Monday Rambles

Let's do this!

Last week was a bit much here, but I think this ones going to calm down a little bit.  I am still struggling to fit the newest booth into my routine.  I have no clue what my regular work day is going to be, but I desperately need to establish one.  Two training days last week knocked out any hope of having a work day.  I don't have that challenge this week, so at least I'll have a work day.  I'm just not certain that it will become my regular day or not.

My sales suffered a lot last week.  I've got the rent made at both spots, but I'm not having the high sales days and rapid growth I've become used to over the summer.  I know that until I get a regular day to stock and prep at both sites, that growth is not likely to come easily.

Seems pretty cut and dry, right?  Get to work and everything is going to be okay, dummy!  If only life were that simple--or at least if only my life were that simple.  Alas!  There are complicating factors.

To wit:

COMPLICATING FACTOR NUMBER ONE:  I'm having a hard time trying to find a balance between the two stores.  I have enough space in my original store that I cannot neglect it when it comes to stocking or working it.  If I weren't so worried about that store lagging, I would have just hauled my van load from Saturday over to the new store, priced it, put it out and been fully stocked and done with it.  Under other circumstances, that's the approach I'd take.  However, there's more to this story, which brings us to:

COMPLICATING FACTOR NUMBER TWO:  Sales are falling off at my original store, by as much as two-thirds on some days.  Last week wasn't pretty.  The owners of the building where my mall is have started doing construction in front of the building.  The parking lot is torn up.  The front of the building beside our area has been completely gutted.  There's a fence up that stops just short of our front door.  Worse, our huge front window has been completely boarded up!  From the road, it looks like we've closed up shop.  We can make all the announcements we want in any forum we want, but the perception created by the front of the building is having an impact.  Add to that the rumors that several competitors are taking delight in spreading and I am really nervous about taking attention away from there right now.  I made rent fairly quickly this month, but at the rate things have slowed down right now, I don't have much hope for a strong month.  Fall is supposed to be a busy time for us!

COMPLICATING FACTOR NUMBER THREE:  I could probably weather both of those storms, if it weren't for this last one.  Eventually, I would bite the bullet and do what I had to do for store number two.  Maybe, I'd even overstock it a tad, so I could then focus on the first store with some extra energy.  Thing is, my track record is not so good when it comes to second stores.  I've simply never done well anywhere outside of my original store.  My first two forays into other venues turned into disasters, for various reasons.  I thought that since I was moving into another Peddlers Mall, I would not have that same issue.  Instead, I am having to deal with the voice of history and it's whispering some not very flattering things to me right now.

I know I have a tendency to be a Gloomy Gus.  I'm probably over-reacting somewhat.  I know that things ebb and flow and come and go in this business.  I'm being a tad knee-jerky in my reaction right now, but I cannot help feeling more than a little discouraged.  There's a part of me that wants to say that I've had too good of a summer for this to be my fall.  That would also be my overly dramatic whiny voice.  I know that reactionary side of my psyche has been provoked, so I'm trying to quiet that down.  At the same time, the amount of work one puts into this business kind of makes one prone to these kind of reactions.

Of course, I'm also doing stupid things that aren't helping the situation.  I had pulled a tub of stuff to take to the new booth on Saturday.  I left in my storage at the first store, intending to get it when I dropped off the day's haul.  When I got there, I started talking to some other vendors and guess what I forgot to get?  Goofy Eddie, that's me.  On the other hand, I got some new and rocking furniture from Saturday over there. I also put most of the smalls from last Sunday over there as well.  It is filling up nicely over there, I just don't have enough stuff yet.  It's hard to figure out what "enough" is when you're making up a load to take.  I guess I'll get there.

I guess I should apologize for not putting a "Whiny Eddie Warning" at the front of this post.  Sorry about that.

Let's talk about happier things.

The weather has turned deliciously cool and I am digging it with a spoon!  We are nigh upon my favorite time of the year!  Halloween is coming!  So is my birthday!  (Hint! Hint!)  Leaves will be turning!  Thanksgiving is also on the way.  I have always loved, loved, loved autumn.  This time of the year makes me happy.  There are still a couple of awesome annual yard sales yet to come as well.  I think one of them is this coming Saturday.

I'm writing this on Sunday evening, while Keith is outside doing the yardwork.  He just walked in with a curb find for me!  Yay!  It's be junk set out time again in about a month.

Damn cluttered junk room!

 We did have a good day of hunting yesterday.  I'll have more to say about that tomorrow or Wednesday.  I need to get some pics first.

We got a call from the vet the other day.  It's tine for Old Man Kosh to have a check up.  He's thrilled about that.  (Not really.)  I have my own annual check up on Friday.  My doctor's office happens to be just down the street from my favorite thrift and just a hop, skip and jump across the river from the new store, so I guess my agenda for that day is set.

Thanks for indulging me this time around.  I promise much cheerier content to come.  I'm planning on spending my booth work time this week making a super-load for the new store, while still putting plenty of love on the original booth.  It's time to multitask!

In closing, here's an artsy [ic of me pretending that I'm a Cyclops!