Thoughts on Shop Ownership

Thoughts on Shop Ownership--

What are the good things about having a shop?  There are many.

Meeting new people and making new friends tops the list of shop ownership.  Every time the door opens is another opportunity to enjoy a few minutes visiting and assisting someone in their quest to make their home the best it can be.  We visit about style.  We talk about color.  During these discussions I receive information that will help me when I shop.  Maybe they make a purchase.  Maybe they don't.  My hope is they will add  my shop to their list of favorites and return with friends.

Another perk of shop ownership is seeing friends again.  Life moves all of us.  We move away. We lose contact with people we have known for years.  The shop is a reason to reconnect.  To visit again. To learn what is happening in the lives of people who shared our space once upon a time.  It is a time to laugh together or share a tear because of loss.  What joy when those from our past walk through the door.  We smile and hug and talk.  A precious time.

Of course, my hope is that items in the shop find a new home.  I carefully select each item.  Only those things that I would allow in my home come to live in the shop.  Perhaps this is not the most professional way to run a small business.  But, it is the way mine is run.  I won't sell something that I know is wrong for a friend's home.  Purchases keep the bills paid.  That is a fact.  However, this shop isn't just about the money. It is about helping others make their nests perfect.  If someone finds an item they have been searching for, my goals for the shop are realized.

I view the shop as an extension of my life.  Another journey taken.  A dream realized.  Will it succeed?  I believe it has already succeeded.  It started as a thought, an idea.  It moved to a plan.  That plan became a reality.  And now I have the wonderful opportunity to open the doors twice a week and invite the outside world in.  Some have asked why I decided to do this at this particular stage in my life.  My answer is why not.  Why not learn something new.  Why not take a chance.  Why not move away from what is known to the unknown.  Why not embrace life in a different way.  Why not stretch my mind.  It isn't about years of life.  It is life being lived in a new way.  It is being willing to risk knowing that all of life is risk.

Certainly there are challenges.  But, I have found that people are willling and eager to help when they know their skill and talent is needed.  Friends and strangers who have become friends have offered their assistance to help me get this shop off the ground.  They have spent hours of their own time doing what I cannot do.  And because of them my dream is realized.  People are good.  Yes, they are.

My suggestion for each of you is this.  If something knocks on your heart's door, listen.  Maybe open the door a bit to examine what is on the other side.  Close the door if the time is not right, but don't lock it.  Leave it open a crack.  You never know when the time will be perfect for your dream to take form and live.  It may begin as a hobby.  It may begin as a plan written in a notebook or journal.  Whatever form it takes, welcome the creative process.  Who knows.  One day you may find yourself opening yourself to a new venture.

Just like me.