The past couple of days have been a stormy sea of emotions here at Stephenson Central. I have been both excited and a little nervous at the prospect of turning my web store into a physical storefront that accepts consignments. I’ve talked about some of my fears with you and I’ve talked about some of my excitement with you. As far as daily life here, Lola went to the dog groomer for the first time and my son got his braces put on while my daughter had impressions taken so that her braces can be placed soon. My real estate agent is pouring over great locations and negotiating rental prices.” What does all of this have to do with the price of tea in China?”, you ask. Somehow, without knowing it, my family was riding a ten foot wave that crested when my husband walked in the door that night. First, he hates the dog’s haircut. I’m not too fond of it either, but, hell, I didn’t cut it. So, he’s ticked about that. Then, he’s upset that my son won’t get in the shower. My son just got braces put on his teeth. You are his father. You are a dentist. Connect the dots, doofus. Finally, and this is the kicker, he starts this huge rant about ledgers and profit margins and “you don’t know what you’re doing” kind of talk. Needless to say, we didn’t speak for the rest of the night. The next morning, he actually had the nerve to say something to the effect of I don’t know what I’m spending out vs. what I’m taking in…. OK, first, everything is on the computer. I can track orders, sales, –I can tell where people are clicking from and how long they stay on my site. Next, I have been open for TWO weeks–are you a moron? I know what I have spent on everything from supplies to business cards to advertising to shipping. In two weeks, I am exactly half way to breaking even. I really didn’t think that was bad. Everyone knows when you start up a company, you don’t see any real profit for a little while because you spend so much getting up and running. Now, if he’s worried about this, then how is he going to handle an actual store because there are a zillion times more costs, taxes and overhead—-he KNOWS this—he has his own business. But, the people who are closest to you, somehow make you doubt yourself the most. I spent half of the morning really questioning whether or not I should even continue the web boutique, never mind the actual brick and mortar. I was down on myself and annoyed with my husband….well, more annoyed than usual. Then, three things happened –in a row mind you. First, a complete stranger wrote on my business timeline. She called my idea genius and said I was brilliant all in the same post. So uplifting-I cannot tell you. Then, I got a message from a former colleague of mine who wants to work at my store when I open. She knows I have kids, so she knew I would need someone in the evenings–plus, she’s a peach which is always a good thing. After those two things, I drove to the office because I wanted to actually show my husband my phone to 1.)gloat and 2.)prove I am not an idiot. That’s when the third thing happened. One of the hygienists came out and said–while he was standing there:)–“You HAVE to open a consignment shop, I’m telling you.”
Steve Jobs is one of my heroes. After he died, I bought the book and read up on his amazing life. He spoke at Stanford’s graduation back in ’05.I read about it, but after he died, I watched it on YouTube. He said a couple of things that stand out now. He said, “Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.” I started to do that the other night. He said, “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” I had an intuition about this garage sale thing a year ago. I am following it now. I have a feeling that I have a great concept and if my husband were to work with me, we could turn that concept into an awesome reality. Now, maybe he just had a bad day. Maybe he is feeling a little nervous about this venture. Now that today is a new day and we are all back at the shore looking out into the ocean (and I am, of course, validated) maybe we can just stare and see something spectacular just over the horizon. Happy Shopping:)
http://www.myupscalegaragesale.goodsie.com