Evolve or Don’t Exist; Lessons From My EVOLVE Conference

 What just happened? I blacked out, put on this event. That was pretty incredible. And now, here I am, and I am so excited to share some of the things that happened at our conference Evolve. And in this episode of Rooted in Retail, I’m going to share with you something that I learned that so many retailers struggle with.

 

I mean, I knew this before, but at Evolve, I really realized something that’s holding our retailers back, something that’s so common for so many of us, and we’re going to talk about it in this episode. And I have an incredible story that I will share with you from one of our attendees at Evolve and what happened for her, her kind of breakthrough moment, really special. This event was filled with tons of education and laughter and tears. It was incredible. So let’s get into this episode. Welcome to Rooted In Retail, the show that’s dedicated to helping independent retailers thrive in today’s ever-evolving retail landscape. I’m your host, Crystal Vilkaitis, and I’m thrilled to have you join me weekly as we explore topics that are vital to the success of your store from marketing to mindset, money to merchandising, sales to leadership, will cover it all. Each episode features interviews with industry experts and accomplished retailers who share their real life insights and actionable advice. Get ready for a great conversation on how to build your dream business with Rooted in Retail.

 

So the Evolve Conference was April 25th and 26th in Denver, Colorado, and or 26th, 27th, now that it’s over, I just don’t even know the days. It was incredible. I feel I’m saying incredible a million times this episode because it just really was. We did a survey and. I’ve been reading all these responses yesterday and today, and people are just saying how it wildly exceeded their expectations.

 

They thought it was going to be a social media conference. They learned so much more. It was marketing. It was mindset. It was business. The people that we brought to this event were incredible. Our keynotes, Victoria Labalme was our opening keynote and she used to be an actress on Broadway and Sex in the City and all sorts of shows, and was living in New York City. Watching the twin towers go down on 9/11 from her apartment window, and she just told an incredibly inspiring, powerful story and helped our audience get into a state of really following their heart, being them, having a consistent through line, following their passion and their purpose, and really communicating that. And had some tips to do that. She just was an amazing way to start the event and everybody loved her. She also studied with a mime, who I’m not, I don’t remember the name of the mime right now, but it’s like the, the top mime in the world. And she did some miming of a grandma and of a bird. It was so entertaining and so awesome to watch.

 

We had great content throughout the day. We did a generational shopping panel, and I’m actually thinking about doing a recap of that generational shopping panel for this show. So if you’re interested in that DM me on Instagram, either my personal account or the crystal media account, because it was fascinating. There were four different generations. There was a Gen Z, a millennial, a Gen X, and a boomer. And just hearing their path to purchase and how they’re discovering products and buying products. The big takeaway, I’ll say from that one panel was that the Gen Z and millennial are using and searching hashtags on TikTok and Instagram more than they are Googling when they’re trying to find products to buy or inspiration or when they’re doing research for purchasing, they’re using hashtags, they’re not Googling. And so the power of hashtags. I’ll talk more about the panel. I think we’re going to do a recap session on that. I really do want to know if you want to hear about that, it was one of the top rated sessions.

 

Our other keynote speaker, Mark Schaefer, talked about why people choose certain brands. And the heart of a brand and the community and the connection and the emotion of a brand, and showed some really incredible examples of that. It was a really powerful presentation.

 

Now on day one, at the end of day one, I closed the day one with talking about the number one thing that holds retailers back from seeing success on social media. And I’ve always known that this is a challenge for our retailers, and so I created a new topic around it, and this is brand new content. I’ve talked about some of this stuff here and there, but I haven’t had this full on presentation addressing this number one thing, which is resistance and resistance equals fear. So many of us, not just retailers of all of us humans, we have so much fear around putting ourselves out there on social media. We have fear of failure of success, of how we’re going to look in sound if we mess up of the technology. There’s a lot of different fears that I’m sure you know, listening to this.

 

What is that thing for you that kind of holds you back from leveraging social media and using it more and putting your face on camera and posting to social media more often? And doing those videos, like I totally understand that this is not normal for most of us. We didn’t grow up doing this. Like all of a sudden we have to become these content creators and these performers on social media. And honestly, I don’t want you to think of yourself as having to be a performer, but a lot of us do. We think we have to be a certain way,  when you’re just yourself and you’re just authentic, that is the stuff that people connect the most with. And we talked a lot about this at Evolve, about how people just want to relate to you. They are wanting connection. The consumer wants connection now more than ever. And so the way that we get that kind of connection is through relating to the person who’s on the other side of the phone, of the camera. And the way that we relate is when we see somebody being their authentic, transparent self. So being you. And we resist doing that for a lot of different reasons. For lack of resources, time, money, we think. We don’t have the time, we don’t have the money to be posting on social media or getting our message out there to more people. Perfectionism is a big one, and I had a lot of conversations with retailers that Evolve about this.

 

In our survey results, they were saying one of their biggest takeaways was done is better than perfect. We say this all the time because if we sit around waiting for things to be perfect, it’s never going to get done. You’re never going to be perfect. And a Broadway playwright shared how you make a character somebody that people hate is you make that person perfect. We want flaws. We want to relate to you, we want connection. And when you are your authentic self, the people. That do relate to you and resonate with you will find you, and they’ll stay on that content. And so you’re doing a wild disservice by not putting yourself out there because then you’re not being seen, right?You’re not connecting to those people that so dearly want to find you and see you. We have resistance holding us back because it didn’t work in the past with our social media. So it’s not going to work now, or it’s not really working right now, so it never will, and that’s all. That’s just resistance. I know that it could work.

 

I have millions, probably, at this point, maybe not that many, but I have thousands of case studies and examples of retailers that I’ve seen kicking ass on social media and, not just like, oh, they get millions of views, like actually driving business and connecting so deep with their customers on these platforms.

 

So I do know it works. Does it work every single time? No, nothing does. There’s a lot of gray with the algorithm on how, what’s going to work, what’s going to get people in, get in front of people and what’s going to get them in the store. But we let that thought hold us back.

 

Also, we can be so reliant on word of mouth marketing, that we’re the best store with the best products and the best team and the best customer service that people are just going to come in. They’ll find us, they’re to shop with us, and then they’ll be lifetime customers. But you have to continuously show up for people to find you number one. And for them to keep choosing you because you might be amazing, but your customer might be at home scrolling through Instagram and connect with a new store that’s right down the block from you that sells all the same stuff that you do, or an e-com retailer, but they’re connecting with this person personally, daily, weekly on these social media platforms, building relationship, and all of a sudden you become forgettable because you are not posting on social media. You’re just counting on that word of mouth. We have to show up, we have to put ourselves out there. Resistance keeps us stuck from comparing ourselves to others. The story down the street is doing a better job. She’s better on camera, she looks better,  he’s got more business, more successful, all the things, right? We’re comparing ourselves and so that keeps us stuck. Imposter syndrome is a big one where we feel like we aren’t good enough, we’re fake, we’re fraud, and so we don’t want to be exposed. We don’t want to put ourselves on social media and on camera to be exposed that I’m not the expert, that I’m not the person who knows about these products, the trends, my customers, what people are buying. Imposter syndrome  is a real thing. I so struggle with that myself. Or analysis per paralysis of trying to decide, what should I be doing? When should I be posting? Where should I be posting? How often should I be posting? We have all these decisions to make every single day, and sometimes that prevents us from making any decisions. And so then we don’t do anything right. Then we were like, I’ll just put it off for tomorrow. I’ll just get that done tomorrow. We have so much faith in our tomorrow self that it’s going to get done tomorrow, and so there’s so much resistance, and resistance comes from fear, and if we let that hold us back then we are not showing up to connect with our customers because we live in a time where we have direct access to our customers and can reach them while they are scrolling in their beds or while they’re watching TV or while they’re standing in line, they’re using these platforms every single day. It’s a gift that we get to, we get to connect with our customers every single day on these platforms. Don’t we have to, oh, have to post a social, you get to. And so I talked a lot about this at Evolve, and I’m going to be talking a lot more about this because I see that it’s a mindset thing. It’s really a mindset that’s holding us back from going for it. And the thing is, that fear can make us dim our light. And so we won’t shine as bright. We might not shine as bright because somebody in our life, a family member, a friend, an employee is struggling, is having a hard time, and we don’t want to show how amazing our life is. So we keep ourselves quiet. Or for the fear of how we’ll look and sound and messing up and all of that, we will keep ourselves dim and we won’t shine our light. But the thing is, when you shine your light, the people that see that, your customers that see that, you are giving them permission to shine their light too.

 

And I talked about this at Evolve. I started my show Crystal Uncorked in March of 2021, and I was more vulnerable and personal and just open and honest about things that I haven’t really talked about in my life. And as well as in my business, I was shining my light, I was being my authentic self and sharing. And through that, retailers watched those episodes, and specifically Michelle Smith, the Piccolo, Mando Toys, who was at Evolve in the front row, just love her so much. She watched and it gave her permission to be more vulnerable as well, and to shine her light. And now Michelle is the superstar on social media really showing up where she didn’t, before you would scroll her Instagram, you would not see Michelle on her Instagram, you wouldn’t see her face, you wouldn’t see her video. And then she started listening to that show and started working with us, and she started to be brave and have the courage and put herself out there. And now she feels so comfortable. She goes live all the time. She’s got her Toy Talk Tuesday show because she overcame those fears that were really holding her back and she decided, I’m going to do it afraid and I’m going to let my  light shine. And so I just want us to think about why not me, right? Why can’t I have that success? Like Michelle, why can’t I put myself out there? What if it does work out?

 

 I want us to flip the script, instead of thinking, “no, there’s no way I could do that,” or, “I’m not engaging,” or, “I’m not pretty,” or, “I’m not skinny,” or I’m not all the head trash that we have, there’s so much head trash that we go through and guys, I go through this myself, I get it. I know it’s hard.

 

I actually have spent the past year working really hard on these things and overcoming these challenges that I have because I’m human just like you, but we have to think differently. And instead of look at other people and look at what they’re doing and say, oh, that could never work for me. What if it does work? What if it does work out? Because you have to show up. If you don’t show up, you don’t exist. And the thing that Independence have a wild benefit over Amazon and big boxes is you, you. Your team and you humanized content. So posting videos and photos of yourself every single day talking to your customers because you get to is the way that you are going to build those relationships. It’s the way that they’re going to choose you. It’s the way that you’re going to stay in business. And so I showed this video of myself, a transformation video at Evolve, and it was the first video clip is of me from 2008. That was my first YouTube video where I was teaching social media. And it’s actually funny, I was talking about hashtags in that video.

 

 And I, here I am, you know, in 2023 talking about hashtags. I show you, and in this video I’m like a ghost. I have terrible lighting. My sound is bad. The camera’s moving all around. One of them, my head is halfway cut off. But over time you see the evolution of me because I get more experience and I get more experience, and I just keep doing, and I keep doing, and I keep doing and I keep doing. And I get better, and I get better, and I get better and I get better. And then it shows you, shows me on stages and doing this show and  I’m just better now because I’ve done it longer and my gear is better now too. My camera’s better, the mic is better because I’ve learned, I’ve evolved. I didn’t just one day say, “Oh, I’m going to do this. I’m going to market myself on social media and now like I’m just incredible at it the first day that I do it. That’s not how it works. We have to find that courage to just get started and then we keep doing it over and over and over again, which makes us build our capabilities and we do it. Done. Done is better than perfect. We just do it afraid. We do it anyway. We could do it messy. Because we know that’s what our customers connect with because we know that that’s what they resonate with and that’s what’s going to get us in front of the right people that we want to work with anyways. So we’re just going to do it anyway. And then we start becoming more capable and we start feeling more confident. It doesn’t start with confidence. It doesn’t start with feeling like,  I got to feel confident in order to do this, and then I’ll start doing it. No. Nope. That’s just fear holding you back from putting yourself out there. You have to just do it afraid, like my grandma says, and have the courage to keep doing it just like Michelle did, just like I did.

 

So I showed that transformation video and there were some tears from people that were watching that, and I know why there were tears because a year prior I went to an event. A marketing conference, and the speaker, Jen Gottlieb, who is my mentor, I’m now in her mastermind. She showed a video of her transformation and I was in the audience crying because all I could see was yes, that is me, there is me like starting in those early stages and I know where I want to be, but I’m not playing that game. I’m keeping myself small. I’m living in fear. I’m holding myself back. I’m hiding. And I spent the past year really committing to being out there more and being visible and showing up and I’ve had incredible results through it.

 

 What’s also amazing and kind of interesting is how it’s all connected with my retailers. Because my retailers, you go through this too, and I just want you to know, I understand how hard it is. To put yourself out there. But when we see those transformation videos of what’s possible for other people, the people that were crying in that audience, they felt something within them that knew they were playing smaller, and knew that they wanted more visibility, that they wanted to connect with customers in a bigger way. They wanted to build their business in a bigger way, and why this is so important. I hope that you’re understanding why this is so important because we’re talking about building relationships with customers. That’s what business is, so we need to make sure that we’re always doing it. But the other reason why this is so important is because the way to do this in today’s world of marketing is through video, is through social media, is people getting to know you , and you’ve got to do it consistently. So you have to evolve your strategy. So the thing is, most retailers are not making time for video, are not making it a priority. They’re letting overwhelm take over. They’re letting fear take over. And they’re not showing up, and it’s not a priority. And what you have to do here is you have to create a new habit. You have to evolve. Evolve or die, evolve, or become irrelevant, evolve or don’t exist. The customer is going to pick somebody.They have a ton of choices. A ton of choices, and the customer is always evolving too. And so you have an incredible opportunity to show up and put yourself out there and connect with them, but we have so much fear in doing that, and so you have to just be comfortable with the uncomfortable, and I said that a lot at Evolve. I’ll say that probably a lot on the show and if you ever hear me speak, I will say that a lot. We have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and as I gave that day one closing speech, we went into a cocktail reception at Evolve, and I had all these wonderful conversations of retailers and so many of them were about either their perfectionism or they’re like, I so relate to that. I’m hiding. I’m not showing up. It’s so uncomfortable for me. They’re like, oh, but it’s so uncomfortable. And a few people were like, oh, but I hate TikTok. Or, oh, but I hate Instagram. And in fact, I’ll insert this here. One of our testimonial videos was from Christina, who is one of those people who just hates social media and not really using it much to market her business. And let me have my team put this clip in here now of what Christina had to say after day one at Evolve.

 

“My name’s Christina. I’m having a great time at Evolve. I’ve learned a lot of things that I thought I knew, but I didn’t actually know at all about features on Instagram and Facebook and how to do things, but mostly I’m really inspired. I really hate social media and now I’m  thinking maybe I could do this. So I highly recommend anyone should come who hates social media, but feels like maybe they should because it’s probably more fun than we think it is.” 

 

So I love her honesty and transparency in that video, and she says, maybe I can do this.

 

It’s the mindset shift of understanding that I get to talk to my customers  and new customers and connect with them in meaningful ways. And that’s powerful and I don’t have to be perfect at it. I just have to be me. Maybe I can do this and maybe this can be fun. Right? That’s inspiring. That is powerful.

 

Now, there were so many conversations around that, and that’s why I was like, wow, I knew that retailers struggle with this because I struggle with it. We’re all human again. I knew, but I just didn’t realize to what level, and I was also kind of stalking some of our attendees’ social media profiles, and I just saw a lot of opportunity for people to be using video.

 

Not a lot of attendees were using video or doing it consistently, and there was one conversation specifically that was probably the most impactful of a thing that happened for me at Evolve. At the cocktail reception on day one, Maureen with the Mad Moose. It’s a gift store in Estes Park, Colorado, came up to me and it’s actually funny because Maureen and I go way back in a whole another lifetime, like 15 years ago. I was in a networking group that she ran through E Women Network. I haven’t seen her since then. And since then, she now has a retail shop. It’s so incredible. And she saw on Facebook that I was doing this event, see Social Media Works.

 

And, she got her ticket and she came and she’s like, I had no idea that an event just for retailers existed like this. I’m blown away. So we’re talking like, how are you? And she’s like, I’m great. And you know, I really resonate with what you were saying just now. I’m not using video. I’m not in pictures.

 

I’m not showing up. And I’m like, Maureen, oh, you have such an opportunity. And she’s like, I know, I just, what if my store is not good enough? That’s what she said. What if my store is not good enough? That’s the conversation she’s having in her head. It’s caught me off guard a little bit and I was just like, oh, Maureen,  we were just kind of talking about it more.

 

And, just kind of how she feels and her fears and what’s holding her back and her hesitation. And I was giving her some pep talk and I went back to my room that night. And I was really thinking about her saying that, and then the next morning, that’s all I could think about putting on my makeup.

 

And I’m like, okay,  we had these hot seats where people submitted to come up on the stage and work through a problem or challenge or an event that they were having. So Cara Ha with Stambaugh Jewelers has a 75th anniversary that’s coming  up for their store, so she wanted ideas to really knock it out of the park.

 

 We brainstormed, and it was the panelists who brainstorm ideas, but also the audience gave her ideas. Imagine a room full of a hundred plus people of your peers giving you content ideas and telling you how to promote an epic event, right? That was such a powerful topic. And then Jenny came up and talked about her team and just like hiring a good person.

 

Oh my gosh. The retailers had such great advice on how they find good people and their training process and , oh my God, it was just so good. And their hiring process. Then I asked Maureen, she did not submit a question, but she was on my mind so much about that comment. I don’t know if my store’s good enough.

 

What if my store’s not good enough? So I asked her on a break, “Maureen, will you do a hot seat?” And I could tell she’s a little hesitant, a little resistant. But she said, okay. And I said, the reason I want you to do this is  I have a feeling that there’s at least one other person in the room that feels the same way.

 

And I think that we could help multiple people with this question. So if you’re okay with it, it would be really amazing. She said, okay. So we call her on stage. And I have her tell the audience what she said to me that I don’t think my store, what if my store’s not good enough? And I could hear some people feeling that, right?

 

And I looked at her and said, is that true? And she right away went into defense mode. No way. And  I’ll fight you for it. I knew that her store’s amazing and she’s right. It is. But it just came down to her, right? The mindset and the head trash and everything she was going through. So we had some epic coaching happening live from other retailers.

 

And Kathy Wagner with Retail Mavens was one of our  members and helped coach her through that. And we talked about  what’s going on in your head, we were moving through, right? We’re just moving through, we’re getting to her, to that place that  obviously it is good enough, she’s going to fight us for it.

 

So what is she waiting for? She just has to do it afraid. She’s uncomfortable. Fear is winning. So she has to choose. That fear does not win. And I said, have you done a video? She said, no. , okay. On the break we’re going to do your first video. So I pull her out into the hall and we walk down and I film her and she does her first video and I show her and she’s  watching it back kind of, you know,  I hate watching myself back. That cringe feeling. She’s watching it back and she’s , oh, I look so nervous. I’m like, okay, I have an idea. What if we film it again? But in the very beginning  you’re just authentically you, you’re transparent and you say, I’m a little nervous doing this.

 

Just be honest. Be human, be you. Tell the people, if you’re uncomfortable, tell them If it’s your first one, tell them. If you’re nervous, tell them. Just don’t try. Why do we hide it? We try to mask ourselves into being , “Nope, I’m perfect. I have everything figured out. I can do this. I’m awesome. I’m a professional.”

 

 We don’t have it all figured out. In fact, what I’m learning, being in business for over 10 years, is nobody has it figured out. Nobody at all has it figured out. Even big boxes that I work with, they’re still trying to figure stuff out. So let’s just be honest. Let’s just be honest. And so Maureen said, okay, so she did a second take and she starts with, “Hey, I’m a little nervous to do this, this is my first video.” And immediately, oh my gosh, I wish I had access to the before and after, and maybe Maureen does and she’ll give it to me. The first one, she was kind of bouncing around a lot and it was really high, like, ugh, like anxiety. You could just feel it in the video. The second one, she was so grounded.

 

Because she was honest and said, I’m nervous. And then she said who she was and her store and what they sell and come visit us. Okay. She did her first video, so she watched that back and I’m like, do you see the difference? She’s like, wow, I totally see the difference. And then she starts to cry and I’m just getting chills thinking about this moment.

 

It was so special. I hug her. I’m in tears. She did her first video. We go back into the room. And she hits publish with which Steph caught on camera, which I love, and we’re cheering her on and I say from stage, Hey everybody. Maureen filmed her first video and the audience went nuts, applauding. So excited, like the love in this room.

 

And this is another reason why Evolve was so epic. It was such a special room. It was my goal to create a safe space where we can create magic together, where we can be ourselves, where we can talk about the hard stuff and just be honest. And so the room. Just roared. They loved her. And people are like, what’s your Facebook?

 

What’s your Facebook? I’m going to follow you. I’m going to go watch it. I’m going to, and you have so much love on this post and you have love from other people. And she did it. It was the top engaged with posts that she’s had in over a year. I stopped scrolling with a year, and then I saw her do a post recently of a video.

 

So she’s doing it. So Maureen, if you’re listening to this, I am so darn proud of you, so darn proud of you for. Not letting fear win, just pushing through and being comfortable with the uncomfort, right? We just have to do it. We have to do it afraid. And so that was such an incredible story and such a big takeaway for me at Evolve and just the hearing of how everybody was talking about perfectionism and the fear, and it’s such a big thing.

 

So if this is you, if you can relate to anything that I’ve been talking about in this episode. Do me and you a huge favor, and I want you to film a video, and I just want you to talk to your customers. Just be you, be honest. Talk to them and if you need a starting point, especially if you’ve never done a video, just say, “this is who I am. This is my store. This is why I started it. This is what we sell, and I’d love to see you.” And tell them, “this is my first video. I’m nervous.”  Just be you. Be honest. Do it, and then I want you to do it again, and I want you to do it again and again and again and again. You’re going to get better every single time.

 

It’s going to feel more comfortable every single time. You’re going to start getting feedback from your audience that they love seeing you. They’re going to start coming into the store saying, I love that video. I watched all the way through. Oh my gosh, you drew me in like a magnet. I loved this. They’re going to buy products from your videos, you’re going to start seeing the momentum and you’re going to build the confidence, I promise. You just have to take the first step and find that courage. 

 

So that was pretty special. That was a really special moment at Evolve. And the other thing I want to say,  there were so many tears I got choked up when I saw people crying at the transformation video. So  I’ve tried to hold back my tears and it was a special emotional moment.

 

And then at the end of day two, something just hit me. When I was doing the close, I started thanking our attendees and our sponsors. And it just hit me. Whoa, the amount of gratitude that I have for every single person in this room. I can’t even explain. And it was just bursting out of me.

 

 It was our first conference and the fact that our sponsors supported us financially and with their time and their expertise and showed up and our attendees attended and bought their tickets and their, all their travel and took times away from their store. Like, whoa. I was just full of gratitude that people trusted me and my team, and they showed up and  I start crying and then, of course the camera guy’s like right there as I’m  ugly, I make ugly crying faces. And then I look back at the room and there’s Dustin, my fiance, who’s just proud, clapping and just full of tears. He’s crying  and then I look and then all of a sudden everybody starts standing. And there were several of our retailers that were crying, for watching this video, I am getting teared up.

 

It was so emotional. There was just so much love and there was so much gratitude, and I really wanted to create an event and experience that helped people. That’s really what I am passionate about doing. I want to help our retailers be seen, be more visible, be more comfortable, and be more successful. And not do it alone, because I know running a business  is lonely.

 

And so we did it. We put on this really amazing show that really created transformation and the results. People, like I said, in the beginning of this episode, so many people said it was so much more than I expected and  I’m so grateful for that. And so we’re doing it again in,  April 28th and 29th of 2024.

 

Evolve is happening. We are in a bigger space now. We’ve got a really cool new part of the hotel we’re going to be in. We’re going to have some awesome surprises, the agenda, trust me, is going to be epic. And you can get super early bird pricing. The cheapest the tickets are going to be is right now.

 

So if you go to crystal media co.com/evolve, get your ticket, just do it. Invest in yourself, you’re going to want to do it. The transformation, the motivation, the inspiration,  you’re going to be seeing clips and hearing about this event for the next year. But the tickets are the cheapest that they’re going to be.

 

Lock in your ticket and as soon as we have room blocks, lock that in too, because those expire kind of quickly as well. But get, lock that in and I’d love to see you in the room. Every single person that took the survey said yes. They will be in 2024. And that means a lot to me. Everybody’s time means a lot to me.

 

 Their transformation means a lot to me and I’m just really grateful that I bet on myself and did this conference and did it afraid and I learned so much. And I really want to talk about some of my experiences over on Crystal Uncorked, which I plan on doing very soon over on that show. But I’m so grateful for the people that were honest and talked to me about their fears and how they feel because there’s a good chance that it’s helping somebody listening to this podcast.

 

I hope it does. If you have any friends that are also retailers or even business owners that maybe struggle with this same thing, they hate social media. They hate putting themselves out there. This might be a good podcast to send to them. Giving them a little bit of encouragement as to why they’ve got to do it anyways and showing them it really does get easier, I promise it does, but they’ve just got to keep going.

 

So thank you so much for being here with me and just listening to the show. It means the world, and I hope to see you at Evolve 2024. Don’t forget; I’m rooting for you. Have a great week ahead. Bye.

 

Thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me. Don’t forget to join the Rise & Shine newsletter, which is social media news you need to know, sent via email every Monday morning. Go to crystalmediaco.com/rise to join, and don’t miss the newest episode of Rooted in Retail, which drops every Sunday morning.