With only two days to go until the big Grand Opening event, I’ve been putting together the final touches in the store, cleaning like crazy and (best of all) sorting through boxes of new inventory! The 4th of July Jubilee was great fun and I even raised nearly $40 for the Glendora War Memorial through the sale of patriotic pins. As I spent my day in the store on Monday, I couldn’t help but think about the many people who have helped me get this store off the ground. So, here goes:
Thank-you so very much (and in no particular order)…
- Shaelyn, Owner of Blue Chair Children’s Bookstore) who has let me stage and sell my furniture out of her store for the past six months.
- Gayle, Owner of Strings Music who has not only been an awesome client for the past few months, but has made persuasive calls on my behalf to members of the Glendora Planning Commission, the City Manager, Mayor and other influential sorts!
- Patrick McKemy, Owner of The Handy Husband and best contractor I know. Pat was able to take all of my querky requests and turn the place around in less than two weeks! I don’t know any other handy man with Pat’s attention to detail and timeliness!
- Jack Gordon of Driskell and Gordon law office who helped me pick apart the language of the City Moratorium on Second Hand Dealer and Pawnbroker and draft new language to present to the Glendora City Council so that my type of business would be excluded from the ordinance.
- Doug Tessitor, Glendora Mayor who arranged a visit with me prior to a City Council Meeting to better understand the type of business I was operating and who supported my venture during the Council Meeting.
- Teresa Jansen, the most talented muralist in town. Her artwork can be seen around Glendora, most notably at Blue Chair and now at knot too shabby.
- Kimberly Clark of The Spectrum Services Group who helped me pull together all of my marketing materials.
- Mike Goodwin of Goodwin Real Estate and landlord who held the store space for over six weeks while I battled with the city for the right to obtain a business license. Truly a very generous gesture, particularly when I asked if he had anyone interested while I was going through the process and he showed me two pages full of potential renters on his legal pad.
- My girlfriends-Kimberlee who does free-lance baking and will be baking her heart out this week preparing over 100 cupcakes for the Grand Opening. Kimberlee, in not so many words gave me the push to pursue this opportunity. Sarah, my mommy picker counterpart who is one text message away from bouncing off my crazy ideas and reigning me in. Kim who has helped me paint furniture, move furniture and display furniture–plus kid distractor extraordinairre!
- FINALLY, my awesome family and financers. Let me tell you, this venture is EXPENSIVE! Really, expensive. I definitely couldn’t do it on my own, especially since I don’t even own a credit card!!! Thanks to my mom and dad and my in-laws for lending their financial support for the random odds and ends that have been involved in prepping this store, from helping with the leasing obligation to buying bags. Let’s hope it goes well this year so that I can pay them back sooner rather than later! My sister who has shopped her heart out for trinkets to display on the furniture and helped me stage the store! And, of course my husband who has come up with all the good ideas, including the mural in the store, the name of the store, the video promo idea and who works really hard everyday to pay for my hobby!
- And, you! The un-named person that I forgot to mention as I was writing this post, but have certainly thought about through this process. I’ll mention you in the comments section.
When I started this whole process just a few short months ago, I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do and sought for clear divine insight. I’m completely humbled by the support so many individuals have shown me and the generosity of time they have dedicated to my “cause.” As things have transpired and support has been rallied, I feel blessed by God to pursue this opportunity and believe that my family will be blessed through this experience–even if it isn’t what I expect…which, I can surely expect the unexpected.
