Happy Earth Day!

Earth is our home. We grow our food here. Build dwellings and have families. I thank God for our planet. I was bothered by the amount of waste us earthlings produce. I started GumdropSwap as my contribution to conserving and reusing resources. I saw a need and created a solution. You would be amazed at the amount of children's clothing, shoes, books and "stuff" that ends up in our landfills. Just sitting there wasting when someone could be using it. That broke my heart. It wasn't easy to launch a new business. It's such a new way of living, I find myself explaining it over and over. People just aren't used to something "green" and good for you to save you money too. It sounds to good to be true I guess. But it took me over a year to try to solve the problems I saw with existing consignment/resale options. I approached my business model as a customer. People aren't used to that either. Big business tends to forget about customer satisfaction and focus on the bottom line in their financial report. I urge you to make small changes. Recycling more, reusing  more and encouraging your children to see value in things by using them in a new way (making a change jar or barrette holder out of an empty food container for instance). My boutique in Bridgeport, CT also serves as a collection point for empty CapriSun juice pouches. TerraCycle turns these and other product waste into new items for sale. Visit their site to see if they collect the wrappers or containers for the snacks your children love. They pay $0.02 for every recycled pouch which gets donated to the charity of your choice. I chose an Elementary School in my home state of Georgia.

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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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Bright Beginnings

And then there was paint! The store fixtures are on the way. The merchandise is ready to be displayed. The bamboo floors are installed. Now we have paint on the walls. I chose a warm yellow-orange for the main color and chose to do a purple wave along the bottom to create visual interest and move your eye around the room. I suppose that lesson on composition in art college paid off again.

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|I would like to give thanks (and plug) "Drywall Unlimited" and Christopher for all of his hard work. He does carpentry and is an all around handy guy. His painting skills are superior too. If you are looking for a contractor for your home improvement or work projects, you can contact him at 203-908-5277 or email cacrook@hotmail.com. He is going to do the second coat of purple on the wave tomorrow and then remove the tape that I used to designate the shape. I am SO excited to see the room without the blue tape!

It was a pleasant day weather-wise and lots of curious people were walking through the Arcade Mall. I took the opportunity to explain the business concept to the onlookers. Everyone commented what a new and great concept it is. I love hearing that. I left a stack of business cards outside the storefront just in case more people come by. I won't go in tomorrow. There is supposed to be rain/snow mix and I'm going to spend the day indoors with my daughter. She needs mommy time. I need to catch up on computer stuff and contact some customers. I will update you all when a new milestone happens. Due to jury duty call on March 10, I am projecting a late March opening. My birthday is at the end of the month. This will be a perfect gift to myself!

None So Innovative As Mom

Business Journalist, David Zahn, wrote an excellent article on me and GumdropSwap for the newspaper, CT Post.
None So Innovative As Mom

GumdropSwap Welcome video

This video used to be on the website's home page. Some close friends were nice enough to tell me it was a little lengthy. I've been known to be wordy. My name IS Gabby. So I'm putting it here for those who want to "meet" me. It gives a brief history of how the idea for GumdropSwap came about, why I started this service and how to use the site. Enjoy!