The Retail Academy.
The online business community for homewares and lifestyle retailers who want a proven roadmap to grow their businesses.
You started your retail business to have it all…
To follow your passion, set your own schedule, and create a brand that your customers fall in love with.
And the best part? Business is in full swing.
Yes! Go you!
You’re past the initial stages of opening doors to your store and you’ve put in the long hours to create a cosy and captivating retail space.
But with lots of growth also comes lots of growing pains.
You want to bring on more staff, but you’re not sure who to hire…
…or how to delegate all the things you do to other people.
You haven’t had the time to create repeatable systems for things like merchandising or restocking your inventory
You’re wondering how to boost sales and earn more while also working fewer hours
And the hardest part?
Sometimes it feels like the only tool you have is to blindly guess.
To figure it out by trial and error without ever really knowing what’s the right way forward.
But today, you can change all of that.
Imagine if you had...
Systems & processes in place to streamline your business.
So you’d be easily able to delegate tasks to your team.
A bank of proven resources at your fingertips.
Templates, strategies, and roadmaps to help you with everything from creating a memorable brand, to merchandising your store to increase your average price per sale.
A retail business mentor in your back pocket.
Someone who has been where you are and can help you answer the questions that always crop up.
The truth is, when you stop guessing and start getting strategic, your business starts working for you!
Instead of you always working in your business, you’ll have…
- More time on your calendar so you can choose to work on your business or take an afternoon walk on the beach
- More profit in your pocket without having to trade your time for dollars
- More clarity about how to grow your business and your brand to expand your impact
Sound too good to be true?
It’s time we’ve officially met.
Hey there! I’m Tara—
Mum to two amazing kids, wife to my partner in crime design, Danny, and a lifelong interiors fanatic.
I’m also the founder of Few and Far and Indigo Love, two halves of one thriving business.
But I’ll admit it… when I left my job as a graphic designer in 2009 to open a furniture and homewares store, I had no idea what I was doing.
I spent countless nights renovating our space, rearranging layouts in my head, and wondering how we were going to make ends meet on our small budget.
But after a decade of trial and error and thousands of hours spent learning on the job, we’ve been able to open not 1, but 4 retail stores and grow our business beyond our wildest dreams.
And now that our stores are growing year over year?
We’ve been able to define our own hours, take our kids to the beach whenever we’re craving an ocean dip, and book outdoor adventures without having to ask for time off from work first.
There’s no doubt about it...
Opening a retail store takes passion. And guts.
But growing your retail store—taking it from a startup space to a well-loved brand—that takes a lot of late nights and blind guessing…
Unless you have a mentor who has been where you are and can help you sidestep all the tripping hazards.
A mentor to answer all your un-Googleable, unique business questions.
A mentor to lay out the exact path she took to grow a globally-recognized brand. One that has her falling more and more in love with her career every day. (Sometimes I look around and I have to pinch myself!)
I’m on a mission to help more retail business owners take their retail businesses to the next level.
Whether you want to optimise your current space and earn more, expand your team and schedule more time off, or open another location to widen your sphere of impact, I can’t wait to help you get there.
Sound like just the thing you’ve been looking for?
Excellent. Then it’s time you’ve met my newest creation.
Introducing...
THE RETAIL ACADEMY.
The only business community for homewares and lifestyle retailers who want a proven roadmap to stop guessing and start growing.
The Retail Academy will take you from where you are to where you want to be!
It's the answer you've been searching for!
Looking for a tried-and-true system to design your space for maximum sales?
Want to hire your first team member so you can stop unpacking every delivery box yourself?
Keen to set up your website so it includes freight charges at checkout?
You’ll find everything you need inside the Retail Academy to make your dream retail business a reality.
I'M IN! SIGN ME UP!
…And I do mean everything!
You’ll discover the big-picture business strategies that’ll help you grow and the granular day-to-day operations that’ll put more time back on your calendar.
Here’s a peek at just some of the topics we’ll be diving into each month:
-
Business Mindset for Retail Owners
From understanding your Why to dialing in your financial goals
-
Build Your A-Team, Big or Small
…including hiring-made-easy templates
-
Essential Systems & Processes
Plus where and how to store them for easy access
-
Master Your Marketing
Including how to tweak the look and feel of your brand to attract your most ideal customers
-
Grow Your Followers Online
…and have fun doing it!
-
Store Layout and Design to Boost Sales
Go beyond a pretty setup and get strategic about your merchandising to drive more sales
-
Freight and Delivery
Never feel stumped by shipping procedures, freight costs, or delivery logistics again
-
Understand Your Finances
Plus, how to balance your expenses, increase your profitability, and budget for growth
-
Create a Stand-Out Online Experience
So you can reach your ideal customers online too
Want a sneak peek inside?
Every month, you’ll get access to…
LIVE LEARNING
Monthly Masterclasses
Join me and guest industry leaders as they spill their best-kept secrets.
Every month I dive into my black book of retail experts to bring you the goods on how to grow and scale your retail business.
You’ll walk away with tangible action steps to increase your bottom line, make more sales, and create space for more joy in your business and life.
GROUP COACHING
Live Q&A Sessions
Show up live and get your questions answered in real-time
Monthly Q&As are designed to give you the space to ask unique-to-your-business questions and get answers in real-time.
Even if you just need a sounding board...
I’m here for you.
BANK OF RESOURCES
Full Video Library
Can’t make a session live? You’re welcome to dive into the recording on your own time
All live masterclasses and Q&A sessions will be recorded and banked in your video library so if life gets in the way you can double back and catch up later.
SYSTEMS MADE EASY
Plug n’ Play Operational Templates
Stop re-inventing the wheel every time you sit down at the computer
Get access to my trove of business operational templates to make your business run smoothly and efficiently, even after you've clocked out for movie night with the family.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Private Facebook Group
24/7 access to a community of other retail business owners just like you
Build your network and find your people in a supportive space that values accountability, learning, and celebrating business wins.
But don't just take my word for it...
When you first hear Tara Solberg, you just fall in love with her. We did!
We have been building and developing our online ecommerce homewares store for the past two years, secretly wanted a mentor to jump out of the internet to guide us. That’s when we met Tara! Tara has been a constant engaging voice in that development. We’re so glad we made the contact and signed up for her courses, Trade Wins and now The Retail Academy.Â
Tara has that genuine passion for homewares and education that resonates warmly when she speaks. We have access to Tara’s priceless wealth of knowledge built from creating one of Australia’s most prominent homewares stores, Few and Far and the wholesale arm Indigo Love. While living and breathing ongoing success at the top, this has not dented Tara’s genuine love for educating other like minded souls, supporting, advising and building on their dreams.
Tara is obviously passionate about creating beautiful homeware spaces but she is just as keen to inspire others to succeed. Here is a successful business owner, an entrepreneur, a wife and mother, who sounds real…and that’s because she is…a woman of integrity!
In a landscape where ecommerce courses promise the world, Tara’s two offerings, Trade Wins and The Retail Academy stand alone as the genuine article. Tara has developed her own business protocols, designed to offer the aspiring business woman all the wisdom, advice, first hand recommendations and the tools necessary to take that giant leap into business ownership.Â
We are really excited to have Tara as our ongoing mentor as we continue to grow our ecommerce store and to also embark on a new retail venture this year of owning a bricks and mortar store for House of Dudley.
Debra and Paul Horgan
Founders of House of Dudley
“We knew we couldn’t do it alone, and we knew that we didn’t know what we didn't know. That’s when I reached out to Tara in search of a mentor and got so much more”
We leaped at the chance of opening three shops with childlike wonder. It wasn’t until we moved from Sydney to Taralga that the reality of what we had taken on slowly started to hit us.
I joined Tara’s Trade Wins course and found a community of other women bravely following a dream.
If I only had three words to describe Tara, they would be: authentic, generous, inspiring.
Tara has been there every step of the way giving me guidance, being a sounding board and offering practical tips. I am constantly inspired by her vision for Few and Far and grateful for her support and mentorship as we step into the next chapter of our story.”
ATTIYA MALIK, Founder of Thirty Six Orchard St.
“Tara has been integral to the launch of our business. She is our business bible go-to and we’re incredibly grateful for her involvement in our business journey to date.”
I met Tara at a critical sliding doors moment when deciding to take the daunting leap into starting our own business.
It was a decision I had been grappling with for some time but after my first meeting with Tara I had the confidence I needed to make that choice.
Tara really took the time to understand and consider what we were trying to achieve and its feasibility allowing for her encouragement to come from a really considered place.
Since then Tara has become such a supportive and engaged mentor providing much needed guidance and advise. Tara is incredibly authentic and approachable and her wealth of knowledge from business structure, negotiations, sourcing, customer experience and acquisition, right through to marketing is uncapped.
Tara is the perfect combination of direct and driven whilst also being supportive and empathetic.
ASHER COLE, Founder of The Garden Social
Oh! And there’s something extra special about the fact you’re here right now!
To sweeten the deal, after 12 months inside the Retail Academy you’ll also get access to Trade Wins, my comprehensive course on building rock-solid foundations for a thriving retail business.
Prefer instant access to Trade Wins?
Join for the year and you can get stuck in straight away!
Your purchase is protected with our 30-day 100% money back guarantee
The Retail Academy is one of my most favourite creations (...and I’ve created a lot of things I love!). And I know it’s a space that will change your business—and your life—for good.
But I also know how scary it can be to take a leap of faith and go all-in on your dreams.
Which is why I’m happy to welcome you into the Retail Academy risk-free for 30 days.Â
If you don’t feel like it’s the space for you within the first month, let me know and I’ll refund your purchase in full. No questions asked. That’s how confident I am in what’s waiting for you inside.
Wondering if we're a perfect match?
The Retail Academy isn’t for everyone. And that’s a good thing!
By welcoming in *perfect match* students, we ensure you’ll be learning and implementing alongside other dedicated retail business owners just like you.
This program is perfect for you if…
- You have an established homeware or lifestyle business (aka you’re not in start-up mode)
- You’re craving a community space to ask questions, get insights, and grow
- You’re willing to show up, do the work, and implement to see big results
Sound like you? Excellent.
YEP, THAT'S ME!
I am so immensely grateful for the incredible impact that Tara has had on my leap into the retail world. Tara’s extensive knowledge, passion and personalised guidance has been transformative. She goes beyond teaching industry insights through her courses, but also inspires you personally through her growth mindset perspective. Tara’s empathetic approach impacted my personal confidence as I approached a daunting venture and provided the trust I needed in my homewares business. I wholeheartedly recommend Tara and the courses she has created as an enriching learning experience, mentor and teacher, confident that you too will experience the same transformative journey that I did. No words could ever be enough to express how lucky I feel to experience the support and high quality education Tara delivered. Congratulations Tara on all your achievements!Â
Libby Braden, Renata Home
Let me show you how simple it is to streamline and scale with a mentor in your back pocket and a community of peers cheering you on
Just some of the challenges we'll cover in our monthly masterclasses...
Have a hunch your store layout isn’t encouraging sales but not sure how to fix it?
Tired of staying at work late to create next month’s staff schedule instead of being at home with your kids?
Feeling overwhelmed by being your own bookkeeper?
Want to grow your social media presence but don’t know what to share?
Want to stop running out of your best items?
Questions? I have answers!
FAQ's
This sounds amazing, but I’m so busy. Should I wait until I have more time to join?
Do I have to join for 12 months?
Can I stay longer than a year?
Can I join The Retail Academy anytime?
What if I can’t make all the live masterclasses or Q&A sessions?
Is the Retail Academy only for homewares and lifestyle brands?
What’s the difference between The Retail Academy and Trade Wins?
What if I have another question?
Â
"Thank you Tara for inspiring me to step back from the overload of 'busy doing', and create a brand that deeply reflects me, and has also made me dream bigger than I dared previously."
Tara is an expert and inspiring mentor. I have been able to get my brand up and running from the absolute grass roots, and create a brand story and cohesive online store, that has good systems in place for the possibility of a bricks and mortar concept store down the track.
The TRADE WINS course comes with a comprehensive course workbook that I have literally carried around and referred back to like my bible!
My most exciting achievement was launching a new product collaboration with my dream design company thanks to Tara's module on PR and collaborations. I also love the QA's and following along with the other inspirational members who have already launched their stores (which are just wow! I even took a road trip to see one :).
AMANDA CALLAGHAN, Founder of Amanda Joy Designs
“It was serendipitous that Tara, announced the launch of her TRADE WINS Course. I knew in that moment that I wanted to be mentored by Tara ~ I knew I would be in the best of hands. Tara’s patience, guidance and generosity has helped me to pave the way and together we have Welcomed Sunday Home. Tara continues to show her support long after the launch, which I am incredibly grateful for.”
Sunday Lives Here came about because I am a passionate gift giver. I love to hunt, gather and curate beautiful things for others. I get so much joy out of inspiring moments of sweet simplicity and creating opportunities to slow down in the busy~ness of the day.
One of the greatest things I've come to understand is that it takes a village to raise a passion project. I had the idea but community is everything to me and I didn't want to go it alone.
EMMA, Founder of Sunday Lives Here
THE TRUTH IS…
You can build a retail business that lets you choose!
A business that gives you time instead of taking it away.
A business that fills you with happiness. Enlivens you. Allows you to live your life to the fullest.
With less late nights Googling in front of the computer and more belly laughs, more midday cookouts, more sandy toes.
I know all of that is possible for you.
How? Because I’ve done it.
And if you’re with me, I can’t wait to help you build the retail business of your dreams inside the Retail Academy.
See you in there!
With love and vintage throw pillows,
Tara x
HEY THERE, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Join the Retail Academy now and start growing your business today!
© 2020 tarasolberg
