Fall down seven times; stand up eight.

 How many times have we told ourselves," if we only knew then what we know now"?  The same thought applies not only in our personal life, but in all aspects of life. In my recent decision to close the brick and mortar location of My Favorite Things, I've realized, this isn't the end, but opportunity for a new beginning. I made mistakes. Some, I probably could have avoided but some where beyond my control. When I first opened the business, I had anticipated purchasing the inventory of an already established business. I was under the understanding the business had done fairly well and didn't have money to hire an attorney so, we had just made an agreement. Had I known what I was in for, I would have never agreed to any of it. If you are considering purchasing a business, by all means, get yourself a lawyer, it will save a lot of headaches down the line. I was not prepared to deal with an underhanded person trying to take advantage of my naivety. I began the business with a complete name change and renovating the layout of the business to create a more enjoyable shopping experience. Our first mistake was overlooking the classic bait and switch. All high end inventory was gone and we were left with piles of unsellable goods, but false promises we would get the rest of it shortly.  I should have stopped and backed out then, but we persisted. We cleaned and cleaned, ran around like crazy adding new inventory and making homemade items to fill the store and when we were done, it smelled good, looked good, was nicely stocked with a good variety. It seemed like we were heading in the right decision. Then, the ball dropped. An onset of angry customers who felt cheated from the previous owner. It wasn't one or two customers but a steady parade of people demanding money or merchandise that the previous owner had failed to settle with them. I tried unsuccessfully to explain this was a new business, and although I purchased inventory from the former business I wasn't associated with them and they would need to take their concerns to the former business owner. Ten days into it I decided to just close temporarily, cancel my purchase agreement & contacted the owner of the inventory to come remove all the inventory and start from scratch. That has been a whole other can of worms that I am still dealing with and trying to sort out. After speaking with an attorney, the contract was never legal in the first place and I'm still tied up in small claims court dealing with the former owners nonsense and desperation for money. I knew after speaking with former customers I was going to be in for hell in trying to reasonably negotiate with the person I was dealing with. So, I learned a tough lesson the hard way.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” - Denis Waitley

I'm not giving up entirely. At the moment, I am just closing the brick and mortar location. Had I known the situation, I would have never agreed to purchase anything from the other business. I actually, would not have chosen to open a business in that location, because even when we removed all the former inventory, had new signs installed and sent out press releases, people just assumed it was the same business and just had the name changed and new employees. Six months later and people still didn't get it. In a small town, the location was doomed from the beginning.  No matter how many times we explained to people, including putting a sign on the front door that we were not associated, people thought what they wanted. It was a harsh reality that our lack of traffic came from customers who had already been burned and vowed never to step foot inside our locale. At this time, we are just clearing out, officially closing on February 1st.

 We will continue to sell online. 

At some point in the future, perhaps we will attempt to re-brand and re-open in a new location, but for now, the stress and embarrassment of not fully investigating what kind of person I was trying to do business with is enough to deal with.  I won't give up, because I truly believe I can be successful and I have faith that everything in life is a blessing or a lesson, this time it just happened to be a little of both. 

 Learn from me, if you ever decide to purchase an already existing business, ask around, don't just speak with the owner or their favorite customers. Speak with everyone in your community, speak with the police and see if complaints had been filed. Fully document everything, in writing and never sign a contract without a lawyer reviewing and and being present. Never assume anything and always put everything in writing. Don't think purchasing an already existing business is going to be easier than starting from scratch. Either way is hard. Owning a business is never easy, but from scratch you don't inherit enemies of the former business and you don't have to clean up messes you didn't make. 

Lessons Learned.  

End of small business for brick and mortar establishments

The last few weeks I've been trying to brainstorm any ideas that may save my small business. Unfortunately, in a small and impoverished town, I feel I am at the point where, it only makes sense to close. It is a heartbreaking decision, as my daughter and I have poured our blood, sweat and tears into building a wonderful little shop. We have a great group of loyal customers, but not enough to continue operating a business we are losing money each month. We will continue to sell online, but to continue paying overhead out of pocket, after not even drawing a paycheck, isn't what we set out to do.

While I have no regrets in the experience, it is time to say goodbye to that dream. Perhaps down the line if the economy improves we may try again, but at this time we are moving strictly online. Perhaps brick and mortar businesses are now a thing of the past, like an old memory. It seems more and more, the businesses I see succeeding are those online. Maybe it is time to join the 21st century and strictly sell through the Internet.
My biggest struggle was traffic. We selected an excellent location on a main road between two towns, with a hair salon and nail salon next door. Minutes from a small shopping mall and down the street from my arch enemy, Walmart. Clearly visible from the road, with plenty of parking, well lit, open flag flying and yet, some days we would be lucky to have three customers. Granted, customers who came bought, but the volume we needed to survive just wasn't there.  Many items we carried were upcycles, taking a green initiative, but alas, Walmart offers identical items, of course not upcycled and made in China, for the same or lower prices and frankly, people don't care. It does not matter if it was made in China. The mentality was, "Well, I can get it brand new (rather than upcycled) at Walmart for the same price." We strive to keep prices low, but Walmart, buying in massive bulk can sell items cheaper than I could even purchase them. It is the way of big business and how they drive the small, locally owned shops out of business all together.

I can accept that. Angrily, but I can accept it. Personally,  I make an effort to try and shop locally and shop green. I visit local restaurants and bakeries, instead the chain stores and I look for kitchsy little art places that have unique gifts or something so unusual I fall in love with it and have to bring it home with me.  I will begrudgingly admit, that I too, often shop online. Mostly, I started because I could purchase specific items that I could not find locally, and then I found even with shipping, the cost was significantly lower than I could purchase elsewhere. So, I understand the allure of online shopping. The added bonus is not dealing with ignorant and rude people, being subjected to the smells, behaviors or annoyance of the masses. I get it. There is no haggling online, which was one of the hardest things about running a small business. Even though a sign was clearly listed, stating, "This is not a yard sale, all prices are firm",  I don't believe I had one day of business where someone didn't try to undercut me by at least 50%. It is with sadness that I close the doors, but we will continue selling on our facebook page at My Favorite Things.   

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

 I am also preparing for a new adventure and joining what I believe is the future, selling through Amazon.com I am a fan of Amazon, where I can easily find what I am looking for,  read reviews from other customers and usually find the best price out there. I already publish through Amazon, after a very poor experience with Publish America (that's a whole other story, one I will share in the future) and have always been quite satisfied with my experiences there. In addition, it helps to support the US Post Office, which of course is my day job, so I justify it that way. ;)  So, please, shop through my online store at Amazon, which I am learning how to sell my own products, as well as offering some of the best deals I find on there. You can find us at:

 My Favorite Things on Amazon.com

It's been a fun ride and a learning experience and I am glad I was fortunate enough to experience owning a brick and mortar business, before they truly become a thing of the past.

Virgins~ we admit it~

Today is as good of day as any to lose our virginity, 
................................our blogging virginity! 

Blogging for a small business is relatively a new idea to me. I write, sure, but about a small family owned business? We are not exactly prime time television worthy, although, at times I am sure watching us would be entertaining. Mother and Daughter, both overly independent and bull-headed. 
We started this business six months ago, really on a wish and a prayer. Learned a few things the hard way but established a little spot for ourselves. Our biggest challenge is getting customers in the door. Our location is good, but we are still trying to overcome the unsavory reputation of the previous business in that location.  We are not affiliated but people make some strange assumptions. 
We live rural and in a mostly impoverished area. Our original thought was, the area needed something like this. Affordable, name brand, pristine clothing, shoes, jewelry~ at huge savings. Some new, some worn but add in household items, furniture, artwork, upcycles, photography, gifts. It will work.  We are finding even a few dollars seems to be "too expensive" for some, but we have not given up hope yet. We're just thankful we don't depend solely on the store for an income or we would probably be living in the back room. We are just trying to get by like everyone else. We'll share a few different things on here, recipes, crafts, upcycle tutorials, probably showcase some of the different things we bring into the store and some of the ideas we have, no matter if they work or not. We will give it all we have. Being a small business owner in this economy is tough and in a rural, mainly poor area, even tougher. You are welcome to come along for the ride and even feel free to throw some advice or comments in if you'd like. 
Today wasn't a bad day, but with the stress of the holidays on top of all the stress that comes with opening a business, it got ugly before we closed. Lots of cleaning got done though, our own personal anger management therapy. We even discussed giving up all together, but neither of us are quitters. So, we came home and decided we're going viral. We can ship, we can sell online and in the store. We refuse to let the apathy in our community bring us down and will not be another failed business. Another empty storefront downtown with a for lease sign. So, stay tuned people and let the adventures begin. You can follow us on facebook and remember, we can ship anywhere and accept paypal and credit cards.