Retail Roots and Relationships: Renee Southard of Organic Marketplace

Renee Southard: 0:00

I tell my employees, especially new ones. I would far rather you say I don’t know, but I can find out. You know, because that is going to build your credibility with your customer.

Tina Smith: 0:16

Welcome to the Natural Products Marketer Podcast. I’m Tina.

Amanda Ballard: 0:20

And I’m Amanda, and we’re here to make marketing easier for natural products businesses so you can reach more people and change more lives. Hey guys, welcome back to the Natural Products Marketer Podcast. Today, we are joined by the wonderful Renee Southard. She is the owner of Organic Marketplace in Gastonia, North Carolina, and she is currently the president of SENPA. I’ve known Renee for a long time and she is just a gem of a human and has done so much for this industry, and so I’m so excited to have her here. Thanks for joining us, Renee.

Renee Southard: 0:56

Thank you, Amanda. I appreciate it. We’re very excited to have you, hey, tina.

Tina Smith: 1:02

Hi. So this is fun for me, Renee, too, because you are a retailer, and we are really enjoying speaking to the retailers on this channel because there’s so much opportunity for retailers to learn from other retailers who are doing really well. So we are going to pick your brain about all the great things that are going on at your store. So let’s get started.

Amanda Ballard: 1:26

Okay, yeah, so before we dive into that, Renee, we always like to know what got you into the natural products industry, because we found some, some trends, and so we always like to hear how you got into it, Just so we have a frame of reference.

Renee Southard: 1:44

Well, the way I got into it is like so many other people that I hear and talk to, you know, as I’m out in the field is through my health. You know I was having a lot of trouble with allergies, stuff like that. I had been teaching school and ended up leaving that. That was kind of when it got crazy. And, you know, things were being brought and my husband at the time did not want me, didn’t feel like it was safe. So I was at the gym and I was having all these health issues and I thought, you know, I look over there and there’s this wall full of pills and I’m like, okay, maybe something over there, you know, will help, because I was actually taking allergy shots and you know it. Just, I had never had allergies before in my life, so I felt like there had to be something else I could do. So that was the initial thing that probably got me into looking for a different method, you know, a gentler way to deal with my body and the conditions that it was presenting to me.

Tina Smith: 2:59

So so what? Yeah, that’s some sorry. That sounds really normal. I think that Amanda and I both have a similar story, so always when, when there’s a health issue, you always go looking for the answers and, man, I wish that I would have had way back when people like you to help direct me to the right place. So it gives us a real passion for the independent retail owners out there real passion for the independent retail owners out there.

Renee Southard: 3:29

Well it’s. You know, being an independent is really an honor and it’s kind of keeping true to our roots, because, you know, we’re just a bunch of old hippies. You know we still like to wear fun clothes and, you know, do things as naturally as we can and you know that I think that that mindset was getting lost in in the surge of medicine. You know, being able to come up with things I mean, let’s face it, when I started doing this there were no cell phones. You know the internet was not a player, you know, in anything.

Renee Southard: 4:06

So the way you learned and started going to these health food stores because it was the alternative, but then actually, further back than that, most of their grandmothers used a lot of home remedies. That was what they were called then. It was all you know, the home remedies. I actually had my mother-in-law’s home remedy book. It’s probably, you know, like Adele Davis and you know people like that, that we, that we learned from and a lot of you will not know who Adele Davis is, but you know, look her up, because she was really an amazing, amazing woman for her time.

Tina Smith: 4:50

I’ll tell you, my grandmother passed back in 2020, but at the time I was at her house and she had some old things that she’d clipped out of magazines and different books and she had them posted on the side of her cabinet and it was so funny to look at things and they were from, they were old and brown and yellowed and they were from so long ago and, at the same time, it’s the stuff that we’re coming back to now of the way to take care of yourself and have good health. And it just made me laugh because I was like, wow, full circle, that we’ve come from the time that she was born in the twenties and then we’re sitting here in 2020. And I was looking at that health guidance and I was like that seems pretty legitimate, like that’s some pretty good advice to follow. So even they knew way back when how to do it right.

Renee Southard: 5:46

Right, that’s true, yeah.

Amanda Ballard: 5:49

So, Renee, what caused you to decide to open up your own store and when did you do that?

Renee Southard: 5:57

Well, back in again, going back to where I really got first introduced to herbs and stuff in that gym it was, you know, my local gym, and the guy had lost the person that was selling them and so he asked me. You know I started having really good results and you know, prescription for Nutritional Healing was the Bible back then you know Phyllis Bosch and her husband, and you know it was it. It was just an eye opening thing whenever, you know, I could see what they were doing for me. Then I got very curious because I came out of a teaching position. So I was working with juvenilevenile Justice Department for dropout prevention and so we had at-risk kids in the class and I did this for about three years and so when I left doing that and had this herbal epiphany and all this wonderful stuff happening in my health, I wanted to know more. That’s just my nature is, you know, I guess coming from a teacher stance, is I want to know why. You know, why did that work? Or why did this do that? And if it does that, certainly it might, could even do something even bigger and better than that, you know, don’t? You know, close in your eyes, you know, open your horizon and your view as to what possibly is a potential for this.

Renee Southard: 7:29

And so I studied. I went to Stephen Horns. The guy there wanted me to sell his Nature Sunshine herbs. So it was Nature Sunshine who so many of us in my age bracket probably started with Nature Sunshine, and they were an MLM company. They had amazing education. That’s one of the things that you know in some of your other questions I think we’ll get into. I think it’s been a little bit lost in the industry is the degree of education that people in the stores you know, the retailer themselves you know exhibit.

Renee Southard: 8:10

So I started learning more. I started learning how to think. Stephen Horn was a great herbalist. He studied under John Christopher, who was probably one of the best herbalists this country has ever put out. A lot of people know Dr Christopher and I think his son carried on a lot of his work, but Nature’s Sunshine was also a part of his legacy, and so I learned how to think.

Renee Southard: 8:37

I just started learning how to think in systems of the body and I learned iridology. So it was a way you know. Back then you looked at people’s tongue, you looked at the skin, you looked at their nails, you looked at. You know we did it very differently than you know it is now Somebody go through that. I learned muscle testing and again iridology, so I had a lot of tools in my toolbox that I was able to start working with people and I worked for my mentor for about two years in a little health food store and one day I just came home and I thought you know, I can do this, I should do this for myself. So I opened organic. Well, it was Nature’s Path at the time, that was the first name of the store and that’s a hilarious story. But I opened it with $2,000 and furniture from my house, products that were set, you know, five inches apart, you know, because I had money to have two of everything you know that I felt like was important to carry and and the rest of it’s kind of history.

Amanda Ballard: 10:00

Yeah, I love that you kind of talked about how much things have changed, and that was one of our questions is I’d love to know more about, like what, what you’ve seen change in the industry for better or for worse, because there’s been a lot of change and you’ve you’ve been doing this for so long, so I’d love to just hear, hear, your honest thoughts.

Renee Southard: 10:24

I think the the biggest thing that’s changed is the internet. And you know, years and years ago, when all this started coming about, and you know, things like Dr Oz, dr Oz, women’s World, the magazine, remember, whatever came out that week, you know you had to go get. And it was the same thing with Oz, you know, I think at first he was very relevant because he was a medical physician talking about natural things. So it was a beginning. You know, it was a beginning on a national platform, to getting back to our roots, right To getting back to the things that have always been done, you know, to assist our body in dis-ease. So I think the internet changed the way we educate. I think it changed the way we gather and not, you know, not like COVID did, of course, but you know, not like COVID did, of course. But you know, you probably remember back, I’m sure you were very young, but you know store events used to be big education events and you’d have the Brenda Watsons and the Terry Lemerons, you know, coming into the city and it was an event and the newspaper would come, come, and you know all of that. And the internet changed that too, because people were like, well, I can get my information here, or you know, I’m going to do what Dr Oz tells me. He’s a doctor, so you know that should work. And I think those changes I think they were good and I think they were bad. I think they opened us up to understanding how credible the information that we imparted to people on a sales floor was. You know, your past employer, ed Jones a very, very good example of that, jones, a very, very good example of that. I think Nutrition World’s done an incredible job and that’s because, you know, ed has always remained true to that, to that education piece.

Renee Southard: 12:35

And as the president of SEMPA, you know that was where my heart was won, because I was education chair before I was ever the president. And you know, Amanda, you and I did a lot of this. You know, together we saw so many people helped by the information. We were able to get back into a grassroots stance and go to people’s stores and talk to them and ask them. You know what’s going on.

Renee Southard: 13:04

You know I think networking was lost a little bit In the shuffle. You know we had our trade shows, but let me say honestly, I never even knew about trade shows when I first started this. All I knew was the education that I could sign up for and go to, you know. So I think that over the years that has changed dramatically. Even people getting CEUs on their license can do it all online now. So I think that that was. I think that was a big, big game changer. So you know, I guess it’s. You tell me, what do you think Really? Was it better then? Was it better then or was it better now? Consumers seem to feel they’re going back to the trend of brick and mortar, because they want to see somebody, they want to look at your face, they want you to look in their eyes and tell them the truth, and I think it’s our responsibility to be credible and to do continuing education. So I think a lot of retailers are getting back to it.

Renee Southard: 14:19

You have podcasts. You have Zoom. Zoom, you know, evolved in the COVID days. Right, I’m sure it was happening in corporate America, but it certainly wasn’t happening in our industry like that. Webinars, webinars, were something that companies would get out education pieces for, but nothing really replaces seeing Brenda Watson up on a stage. You know talking about, you know your intestinal health. We all became very comfortable with you know talking about people’s business, so to speak. So you know she was absolutely one of my mentors, for sure, and a dear, dear friend. You know I just I have learned so much from her but she and so many of you know the leaders, the retail leaders, the Peggy Rangers you know of the world. She was just really, really big on education and having a real educated staff. Think that education is probably one of the pivotal points of things that have changed and the way we get, give it, you know and receive it.

Tina Smith: 15:42

I think that’s true, Renee and I you know trends that we’re seeing. You’re right. I think there’s a head back to the retail stores. I think people want relationships. I think they want to know the person who’s giving them advice, because you can get on a YouTube channel and you can.

Tina Smith: 16:00

There’s just so much information Tick tock, youtube, instagram, all these places but you can’t ask those people a question or a follow up question or a question after that If you’re confused about something or to make sure that you understood it correctly, and there’s differing advice out there.

Tina Smith: 16:18

And so, finding someone in your local community that you feel like knows what they’re talking about and you can ask them so many questions, I think it makes it super important for those retailers to have a lot of education, to know how to walk people down the right path, be able to answer questions and, even if you don’t have all of the information, that you have the resources at your fingertips to go look something up and find what people need and or point them to a resource that’s credible, because anyone can start a TikTok channel these days and they can say whatever they want and they’re not necessarily held accountable for how true it is or whether it’s scientifically proven or if it’s going to work for the particular person, because they don’t have all the information behind that.

Tina Smith: 17:03

But that is what retailers can certainly do is have that consultative approach and bring people the resources they need. So I think it’s more important than ever to have good education at the retail location and to be someone that your community can trust to get them the information that they need and have this back and forth discussion, because health is personalized.

Renee Southard: 17:26

Yes, it is, and you know. You go back to say when you know Jackie Onassis had, you know, that horrible health condition. You know it just shows that. You know you actually can buy your health by the food you put in, using organics, using non-GMO products, taking quality and good herbs, you know, and vitamin supplements, and good herbs, you know, and vitamin supplements.

Renee Southard: 17:54

Using great things on your skin, you know people tend to forget that. You know the skin is the largest organ of elimination as well as assimilation, right? So these are all things that we have the opportunity to give to our community. And you know, and, being credible, I tell my employees, especially new ones, I would far rather you say I don’t know, but I can find out, you know, because that is going to build your credibility with your customer for sure. You know is being honest. You know you don’t have to know everything about everything. That would be virtually impossible, especially in our world, because nature is our world, right? So it’s, it’s where everything comes from and it was where, you know, the promise was always there would be something in nature for it kind of how things have evolved.

Amanda Ballard: 18:51

I do find it interesting how I think at least in my opinion we had this huge internet boom and everything’s like starting to go more digital and all of that, and I think stores weren’t really sure how to handle it, but they were doing okay.

Amanda Ballard: 19:06

And then when the pandemic hit, it was like oh gosh, like everything has to be digital and things were just so weird for so long. And then, as soon as we kind of came out of that, it was like wait, we miss people. And it was like how can we bring back events, how can we bring back these places where people can connect? And I do think that that is actually like I have a lot more hope for small independent retailers now, because I’m like people want to get back to that. Like I feel like it’s just we’re in a new world now and people still just crave that community. And I think that by not having it for you know, a year or two years however long it was, I can’t even remember it felt like forever that now people are like we need that back again.

Renee Southard: 19:57

Yeah, no, I think you’re right, Amanda, I’m seeing a research of that as well. You know, companies I think have been and I’m talking about manufacturing companies have been a little perplexed in trying to figure out what’s the best way for me to reach a retailer. Because I’ll tell you in my circumstance, I run a very small staff. I always have. I have staff members. This year DJ will have been with me for 20 years, Libby for 19, years, Libby for 19 and Emily’s going on nine. So that’s my key core staff. I have two other staff members, caleb and Susie, and both of them, Caleb’s been with me probably three, maybe four years, so we don’t have a lot of turnover and you know. So these people do know the people that come in the store because they are who they consistently see and I think that, because we have small staffing issues and I think it’s an issue with trade shows, I think it’s why we’re seeing trending there, which you know I think we should talk about too. But I think that you know it’s time. So how much time can I take a six-person you know staff and pull them away to either educate with a rep or to, you know, be able to do a function after they’ve worked all day, right. Then you pull them off to another function. It’s a real giving of your employees to do that, you know, and it’s a real important thing for you as an employer to recognize and value their time and what you’re bringing to them.

Renee Southard: 21:53

So you know, you don’t want your staff educated to every little thing coming down the pipe. You want them educated to what is pertinent and current for you, your location and what your market is, because all of our markets are different. In North Carolina, we don’t do as good with infant baby products. I’ve never understood, you know they’re the newest thing we’ve got and we should be, you know, just taking such great care. But we have historically found that we have a difficult time maintaining an apartment like that, a department like that, whereas maybe in Florida you know it’s one of your top 15% producers, right? So every area is different and everything that you’re going to educate your staff, your community too, should be what you’re being asked for and you know what is happening currently in your area, right? Yeah, so we’re big hours in place.

Tina Smith: 23:01

Yeah, so I’m curious, like how big is your store?

Renee Southard: 23:17

My store is 5,000 square feet but it is on two levels. So we recycled a fire station and no, it did not have a pole. That was my biggest disappointment. I know people that are very connected to poles just joking but we always thought it would have been a cute thing just to put one in there anyway. But no, we have a staircase, so I have 2,500 on one level and I have 2,500 on another. So we have a little organic cafe in the bottom and the store occupies the top part of the building, which I would say we are probably at 65%.

Renee Southard: 23:50

Wellness items, which would include personal care products, herbs, supplements, shakes, you know that kind of thing to about 35% of food items. In our market we are always first to market. That’s the beauty of being an INFRA member and, you know, a SEMPA member because you know I do attend a lot of trade shows and I do have a lot of industry support because I am a smaller part of a bigger whole right. So it’s important for us to gather and to put our resources together because we can always keep our pricing better than masks can If you’ve got, you know, a CVS next to you that carries some of your products. They don’t have the education to sell that product, and I think retailers get really caught up in this because you know it’s.

Renee Southard: 24:54

One of the points I want to make is you know, there was a time all of this was exclusive to us, right? You didn’t go see it in a lot of mass stores and, of course, again, you didn’t have the internet. So I think the internet was a game changer on that in so many ways. But I will always be of the belief there is enough for everyone. There really is, you know, and we need to work together. So I feel like being a collective positive. You know, health providing community is far more important than wondering who’s carrying what you carry or whatever. It really doesn’t matter. I don’t think, I think that you create, you know your own destiny, you create your own success and you create a lot of your own failures, you know. I mean you got to learn somehow. So you know, I think we’ve been through a whole lot of your own failures. You know, I mean you got to learn somehow. So you know, I think we’ve been through a whole lot of that.

Amanda Ballard: 25:57

Yeah, you know, Renee, one thing that I’m just so fascinated by and I we hear all the time about how staffing is such an issue for people and I like when you’re saying, oh, this person’s been with me 20 years, 19 years, I’m like, how Like to me. That just blows my mind in a retail setting. So what’s your, what’s your secret to such amazing employee retention?

Renee Southard: 26:21

Knowing that they’re my biggest resource. My employees are my biggest resource. I can have all the education, I can have the best products that you know money can buy, but if I don’t have a dedicated and highly functional and highly caring group, I mean, let’s face it, you know retail is a people business. If you’re not a people person, you don’t need to be on the retail floor. Now there are a lot of other places you’re going to shine. You know you could be doing the best books, but you’re not going to be the person I’m going to choose to put out there and tell Susie you know which hair color to pick. You know that, won’t, you know, bleed hurt her hair, whatever. So you know everyone has their place, but it I do believe that valuing your employees are is critical. Uh, there’s another store that uh Garner’s down in Greenville, south Carolina. Uh, candace, uh Garner has been so successful in maintaining and growing her independent business. She has five stores now and she has employees that she’s had just as long as I do. And the thing that we both we’ve been very good friends for a long time. We’ve networked together, we’ve helped each other. Her place was the first place I ever met Brenda Watson. So these are the relationships that you form and you have relationships with your clients and your staff have relationships with your clients.

Renee Southard: 28:08

When I stepped back a little bit to do the presidency, my staff if it wasn’t for my staff, I would not have been able to do that, you know, and they used to always say, well, I want to work with Renee. Now, the last time I was in the store one of DJ he was off and one of his customers needed help and I went to help him. She goes no, you know that man, that man, you know the one with all the hair. He knows what I do, he helps me, he this, that and the other. And she just kept going and I’m like, okay, that’s great, that’s great, but I probably, if you need it today, I could probably help you. And she goes well, I don’t know, do you know as much as he does? And I just laughed. I said you know, he was one of the first apprentices I ever had. I probably know close, you know.

Renee Southard: 29:05

But you always want to build up your staff. You know I don’t want to. He earned every bit of that love and admiration that she was showing him and you can’t buy that. You’ve got to pick the right people. You’ve got to be lucky. You’ve got to be a little lucky. I think I’ve been very, very fortunate. But you really have to treat your people like you would want to be treated, because you can’t be successful on your own if you cannot replicate what you do. I’ve heard that for years and years probably a Dale Carnegie thing. If you can’t replicate what you’re doing, then how can you really consider yourself successful?

Renee Southard: 29:51

You know, so they are. My biggest success they really are is my employees.

Tina Smith: 29:58

Renee, I love that so much because making an investment in your team, it takes a lot.

Tina Smith: 30:04

It’s a little bit of a sacrifice from a store owner, but I love learning from you guys how important that is and how much it keeps people sticky to your store.

Tina Smith: 30:14

So maybe they stay around longer if you’re investing in them and you’re treating them the way that people should be treated, um, and as part of the most valuable part of your store, um, and you said something else that I want to double click into, and that’s around this hey, you don’t have to be afraid of a manufacturer being in mass market and I know we’re going off book here, but you’re saying so many great things that people have a lot of questions about and I want to talk about what can manufacturers do. If they’re going omni-channel like that maybe they’re in the CVS down the street or something else what can manufacturers do to let you know that they’re going omni-channel like that? Maybe they’re in the CVS down the street or something else what can manufacturers do to let you know that they’re still investing in you? Are there things that you still would like from them to help you out to promote that? You are a great place to come, especially if there’s a consultation involved, because that’s exactly what you’re talking about as a differentiator for stores like you.

Renee Southard: 31:18

It’s a really it’s a touchy area, you know, because I think the younger generation, our emerging leaders, I think they understand the whole piece. That there’s enough. You know the whole piece, that there’s enough. You know. People who’ve been in it as long as I have still have a bit of resentment about people, you know, sort of jumping ship. They call it a lot of times to the omni-channel. However, I think the reality is, why aren’t we looking at it as in, how many people can we touch and help? There are people, until COVID, that never would have walked into a health store. Covid did a lot for us, frankly, because we were deemed essential. Everybody should always remember that we are essential, you know, and I think that manufacturers I think they’re really trying to do it right. However, ok, this is a good point to bring this up. You know you go to a trade show, you spend your company’s money, you take time out of, you take an employee, say, out of the store, like for simple, when you come to Soho Expo, we have the best education in the land, I mean, and we have geared it now towards a business education day, okay, so whenever manufacturers come to our shows and the retailers attend our shows. I think it would be great if we could go back to the discount you get is because you are there at that show, you’ve had one-on-one time to do your promotional calendar, to talk to them about your anniversary sale, to say, hey, earth Day’s Monday, I need stuff to promote you, and that kind of thing. Those were the benefits.

Renee Southard: 33:25

For me when I first started going to a trade show was that that’s where I made all my relationships. That’s where I met Amanda, that’s where I made all my relationships. That’s where I met Amanda. It’s where I met you for the first time, tina, you know. So I think that getting away from that is a mistake because you still need that time to get together and network.

Renee Southard: 33:46

I also belong to Infra. I would love to see every single independent retailer belong to Infra. It’s a buying group. It is completely different from SEMPA. Sempa is someone that represents independence in manufacturing, retailing, brokerage, nutritional counselors. They cover a people side, whereas Infra covers procedural things and we are a buying group. So collectively, you know, we’re stronger together.

Renee Southard: 34:22

So I feel like manufacturers still need to respect and work with us with discounts a little stronger, because work with us with discounts a little stronger because some of the manufacturers will give, say, a Whole Foods or a Sprouts a six-month lead time on one SKU. Let’s just say, maybe it’s a weight loss product and it comes in powder and it comes in a pill. Well, they want an exclusive on the pill. So a lot of times that happens. Well, the problem with that is when we as a retailer go in and say, well, why it’s just one skew? I mean, why is that so important, you know, for them, whereas it’s all our people are asking us for and we can’t get it. And you know a lot when their advice to me is, well, tell them to go online and get it. That doesn’t make me happy, that doesn’t make me feel good, it doesn’t make me feel heard, it doesn’t make me feel appreciated for the work and the education that I give their consumers, my customers, on their product. So more just a level playing field. Give you the opportunity to do it as well, exactly, and we need a level playing field.

Renee Southard: 35:43

So I think again, there are a lot of companies that have very strongly adhered to MAP. I love to see every one of my manufacturers, you know, doing that. Amanda, you have championed that work and I thank you and applaud you and Chase, for all that y’all have brought to the industry. I mean, you’ve served a very, very important role that was being neglected and it was not being looked at. Now because of their work. You know let me blow her whistle a minute Because of their work.

Renee Southard: 36:23

One of the first things manufacturers will say well, we have a map policy. You know, because we have been taught and schooled and drilled that in a survival sense and a level playing field arena, everybody has to have rules that they follow, just general, basic, respectful rules. And I think manufacturers need to continue doing what they’re doing for map policing finding the offenders. You know they’re bad pennies. Every industry’s got them. You know we’re not immune to it. You know we’re really not. But, uh, but yeah, a level playing field is, frankly, all we need. You know we, we’ve been doing the rest forever. You know, um, most of the companies were built on our backs, so you know it’d be nice to be thanked for that and have promotional calendars that come out before the month.

Renee Southard: 37:26

You know that you need to be promoting them in and you know just some organizational things on their part that help us do a better job at what we do, which is passing on discounts. You can’t be successful if you’re not. You’re working with your manufacturers, you’re getting discounts and then you’re keeping it to help your margin. Well, that’s not how you make money. You make money by making turns and giving people good value and making them feel that they’re not getting ripped off when they come to your store, when they come to your store, but to feel like they’re supporting local and they’re supporting a business that has been an industry for far longer than the American Medical Association’s even been recognized. So you know we’re not going to go away. The health of the independent retailer is good Let me be the one to say that because it is good and we have the ability to do a lot of things we really do. But manufacturers do need to give us a level playing field. That’s a good point, Amanda.

Tina Smith: 38:38

Well, renee, this brings us to an interesting point, because you were named Whole Foods Magazine Retailer of the Year, so you’re doing a ton of really successful things. So when you talk about the health of the industry growing well, I think that you’re a shining North Star for people to look at, and I know you do a lot in your community and locally and a little bit less online. So people are talking about online all the time and, of course, I do a lot of things online, but you have proven that it doesn’t all have to be online. You’re doing things to show up in your community that are very localized and that are not necessarily digital. So tell us more about that. Give us some insights on your secrets digital.

Renee Southard: 39:23

So tell us more about that. Give us some insights on your secrets. Well, I think that number one the community that you open up your store in that is your hub. That is the place that you need to go in as a retailer and find out what are the needs of this community, what are the needs of these people?

Renee Southard: 39:46

I, very early on and I think it’s why I love retail is I’ve really found a lot of value in donating my time and service to communities. I started. My first was I did substitute teaching for my kids’ schools. So you know my children are in their 40s now, so you know that’s a long time ago. But I was on the AIDS Council when all of that was first coming around. I was part of Civitans. First coming around, I was part of Civitans. I did the Girls and Boys Club and what that did for me just those three. It helped introduce me to leaders in my community. Okay, so join your Rotary Clubs, join your Civitans, support your Boys and girls clubs. Then I got on the board of my city and it’s called Keep Gastonia Beautiful and I was on that board for close to 20 years. Emily, now my general manager at the store, sits on that board and I feel like it’s important for someone from our store to always be on that board because we do recycling. We do. You know the touch points, the farmers markets, the you know all of that. We’re a bee city, so you know Emily’s very, very involved in in that movement and it’s a nationwide movement. You know there’s all kinds of cities that are that are bee cities, but you know it’s about bringing that awareness to your community through learning who your community is, you know. So those were really important things to me.

Renee Southard: 41:34

And then I don’t think you can be a successful retailer without your tribe. You know we consider ourselves. We had a wonderful friend, leslie Larson. She always called it the tribe and you can’t do it without your tribe, you really can’t. So it’s, I think it’s being a servant. You know you’re a volunteer, you’re serving your community. You’ve got to be active in it. Or you don’t know who you’re serving, you don’t know. You know what you’re doing and that time spent, or that time that you delegate maybe one of your managers to be, you know, in Rotary or Civitans or any of the community groups, your Chamber of Commerce, you know things like that. We did that as well. You know, but you can’t do everything, you know. But over the years you know you need to share the love. I mean, you know, as I came off the AIDS council I went into the Boys and Girls Club. So you know, I just personally I’ve always kept myself in a serving place because that’s how I learned and that’s how I know what to do.

Renee Southard: 42:58

SENPA

probably grew me more than anything, because going on the board of my peers the people that you know I respect, I look up to, I idolize there’s some that I just think are just such amazing people. So many of them are amazing people, but they all collectively represent a tribe of like-mindedness that we all share. And I think, giving away I learned that the more I gave, the more I got. I mean it’s that whole. You can’t out give God, right, I mean. So the more you give, you’re always going to get so much more back, because you do things like that from your heart and without another motive. You know you just do it because it’s the right thing to do and I think people care about doing the right thing and I think it’s important that they do that and I know that that without I’ve been with the SENPA now 11 years.

Renee Southard: 44:09

We usually have 10 year terms to be on the board, but you know I did the education and the road shows for five, maybe six years. Then I went on to the executive committee. So I’ve always segued my time and that’s something that is important. You’ve got to see what’s important to you. That was during a time that independents were suffering, infra was still growing. It wasn’t what it is today, you know. I remember when INFRA started so and SEMPA is 53 years old, you know old in producing trade shows and I believe we’re 60-some years as an association. So you know it’s being involved Without being involved, without going to trade shows, without having the peer support that I do from the retailers.

Renee Southard: 45:04

Marie Montemaro I call. She has lovies down in Wilmington. Everyone in our industry knows Marie, she’s just, she is absolutely a light and you know she is part of a community that believes very much as I do, that you support the people that are doing what you do, that love what you love, that are involved in helping and making you know the world a better place for us and for our kids, you know. So I think those were some of the key things and I’ll always go back. I’ll never take any honor without saying. My staff is 100% of the success and the wonderful honor. It was to be Retailer of the Year. It was quite. It was a gift for all of us. It should have been retailers with the S because it takes a village. It definitely takes a village.

Tina Smith: 46:17

It’s so fun and I’m so thankful to you that you recognize your staff the way you do, because I think it does take a team to do pretty much anything, and it’s so lovely to hear you You’re the leader of that group. The buck stops with you. You’ve taken so much risk to have that store open and you have a moment where people are honoring you and you turn around and honor other people. You have a moment where people are honoring you and you turn around and honor other people, and that’s just. I’m grateful to hear that because and I think this industry is like that I think there’s so many people that are part of this industry that have grateful hearts like you do, which is one reason I love to be here as well.

Renee Southard: 46:59

Thank you, thank you, I appreciate that I really do so what’s next for you guys?

Tina Smith: 47:08

What’s next for you guys at the organic marketplace? Is there anything new and exciting that’s coming down the pike?

Renee Southard: 47:14

Well, I mean, I think that we will continue to remain relevant. I mean, isn’t that really the goal that everyone has in business, that you have in your business Whenever you chart out to make a change in your life, like stuff that’s going on with you? Amanda, you know it’s one of those things that you’re like okay next, you know what’s going to be next. I don’t know, I might do some consulting. I definitely love being out in my yard and dealing with all that. The spring’s been real allergy intensive this year. I don’t know what’s going on with that. Maybe it’s, you know, our earth getting a little warmer, but nevertheless, I think organic marketplace has its place. You know, we you don’t go on autopilot ever, really, you know, but I think we have the formula that works in our market.

Renee Southard: 48:23

I don’t really have that much interest in opening up more stores. I really like keeping the store that I have, the space that whenever somebody comes in from out of town, they go oh my gosh, we have the best health food store. I’ve got to take you there. These people are great. I mean, sometimes we’re like cartoon characters. We just entertain people and do what we do. We give away a lot of stuff, because that’s just how we are. Retailers have never been known as great business people, but we’ve got a big old heart. We’re getting ready to do our Earth Day event and you know we played with. Everybody tries to do events right and Earth Day seems to be our national holiday for, you know, the natural health industry. So everyone starts saying, well, everybody’s doing it on Saturday. So finally, I just said you know what, I don’t care what day Earth Day falls on, that’s the day that we’re going to do it. So you know, that’s kind of what we’ve done. But as for new things for Organic Marketplace, I feel like we will be very strongly involved. We will remain strongly involved with SEMPA, because I can’t do what I do without the support of an organization and you know it only cost me $100 a year. It’s something that I find is a great value year. It’s something that I find is a great value. We will probably enlarge.

Renee Southard: 50:11

I know Emily does a lot for the store. She’s my general manager and she’s been with me I think nine years at this point and she does a great job. But she is very, very active in the functions that go on with SEMPA as an emerging leader, but also with INFRA as doing their share groups, because that’s where we learn some business savvy. That’s where we have, you know, understand why our buying club does or chooses or does the things. You know that they are encouraging us to do and you know we learn from that. And Emily is very, very good at being present and listening. I know Amanda, you know Emily well and you know so probably in the future, you know she’ll be much more involved with SEMPA, potentially maybe even the board, but definitely with Infra, because you know it is one of the things that help us financially remain relevant, whereas I feel like SEMPA is where I learn and keep all my relationships strong and alive and get my education. So they’re both equally important. They really are, but that’s for me. You know, every independent should consider definitely being a part of both of them, because it does help you be one of the best independents that you can be by learning from others.

Renee Southard: 51:47

And people in our industry are so beautiful in that they are so willing to share their successes. Like I know, I put my promotional calendar, um, in the resource library because you know it doesn’t belong to me. Somebody gave it to me, you know. So you know it’s like passing it on and I feel like that moving forward. We are in our 31st year this year and that’s exciting, but I feel like that you know it’s our responsibility to help any up and coming retailer or any one that is wanting to join the industry. You know as many people that are sort of my age that are retiring, and you know you’re seeing stores close. You’re seeing groups, though, like Healthy Edge Group. You know they help retailers to come and collectively they, you know, have a great buying power. So they again can, you know, help maybe a mom and pop that didn’t have good strategic planning to where you know they had succession plans and stuff like that.

Renee Southard: 53:05

But you know it’s my job, it’s my store’s job, to always be a resource. I want to always be a resource for manufacturers. We have manufacturers that call us Ryan Sensenbrenner with Enzymedica. I love it. He’ll call me up. I’m on a national sales call. We’ve got a question for a retailer. Do you have a minute? You know it’s. I mean, that’s an honor that he calls me and does that. You know, no matter what I’m doing, I would stop and go talk to him. So you know, hopefully I’ll always be able to continue to do stuff like that.

Amanda Ballard: 53:50

Yeah Well, Renee, this has just been so lovely speaking with you. You truly are a gem, and I’m just very thankful to know you and just all of the knowledge that you’ve acquired over your 31 years in business. It’s just incredible, and I just thank you so much for your willingness to share it just so freely. It’s truly a gift to all of us, so thank you so much for being with us today.

Renee Southard: 54:16

Well, thanks for asking. I really appreciate you and I appreciate the job that you guys are doing, and I appreciate the job that you guys are doing, and you know, getting information and putting a forum together where people can really learn other things that they can bring into their business or do, or personal, you know, personal growth, which we all need to continue to do. But, thank you, I really appreciate being a part of the podcast you.

Tina Smith: 54:45

I really appreciate being a part of the podcast. Yeah, it’s been great having you here and we just look forward to all of the wisdom for the rest of the audience that’s listening today, and if they have any questions or they want to contact you directly to pick your brain, how would they get in touch with you?

Renee Southard: 54:58

Renee. Email is a really. I check my email a couple of times a day and, uh, it’s just my name, Renee R-E-N-E-E, uh, o-m-p, which is like initials for organic marketplace at Gmail. So that’s. That’s usually my best contact.

Tina Smith: 55:19

Perfect. Well, it’s been great having you and we look forward to seeing you at Soho.

Renee Southard: 55:24

Okay, all right, we’ll see you next week actually.

Amanda Ballard: 55:27

Bye-bye. Thanks so much for listening to the Natural Products Marketer Podcast. We hope you found this episode to be super helpful. Make sure you check out the show notes for any of those valuable resources that we mentioned on today’s episode.

Tina Smith: 55:41

And, before you go, we would love for you to give us a review. Follow, like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you’re listening today, and make sure you join us for our next episode, where we give you more marketing tips so that you can reach more people and change more lives.