My guest today is Teresa Olson, founder of Olson House in Milwaukee, a beautifully curated store known for Scandinavian-inspired homewares, design-led products, and now a growing vintage collection.

But her story does not begin in retail showrooms and brand catalogues.

It starts in a Kmart, moves through a record store, a speech communications degree, DJing, interior design, corporate office life, and eventually a leap into opening her own store in 2015.

In this conversation, Teresa shares how she built Olson House with intention, how she sourced directly from Scandinavia, what she learned from navigating freight and tariffs, and how a vintage pivot helped drive a 90 percent jump in online sales.

This is one of those episodes that is full of heart, but also packed with quiet commercial wisdom.

In this episode, we cover:

Teresa's unconventional journey from record stores to retail founder
Why she left corporate life and retrained as an interior designer
How a trip to Scandinavia shaped the Olson House brand
What independent retailers can learn from sourcing with intention
The hard realities of tariffs, freight, and small-space inventory decisions
How vintage became a strategic pivot, not just a passion project
What drove a 90 percent increase in online sales
Why Google Shopping ads worked better than broad awareness marketing
How Teresa uses email segmentation and VIP offers to increase conversions
What local retailers can do when external factors hit foot traffic
Why nimbleness matters more than ever in today's retail environment

You can explore her store online at Olson House.

How to Stay Profitable in a Retail Store (When Costs Are Rising)