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My Business... 4 months later

Desdinova

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Figured I'd post an update on the business I started. I opened a thrift store in my front yard. The property I bought has the original farmhouse at the front of my property with the house I live in about half an acre back. In other words, I own the building. I bought a set of P2P antennas to beam the internet from my house to my store so I don't need another internet connection. People who come to my store are surprised that I take debit and credit.

Donations... Holy fvcking hell, I'm absolutely blown away by how much junk gets dropped off at my store. Since I'm in a small town (but located on a main highway), I thought this was going to be a problem and I'd have to source my stuff which I was fully prepared to do. Stuff gets dropped off every week, sometimes becoming quite overwhelming. My donation bin is too fvcking small. I also made a business relationship with this chick who started her own cleaning and decluttering business. I pick up donations from her every 2nd weekend in exchange for giving her constant advertising in my store. I have a shed in the back of my property with overflow donations in it which has been very useful.

Profits... Well, it's been consistent. I'm not getting the level of profits that I want, at least not yet. The problem is I still need to pay bills, so I got myself a two day part-time job to help make up for what the store isn't yet bringing in. Anything valuable gets put on ebay which has saved my ass numerous times. Learning what people buy and collect has been extremely useful. I had an old vacuum cleaner from the 1960s donated to the store. I was ready to take it to e-waste, but stopped when I suddenly remembered reading about people who collect vacuum cleaners. I threw it up on ebay and got a hundred bucks for it.

Problems... The biggest one is that there has been constant construction on the highway that my store is located on. Apparently I picked the year that they were re-doing the entire fvcking highway. There have been days when I've had nobody in the store due to all the fvcking stops required to get there. The construction is now nearly complete which is a huge relief. I also had a bad lull in both store and online sales at the beginning of October which didn't do me any favours. However, profits have been mostly back to normal in the last couple of weeks. Another thing is that I knew nobody in the community, so I've been making appearances at community gatherings so people know who I am.

Positives... The crazy lady who's a spend-a-holic. She cleans my store out of inventory about once a month. I don't give a fvck if she can't walk around in her house because she drops a ton of cash in my store. I also end up with things I keep for myself that didn't cost me anything. I also really like the job itself. I get to interact with people, go through the treasures that show up in my front yard at odd hours, and sometimes I'll just sit there and fvck around on the internet when I'm all caught up on my tasks.

As a side note, I'm planning on selling my mother's house once the old bag croaks and buying a rental property closer to home. My mom's health isn't great, so it's just a matter of time. Despite the occasional dip in profits, I want to keep my store going. It's part of my goal of being independent from the a55hole bosses that I don't want to work for anymore.
 

LiveYourDream

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Congrats on going after your dream and making it work for yourself Desdinova! Many people have ideas throughout their lives but sadly never take the needed action. Lots of people are mostly talk. Way to go Des! Respect for going after it!

I hope life with your gf has you smiling lots too! I would love an update, if you are inclined to share.

Wishing you the best in every way! Wishing your business to grow & profit more than you ever imagined! :)
 

Desdinova

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I hope life with your gf has you smiling lots too! I would love an update, if you are inclined to share.
She's still in my life. She also gives me the push to keep going when I'm starting to doubt my decision to start my own business. The quote "behind every great man is a great woman" rings absolutely true for a situation like this.

I also have a bit of an update. Besides the grocery store (which has been running forever by the same a55hole), I was the first new business to open. Last weekend, the guy who bought the bar in town finally opened that as well. There is a run-down building in town that is currently getting a new roof, and one of the other run-down buildings just recently got a facelift and is now available for rent. My town appears to be having a moment of revitalization and growth, probably due to how cheap properties out here have been (but probably won't be for long). More people in town theoretically means more business for me.
 

BackInTheGame78

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She's still in my life. She also gives me the push to keep going when I'm starting to doubt my decision to start my own business. The quote "behind every great man is a great woman" rings absolutely true for a situation like this.

I also have a bit of an update. Besides the grocery store (which has been running forever by the same a55hole), I was the first new business to open. Last weekend, the guy who bought the bar in town finally opened that as well. There is a run-down building in town that is currently getting a new roof, and one of the other run-down buildings just recently got a facelift and is now available for rent. My town appears to be having a moment of revitalization and growth, probably due to how cheap properties out here have been (but probably won't be for long). More people in town theoretically means more business for me.
How big of a town do you live in population wise?
 

Desdinova

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How big of a town do you live in population wise?
About 50 people. There are lots of close neighboring towns and reserves and there isn't a store like mine within 50km. Everyone out here has to travel to get things. I have some dedicated regulars who always spend money at my store. About five people in total have left without buying anything since the day I opened 4 months ago.
 

logicallefty

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I highly respect anyone who has the gonads to open a brick and mortar business. Its a lot of risk and work. I had the chance to buy a Private Investigation firm and chickened out. Would have taken nearly every dime i had and i would have been working more than the 55-60 hrs a week i do now. Hats off to you Des for going for it.
 

BackInTheGame78

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About 50 people. There are lots of close neighboring towns and reserves and there isn't a store like mine within 50km. Everyone out here has to travel to get things. I have some dedicated regulars who always spend money at my store. About five people in total have left without buying anything since the day I opened 4 months ago.
That's more like a Hamlet or something that may not even have a name for it because it's so small haha

But it's good that you get some traffic and regulars...the best way to grow is organically through word of mouth...do you offer any type of referral program? Might be something worthwhile to think about.
 

BackInTheGame78

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I highly respect anyone who has the gonads to open a brick and mortar business. Its a lot of risk and work. I had the chance to buy a Private Investigation firm and chickened out. Would have taken nearly every dime i had and i would have been working more than the 55-60 hrs a week i do now. Hats off to you Des for going for it.
I'm done with those crazy work hours thank God...can't remember the last time I worked more than 40 and most weeks are probably closer to 35 or so.
 

Desdinova

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That's more like a Hamlet or something that may not even have a name for it because it's so small haha

But it's good that you get some traffic and regulars...the best way to grow is organically through word of mouth...do you offer any type of referral program? Might be something worthwhile to think about.
I haven't done anything like that yet. I'm thinking about donating excess clothing (especially kids clothing) to needy families, but I need to get my own 5hit taken care of first. I can't complain about how it's already doing though. I've been putting a sign out at significant intersections and moving it around which has been very helpful.
 

Desdinova

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I highly respect anyone who has the gonads to open a brick and mortar business. Its a lot of risk and work. I had the chance to buy a Private Investigation firm and chickened out. Would have taken nearly every dime i had and i would have been working more than the 55-60 hrs a week i do now. Hats off to you Des for going for it.
What has worked in my favour is the high price of gas, the high cost of living, and the fact that the closest store near mine is 50km away. There's another one that's closer and they've announced that they're shutting their doors. The benefit of my store is I already own the building and I'm beaming internet from my own house. My overhead is very low.
 

logicallefty

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I'm done with those crazy work hours thank God...can't remember the last time I worked more than 40 and most weeks are probably closer to 35 or so.
At my I.T. job I work as little as I can get away with. I can't stand I.T. anymore. On the other hand, at the two police departments I work for, they are both desperate to fill shifts with officers and they show me a lot of respect and appreciation. The two Chiefs I work for are both outstanding guys. So I want to help them out. One of them lets me pick my own hours. If it wasn't for the fact that I like working for these guys, believe me, I wouldn't be.
 

Reyaj

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as a side note, I'm planning on selling my mother's house once the old bag croaks and buying a rental property closer to home.
I'm guessing you aren't too close with mom?
 

The Duke

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@Desdinova thats awesome! I've got a tenant that rents a building from me and does the same thing. He has deals with estate auction people where whatever doesn't sell at the auctions, he hauls it off for free. Whatever is worth selling ends up in his store, the rest goes to the dump. Furniture is his money maker.
 

Murk

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Congrats on the business.

Have you thought about creating a website and selling things on there too? You could put your new stock on there for locals to come pick up, maybe tell them the website and say you update it regularly with new items. Do a free random giveaway (something cheap) to get some engagement in the community.

Like the eBay stuff, if you have too much stock then focusing online is the way to go. You could also get more money for your products selling them across the country (or internationally).

If you’re not tech savvy get an indian on fiverr to create it all for literally 5-10 dollars. I paid one to build my consulting website so cheap and effectively, fiverr is great.

Good luck.
 
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