Home Sweet Home Again

We've been in our new location for about a month now and starting to feel settled. Thank you to all who supported in some way. Whether a customer, donor to our fundraiser campaign or physically helped move - THANK YOU!

Be sure to visit as soon as possible. We are now at 993 Main St, Suite 1U, Bridgeport, CT 06604. We didn't move far. If you are familiar with our old location we just moved from in side the Arcade Mall to the outside, right across from Jimmy's. Our street location makes it a lot easier to unload and load for swapping. If you haven't checked out our new digs, here are some photos to wet your palette.

New Year, New Website

I've been working on this for a few months off and on. I'm running a business 6 days a week, so I do what I can when I can. I liked my old site so I wasn't in a hurry to replace it. But I wanted a fresh look and easier navigation. Over the last two years, I have gotten better at explaining Gumdrop Swap's unique service and place in the children's resale industry. I believe the new site conveys that. I tried to sprinkle in some of my humor (sarcasm). Please let me know what you think!

The home page features a video from youtube produced by AVP (American View Productions) to promote businesses in Bridgeport, CT. But it's meant to be subtle instead of a commercial. You get to meet the real small business owners in an organic way and its not blatant advertising. Other businesses featured were: Magnolia Cafe (formerly Flour & Flower), Rainy Faye Bookstore, Metric (Grill & Bar), and Amici Miei. The crew was professional and we recorded everything in about six hours in one day. We hope to make a series of these videos as we start a merchant association.

 

I'm excited about what 2012 holds. There are a few secret projects I can't reveal yet. I have taken on some graphic design jobs when I've had the time. I'm doing the layouts for an independent magazine that features music, artists and fashion called ZWEI (pronounced "zw-eye" it means 2 in German). I have some time to take on a few graphic design projects if anyone needs a logo or website please contact me. I even created a Facebook fan page for my Graphic Design work. I'm going to redesign GiftofGabby.com next. That site is about 6 years old. Who needs sleep?

Please pray for me and my endeavors. I support small businesses whenever I can. I really believe the key to rebuilding the American economy is entrepreneurship and strong local communities. I hope you all have a prosperous new year as well!

Did you buy Local for Small Business Saturday?

Maybe you saw the commercial before Thanksgiving with pleas from small business owners asking you to support us on Nov. 26? You're familiar with Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (dubbed this before everyone got the internet at home and on their phone because internet sales would spike tremendously when workers returned to the office on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend). And now the new movement is Small Business Saturday. American Express started this promotion a few years ago to reward their card holders for using their AmEx cards in a small business on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If they spend at least $25 (after registering their card and pledging their support) they will get $25 credit on their next statement. Although I am not an AmEx cardholder I support what the intention of this movement. And no matter how I pay for my purchases, I try to support other small businesses year round. As a solopreneur, I appreciate the support and attention to us "small fries". Here I am featured in a story for local news channel WTNH.

After turkey, go shopping on Saturday: wtnh.com

I got a few calls and new customers out of the press. And I hope people will continue to support in years to come. I truly believe small businesses are going to be the foundation for rebuilding America's economy.

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Vote for me please!

I have entered the Leading Moms in Business contest hosted by StartupNation.com. I would appreciate your vote. I don't win any money, just a nice badge and bragging rights. It's a one click vote and you are not required to register. Thanks in advance!
http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/contestant/8415/index.php

If All of the Raindrops were Lemondrops and GUMDROPS...

This is a photo of part of the word mural I painted that wraps around the boutique. During high school and after, I painted many murals in client's homes and watercolor portraits from time to time. I didn't major in graphic design in college because I prefer a more tactile medium to express myself. I haven't painted in acrylics in about 3 years. I didn't realize how much I missed it. It was invigorating to hold a paintbrush again. I did get some leg cramps and soreness from being on the ladder for hours at a time but I am happy with the final affect.

Unfortunately, the business world seems to prefer  the digital. So I  trained myself to learn graphic design so I could have a career. I've mentioned before, launching GumdropSwap has married all my talents which I once thought to be sordid and disconnected. What other career could I make use of painting, sewing, sales, marketing, graphic design, and administrative  skills? Is it still called work if you enjoy what you do?

The garment hanging system is arriving in separate shipments. I think the last boxes will come on Monday. I plan to open to the public on Friday, April 9. That will give me time to hang all the clothes and set up the display in the front window. More pictures to come soon!

Never Too Old to Learn!

I will be the first to confess that I knew nothing about running a business when I decided to start GumdropSwap. I was very cautious. I did lots of research and agonized over the decision to be an entrepreneur. It was risky, I knew. Especially, since I was investing my own savings and the failure of my business would mean I'd have to start from scratch financially. Of course I would need support from family and friends, but I knew I could count on them. They're good about that kind of stuff. And when I shared my business idea with people in it's infancy, I got nothing but positive feedback. Well, maybe some apprehension from my husband. But that's to be expected since I was putting the financial future for our family completely on his shoulders until my idea actually made a return. But he was more supportive than I anticipated. This MUST be a good idea if he is on board! I thought to myself.

So in my research I discovered some support groups for budding business people. Many have heard of SCORE where mostly retired business owners volunteer to council entrepreneurs. I met with 2 nice gentlemen for a private counseling session. They liked my idea too. But they cautioned me about choosing the right location for my boutique. This wasn't the first time I had heard these concerns. See, Bridgeport is one of the largest cities in Connecticut. It is in on of the wealthiest counties in the nation (Fairfield) which extends down to the NY/CT state line. Lots of wealthy people consider Fairfield County a suburd of New York City. Well, Bridgeport used to be a bustling, industrial port city. And like most American cities that depended on industrial businesses years ago, it suffered when those types of jobs went overseas. Then, people are left without jobs, municipalities can't maintain the city and buildings and homes are vacated to look for greener pastures. So the Bridgeport of 10-20 years ago is what people still have in mind. The revitalization process has been slow but I saw the potential in 2005 when I moved into a renovated department store in downtown Bridgeport that was turned into artist lofts. People would look at me cross-eyed when I told them I lived in downtown Bridgeport. I would ask when was the last time they had been there and it had been so many years they couldn't remember! Well, little did they know it was a ghost town after 6pm when the courthouse and handful of businesses that remained closed daily. I walked from the train station at night many times and never encountered another soul. Maybe there was someone staying warm in the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner of Main and John St but that was probably it.

Ok, I went off on a tangent. But what I was trying to say is, the men from SCORE encouraged me to look elsewhere. But the surrounding towns they suggested were out of my price range for square footage (about twice what I was quoted). They didn't know that 3 years before I could look out my bedroom window and watch the renovations on the atrium ceiling of the Arcade Mall. At the time I dreamed of having a artist co-op gallery there. Little did I know, I would actually sign a lease there a few years later. Everything comes full circle! So, I listened to there suggestions and looked elsewhere for support. I didn't need someone to talk me out of what felt so right in my heart.

I had found another organization in my search that sounded more appropriate for my needs. The Women's Business Development Center (WBDC). Yeah, I needed development! After months of teleseminars, an Exploring Entrepreneurship class, and webinars, I was confident that the WBDC was a great resource for me. I guess the estrogen helps. Even though I had already started my business, I decided to sign up for the FastTrac® NewVenture™ course. It's a weekly class for 9 weeks and then optional group or one-on-one sessions. I started on March 10 and I have learned so much already in the first 2 sessions. The instructor, Janet, is an expert in loans for businesses. By the end of this class, I will have a complete business plan. That seems like such a daunting task on my own. But we are getting counseling on every facet of a business.  The book for the class is extremely insightful and asks pertinent questions I should have asked myself 6 months ago (before I actually launched my business). But, it's never too late to do things right. I'm used to putting the cart before the horse. But this time, I realized my error quickly and put the horse in her rightful place.

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I love my in-laws but I miss my Butterbean

I've heard the horror stories of people not getting along with their in-laws, especially the MIL. But I was blessed with my husband's folks. I was more sure I wanted them to be my in-laws than I was about marrying him! My daughter is light of their lives. I rarely have to spend my own money for all the things my MIL and mother buy her. I even have to hide clothes and gifts when I think they are overdoing it so I can spread the gifts throughout the year. She has Christmas gifts in the basement that she hasn't opened yet! They are a sweet pair and want to see her often and I am lucky that they live about 30 min away. Sometimes they offer to watch her for the weekend. Things have been so hectic since I started my business 6 months ago, it allows for me to catch up on house cleaning, blogging, and business stuff. I guess I take it for granted because when I mention this to other moms I know, they tell me how lucky I am get a break. So, I dropped her off yesterday which allowed me to work on my word mural at the store (on a future post I promise), clean 2 bathrooms completely, shower, give myself a mani/pedi (long overdue), and cook what I wanted for dinner (broiled talapia and a yummy salad with pesto italian dressing). So I'm home alone on this Saturday night. It's so quiet and empty feeling in the house. I should be enjoying this but I'd prefer knowing she was asleep upstairs.

I guess I unconsciously selected to practice "Attachment Parenting" when I became a mommy. How can you not when you are breastfeeding? My daughter (AKA Butterbean among many other nicknames) is very attached to me. I went back to work for about 8 months after she was born. My husband works at night so he stayed home with her. It was very hard for me to be away. I would come home and he would tell me all the things she/they had done during the day. I must admit I felt a little left out. But when I was laid off from said job in March 2009, it was the Mommy & Butterbean show again. My husband gladly handed over the reigns for me to be the main caregiver. Now that she is getting older, I see the need for her to interact with other kids. She needs to socialize and learn to share. We take her to the park or during the winter months we went to the play area in the mall. (I'll save my germaphobe issues about public play areas for another post). I'm not OCD or anything. Far from it! My house it a mess most of the time. But when the H1N1 epidemic happened we put off daycare and now that it's spring, I don't have much of an excuse other than saving money by keeping her home. Don't get me wrong, saving money is a great reason to home school (among others). Does anyone that homeschools a single child have suggestions for teaching social skills? I'm not outgoing enough to start my own playgroup and now that I'll be running the store I won't have time. I know the hubby won't go to a playgroup with strangers. Unless there is a Daddy-only play group? Sometimes she would just stand and observe the other children like she was a scientist studying lab mice. She analyzed their behavior and interactions as if they were a foreign species. Kids would push her out of the way to get to the obstacles and tunnels and she was perplexed. The more we went, the more she warmed up to the other children. But sometimes they were rude when she offered a hug or said hello. They would ignore her or pull away. My heart ached but I did not interfere. She handled it well and continued playing.

My husband is going to become the caregiver again when my boutique opens in a few weeks. I'm fearful of how this transition will go. She's been pretty good when I have explained that "Mommy has to go to work" and leave for a few hours. But she asks about me the whole time I'm gone and says "I want to go see Mommy" to her dad. I'll be open 10am-4pm on Mon-Sat. I tell myself "it's only 6 hours" and I hope she'll adjust quickly. If not, we'll look into daycare a few days a week maybe.

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A Work in Progress

When I started Gumdrop Swap, I expected to work out of a warehouse of sorts. I would fill internet orders and have limited contact with customers. But when I began telling local people about the business, they wanted to come see my inventory and drop of their items instead of sending through the mail. That made sense but I didn't have a presentable set-up. I was blessed that my husband's childhood friend had office space he wasn't using and offered it to me to save some overheard. My husband helped me purchase my initial merchandise from a kids store that went out of business. Once I added in donations from friends and family and the things I saved that my daughter no longer needed, I was ready to take customers.

After a few customers, I quickly realized that I was going to outgrow the borrowed space I was in. It was only a temporary anyway. I couldn't store my inventory at my home so I looked for a new office. I found that for what I would pay for sq footage for office space I could get a smaller retail space for about the same amount per month. This changed everything.

I had to change the business plan to be more retail. But I could now attract new customers by being more visible and accessible. I lived in Read's Artspace in downtown Bridgeport, CT for over 2 years so I was familiar with the area. They have worked to revitalize the once industrial and municipal zone into a thriving residential/retail area. I love historic architecture. After researching the developer, GDC, on BridgeportBuzz.com, I knew I wanted to be part of the Arcade Mall project. Only a few year prior, I could look out my bedroom window at the Artspace lofts and see the workers restoring the glass atrium ceiling. Now that natural sunlight will illuminate my storefront in a few weeks. It's amazing how things come full circle! They have chosen energy saving building materials and geo-thermal heating which supports my business' eco-friendly mission.

The bamboo flooring has been installed. The lighting is in and walls are waiting to be painted. We are ordering fixtures. Then the merchandise can be displayed. I expect to open in early March and cannot wait to write the next chapter!

This is the view from the back of store towards the front.

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Why I Started a Business in the Worst Recession since the Great Depression

These are questions from business journalist, David Zahn, to help him write his article about me for the Connecticut Post. I thought they may be helpful to another budding entrepreneur:

1. What was your "career" prior to starting the business? My employer wasn't thrilled when I started a family and it was evident that my days were numbered when I returned from maternity leave. GumdropSwap.com is quite a departure from my Design Production Manager at a furniture retailer. The failing economy late last year was the timely excuse for them to sever ties. I realize that running this business takes a culmination of all of my design, administrative, organizational and problem-solving skills. It's like I've been training for this job my whole life.

2009 in Review

I started GumdropSwap when I was laid off early in 2009. I was appalled to discover how many people throw away clothes in great condition. Especially when so many families are struggling financially. As a new mom, I know how fast children grow and the strain to keep up with the demand. I wanted to figure out a way for parents to get rid of the things their kids had outgrown and be able to get "new" clothes with minimal cost. I was also determined to have an eco-friendly business. It's an opportunity for them to save money while respecting our planet. I launched the website http://www.gumdropswap.com in September.