jefferson City. And maybe even figuring out some more parking for downtown somewhere. I don't know how, I don't know where."
Q. Where do you see your profession in five years? Where do you see yourself in five years?
Cole: "Multiple stores, doing the exact same thing. Just multiple stores or a franchise, I'd be okay with either one, but there will be more than just one Xchange Boutique. Managing that."
Gieck: "Hopefully, another store, at least, if not a couple.Busy."
Q. What are the best/worst parts of your job?
Cole: "The people. Just the fact that I still have to be the processing (person)... We have help part-time and they basically put out (clothes) for us... But that's our biggest challenge."
Gieck: "I love working with the customers. Being able to fulfill the need of mothers or parents that are on a budget, I mean, I'm one of "em so I know. Just being able to help that customer who lost 100 pounds and comes in and needs a whole new wardrobe or that one lady who hasn't had a job for a year who comes in and has an interview tomorrow and doesn't know what to wear. We send her out of here feeling like a million bucks for $30. That type of stuff is the funnest part of it. A lot of those customers that we do that with, especially the interviews, they come back and tell us, "Hey, guess what, I got another interview and I need another outfit.' We build relationships with our families a lot. With maternity clothes, we get to watch the baby grow and then the baby be here and then find clothes for that baby until they grow out of that area and into the (boutique area). It's very fun.
"A lot of times just being so busy. We have so much inventory and stuff to process that we are stuck behind this counter a lot, and we don't get to do that fun, grassroots marketing, interacting with our customers as much. There's a lot of other marketing ideas that Tina (Cole) and I have that we are not able to do because we're needed so much right here."
Q. What is something about yourself that nobody knows?
Cole: "I'm kind of one of those "you're going to get it.' You're getting me. If you want to know, you're going to get it. I put it out there, straightforward, blunt."
Gieck: "That I have the best business partner in the world."