His rationale was the money they spent to be part of it and the hot items the press would write about as a result of seeing the shows were more about name recognition than closing sales.

To get the attention of the press, Nicole would have to come up with the outrageous which would never sell to real customers. He calculated that they never got a strong return on their investment for participation.

Since no one store ordered her entire collection every month, Nicole countered with the complaint that without the fashion shows, no one would ever see her entire collection. To solve that problem creatively, she suggested that they open their own shop which would be the place for everyone in New York to see every piece in every collection.

It worked. The shop made money from day one.

Topic for Discussion: What else happened because of the first Nicole Miller boutique?

Answer: When the one boutique was running smoothly, Bud and Nicole knew they could continue to grow with department store orders and with their own chain of boutiques. Today there are 15 company-owned shops and 15 locations licensed to owners like Stephanie in La Jolla. Taking on the task of retail on top of creating and making every piece of Nicole Miller clothing has been satisfying for both Bud and Nicole. The small shops present to customers the right image. The image they strive for is that they are unique and they provide warm service, fashion savvy sales people and even custom gowns for brides. The shops say to the customer, "we are small and you are very important to us."

What do you think? What is your "fashion show?" Meaning, what are you doing out of habit that might not be making you money? What can you stop doing which would free up time and energy to try something new? What could be your "boutique strategy?"