Their faces fell. Their gazes went tight. He watched as this group of good women prepared to be told they were collectively out of a job.
He shifted his eyes to Tara. “This is Tara Simonetti. She came on board this past weekend in a moment of desperation because we were short-handed.”
“Empty-handed, more like it,” Kathy said.
He acknowledged that with a tight smile. “True. Well, I thought we’d be training Tara on bridal, but it turns out she trained me instead. And according to her, we’re at a crossroads. We either pull together and focus on bringing in more brides, more parties, more overall business over the next few weeks, or we need to liquidate and close the doors.”
All eyes turned to Tara, but she didn’t make eye contact with the rest of the staff. She kept her gaze on his, and something in her face said he could do this.
“So here’s what I think.”
The women turned back toward him, waiting. Hoping?
“I want to keep Elena’s open.”
A sigh of relief rippled through the room.
“But I need your help. I know Donna needs a few more weeks—”
“Kyle said he’s ready to take over two evenings and Saturdays starting this week,” Donna broke in. “Consider me back for at least sixteen hours a week.”
Having Donna back to cover some hours would be a big help. He didn’t pretend not to be grateful. “That’s huge, Donna. Thank you.”
“And I’m fine now,” Kathy added.
“And Jean’s brother is coming north to help care for her dad, so we can have her back next week too,” Maisy added.
“I’ll call her,” Kathy offered, but caution marked her tone. “Greg, what are your ideas for growing business? There’s tough competition out there.”
He turned toward Tara. “Your turn.”
She didn’t come up front, but stayed seated among the women. And then she did something quite amazing in his book. She didn’t list her ideas, hogging credit. She turned the tables and asked them theirs, and Greg was amazed by what he heard.
“Trunk shows,” Donna offered, the same idea Tara had yesterday. “That way there’s no added expense, we have the gowns in store for three days, we have the sales rep from the designer sell the concept of why their gowns are best, and we deal with exclusives the brides can’t find in mall stores.”
Tara jotted that down as if she hadn’t already thought of it.
“We could do better using referral retailers,” Kathy admitted. “Reception venues, furniture stores, printers, caterers, florists.”
“And we could cross-reference those with specific types of weddings,” added Maisy in a tone that said this wasn’t the first time she’d made this suggestion.
Greg frowned. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Themes are the rage right now. There’s no such thing as simple anymore.” She stood, marched to the front desk, and grabbed a stack of forgettable business cards. “Instead of these, we leave vintage-style cards at vintage and historic venues. For formal hotels and museums, use the more formal design. Artsy-looking cards at the artsy and trendy venues. That way the minute the bride sees the card, she feels the connection to her wedding, her choices, and Elena’s Bridal. And it costs pennies.”
“That’s a brilliant idea.” It was, Greg realized, and nothing he would have thought of in a million years, although he looked for instant connections with potential clients all the time. It made sense to do that with his mother’s store as well.
“Our location here is huge,” Tara offered.
“We’re not very mainstream for suburban brides,” Donna noted.
“But we’re unique, and we can turn that to our advantage,” Tara replied. “Bridal parties that come to browse can get coupons to have their lunch or dinner at one of the nearby places. There are enough great spots to gather down here that even the pickiest bride will like that over chain restaurants at the mall. It feeds right into the ‘I want my wedding to stand out’ mind-set every bridal show and magazine preaches—even to having wedding websites set up for each couple’s wedding. I made a list of ways to self-advertise without spending a dime.”
“I’m all ears.” Kathy smiled, captivated, and Greg watched as Tara helped build on their ideas.
“We tell the newspapers we’re highlighting our Old City location by specializing in old-fashioned weddings. We team up with historic venues—”
“You’re in the right city for that,” Maisy said.
Donna nodded. “That’s for sure.”
“We play that angle while making sure the brides looking for a more traditional and formal wedding know we can deliver the entire look from start to finish using the more modern amenities. I’ve got a couple of possible suggestions we can implement as the boss decides.”