Jan 1, 2018 The big idea and a new adventure. Starting out of my spare bedroom Kelsey and I started this whole business. We had drive and vigor, we had a vision, we knew we could make this crazy idea a true business. By March we were overflowing my spare bedroom and invading the kitchen as well. By April my husband had enough we had to find a backer and a building or we were over before we really even got started. So next thing you know GG loans us some funds to get a building and move out of the house. It was exciting and crazy but we just knew once we were visible that we would start making real money.
May 1, 2018 Our big grand opening and it turned out great. Our first few weeks it looked like we would be a big hit in El Dorado we had great business everyday, we were making money for the work, and most of all we could cover our bills just fine. But, the newness wore and then we began getting slower and slower. Pretty soon it was too much for Kelsey being a mother to 2 beautiful kids and she was doing college full time. So she signed all rights to the business away then it was just me. I felt lonely, sad, angry, and many other emotions. I did what any woman would do reach out to her mother and grandmother for guidance and help. I got both and I also got new partners. It was the relief I needed to know I was not doing this alone.
Oct 22-25 I didn't mention that the Chamber of Commerce chose our business to have one representative go and attend Destination Bootcamp. So exciting to learn and be in the presence of other business owners. Some had been in business for years some brand new but, all of them I learned things from. I came back re-energized and ready to take on the world. I am still not back to the jump out of bed eager to go to the shop phase yet I feel it coming back with every task and pieces of advice from bootcamp I complete.
Today I am getting better at being eager and ready to work the shop more and more every day. I am so looking forward to decorating for the holiday and plan to put up the tree sooner and sooner. I am making plans for shop small Saturday and doing all the small misc. tasks that I have just been putting on the back burner thinking I needed to produce product more than I needed to bring people through the door. So I am blogging here and blocking out time in my daily schedule to work social media and make the shop easier to run and navigate. I have now hit the point in my mind that I will not go down without a fight and if there comes a time where closing is ever an option I will know that I did everything I could to keep it from happening.
Hope you enjoyed the read,
Tandie
#handmade
