Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Crabtree.
Hi Whitney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always been passionate about fashion, however, life leads me in a different direction with my career in the entertainment industry. When Covid hit in 2020, the concert industry took a huge hit. I went from working in an office daily to working from home and covering the positions of several employees who were laid off. Like the rest of the world, the uncertainty of Covid got my wheels spinning. My father, who was also my boss, taught me that when things get complicated instead of throwing the towel in you get creative. As I sat at my home desk working the thought of an online boutique popped into my head.
After a few days of nonstop research and little to no knowledge in that field, I jumped in. My oldest daughter was a freshman in high school and I wanted to include in her something she could not only be a part of but would be able to watch grow from the ground up. I was 17 when she was born and have always strived to teach her that hard work and determination are extremely important in being successful. After a quick family discussion, The Willing Crab was born. Originally my goal was to generate extra income while our industry was slow due to Covid while doing something I enjoyed. I never expected this to be a long-term business or something that I would grow past a Facebook group. By week one, I was selling clothes to friends and family through a Facebook group and spent all of my free time researching the business. In November 2020 I was able to rent a space in a building in Lebanon that included other small businesses. Unfortunately in March 2021, the building flooded and we lost everything. I went back to the drawing board and decided to build a mobile boutique.
Long term I wanted to have a brick and mortar but knew this would be difficult while still managing my career in the music industry. The mobile boutique was finished by September of 2021 and I began traveling to Nashville and surrounding areas for events. Flash forward to today. We now have a space in a store in Opry Mills called Urban Marketplace as well as a space in The Basement Marketplace in Old Hickory, TN. We do events all over TN as well as operate a website for online sales. My daughter is now a Senior in high school and will be attending UT Knoxville in the fall to major in business and marketing. She handles our social media, website, and models for the boutique. My goal is to not only increase our online business but ultimately open a brick-and-mortar in Nashville. I still manage my full-time job but have truly found my passion in the retail industry.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning your own business is never a smooth road in my opinion. It takes trial and error and a ton of mistakes to learn what works and what does not. I still have endless amounts to learn and still spend a lot of my time researching ways to improve. The flood was certainly a huge obstacle but I am stubborn and refused to give up. I have found that no matter how hard I try I can not please everyone. I try to stay true to myself and hope that people respect that.
Owning a business while still maintaining a full-time job is also extremely hard. I work 7 days a week and maintaining a balance is difficult. I am not sure I remember what having “free time” is but I can say I thoroughly enjoy what I do. My husband and I have 3 children (21, 18, and 7), 2 french bulldogs as well as owning my husband’s business, Music City Highrise. Time is usually my biggest obstacle as there just never seems to be enough time in the day to tackle everything it takes to run a business.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We offer women’s clothing and accessories. I have always been someone who loves out-of-the-box fashion. I think clothing is one of the best ways to express your personality. I strive to carry styles that appeal to not only different sizes and shapes but also different personalities and styles. We carry everything from leggings and cute basic tops to outfits that are covered in rhinestones and ready for the stage.
I love to encourage women to wear things that are not typically in their comfort zone but make them feel like total rock stars when they put them on. My biggest joy is watching someone leave with an outfit that they feel confident and beautiful in. I think being a mother-daughter team certainly makes us stand out as well as our relationships with our customers. I have built some of the most amazing friendships with people during this process. Our customers are friends and my goal is to keep that dynamic as we grow.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think hard work and resilience are two of the main things that make a business successful. The ability to keep moving forward even when things are not going as planned.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thewillingcrab.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewillingcrabboutique/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/583614812537847
Image Credits
Addi Hill
