Maria Litwack

I attribute my success to listening to my customers, because if you listen, they tell you what they're looking for. I believe in doing research to understand what the area needs and staying present, especially in retail. I've learned to always keep my eyes open for new trends and ideas, and to never get comfortable. I think it's crucial to find your niche and stay true to that, rather than trying to be everything. I also focus heavily on sourcing locally, supporting local artists and small local companies in my area, which I think is huge right now. Throughout my career, I've had amazing mentors who taught me to think outside the box, to walk fast and think fast, and to make everyone feel important. I've learned that you have to be creative, resourceful, and never give up. You need to stay positive and keep finding different ways to achieve your goals, even when the original idea might not be working. I always want my store to be a place where someone feels happy and comfortable, and I try to stay true to that vision while adapting to find different ways to make it happen.

The best career advice I ever received came from my regional display manager, who was from New York. She told me to 'walk fast,' and it always stuck with me. When you walk fast, you think fast, you talk fast, and it sets the tone. It's about keeping momentum and staying energized. Another mentor, who is now the president of a yacht club, taught me about the importance of how you treat people. He made everyone feel important and showed that every job was important. The respect he was given came from the way he treated people, and that always stuck in my mind. I also learned from my display manager to always think outside the box and to look at things through different perspectives. One person might see something one way, and another person might see it differently, and learning to see things through other people's eyes, especially with visuals and creative work, helped me tremendously.

I would tell young women entering retail to listen and be present. Especially with retail, buying has changed so much, particularly since COVID. If it's a store, or if you're a buyer, you need to be present and talk to your customers and clients that come in the door. Always be looking for new ideas and don't get comfortable. Keep trying to find new trends and ideas, and always keep your eyes open. Know your area and try to source locally. I think supporting your local artists and local companies is a huge thing right now. Find a niche and stay true to that. Don't try to be everything, but find your niche and be true to it. You have to be creative, and you can't give up. You just have to keep going and stay positive. Sometimes the economy might be sluggish, so you have to think of different ways to get people engaged. The original idea might not be working right now, but try something different. Always have a Plan B and a Plan C, because you just can't get comfortable.

Right now, the biggest challenges are around sourcing and staying adaptable. You've got to always have a Plan B and a Plan C. Trying to source things right now is extremely difficult with the tariffs and everything, and shipping is so expensive. We've had to pivot to sourcing much more locally, which has actually been healthy for our business. Some of our items we haven't been able to get recently because of tariffs, and some items have gotten too expensive. Some of our artists have put things on hold. So you just keep going and finding different ideas. You can't stay comfortable because people are going to come up with ideas similar to yours, and you have to keep coming up with unique and different things. The economy might be a little sluggish right now, so you have to think of different ways to get people into the store. We started doing macaron classes to bring people in, and that's helped us a lot. We're doing different classes, and it brings the community together. The original idea might not be working right now, but you have to find different ways to make it happen. You have to be very resourceful and think outside the box.

The most important values to me are creating a welcoming environment and staying true to my vision. I always want my store to be someplace where someone feels happy, feels comfortable, and finds inspiration. I believe in staying true to that idea and finding different ways to make it happen, even when the original approach might not be working. I value supporting my community, whether that's working with local artists, local companies, or bringing the community together through events and classes. I think it's important to make everyone feel important and to show respect, which is something I learned from my mentors. I also value persistence and positivity. You can't give up, you have to keep going and stay positive, and you need to be resourceful and creative. I believe in finding your niche and being true to that, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.