Richer Retailer - Scaling Retail Stores Past 7 Figures

Cathy Donovan Wagner sits down with Tim Shea, founder and CEO of Latticework Insights, to explore the question that changes everything: "What is my customer really worth?"

That customer who spent $45 today could actually be worth $540+ over time if you understand the data. But most store owners never see it coming and it's costing them money.

Tim brings 25+ years of Fortune 500 analytics (NBA, Pepsi, Sweetgreen, Reddit) into the ha...

In part 2 of this episode. After co-founding and selling The Coaches Console, Melinda Cohan spent 20 years watching entrepreneurs burn out while scaling. She stopped asking "how can I scale faster?" and started asking the question that changed everything: "What is this actually costing me?" In this eye-opening conversation, Melinda sits down with Cathy Donovan Wagner to explore why smart, capable, hardworking store owners hit rev...

Melinda Cohan co-founded The Coaches Console from an idea scribbled on a napkin, grew it into a multi-million dollar company, and sold it. Then, after 20 years of watching every flavor of burnout (including her own), she stopped asking "how can I scale faster?" and started asking "what is this actually costing me?" That question became her book, Sustainable Success.

In this episode, Cathy and Melinda dig into why smart, capable, ha...

LVMH, the luxury empire behind Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Moët, just moved to buy a stake in HyROX, a fitness race, in a deal that values it at up to a billion dollars. Cathy couldn't stop thinking about it, and not because she cares about fitness races.

In this solo episode, Cathy breaks down why one of the biggest luxury companies in the world is pulling back on traditional ads and pouring money into belonging instead. She walks th...

Sales are coming in. Just... slower and harder to get than they used to be. If you've felt like you're working just as hard as last year but getting less for it, Cathy wants you to know: it's not you, and it's not just a feeling.

In this solo episode, Cathy breaks down what's actually happening in retail right now, a cautiously warm environment where spending is up but transactions per store are down, shoppers are spreading their m...

Chelsea Jones has spent over 20 years building websites for some of the most recognizable names in retail; J.Lo Beauty, Liverpool Los Angeles, Chroma Wellness, and more. As co-founder of Sunny Road, a Shopify Platinum agency, she works with retail brands every day and sees exactly where they're leaving money on the table.

In this episode, Chelsea and Cathy get into what's actually happening in AI search right now, why your products...

In Part 1, Cathy and Joey talked about clearing the calendar. Going from 38 meetings a week to 11. Identifying what was water, what was food, and what was mushroom coffee.

Part 1 was about seeing the problem clearly. Part 2 is about what you actually do with the space once you have it and why most people quietly fill it right back up.

Joey is back, and this time they go into the practical frameworks, the mindset work that holds all...

Cathy had 38 meetings a week and no open space on her calendar. She couldn't eat lunch without it being scheduled around something else. Her business was growing, she was delegating, and she still couldn't get ahead.

Then she started working with Joey Gourdji and got it down to 11 meetings a week.

Joey is a coach at Conversion Engineering, the agency she runs with her husband Ross. She spent a decade in online education, finishing ...

July is slow. Every store owner knows it. So when Jesse McNaughton, co-founder of Lift Bridge Yarns in Fairport, New York, decided to run a four-day Anti-Prime Days campaign instead of just waiting for things to pick up, she wasn't sure what would happen.

She ended up with a 286% increase in sales.

Jesse opened Lift Bridge Yarns four months before the pandemic, with a six-month-old baby at home and a community of customers who foll...

You have built something real. The inventory, the team, the loyal customers who come back year after year. What happens if all of that gets wiped out not by a bad buying decision or a slow season, but by a hurricane, a flood, a fire, or a ceiling that collapses the day before your biggest event?

Most store owners have never thought about it. And the ones who have faced it will tell you: there is almost no one coming to help. Not FE...

You have done the math. You know the metrics. Now comes the part where it gets real.

This is Part 3 of the Inventory Engine Workshop, the Q&A. Cathy and Coach Maven Dana Connell open the floor to the questions store owners actually lose sleep over. What do you do when your open to buy says one thing and your gut says another? How do you handle reorders when the cash just isn't there? What does asking a vendor for markdown dolla...

Your floor can look full and your bank account can still feel empty. That is not a mystery. It is a math problem. And once you see the numbers behind it, you cannot unsee them.

This is Part 2 of the Inventory Engine Workshop. Cathy and Coach Maven Dana Connell are back, and this time they get into the metrics, the ones that tell you, without any guessing, exactly how healthy your inventory really is. Inventory turn. Stock to sales ...

Inventory is not a guessing game. It is a financial tool. It's wealth building in real time. And if you've ever felt like money moves through your store but you can't quite track where it goes, this episode is for you.

This is Part 1 of a special live workshop episode. Cathy sat down with our very own Coach Maven Dana Connell, retail professor at Columbia College Chicago and former buyer for Marshall Field's and Macy's for a live I...

If you've ever felt the tension between posting pink pictures and party invitations while the world feels like it's on fire, this episode is for you.

Cathy's guest today is Lauren, founder of three boutiques in the Chicago area; Pink Slip and two locations of Parker James. Eighteen years in, she has built exactly what so many retailers dream of: a true destination where people don't just shop, they come back, they bring their frien...

If you've been online this week, you've probably seen something about tariff refunds. And if you're anything like most store owners, you either glazed over thinking it was government bureaucracy you don't have time for or you got a little excited thinking a check might be headed your way.

This episode is for both of you. Cathy cuts through all the noise, breaks down exactly what's happening, who it actually applies to, and what a R...

You pour everything into your store, your time, your energy, your heart. And yet, somehow, the financial freedom you're working toward still feels just out of reach. 

If Part 1 lit a spark in you, get ready because Part 2 is where things get really personal. Cathy sits back down with her friend and personal financial planner Kaitlyn Carlson for a continuation of one of the most important conversations this podcast has ever hos...

You're running a successful store. Revenue is coming in. You're reinvesting, growing, doing all the things. So why doesn't it feel like you're actually getting ahead?

This is the episode Cathy has been waiting to record because the conversation you're about to hear completely changed the way she thinks about money. And she knows it's going to do the same for you.

Cathy sits down with her friend and personal financial planner, Kaitl...

What's the most powerful thing you can do to grow your business? It's not another spreadsheet, Facebook ad, or reel. It's sitting across the table from someone who truly understands the journey.

In this heartfelt and energizing episode, Cathy sits down with Angie Noll; bookkeeper, profit strategist, and fellow entrepreneur for a conversation that started over fish and champagne and turned into something neither of them expected. Th...

Welcome to a favorite episode of the Richer Retailer! In this Q2 check-in, Cathy dives into what this quarter really means for independent retailers.

From focusing on your top customers (“thumbs”) to creating value through clarity and thoughtful merchandising, Cathy shares actionable strategies to help you convert browsers into buyers and buyers into lifelong fans. She also explores trends shaping retail right now, from...