pros and cons… re: owning/running a store

cons:

1. irritating customers (bell curve, so it’s just a few, but enough to want to hurt someone) and how they like to drain my lifeforce with their lame stories. Some stories aren’t lame, but I should be getting at least $75.00 an hour to talk to them about it AND no, I’m not an expert on “The Secret” and I do not have a person relationship with Jesus OR Oprah so I can’t help you with that, either.
2. If you don’t have a team of employees, when you’re sick, you don’t make a dime AND over the next few days you hear from every angry person who tried to come to the store the day of your illness… most made a “special trip” with a loved one that drove 42 hours in the snow to get here.
3. disgusting/nursing side: bathroom cleaning that requires industrial-strength bleach, fainters, barfers and the occasional child with an overactive bladder (If your child can’t “hold it” and has episodes of peeing all over themselves in public, wouldn’t you put little training pants on them? I’ve mopped up pee on the showroom floor twice so far and I’m trying to understand how this happens? These kids are like 7 or 8… so sad).
4. The bill collectors calling here and there. They are rude, they are mean… they have no soul and they use words like “deadbeat” and “big guy from collections coming to visit you”
5. The walk-in vendors… grr and drat! Although the one-armed man really has his game down.
6. The summer… no $, it’s hot in here… I get bored and start thinking of writing poetry involving unicorns and fuzzy things.
7. Cash flow in general – perhaps it’s me, but we don’t have enough of it. I get a dollar, I spend 98 cents.
8. Doing this all by myself and trying to keep up with all the hassles. Juggling the cleaning, merchandising, bookkeeping, customer service etc… while trying to stay sane.
9. Oh, did I mention that anyone can come in? This includes crazy relatives and bums.
10. No paycheck
11. The 3am calls that the alarm is going off. Need to run to your store in your underpants hoping that the merchandise is all still there. Nothing will get your heart pumping like driving to your store, which holds all your worth in merchandise form, to find a large window broken, cops parked out front and broken bits of teapot everywhere. Never a dull moment!
12. Human nature wants his fellow man to suffer and go down in flames… I get it a lot… “How are you doing here, it IS a bad location” or “I’m surprised you are still here, especially with George Bush in office (or the supermarket strike, the writer’s strike, the fires, the gas prices, the endangered spotted owl…).” There are so many reasons a retail store would or would not do well… the average customer wants to know everything about your store… but only if it’s negative. Again, it’s human nature… they want that Breaking News chock full o’ drama. Not to mention the other shop owners who visit incognito, in disguises, hoping to size you up and break you down. The worse part about them is that they know what buttons to push and all the right buzz words. “I’m noticing a lot of areas where shrinkage could occur… and your eye-level price per square inch margin is a little lacking… you might want to put some more items with a higher margin over here, but I would put them in a case because where they are now doesn’t go with the flow of the store”. I’ve also had people write reviews about the store and ME online… most of them are nice but you never know if it’s your judgment day… so be on your toes!
13. Landlord who could care less if the roof was coming in and the a/c from 1972 is spewing caustic gas. (There’s a post about that somewhere).

Pros:
1. creative freedom. If I want to spray paint a stuffed animal bright orange and leave it in the middle of the room, I can, dammit. This is my creative wonderland, and I’m really grateful for it.
2. freedom from a “boss” – although, the “boss” that chimes in (it’s the other voice in my head, you know, the mature one) can be quite rude. I make all the decisions, good or bad.
3. I get to merchandise the heck out of this place! I love that. I love creating little stages and having the freedom to do that whenever I want.
4. I get to say “I own a shop”. It’s the amercian dream… maaaannn.
5. I get to buy fun stuff! I love shopping trips and free samples. OH! and I get to wear a nifty badge!
6. This does make people happy. It’s like a mini-mini disneyland smack dab in a sea of auto body repair shops and multiple insurance offices. The contrast is quite obvious. Rarely does someone come in and say “wow, this place is ugly!” I receive amazing compliments all the time and on days when I get more than a few, it makes my heart sing.
7. This keeps me from getting a “desk job”. Want to watch the color leave my cheeks and joy leave my soul? Put me in front of a desk with a stack of papers to shuffle. Also, 9-5? no way. 10 to midnight on most days. But, I love it.
8. The reward of having a great busy day. My feet and legs hurt, my vision is blurred… but it’s awesome.
9. Sharing this experience with others. Almost daily, someone tells me how they would love to own a store like mine. My library of business books is stuffed with many “You go, girl!” books about the business of bliss or very technical “fill out this form” books. I have yet to encounter a book that tells you the scary details that I’m experiencing now. I would love to document it so others can learn from my stumblings.
10. I have learned more about myself in the last 4 years than I have in the last 30! I’m a tad more responsible and have grown up a lot. I have a college degree, but this experience goes way beyond any education I could have gotten… anywhere.
11. The friendships… I’ve met some AMAZING people!

Food for thought… consider yourself… documented.