Your team is essential for a store’s success. Who you hire needs to represent your mission statement- the purpose as to why your business exists. Since this is heavily a service based industry first, every bride who walks through the doors expects to be treated like an unique individual, which is what I emphasized heavily on our website and social media. Brides will pick a store for a couple main reasons, the service and atmosphere and the dress selection they think they like.

I had quite a bit of trial and error with finding the right people for my store. At first I would hire anyone who was available and knew some sales because I was building the business so I was wearing a lot of hats at the time. Once I started finding a rhythm as to how brides choose their dress, it became easier to train new employees. It also became easier to know who would be a team player or not because this isn’t a solo act position.

When it comes to bridal, you’re typically going to find younger women who are available part to full time. The turnover rate depends on how well you treat them, along with compensation and benefits. Many of my employees stayed because they appreciated me as a boss and I made sure we did things together as a group outside of the store with dinners or get-togethers.

Being in my 30s I did become close with a few of them and it’s because I loved having them work for me, on top of caring about them as a person. Yes, you need to be careful because they are still your employee, but being a small business, you need to find that balance. Look for “My Mistake” below.

So, when it comes to finding a good hire, what should you look for?

1. Willingness to learn– Are they adaptable? Can they follow a blueprint to how to run a bridal appointment, but still be in tune with a bride so they can be personable to truly help them find a dress that is right for them and their big day? Notice I didn’t say they needed to have experience in selling wedding dresses. This isn’t something you should be looking for. It can be TAUGHT.
2. Team player– this is a non-negotiable. If they are causing problems with a small team, it’ll bring down the whole store’s morale real fast. Do they help encourage other staff members with their appointments? Cleaning up? Encouraging trying new things to help a sale?
3. Commitment– This one can be hard because turnover is inevitable in a workplace. This is also challenging when someone is younger or in school because life happens. Whether it’s marriage, having a family, graduating, moving.. I look for employees that either want to grow in their position or truly love the industry because then they will stick around where they feel valued.

My Mistake

Once the store was doing well and I was getting so busy to the point where I wanted to work more from home, I was ready to promote one of my employees to manager. She was eager to take on that role so I decided to go for it. At some point you have to work “on” your business, not just “in”.

She was very driven, organized, smart, pushed to try new things and closed sales easily. However, the friendship blurred lines with trust and there were problems I didn’t know existed until another employee finally told me. What was done completely crossed the line and I didn’t feel comfortable trying to correct the issue at hand. I unfortunately had to let her go and work full-time in the store again.

It ended up being a blessing because my team was happier, I was the face of the store again and the brides appreciated it. Did it put more on my plate again? Yes, but it reminded me as to why I started the store in the first place, I wanted to build a community around me and I needed to be involved to help grow and experience it.

Takeaway

The bridal industry is a unique place to be in and a lot of the independent stores are small businesses so the team you hire is essential for its growth and overall success. Success can be defined many ways, but at the end of the day we start a business because we have a love for something we have a vision for.

This is going to tie in with the atmosphere, services provided, products being offered, your team and overall work/life balance. We all need to provide for ourselves and our family. So if you can find that combination that works on all levels, then you certainly built something special. Oh yeah and get a store dog, they’re the best!