For Churchill, work is every day at Tuesday Morning

Leslie Churchill credits her father with teaching her the value of hard work. She is the store manager of Tuesday Morning, 2511 U.S. 281 North in Marble Falls and blends her unique management style, long hours of up to 55 hours per week and previous work experience as a blueprint for her success in business. 

Tuesday Morning has more than 800 stores nationwide and specializes in selling new overstocked and discontinued items. Churchill and her employees work together as a a team to help their store exceed sales expectations, she says.

Q:  How long have you worked for Tuesday Morning?

A: I started there as a sales associate when it first opened in March 2007. I was promoted to manager last August.

Q:  What brought you to the Marble Falls area?

A:  We moved here two and a half years ago. My husband and I lived on South Padre Island for five years living the beach life. Although the beach life was fun, we felt our lifestyles needed a change and it was time to get back to reality. The work there is very seasonal. Even though we visited Marble Falls in the past, we literally decided to pick a place on the map that was closer to where my family lives in Dallas. When we decided to make a change, we moved here with just our clothes and an agreement we would see which of us could get a job in the first week. My husband was offered three opportunities the second day we were here, so we went back to South Padre Island to get our furniture and belongings and put our house up for sale. 

Q:  What kind of work have you done in the past?

A:  I had a background in retail sales before becoming the manager at Tuesday Morning. I’ve worked as a department manager for two different Dillard’s stores in Texas, and I worked as a bar manager for five years when we lived in South Padre.

Q:  What is the busiest time of year for you in retail sales?

A:  The holiday season is definitely the busiest from Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, until Christmas Eve. It is really hectic during that time, but we try to have fun. It’s challenging, but it’s also a great opportunity for us in terms of our sales. We play Christmas music and it helps get everyone in the Christmas spirit. 

Q:  How many employees do you have to keep the store running?

A:  I manage a team of 10 female employees part-time and full-time. I call them “the drama club” as they all have unique personalities and range in age from 21 to 56. 

Q:  Have men worked in the store?

A:  Yes, we’ve had some men work here, but they left for one reason or another. One guy left because he got a job in a hardware store and thought he was better suited to that line of work. We would love to have the help. We have to unload 800 to 1,000 cartons of merchandise and there’s a lot of heavy lifting.

Q:  Are there any aspects of your job that make it difficult?

A:  Scheduling is probably the hardest part. With so many different employees needing to juggle their lives outside of work, it’s like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Ultimately though, we all work together as a team. We have employee meetings on a regular basis and everyone has a chance to talk about whatever they want. If the employees are happy, it helps us run a more productive store and I like finding the types of jobs employees enjoy the most.

Q: Your store sales have shown to exceed expectations. What do you attribute that to?

A:  I like to lead by example and never ask an employee to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. I’ve never shielded myself from hard work. I also take notes in our meetings. It’s a great time for me to receive feedback and learn about what could be a problem and how to prevent it. I play a role as a mediator sometimes by having to meld all the styles of personalities and make them work together. I am very flexible and will give employees every chance to succeed. I also live by my motto, which is really important.

Q:  What is your motto?

A:  You can do anything in life you want to if you help other people enough to get what they want. I  strongly believe in the idea that it takes hard work to succeed and there is no free lunch in life. You have to do the work you’re given to do, and it’s not always fun, but it’s important to enjoy what you’re doing. If you like your work, it doesn’t seem like work at all.

Q: Who has influenced you the most in business?

A:  First, it was my father, Stanley Parish. He taught me the value of hard work and how to lead by example. He’s an entrepreneur and I worked for him for 10 years in one of his companies. He started me out in the shipping department where there was no air conditioning, and I had to work in every department of the company to learn how it was run before I became his vice-president. He thought it was important to know how to do everything in the company so you know how it operates, and he also felt it helped you better relate to the employees. My husband Winston Churchill (fourth cousin to the former prime minister of the United Kingdom) is also a great influence. He has a knack for words and is very wise in dealing with people. He gives me a lot of good ideas and great advice. 

Q:  Are there any other jobs you would like to have?

A: I love retail sales, and I’d really like to move forward with this company. I feel as a retail business, this store is cutting-edge offering products people really want but don’t want to pay high retail prices to get. I also love public speaking and look forward to any opportunity to share ideas and talk to people in mid-level management positions.