156: How Emily Thompson Achieves Operational Excellence in Small Batch Retail

This Episode is Sponsored By:

Emily Thompson epitomizes being boss. In fact, six years ago she co-founded a podcast by the same name, and it quickly became a formidable movement for creatives around the world. But her success didn’t start there. It began with her love for geography. That love spawned a series of successful businesses with the latest being Almanac Supply Co. – a retail operation offering nature-inspired goods.

This venture’s success hinges on Emily’s process advocacy. In an industry where profit margins are traditionally tight, having an even tighter order-to-delivery process is key to fulfilling demand and reaching economies of scale.

In this episode, she describes a term she coined, “small batch retail,” and the optimal combination of people, processes, and tools required to navigate supply chain constraints and achieve operational excellence in it. Discover why Emily says every leader needs a wolf pack and the importance of performing annual process audits.

Special Guest: Emily Thompson, Host of Being Boss Podcast; Founder & CEO, Almanac Supply Co.

Location: Chattanooga, TN USA

Air Date: July 4, 2021

Resources

Websites

Almanac Supply Co.: a retail company offering seasonal, nature-inspired goods including hand-crafted candles, crystals, teas, books and more!
Being Boss: a one-stop destination for creatives (and entrepreneurs who do things creatively) looking to take their businesses to the next level.

Books

Being Boss:Take Control of Your Work and Live Life on Your Own Terms: Emily’s book, co-authored by Kathleen Shannon.
Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run by Itself: a book by Mike Michalowicz.
Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine: a book by Mike Michalowicz.

Professional Organizations

Being Boss Community: an inclusive online community for creatives seeking collaboration and immersive support and resources as they make money doing the work they love.

Podcasts & Articles

Being Boss Podcast: Emily’s podcast for creatives (and business owners and entrepreneurs who do things creatively) “…who want to take control of their work and live life on their own terms.”
Hubspot Podcast Network: HubSpot’s new podcast network of which the Being Boss podcast is an inaugural member. The network is an extension of HubSpot’s commitment to offer best-in-class resources to support small business growth.

Related Episodes

053: The One Thing You Need to Know About Product Prototyping – Eric Lange

072: Gifford Pace’s Inventory Management Process

140: How I Scale Unknown Brands into Million & Billion Dollar Household Names featuring Maureen Mwangi

141: How I Scaled & Why I Shut Down My Critically-Acclaimed Fashion Company featuring Kevin Afuwah

Credits

Writer, Producer & Host: Alicia Butler Pierre
Podcast Editor: Olanrewaju Adeyemo
Video Editor: Gladys Jimenez
Transcription: Outsource Global
Sponsors: HubSpot, ThinkSmart Whiteboard

Bios

More About Guest, Emily Thompson:
Emily Thompson is the co-founder and host of Being Boss, a resource, podcast, and community for creative entrepreneurs, and founder and CEO of Almanac Supply Co., a retail brand that makes and curates products that help people connect with nature. For over a decade Emily has worked closely with creatives to help them make money doing work they love, with a focus on building online business models and growing creative businesses.

More About Host, Alicia Butler Pierre:
Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc. Her career in operations began over 20 years ago while working as an engineer in various chemical plants and oil refineries. She invented the Kasennu™ framework for business infrastructure and authored, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. It is the world’s first published book on business infrastructure for small businesses. Alicia hosts the weekly Business Infrastructure podcast with a global audience across 53 countries.

More About Sponsor, HubSpot:
HubSpot offers a full platform of marketing, sales, customer service, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software — plus the methodology, resources, and support — to help businesses. Their CRM platform is powered by the same database, so everyone in your organization — Marketing, Sales, Service & Operations — is working off the same system of record. This allows for a smoother handoff between teams and results in a more delightful experience for your customers. Learn more.

More About Sponsor, ThinkSmart Whiteboard:
Thinksmart Whiteboard is a Windows App that turns your Tablet PC into a shared whiteboard. It allows you to create a whiteboard on your computer screen, then allows other people to write onto your whiteboard, even if they are in another location! Learn more.

Latest Episodes