Adventures in Retail: Getting Organized

The work on the new business continues!

Turns out opening a business is a daunting task and because of my impatient nature, I always try to do everything at once. So, I'm constantly making short movements toward designing the interiors, buying products, setting up a POS system, networking, getting all of the licensing taken care of... and trying to get some sleep!

I'm sure my stress level will decrease once the space build out is complete, but until then I feel like I'm on pause. It can be difficult to imagine how all of the products will fit in the store without being able to work with the items in the space.

What have I done to get organized? I started an excel spreadsheet and listed EVERY item I'm looking at buying and included the minimum order number and associated prices. Seeing this all layed out where I can easily manipulate numbers has been incredibly helpful.

I also grabbed a Word doc and started dropping in pictures of the things I'm looking to buy. I'm a very visual person and this helps me to visualize the store and how much space each of these items might take up or if they all make sense together.

We are also trying to figure out a way to purchase enough but not too much. We don't want to overdue it and spend all of our money right at the gate.

We are still on track for a March opening! I will keep you up to date as things move along.

2012: Bring It On!

I'm here to announce that 2012 is the year I get my s*&% together. I've made some big changes as of late (the chaos of which has caused me to neglect this blog) and now that I'm at the ripe old age of 27 (for the record I first entered 28... I don't even know my own age) I feel as though I can actually commit to committing to real live commitments.

First of all, after my travels around the country and seeing all that this lovely nation has to offer, I decided to move back to my hometown of Aberdeen, Washington. What sane, single, 20-something would do such a thing? Actually, not sure if I'm totally sane. Anyway, after living in Seattle and Portland, I realized that having a tight community is very important to me and I actually found it back in my hometown.

Which brings me to my projects for the new year:

A few friends and I have launched a blog called Go Go Grays Harbor! We got a little bit tired of hearing people complain about the area and say that there isn't anything to do so we're bound and determined to prove them wrong. We are still forming and will soon be posting daily about interesting local people, restaurants, activities and sharing some of our random thoughts and interests with people near and far. We also threw an awesome Ugly Sweater Roller Skating party just before Christmas. Since I love event planning and promotions, I'm quite excited by all of the opportunities that may stem from this project.



The bigger project coming up is my new business, a retail shop in Hoquiam, Washington. I will release more details as we move along, but I am so very excited to finally have the opportunity to create a real live space where people can visit and find awesomely awesome things to make them happy! Oh, I really can't wait! Plus, part of the space will be dedicated space to Queen B Quilts, so now people can come by any time to get started on their t-shirt quilt.

With so much happening in my life, I decided that I might as well throw daily blogging on the pile. I hope to give you all some insight into small town life as well as the process of opening a new business. I plan to share as much as possible with you to hopefully help and inspire you to take on the big projects in your life.

Retail Innovation

I've been thinking a lot about the type of retail operation I would like to have someday and my thoughts have been all over the place and confusing. Why? Because I've been thinking that I want to do something that is new and different than any other retail shop out there.

Well, it seems that someone beat me to it! This short video is super inspiring. I love seeing what new and innovative projects people are working on... even if I thought of it first.

Check out the story about this New York store starting a retail revolution.

A List

Obviously, things have been a little crazy around here lately. I'm still limping quite a bit due to my sprained ankle and I've been all over the place trying to run my summer events. In about 2 weeks things should be slowing down again (finally!).

Here are a few things I've been reading about lately:

-When Less is More in Consumer Choice

-Are you an Early Bird Entreprenuer?

-Retail Analytics

-Researching Packaging Design for a new project I'm working on

-Finding new things to do on Friday Nights