has it been four weeks yet?

I forgot how frustratingly predictable, yet unpredictable retail can be. I can sit here for hours on end in my pristine palace without a soul in sight, but the second I find myself with something I have to do, or on a day when I didn’t have time to sweep, that’s when things fall into disrepair and everyone comes in all at once. Or I’ll have a particularly good sales day and feel, you know, hopeful for the future and whatnot, then the universe has to balance itself out and someone will come back with a return! Is that what they call Murphy's law?

It’s ridiculous. Let me see…..I’m feeling rather uninspired. At a time when I need to be putting myself out there I kind of want to retreat more than ever. I’m finding the social media aspect of things the most daunting. It’s hard to separate business from personal. I’m not an avid sharer in my regular life, so it’s hard to flip a switch and start inundating people daily with miscellany on a million different platforms. I would snicker at my grandparents when they would go on diatribes about how ‘the Facebook’ is up to no good and how does it know that I know this person? Etc, etc. I am that curmudgeon now, shaking my fist at Twitter and Instagram. Is there something I’m missing here? There are people on Instagram who have 5 pictures of a tree or something banal, and they’ll have 5000 followers. I’m starting to think half of Instagram is all porn spam accounts or something, because I’m just NOT getting it. Too tardy to the Instagram party I guess.

Give me some more good old-fashioned newspaper advertising!  

Another bugaboo of late is the business of networking! Having never had to do anything like this before, I am quite unpracticed to say the least. I feel like Eliza Doolittle, perhaps a little too crass and rough around the edges at times. I was out to dinner with someone the other night and was asked to name three interesting things about myself. Duuuuhhhhhh, what?? I couldn’t think of ANYTHING. NOTHING. Unbelievable. I’ve never thought of myself as an uninteresting person, have I been wrong all this time? I do not know how to play the game. These are things I should probably have ready to dispense at all times, concise little eloquent elevator pitches. Homework!

Happy Thanksgiving! xx 

So the dust has settled and reality has set in...

I guess I would be lying if I said it has been easy so far. It’s not all sunshine, lollipops and Instagram vignettes! It’s more like stress, loneliness and invoice statements. I suppose I never really expected it to be easy, but I am impatient. I’m in my fourth week now, the big hope was that come September the tides will change, people will be back from the cottage and life will be as it was. September will save all! I’m not so sure about that anymore. So far all September has delivered are personal set-backs and rainy Saturdays. My natural state is already pretty melancholy, so I need to work overtime to produce some positive energy or I’m going to be in trouble. I guess there is a lot of change happening all at once, which I typically welcome. I suppose one of the most difficult transitions has been settling into my new-ish life. As much as I like my new neighbourhood I don’t feel 100% settled in and comfortable here yet. Again, impatient.

I have to keep repeating ‘it’s only been 4 weeks…’ to myself over and over again like a mantra. But as the weeks go by that is going to become less and less comforting! I’m not throwing in the towel, I mean, it’s only been four weeks and all, but I need to strategize hard! I just don’t really know what I can do from inside the store. I’m here damn near 6 days a week for eight hours, but it somehow feels counterproductive. I can’t explain it, it’s not like I would be flying a plane over Port Credit trailing a Lakeshore Superette banner, but I feel like there is more I could and should be doing to drum-up some business. I should also mention, these things need to cost little to no money – that’s crucial. Suggestions? Thoughts?

The fortune cookie can see my potential! 

Anyway, hopefully four weeks from now I will re-read this, shake my head and proclaim ‘what was I so worried about!?’ because everything worked itself out so nicely! Yep, that’s what is going to happen! Even if it doesn’t, I’ll tell you that it has anyway, so we can all feel better!  

Until then. xx

one week down…

So, my first week as a captain of industry is done. I think it went alright? I mean, it wasn’t Black Friday at Best Buy or anything, but it was a respectable week. Better than a kick in the head! I think it’s going to take a while to get going, the streets are pretty quiet during the week. I’m not exactly a social media genius, so I need to hatch some alternative schemes to get noticed. There are just too many platforms out there, I can’t keep it straight. Twitter, Instagram, blogs, etc, etc. I used to think blogs were just for nerds and narcissists, but here we are!   

It has been quite some time since I’ve worked in retail, so I’m a little rusty. I’ve got zero hustle and I’m still super uncomfortable with just about everything. It takes me forever to ring things up and double check that I’m doing it right, which I’m probably not. I’ll find that out when I get audited by the government most likely. I’ve also forgotten about the long bouts of quiet and inactivity that come along with working in a small business. I sit quietly for hours, and then when someone finally comes in I get spooked. I’ve also realized I am horrendous at small talk. After being quiet for so long, words come out all wrong, intonation gets all wonky, my only recourse would be to pretend that I am just some goof that’s been hired and not the owner of the store.

                     Flowers with warm sentiments attached are my favorite kind! 

                                 Balloons galore! 

                                                                    

All things considered, I’m still pretty jazzed! Making a sale is a total rush! I double and triple check the inventory system every time I make a sale to see if it’s for real!  I feel like I have known every single thing in this store like an old friend, from their origins as a series of piles at my house and into the spotlight. What a wild ride!

Here’s hoping for an even better second week! xx

                                               

looks like my days are numbered….

The day has finally come! I’ll be opening my doors this Saturday! Am I ready? Mentally no, but everything else is good to go! I think I’ve got everything pretty well in hand, that is until a real person comes walking through the door, then all bets are off. I’m going to keep this short and sweet, so here are a few pictures to brighten up your day!

I didn't forget about the fellas!

Anybody who has spent more than five minutes with me knows I love a good mirror! A cell phone I can live without, but no mirror? Forget about it. So what better thing to give away for my opening day than a Lakeshore Superette compact!

If you should find yourself in the Port Credit, Mississauga area, pop by 308 Lakeshore road East and give us a visit!

xx

my arms are numb, but it’s almost done!

Man, who knew painting the walls would be such a strenuous job! After two coats of paint my wrists are limp and my hands locked into gnarly claws. The following night I woke up a few times to find half of my body completely numb, no amount of wild flailing could revive it. My mom thinks it is because I have exercised parts of my body that I don’t normally use, I think I was having a stroke, but whatever. Either way, I guess I need to start using my body more. Good thing I’ll be embarking on a career where I sit indoors for hours on end, that’ll help!  

beginning of the day, robust and positive!

After ditching the terrible beige- peach colour on the walls in favour of white, the space feels more….real. The menagerie of furniture I’ve collected seems to look more at home. I would say 80% of the furniture and fixtures in the store have either been sourced from my parent’s basement, assorted garage sales or the elderly couple across the street that keep leaving awesome stuff on their curb. Ain’t no shame in that game! Super neat industrial furniture and church bazaar tables!? Don’t mind if I do. My neighbors have unwittingly contributed significantly to the Lakeshore Superette aesthetic of displaced furniture.                          

My father, aka head carpenter and chief executive builder of everything, has been a real sport! The remaining 20% of furniture and fixtures that we didn’t find for a dollar in someone’s driveway or in the trash were made by him. Shout out! And shout out to my mother who has been working tirelessly by my side since we were picking potential store names out of the dictionary at the kitchen table months ago. It’s kind of an amazing thing when the visions you have for how you want things to be become realized, you know what I mean? Amazing!

The excitement has kind of stalled for the moment, as the mundane details need to be tended to. If I had a nickel for every hour I’ve wasted this week waiting around for internet installation people, I’d probably be able to pay off the charges I’ve racked up overusing the data on my phone. Word of advice, never accept the 2pm-5pm waiting period, it is the most excruciatingly tedious part of the day to be sitting around doing nothing.  I have a diatribe brewing inside of me about all the foolery I’ve experienced at the hands of an unnamed internet provider, but I’ll save it for another time when they slight me again, which I know they will.

With the way things are going, I figure the target opening time will be August, just around the corner! I need to mentally prepare myself. I guess I also need to brush up on my ability to talk to people, such as it was. More updates soon!

xx 

well, well, well…

It appears to all be coming together. The paperwork is filed, the shipments are starting to trickle in and I have painted a small portion of a wall, progress! I’ve forgotten how tedious painting can be, I’ll be sure to integrate alcohol into the mix next time. It’s been a while since I’ve taken pride in a space. Painting the walls and actually making the effort to not carelessly splotch on the floors, baseboards and ceiling shows a lot of maturity. Speaking of completely normal and attainable life milestones, I’m moving into my first legitimate one-bedroom apartment. That’s right, one bedroom…all by myself… one bedroom, no roommates, actual room separation, just needed to brag a little. Considering all of my former residences should appear in the hovel hall of fame, this is kind of a big deal for me.

Surveying my kingdom

It’s a strange thing being a fledgling business and all. I don’t know when exactly I start to gain some legitimacy, but it’s kind of exhausting convincing potential brands that I am indeed a real person, and I do intend to sell their products in a legitimate manner.

I have a sign! Can’t get more legit than that

But I suppose I am partly to blame as well for appearing like a scam artist. I’ve shot off dozens of emails to brands with products that strike my fancy, and maybe a handful has actually replied. The rest ask me all sorts of questions, such as, what’s my store’s name, address, phone number, website, any social media platforms I participate in, and any specific products I’m looking to carry. I mean geez, it’s like they don’t want to take a blind chance on an anonymous person from the internet or something. How am I supposed to catch a break!? All of these questions spook me and I recede back behind the dark veil of the internet, never to be heard from again. But in all seriousness, I’m very grateful to the distributors, landlords, parents, real estate agents, bank tellers, licence bureaus and everyone else who has taken a chance on me so far. Quite a boon for me and my humble beginnings!

xx

I spy with my little eye a key that opens the door to my very own store!

It’s about damn time. So I finally have a home, and on Lakeshore to boot! Who would have thought? Isn’t she beautiful? I don’t care who you are or where you’ve been, this is arguably the most magnificent building anyone has ever seen, no?

I decided to broaden my Toronto-centric location search and move further West to the Port Credit neighborhood of Mississauga. My brother and sister-in-law bought a condo in Port Credit last year. When I heard this news I thought, what the hell were they thinking? Mississauga? What? But look at me now, Mississauga bound and pretty happy about it! No stranger to jumping into things I know nothing about, I think I might be pretty happy here. All the people I’ve observed on the street seem quite leisurely and content.  Everyone I see is either jogging or in an intimidatingly large group of cyclists in aerodynamic outfits. It’s aspirational in a way, I’ll never be jogging or cycling among them, but it will encourage me to not be as sedate and slovenly as I would be normally, don't want to bring down the community morale. 

Now all the real work begins! I think I’m thinking too much about paint colours and furniture placement and not enough about what is actually going to be SOLD in the store and how I’m going to pull that off. That’s my business acumen shining through. Guess I better get a move on, I've got a lot of paint chips and wood finishes to mull over...

xx