Why?

Why is it...

That I run an After Christmas Sale every year and every year it gets harder and harder to get people to participate in the paying it forward aspect of my sale. 

I give an overly generous discount if you bring things for the local food pantry.  I honestly have people coming through the door and are put out with me when I won't give them the discount without a contribution to the food pantry.  

If you buy Christmas Items you don't have to bring anything to get the discount on those items but I always say that it would be greatly appreciated if you did.  Nope, Nada, Nothing.... People walk through the door, buy Christmas Items, and don't care that they could help someone less fortunate then them... It is always the same... What can you do for me?  It bothers me to no end.  Seriously, you cannot bring anything, not one thing.  And then you can be pissed off at me when I won't give you a discount on your non Christmas Items if you don't have a donation... Smarten Up Idiots!!!!  I don't have to give to you if you cannot follow the rules.  One canned good, bigger discounts if you bring more.... these are not hard things.... 

When did this world of ours become so self centered?  When did we all become so all about what we want that we can't see the reward in helping others?  When did we decide that we would take full advantage of going out of business sales when we never set foot in the door while they were in business? 

Christmas will be leaving my store quickly so that I can get back to not doing anything extra for the people that treat me bad.  I am generous to a fault.  It will probably put me out of business some day, but at least I will go down doing for the people that shop locally, that support my small business and helping the people that are LOYAL to my business. 

If I ever have to have a going out of business sale....don't worry, I will be calling all of my loyal customers first to get the best deals for they are the ones that deserve them.  

Don't get me wrong, if you can't afford to bring things for the food pantry I understand.... but when you can spend $30, $60, or hundreds of dollars on Christmas things, you should be able to bring a couple of cans of vegtables for the food pantry.  

Exhaustion!!!!

This time of year, for any shop owner is exhausting.... 

Please don't be offended by this blog, it is written strictly as a way to vent, a way to let go of the things I cannot change.. It helps me to not be in tears with every little thing that life throws at me as a business owner.  It is written so that others can get a good laugh ( or cry) and enjoy a smile, sometimes at my expense, sometimes at the expense of others. Read it, enjoy it and let it go...

All we can hope for is that we have chosen well, so if you think we have please tell us.... because in truth, you have no problem telling us when you are unhappy with the choices we have made.  

You tell us by your eye rolls, your sighs, your statements of you used to carry 2 years ago... 

If you only knew how hard it is to run a business in this economy and this day and age.  

We continuously run sales and take out of our profit to give to you, because you demand that we keep up with the BIG BOX.  You let us know that you can get it cheaper online. You KNOW, or at least you should, that WE (the small business owner) does not pay the same price for things as AMAZON, WALMART, TARGET or THE CHRISTMAS TREE SHOP.  I know it is easy to shove your head in the sand and think that you are  a thrifty shopper, that you are getting the best deal for your family.  I understand the tough times... more than most of you do.  I haven't taken a paycheck for years... I haven't been able to buy new clothes for myself, literally I am wearing today all items that I have had for at least 4 years.... the shoes, the pants, the shirt and the fleece.  And that says nothing about my underwear...   I know TMA but the truth hurts sometimes and when you come in here and try to get me to give you things for less then what I even paid for them... maybe this is the info you need to grow a conscience.  Maybe you should realize that some are STRUGGLING business owners that need to make choices for our families too.  Walk in my shoes before you judge me because I say NO to you for wanting to much from me.  Put yourself where I am (the exact spot) when I have to wonder where the money is coming from to pay for all that you are looking around at in my store... It didn't come free, I am not sure what makes you think I pay pennies on the dollar for these items.  I am sorry that I no longer can carry all the items that you are picking up at the bargain stores.  I am sorry that you need that one other ornament that you couldn't find down to the discount store but we had to stop carrying them because the BIG companies are selling off their overstock to discount stores instead of to the people that have kept them in business all these years... (about then you roll your eyes) because you don't care about a reason....you just care that I don't have what you want..... Learn some patience people, because over the years we have had to have some patience for you too....  

We have tried to tell you where you can find things, because small business owners are helpful and kind, that isn't enough.  Your tired and exhausted and worried about how you are all going to pay your bills too.  How your going to come up with the money for Christmas, or how you will heat your home all winter, pay your mortgage, buy food.  SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS have those same worries too.  So please put your happy face on and play nice... because the world is bigger than just you.  If you can't do that than don't be surprised when we give back at you the same as you are giving towards us.  

Indecisiveness ...  Is that a word?  

That is how I feel, I can't make a distinctive decision for the life of me.  Most days I hate people and the way they rip apart my things only to try to figure out how to make them, or to take pictures so they can try to go online to get the cheaper... but today I have had some really good people in, people that truly LOVE this store.  They make me feel like it is all worth it.... but they will not be here all the time in this world... so do I leave or do I stay...  do I look to be happy again or do I fall into this bad place I am in and continue to have bad feelings towards people and this environment that I use to love but sometimes now despise...  Wow, this is a lot of thought for today, these thoughts almost exhaust me.  I wonder if other small business owners feel this way or if there lives are filled with rainbows and puppies.  Any thoughts out there from the peanut gallery?  And yes I know I am setting myself up here...  

I find that I haven't written lately.  Not from the lack of bad judgement of people for me to write about, more just because all the negativity gets to me after awhile.  

I believe in the greater good, I have wonderful customers that worry daily about me not making it here in this little slice of heaven (or hell, depending on who's vision it is).  They truly do care if I cannot pay my bills, they worry how I will make it through the slow seasons and they almost hold their breath knowing how very hard it is for me to keep the doors open.  

So when the bad happens, that is where you will find me, sitting taking a moment to be thankful for all the good in my life.  Not to worry, I will be back with sorted stories I am sure but for now, I need a dose of good thoughts, good friends, laughter and smiling.  Once I get my fill of that I will come up with the next thing that will shock the stocking off ya.  Happy days my friends.  

How many straws does 

it take to break the Camel's back?

Please don't be offended by this blog, it is written strictly as a way to vent, a way to let go of the things I cannot change.. It helps me to not be in tears with every little thing that life throws at me as a business owner.  It is written so that others can get a good laugh ( or cry) and enjoy a smile, sometimes at my expense, sometimes at the expense of others. Read it, enjoy it and let it go...

Let's start the week with a stellar Sunday.  Business was good, so good it gave me hope for so very much.   Then we have a bad Monday, so bad we don't even hit the three digits.... sigh.  Makes for a long day trying to figure out what we are doing wrong.  We leave for the night, chalking it up to another rung on the ladder and we will start a new day in less than 12 hours.  We feel beaten but not out of the game.  Tuesday shows up with buying some new product that we weren't expecting but needing so we did it.  The day ends slightly over the 100.00 mark, a far cry from the XXXXX amount needed for the mortgage, let alone the light bill and the heat.  So we give up on Tuesday too... enough so we leave at 4:30 in the afternoon because we have decided that all people suck.... I know, I know, not all people suck but some do and it seems like the scale is tipping to the sucky side for alot more than not.  

Here we are, WEDNESDAY.  Suck it up ( I say to myself), things will get better...  I open the door to a delivery that needs to be paid for.... before they have left I have not one but two people in asking for different donations.... they, of course are car pooling but they have TWO different causes that they need support for.....  SERIOUSLY!!!!  Of course I cannot help but ask, I haven't seen you in before?  Do you girls shop here and I just don't know it?  NO ....... Yup that was the answer, No..... we just know that alot of our friends do and will be at these events and we figured you would donate.  SIGH....  So I go to get an item or two as it should be and they inform me that they really would just like gift cards... at this point I said do you have paperwork for these causes?  Ummm...no but we could get you something and get it back to you...... NOT!!!!   so instead I said I cannot do donations without proper paperwork.... if you get some and come back I will be happy to donate.... am pretty sure those gift cards were gonna be someones birthday presents or something.  And again you wonder why I hate people.  I would put money on the fact that they won't be back.  So here I am wondering if Wednesday is over yet... nope not yet... I find that a product that I brought in is broke....and it is a big item, so that is never a good thing.  I want to cry because there is only so much that I can do....  I have a friend that is going to lose a business because the economy is so bad.  I am holding on but my mental state is getting worse by the day.  I have been so stressed out and wonder how I will make it everyday.  I cannot walk away, BUT I WANT TO.  I sometimes get tired of trying to make life warm and fuzzy, or as one of my friends say "rainbows and puppy kisses" for everyone but me.  If I am the one that speaks up or says something people will say oh what a bitch, but instead they come in, shit all over me and expect me to take it.... only for XX more months.  That is when the mortgage will be paid and that is when I will take my life back.  I know that I made this choice, this choice to own a business... I never expected it to be easy but I did think that with hard work and good ethics I would someday get ahead of the game.   Today's rant is over.... at least until the next person through the door does something ludicrous that I have to post about.  

Conversations

This evening I found myself having a conversation with several different business owners.  Seems that we all have one thing in common...the PITA's that come into our businesses.  PITA stands for Pain in the A**.  

I don't say this as a mean thing... I find myself wondering (like so many others) what is this world coming to.  When did it happen that people feel so entitled?   When did society become so all about me and self centered?  It hurts my heart to think that the majority of people think they are owed something, that they don't have to work for things, the young kids want 300000.00 houses to start out their lives, they all want the best cell phones, they all believe that they deserve the best of the best....

I am 47 years old and I would like to have a new house too... but then I think, no.... I don't want that payment again.  I would love to have more time to do what I want, but instead I am working to hold on to a store and make something of myself.  Nowadays it seems as though the kids all think they already are something, that they don't have to prove themselves....

I still believe they should have to prove themselves, there is something to be said when you get the right job because you were the best candidate..... because you were the hardest worker, because you were the one who called back and said you could work and didn't take a phone call or text a message during your interview.  

I hope where ever we as a world is headed gets straightened out soon because I am a nervous wreck and don't want to be an old lady dying with the worries of the world on my shoulders.....  

Deep thoughts tonight.........

Please don't be offended by this blog, it is written strictly as a way to vent, a way to let go of the things I cannot change.. It helps me to not be in tears with every little thing that life throws at me as a business owner.  It is written so that others can get a good laugh ( or cry) and enjoy a smile, sometimes at my expense, sometimes at the expense of others. Read it, enjoy it and let it go...

Wow!  You have really downsized.

Yup, those were the words out of her mouth........  so I said, " I have"?  She says well I don't get in here much maybe once a year.  I was driving by today and I needed a card so I stopped for that.  I said " well it looks like you found a card"?  She said yes, but as I am looking around I noticed you don't have as much stuff?  Like what? I said.  Well I don't know, there are no XXX here or there isn't XXX.  I pointed it out to her, that we still have them over in a different part of the store.  She said yes I know but I needed a curtain that I bought about 5 years ago and after I got in here I thought I could get another one today.  If I describe it to you can you order it for me?  ARE YOU F*****NG KIDDING ME! That is the thought that went through my head, but out of my mouth I said well if you can describe it enough that I might know what it is, I can try.  She then went on to tell me that she bought it at the XXXXXXX XXXX and they said they couldn't get it for her so she thought that on her way by she would check to see if I could.  SERIOUSLY!   Yes, yes, let me order you ONE curtain to match ones that you bought elsewhere, when no one else will do it for you and I will place a minimum order, which will be way more than your $$ so that you can be happy even though you only shop here about once a year.  NOT!!!!!  She, in conversation also tells me that she shops north of this store more than not and that the store is lovely but she does think I have less product in here than I have in the past...... Again, my head thinks, do you think so.....I mean I cannot carry 500,000.00 worth of product when we are grossing a third of what we were when the economy was good. She says why does the economy matter?  EXCUSE ME??????  Did you just say why does the economy matter.........Oh my god people. 

I understand that people don't have to grasp every aspect of  business, but where to hell is the common sense.  Where to hell do people get off to open their mouths and say anything that they want.  If I did that I wouldn't get customers, I would be black balled because those customers might be offended, but the CUSTOMER, well they can say ANYTHING they want!  They can offend me and that isn't suppose to matter.  They can EXPECT more than they should and they can be shocked when we cannot produce what they want, for the price they want and in the amount of time they want..... 

I am two days into a store revamp and I probably just don't have the patience to deal as well as I should.   But I was brought up with manners and I don't and never have walked into a place and expected them to do bend over backwards and take it up the a** for me.  NEVER!   

Here is hoping for a full glass of wine and a friend to drink it with after this day!

No complaining .....

Today I was visited by 4 older people....as I watched them wander from room to room I realized time is short.  In the **** short years that I have known them I have watched them age.  I realize that our lives unfold daily right in front of us.  

We get so busy that we don't even see it... and then years later you are wondering where the time went.  Where has your mind and spirit has been?  We let it slip away, into the wind, like it isn't important.  We get caught up in the making a living world and we forget to live a full life.  

I was glad for the visit today, it made me rethink a few things, treasure a few more things and gain some respect for others...  I know I bitch and complain on here alot...  I don't mean to, but this is the only way for me to let go of the negative things that happen in the shop.  It helps me unleash into the universe the things that I have no control over.  So that I don't have to harbor the hurt, so that I don't have to cry over things that are so foolish and stupid.  

Today was a day that started with help from several people that love me.  They want me to succeed, not just with the store but with my life.  They know I don't get much time to myself and they helped with a project that was important to me.  It is not done but we are making headway and they will be back to help finish.  Then the visit from the older people.  They travel an hour and 15 minutes one way about once a month to swing by the store, to check on me, make a few minor purchases, say some kind words and hug me on the way out.  

Today I will be thankful for the visit, the kind words and the opportunity to think about the good things in life.  The fact that I do matter to my friends, and family, and to so very many of my customers that travel from far away to visit with me.  Today I will be thankful for all things that have been presented to me in my life.  I am fortunate to have owned my own business, I am fortunate that my family and friends help me and I am fortunate that I only have a few more years of mortgage payments.  Today I believe I will conquer the world and I am glad I don't always have to be or feel alone.  

Tipped Over

Please don't be offended by this blog, it is written strictly as a way to vent, a way to let go of the things I cannot change.. It helps me to not be in tears with every little thing that life throws at me as a business owner.  It is written so that others can get a good laugh ( or cry) and enjoy a smile, sometimes at my expense, sometimes at the expense of others. Read it, enjoy it and let it go...

Okay, so here it is...... I haven't posted in awhile because I thought people couldn't get any stupider!!!!!   Well that would not be the case this morning.

DON'T walk through my door and expect that I should want to sell your things.....  no matter what they are.  Don't expect that I shouldn't make anything on them.........and don't expect that I should make 1% of what you think your shit is worth.

I pay $$$$$$  thousands a month in mortgage payments to be in the location I am in.   I know that was my choice, I know I didn't have to have this location.  But right now it is this location that you want to sell your item.  Is that right for you?  I am sure that you think so, but in reality, it isn't YOUR convenience.  It is mine, one that I pay dearly for.  And just  because you think your item or items are worth money doesn't mean they are.  And yes, I know you know the going rate for the said item because you shop your ass off all over town pricing things so that you can figure out what to put on it for a price.  Oh, but you still have NOWHERE to sell it?   Well pay for a booth at a local flea market or antique store.  Pay monthly rent until you get what you want out of it, or sit outside every weekend at a booth at the flea....... What?  You don't want to do that?  Well I am sorry that doesn't seem to fit into your schedule.  You can't be bothered!  BUT YOU THINK I SHOULD SELL IT FOR NO COMPENSATION TO PAY TOWARDS MY MORTGAGE, HEAT, LIGHTS, AIR CONDITIONING SO THAT YOU CAN CONTINUE TO SHOP HERE.   Oh that is right, you don't really shop here you take pictures with your phones and go home and try to figure out how you can get it cheaper.... and sometimes you can, other times you can't but you still order it online  because you can't be bothered to haul your ass back to the store to pick it up from a LOCAL BUSINESS.  Plus since you just gave that local business shit because they want to make something off the item you wanted them to sell for you.... you think.... well nope serves her right, I will just order it online......  

Well Jackass, if you weren't so selfish maybe you could have made a little money and that local business could have too. Maybe you could have been doing your share at helping said local business stay in business..... Maybe just maybe that local business has done it's share for you already.....Oh, you don't remember the discount I so graciously have given you over the years on SEVERAL things....that is to bad because I DO.  You don't remember the delivery on things that we don't offer but I knew you needed help with so I did it for NOTHING!  You don't remember that when you couldn't pay for it all at once, that I took payments for you so that you could have what you wanted even though I had discounted it.  You know what else I remember, the time you came back to tell me about the pictures and proudly "Nope, I couldn't find it any cheaper online but I couldn't wait until I came back so I just ordered it  because it was easier."  UUGH!!!!!

What to hell is wrong with society when everyone thinks someone owes them something...... 

THE DAY THIS STORE IS PAID FOR IN FULL IS THE DAY EVERYONE WANTS TO HANG ON TO THEIR ASS BECAUSE SOME OF THIS STUFF IS GOING TO START COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH instead of coming out in a blog beneath tear stained eyes.

There rant done....now I can go back to work to try and make some other asshole happy!

In the Meantime...

mean·time

ˈmēnˌtīm/

adverb

1. meanwhile.

   "in the meantime, I'll make some inquiries of my own"

We are 6 months into the year, and I am still scraping to get by.  Day after day of wondering where the money can come from...  Day after day of hoping that I will get enough customers through the door to make it all work.  Day after day of shattered hopes and dreams.  Frustration has set in long ago and I feel like I don't have any other hoops to jump through, I feel like I have thrown to the ground and trampled, I feel so very humiliated and defeated.  Should I have those feelings, probably not, but do I?  Yes.  

So tomorrow will come and I will go to work and I will hope for a better day and more money through the door and a miracle, yes I find myself hoping for those lately too.  I will walk through the door proudly tomorrow morning with renewed hope that the day will be better and the money will come and that the bills will get paid on time... and then I will hope that I can leave tomorrow night not feeling quite so defeated or so stupid.  It is really hard to go everyday when you know that the bottom line is, if people aren't going to shop with us, we won't be able to stay open.

I cannot make my own money, I cannot make people spend money they don't have and I cannot beg them to buy in my store.  I am at the mercy of the general public and that my friends is one of the scariest places I have ever been.  

Years have passed and we are closer to the end of the mortgage then we were when this whole recession thing started... More in debt, and a whole lot of gray hairs more... but we are closer, so tomorrow I will go to work with the hope that more will come if I keep trying to make them happy.
That the money will once again flow in so that we may pay it out to our vendors.  That people will somehow find more peace in their hearts that they can be more pleasant and I wish the same for me.   
A wise woman once told me to have some faith, no matter how bad it is it could be worse...and I suppose that is the truth of it because over the years I thought it couldn't get worse and here I am testing those waters again.... Her motto is to ask the higher up...  In the meantime?  In the meantime, what do I do? In the meantime how do I get by?  In the meantime.....

So In the meantime, I suppose I will get up and go to work tomorrow.  In the meantime, I will try to make some more connections, I will try to be a better person and in the meantime, I will continue to make my customers happy and feel loved.  In the meantime I will believe that good things will some day come my way if I work hard.  In the meantime I might shed a tear or two, question my judgement, and feel like I am going to have a heart attack, but in the meantime I will put one foot in front of the other and plow forward, just like I am suppose to until I can't anymore.  
As Always,
A wondering Shop Owner that feels today the weight of owning your own business.  

Business... The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

You should never want anything bad enough to sell your soul for it.  You should never forgo important things like building inspections, you should never ever believe in the people that are selling you something.  You need to protect yourself and you need to watch out for you.....because no one else is going to.  

Buying a business is just like a relationship.  You may possibly get out of it exactly what you put into it, but if that business has had problems before you bought it that you weren't aware of, then it might have problems after you buy it and you will have to deal with it then.  

There are days when I love what I do, I look forward to going to work and I look forward to redoing a display or making my shop look wonderful.  There are days when it is a peace of mind to go inside and take a deep breath and realize that even through it all I am still here, still in business and still managing to struggle through.  That in itself is an accomplishment in this day and age.

My loyal customers, the ones that look so forward to coming.  They make you smile.  It isn't about what they buy ( yes, I am happy when they buy) but it is about how they interact with the store.  They smell deeper, their eyes darting from one side to the other, their walking slows so that they can take in as much as they can before they take another step.  They seem peaceful, they seem happy if only for a short time in the store.    

Then there are days that I don't know how I will ever make it, how I can keep going from day to day.  That I have tried everything possible and I can't make people spend money that they don't have.  Those days are hard to get through, harder than I ever thought they would be. 

But still again I can say that I AM still here, working through the bad and the ugly, because I still have hope for the good.  I suppose without HOPE

I might give into the Bad and the Ugly, so every day that I wake up and still have HOPE brings a smile to my face and an ache to my heart because It still means that no matter how unbearable it all seems.........there is still HOPE for a brighter tomorrow and a better future for me and my little store.  

As Always, a reminiscent shop owner feeling old and tired tonight, thankful for many things even when the light at the end of the tunnel seems to have been shut off.  

Niche

Everyone in business needs a Niche.  

Something they can call their own, something that people (customers) 

will come back to them for, time and time again.

So after being in business for X amount of years,  I still find myself looking and longing for a Niche!  Business is so hard.  Is it that I cannot come up with it, or is it that every business owner is hunting for their own niche? And with the economy still so unstable and so very dependent on discretionary income that the consumer is still so very finicky about what they will spend their money on and rightfully so.  Hell, the corporate world almost came crashing down around us and the middle class finds itself the minority now, we always were the backbone of the country but I worry that in the years ahead that the middle class will become a thing of the past.  The middle class struggles to make ends meet.  Most of us will fall to the bottom no matter how hard we try.   

Have the tides turned?  They say if you come through a recession in a couple of years that people go right back to their old spending habits... this recession is not over (no matter what the government is telling you), and it has been going on since 2008.  Six years later, I believe that people have new learned behaviors, they have realized that they have to spend differently and to save differently.  I believe that those learned behaviors have changed this world and that with them comes a sense of owning a new truth.  People feel empowered  by a savings account, even if it is not enough...it is something.  They feel good about getting something for less.  If they aren't shopping for the discounts they are shopping for MADE IN THE USA.  These are all positive changes in our society.  

Now, only to find my Niche. 

 Don't worry, I think we are headed in the right direction, I am just so sorry it has taken X amount of years to get here.  But I have learned alot on the way and I believe that all things happen for a reason.  I have stopped worrying about the reason and instead look forward to the change.

Please don't be offended by this blog, it is written strictly as a way to vent, a way to let go of the things I cannot change.. It is written so that others can get a good laugh and enjoy a smile, sometimes at my expense, sometimes at the expense of others. Read it, enjoy it and let it go...

Donations

As a small business owner we are expected to give donations sometimes on a daily basis.  I am okay with donating for that is doing my share for our economy, our communities, our lives.  

If I can give a product for a Silent Auction that nets that "Cause" some serious cash, well then I am happy to have helped.  

The hard part, when what you do isn't appreciated, by the people asking or the people receiving.  

A couple of months ago I gave a donation of a gift basket that had a value over $300.00.  It brought 3/4 of that value to the "Cause" and I thought that was a great thing.  Today the winner of that basket came in for a FREE Item that had to be picked up at the store.  While she was there picking her FREE Item, she didn't look around, wasn't interested in anything other than the FREE Item, well that is okay, because maybe my store is not every one's taste.  But before she left she said, "I have to ask, those certain items that were in the basket?  Were they collectible?  And if so can you tell me the value of them, If I am going to sell them I would like to know what they are worth....sigh.  Why? Why do I bother, to give away something nice, why do I bother to try to coax them into the store because they have no interest in buying anything....why do I bother!

Some of the best ones are these

They will ask for something for a raffle, then they will say well we really would just rather have a gift card.... and then to top it off, while you are getting the gift card they kind of look around with out walking around and say.....wow, I haven't shopped in here for years, I came here because I knew that I could get a great donation.   Seriously people.... If you don't ever shop in a LOCAL STORE and help to keep them IN Business, then what on earth ever made you think you should walk through the door and EXPECT a donation.  I will tell you what made you do it.... you are part of the hypocrisy of this world that thinks "What can you do for me"? 

WHEN are we as a nation or even personally are we going to hold ourselves responsible enough to say, what can I do to help this nation, this community, this neighbor or even MYSELF!  When do we get off the ME, ME, ME bandwagon and decide that doing for other people and helping in every way possible will bring a better nation and a better world.  When do we make our own bed and lie in it instead of blaming someone else for the fact that you cannot afford certain things, When do you take responsibility for the fact that you don't want to work but you want all the luxuries in life.... ugh... please people get real!!!!!  

The day I have to go out of business, there will be some very loyal people that will get phone calls to get the best deals first, because I have given all for the last XXX amount of years only to be torn down by overly expectant people who think that this world OWES them something.  And to all of you.... If you do not shop locally and support locally, I honestly hope that the one or ten things that you wanted from that store that is going out of business were purchased by a loyal customer so that you can't have them.  

I know that to some of you this will seem petty, but for those of you that own your own businesses and you are struggling to get by but are trying to give to all the "causes" that walk through your doors, you are the ones that should be patted on the back because you are trying to make it through the worst economical nightmare that has ever transpired and you all know just how hard you work to keep the doors open and all those customers happy.  

I know that there are more and more people lately that are trying to save Main Street USA, and to all of you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  If there were more of you, you could single handedly save our Main Street Communities.  You are what we need.  Our own government will not help to save the Mom and Pop Shops of America.  If you don't have over 50 employees, you don't matter to any politician.  It is YOU, yes you that matters, if only you ALL cared about what you could do to help your own community, your own town, your own neighbor, your own friends.   All it takes is YOU, and YOU, and YOU!!!!!

As Always,
A shop owner that doesn't understand why some people are so incredibly ignorant to the way of the world because they are to caught up in themselves.

WOW!!!!   What a week.

All I can say is wow!  Mother's Day weekend gave me hope, hope that things were gonna pick up, that things were going to get better..... I had two great days, people were spending some money, they seemed happy and content............and Boom, just like that Monday came, sales came to a screeching halt, the fall out from the Mother's Day aftermath.

So for the next three days I have sat and wondered, what can I do differently, why is it getting so hard to pull this all together.  Why can't I make people spend their money, is it because I don't have nice things?  Is it because I can't figure out what they want or is it because they don't have the extra money to spend.

I get wonderful comments on the shop on a daily basis, but let's face it kids, I cannot keep doing this if people don't spend some money.   I cannot keep changing for the seasons and making my place scream of whatever season it is if all your gonna do is come in, look around, get your mental fix and leave.

I can't beg for sales, or walk out into the road and force them into the store with their wallet open.   I think that it is important to let your customers shop and not badger them, (another pet peeve of mine).  I know money is tight everywhere and for most of the people that I am friends with.  We all are struggling and I don't know a Main Street store anywhere State wide that isn't feeling the hurt of the economy.     

I am so very sure that it isn't so much that I am doing something wrong as it is that , life is hard for everyone, that money doesn't grow on trees and that people are more skeptical about their purchases then they ever have been.  

But then you walk into a big box store and you see the cart full of things, full of lamps, rugs, bedding, maybe a small furniture piece......and you wonder why target is so much better than you...............it isn't that they are, it is that their prices are cheaper, their furniture is pressboard and they didn't have to drive out of their way, they have settled...  Bottom line, we live in a world where instead of buying something nice, some kind of quality, they are content to buy something cheaper that they can afford right now.... because they know that when it breaks or when it fades or when it doesn't suit them anymore, they will just throw it away and buy a new one.  

We have become a throw away society, so maybe all this effort in trying to buy USA made things and getting furniture makers that will compete with hand made solid wood products is all for nothing.  For changing how we (shop owners) look at things is one thing, changing how you shop or look at things is a completely different story......sigh!

As Always, a fretting store owner that can only do so much.

Where are the Customers???

I am sure that many a shop owner is asking that same question these days.  I know from what I am hearing on my end that the discounts stores are getting more and more companies ( our companies) with trailers full of overstocked merchandise.  Instead of offering that merchandise to us the people who buy from them all the time, they offer it at discounted (and I mean pennies on the dollar) prices to the discount stores, all states have them, they buy fire sales and bankruptcies and overstock.  Then in a few months the companies that we have done business with all these years will call on us, the little guys saying " why aren't you ordering, you haven't placed your seasonal order yet".  That is when the little green guy inside us gets pissed and says... well since I am finding your items at prices half of wholesale on a shelf in a retail discount store I can't afford to compete with that.  That is less than what we paid for the same items and we had to pay shipping to boot.  And we listen to these companies say, well we have to do something with our overstock, we can't sit on it year from year it hurts our bottom line.  

Like they don't think it hurts our bottom line when we are paying top dollar to their companies only to have them turn around and stab us in the back by offering the overstock to a discount store....uugh.  Common knowledge says that if the customer is not buying as much because they are financially drained, then the little shop owner is not buying as much because they don't have the inlet of customers and the suppliers aren't changing their inventory as rapidly as they once were because of all of that too.  I understand the bottom line, I understand that if we aren't ordering enough that they can't sit on that all in warehouses.  But if you are going to sell something to a discount store within 6 months of selling it to us at a much higher rate.....common sense says that I won't be ordering from your company again anytime soon. 

So many people think that we the little stores are making a fortune on the customer.  First it cost us more for our product than the big box stores second we give back to our communities, and third we appreciate our customers, we are grateful when you keep your money local.  

This store is going more local, more handcrafted, more unique.  We cannot do our whole store in products that are local or handcrafted...but we are trying and the more we can do the more we will do.... for you as well as us.  We are in this for the long haul, but we want to offer you quality products that have been made by people in our country, so that maybe we can help with the process of taking care of our own.  

It is important to have pride in your country, in your life, in your accomplishments.  I can't control our govenment.  To many pockets are being padded by big Corportations,  and the little guy is getting smudged out.  There is no help for small business out there, but I am proud of what I have accomplished and I am proud of the life I try to live.  Do I do everything right?  Not by any means, but I TRY!  And that is all we can ask of you is to try to spend your money locally, try to think about who you are helping with every purchase you make, try to help take care of your neighbors, small markets, local businesses before they aren't there and all you have to shop at for anything is a Big Box Store.  

As Always,

A slightly tired and over worked shop owner that doesn't get a day off because I'm trying to put as much product on my shelves as possible for you, my customers.  

Customers, Creative Minds and Whoopie Pies

Today is a bit overcast outside, it is hard to be a creative mind when it is dreary outside.  I want sunshine in my life, I want customers in my life and I wanted a Lemon Whoopie Pie today.  I wanted the WP because it was offered to me and I am trying to be good with eating all the junk.  Well that goes down the tube when I am offered anything lemon.  It could have gone down the tubes with the offer of anything that sounded good but I only want you to think that I have a weakness for lemon right now.  

Now I get to work everyday and I want to be so productive, so I get right to work on projects and particulars that I have thought to do.  Today was no different.  I love when I first come to work because I am a go getter, a girl on a mission, a self help guru!!!!  I can and will conquer the world.  This was true for the the first hour or two this morning.  And I get the first two or three things done and then I decided that I was hungry.  And I remember that I was given the Lemon Whoopie Pie today, not just any whoopie pie but a HUGE Whoopie with Lemon Cakes on the top and the bottom and Lemon Pie filling in the middle of a whole lot of whipped cream.  You know the kind you have to hold with two hands.  Well it was looking really good after the third thing I got accomplished so I decided to sit down and have some of it.  Some of it became all of it and I am still reeling from the sugar coma I am in.  So that girl with the ambition that was going to get it all done today, the girl with big dreams, she is asleep in the corner of the store on a dreary day, hoping for customers that don't mind the snoring..... 

Note to self:  Lay off the Whoopie Pies!!!!!  

Always,

A slightly sugared up shop keeper that is going to have to go buy new pants if she keeps eating like this.  

I knew it was to good to last

So here is a doozy for ya!  This lady walks in today, I speak just like I do to all of my customers, it is something I take pride in.  I really don't like for people come and have it seem like I can't be bothered to speak, not that they all speak back but that is another story.  She speaks, looks around and about 20 minutes later she comes to the counter with some candy.  I ring it up and it comes to 16 dollars and some change.  She unfolds a paper that barely is holding together.  It is a promotion that we ran TWO YEARS AGO.  I kindly point out the expiration date of 5/1/12 and tell her that I cannot accept it.  When we run promotions like that there are rules for a reason.  Those rules were plainly written and it was a digital promotion that made sure that before you purchased it and printed it you were aware that it had to be used within one month.  Apparently I was talking gibberish because she just looked at me and said" so you aren't going to honor this?" I am afraid I took a deep breath, and said "well when you purchased it you knew the rules."  She then proceeded to tongue lash me about how other businesses would just go good for it and that I should too, that it wasn't her fault that she couldn't get here since then, that I was being ridiculous, yep she said ridiculous....  so nicely,  I took her damn coupon, I applied it to purchase and told her that she still owed me six dollars and some change.  She said the coupon was for $20.00 and I said well if you read the fine print it says that if you use it after the month expiration date up to a year later it is only worth what you paid for it, which was $10.00.  I am not sure that she will be back.  But since I haven't seen her in two years, I am guessing that might not be what breaks me.  I could very well break but I don't want it to be by the likes of someone like that...    

 

As always, a heart felt and heavy hearted Shop Keeper that wants to make everyone happy without doing myself in.  

Uneventful is not always a bad thing!

Today has been a good day, no one in to ask for money, no one in asking for things I didn't have on my shelves already and no one expecting more out of me than I could give.  

That means it has been a good day in this shop-keeper's life.  I came home smiling and feeling like life is good, life has meaning and that I must have been put in this position for a reason, no matter good, bad or indifferent.  

I know you are thinking "this broad, she is nuts".... but when Uneventful days happen I feel like the Queen of Hearts.  Loved from all angles, good at what I do, almost invincible... That's right, I rule the world!  My world, this little piece of real estate that I call my castle, it's townsfolk.   Even my own mind did not take over today, it did not rule me.  I, on the other hand, ruled it all!!!!

You see, the people who own retail shops, they need these days because without them we might give up, we might give in to those tears that well up in our eyes or the ache in our hearts.  When we have good days, they give us hope, hope for the future one day at a time.  So for tonight I am going to wear my tiara home and rule the day, for tomorrow may be a different story.  The difference is I will start tomorrow with the hope from today!

Always a Heartfelt Shop-Keeper

Time flies when your having fun....or not!!!!

I haven't written in awhile here... I know it is not good for people to know who is writing this... it seems like I am cynical, bitter, and a bit off my rocker.  But I find that what I have to say has to be said so that I don't go out of my mind.... so that I can find a way to let go of all the bad.  I am not trying to dump on people, I am trying to keep what little peace of mind I have.  So I have decided to write again, so that I can put it out there, instead of it piling up in my mind...

Like I have said before, I am only letting you know about some of the bad that happens in my shop, so that you know, I try hard, I try really hard to make my customers happy but the world that we live in now is taking it's toll on me.  

Yesterday I had a sales rep in.  No she did not have an appointment, she instead decided to cold call.  After 10 years of cold calls I do not appreciate them.  I know that sounds a bit "cold" but they are inconvenient.  No matter when.  You decide if you would have thought the same.  You can decide the same or not, but remember that I am the one that sits here day after day hoping for customers, hoping that I can pay my bills, and hoping that we (the shop) will make it through another day, week, month and year.  

She walked through the door and said she was from Gift Craft (huge company, all imported).  She told me her name, I don't remember it, sorry.  Asked me if I knew her company?  I said yes, we had done business with her company in the past.  She said she wasn't aware that we had ever done business with them.  Then she asked if I had time to look at her things...... seriously?  You can see that there are two other people here, so what makes her think that I will turn my back on those two people.  They could have been customers, other sales reps, friends, or anything else.  She had no idea, so for her to presume that I wanted to look at her things right then.....ugh, Strike # 1.  So she asked if I will make an appointment, I say No that I don't want to make an appointment at this time.  She pushes further... Strike #2.  So I proceed to tell her that business has SUCKED, that we are barely making it, that we have had another very hard winter.  She insisted that I must be alone in this because she is placing orders all over the place.  Well that pisses me off because I have several business owners that I speak with on a regular basis and that is not what they are telling me.  So I also tell her that I am done with buying from big import companies only to have them sell off all of their overstock to discount stores without offering it to us first at those rates.  She tells me her company isn't doing that and again insists that if I would only give her a bit of my time that she knows she has product that would do better in my store than what I am selling now. I tell her that I am more interested in selling handmade now, or USA made.  She tells me that there is no mark up in that and that is probably not the smartest idea, that I should be selling to the tourists, that might help me not to be so idle,  Strike #3.  Seriously, you have never set foot in my store until yesterday, when you decided to cold call on me because you were driving by.... you walk in and assume that I am doing well because the shelves are stocked, you believe I should give you an appointment right there on the spot so that you won't have to drive back from where to hell ever that you came from... and then you make a decision that you know what is going to sell better for me than I do after 10 years of me doing this.  Well Chicky, you will never get an appointment with me to sell me a bunch of imported items that will eventually go on sale at the dollar general...that's right that is where I see some of your items.  You also should know that if you hand me a card and ask me to make an appointment and I say not now, an appropriate answer would be to ask for my card and if you could call me at a later time.    And people wonder why I consider drinking on a daily basis lately.