When the year started, I had been self-employed for 6 months, running my business from home. As the year progressed, it was clear that I needed to expand and find a brick & mortar store front for myself. My local customers were getting tired of waiting for fairs and shows, and wanted to be able to browse and smell all of my products at their leisure.
During the summer, I was encouraged to initiate a kickstarter campaign (www.kickstarter.com) to try to source funds to be able to secure a retail space. I started walking down the streets of my town taking note of empty buildings and any potential they could hold for what I was wanting to accomplish. I spoke with numerous property owners and was really surprised to hear that many of them were against tenants remodeling or upgrading their buildings. (Really, I just wanted to get rid of the grody stained carpet and upgrade to laminate flooring... it would have been an improvement to their building)
My Kickstarter campaign was unsuccessful, but that's okay.. it forced me to get creative with the funds that I already had on-hand. I spoke in front of my local Rotary and continued to build relationships with other business owners in the area, letting them know what I was looking for and what I was planning to do.
In September I contacted another property owner with the intention of taking a look at the space, but not really financially prepared to take any action. After looking at the property... it was EACTLY what I needed. It had adequate retail space for my products, as well as a large space for manufacturing and teaching classes. The property owners were wonderful people that were interested in working with me to help me get into a space and get my business up and open. I started moving supplies in at the beginning of October.
After handling some minor repairs, painting the walls, upgrading the flooring and sealing the windows... I was finally putting the finishing touches on the space over Thanksgiving. It was a project that took longer than I would have liked, but the end result is most definitely worth it. The space isn't EXACTLY the way that I envisioned it, but there is room to grow and expand. Displays and minor things can be upgraded and switched out over time, but the doors opened to the public the first week of December.
I am SO grateful for all of the help and support I've received from friends and family through the year. Without their encouragement, who knows if I would have actually taken that leap?
I am absolutely excited and ridiculously terrified... but it's a great feeling to walk into MY store and know that, make it or break it, it's MINE!
Thank you all for the wonderful support over the last year! Watch the website for classes to be offered in the shop, as well as contact information for make-and-take parties and events.
2014 has been good, but 2015 is shaping up to have AWESOME potential!!
