How to start a business - 201

For those of you who read How To Start a Business - 101, this will be the "rest of the story".  Having established Twelve Baskets Cooperative Ministry and also having a number of years of experience under our belts, we began considering the "other" aspect of our dream.  We "Three Crazy Ladies" also desired to have a consignment boutique in which we could sell the arts and crafts of our local artists.  For a small spot in the road, Glenns Ferry seems to have an incredible number of talented people, many of which have kept their abilities hidden.  And thus began the dream.

Once again, we were back at square one.  No money, no building, no inventory.  But we had experience . . .for all the good it was doing us.  Believe me, we prayed diligently.  We looked at buildings that were for sale, fully knowing that there was no way we could buy them . . . but the dream would not die.  Then one day a benefactor "caught'" our dream and gifted us enough money to purchase a building!  Not any building, but one on the main street!  A perfect location for the business we had in mind.

So we had a building.  And three weeks in which to get it ready to open.  We raided our husband's tool chests and armed with hammers, saws and power tools, we charged right into carpentry, plastering, painting, and fixing.  The days were 15-18 hours long, the temperatures over 100 degrees (it was August), so when I say we put blood, sweat and tears into our project, it was literally true.  Often we crawled home at the end of the day.  But we were not alone.  What we could not handle, our family and community turned up to help us accomplish.  They moved heavy counters, installed shelving, fixed air conditioners, repaired  walls and carpet, and so much more.

And while we were still hard at work renovating, the consignments began to roll in.  People who did woodworking, needlecraft, jewelry, or had antiques and collectables all walked in the door before we were officially a business.  By the time the store was ready to open, we had products to sell!  The Calico Cupboard still gets new consignees with unique items to sell on a regular basis.  Everything from oil paintings, to antler art, to jewelry, doll clothes, baby blankets, rugs, repurposed furniture, soaps and jellies, to name just a few things, grace the store.  Each and every one are unique, "one of a kind" items.

Believe me when I tell you, that "empty feeling" in the store only lasted about ten minutes . . . within weeks we were over flowing with goods.

Along with our experience in retail selling, we now became intimately familiar with property taxes, insurance, and other things that take a chunk out of your "income".   The first winter we discovered drainage problems and ended up with a flooded basement.  Maintenance.  Frozen water pipes.  We learned a lot about that.  And just before we opened, someone hurled a rock through our plate glass window.  Fortunately our newly purchased insurance bought us a new window.

And while we had given the inside of the building an upgrade, the outside left something to be desired.  It was a bland gray with absolutely no "punch" that would invite people in.  Thinking that we could live with it until we could afford to fix it, we felt so blessed when Operation Face Lift nominated us for a make over.  They provided the paint, we provided the labor for a whole new look.

Again it was hard physical labor in 100 degree heat scaping, painting, climbing ladders, balancing on scaffolding, all accomplished by the "Three Crazy Ladies".  With the new paint and the new signs, we now have an outside that matches our inside!

 But as with all things we had ever done, we needed to evolve to make it work for us.  We started with a small tea room, craft weekends, created an internet web site for on line shoppers, then we moved on to a year around Christmas shop, and in the process of consigning, we learned a ton about all sorts of "things" that people brought in to sell.  Some of it worked, some of it didn't.  If it worked, we expanded on it, if it didn't, it fell by the wayside. I suspect we will continue to evolve as the years go by.  Everything in life is a lesson in something.

One thing we had to balance was time management.  We now had two businesses to juggle between the three of us.  And while that doesn't sound too hard, add in our personal struggles and family lives and it can make life quite interesting.  But we managed to keep the doors open five days a week with the help of Heidi's daughter and granddaughter.  Little Adeline came to work when she was less than a week old and has been a customer draw ever since!

And again, I would not necessarily recommend to anyone that you begin a business the way we did.  Although, prayer should certainly be a major part of your planning.  It might be a good idea to develop a business plan and talk to people who could offer you some financial guidance.  That way you don't have to learn so many things the hard way!  But sometimes experience is the best teacher.

My advice?  Believe in yourself, don't give up your dreams, and never shirk hard work!

Just writin' on the River Road

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Every Day is a Gift

I did an article on waiting in lines a short while back. I have had the dubious pleasure of spending even more time in physician’s waiting rooms. But it is not with joy or humor that I choose to write about that. For those sitting there have stories to tell, pain to share, and a life that the rest of us know nothing about.

I spend hours each week at the Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) in Boise while my husband has his cancer treatments. It is an all day affair which results in considerable observation. As I look at the faces, I wonder about their “story”. Some appear to be old hands when it comes to all the rigmarole involved with their particular treatment. Others wear this face of pain and fear. Some are young and some are old. No one wants cancer, but for the young it just seems so very wrong. Some are cheerful and upbeat, others are sad and down trodden. Some don’t seem to care anymore. I wonder about them all.

I wonder about the young woman who was pregnant and receiving chemotherapy. What a choices she must have had to make. Not only will she worry about herself, but she will worry about this new life she is carrying within her body. Will it be unaffected by the treatments? Will she ever get to see the baby, much less raise it? Those thoughts have to increase your torment when dealing with cancer.

And then there was the young man who was receiving financial counseling in the waiting room. He had his whole life to consider, plus monumental bills for his health care. He had to choose between living or dying because of the affordability of treatment. That just adds one more stress morsel to his plate. I try not to listen, but it is inevitable and it breaks my heart.

There are those who show up for their appointment alone. And then there are those who have a herd of people with them. I feel for both. When I am sick…..leave me alone! But many people draw strength from having loved ones around. If they feel loved and supported, bring on the troops. And if you want to be alone, I respect that too. As long as you are alone by choice and not because you have no one in your life to help you.

And then there are the doctors and nurses. I asked the radiation oncologist why she chose this particular field since she was inevitably upbeat and joyful, full of hugs and laughter. She said “hope”. “I can offer people hope.” And she was so good at that. She listened, encouraged, cajoled, but more than anything she offered us hope. A little bit of hope goes a long way.

Each of the doctors bring their own gift to the table. The chemotherapy oncologist brings honesty. He tells us repeatedly that he will always tell us the truth about the progression and treatment of the cancer. It isn’t that he isn’t kind and pleasant, he is, but his focus is on the truth. I appreciate that. You can operate with the truth. You can make decisions, plan ahead and not be slammed with surprise. That is a good thing.

People who work at the MSTI health care facility are gifted people. I could not do it. But when I ask the nurses, they tell me they love it. And the fact that they do love their work shows in how they treat each individual patient. They are kind, gentle, caring, encouraging, concerned, even fun and full of teasing. How can you love something when you know that eventually the largest percentage of your patients will die? It takes a unique individual to find joy in treating the living while they are here. It truly is a gift. And I am ever so grateful that they have found their work home at MSTI and share their gift with us each week.

I pray none of you ever have to spend time in waiting rooms “observing” people. But you can learn a lot from their examples. I commend the medical community for all they do. You are sorely under appreciated. In the three plus years of spending time in and out of various medical facilities, I have only run into one “lemon”. He was an ICU doctor, and I fired him immediately. I know, you didn’t see that coming! But don’t mess with “Mama Bear”.

I guess if I had to lump it all into one category, I would say that they all cared. I am sure everyone of them have a bad day now and then, they have problems at home or with family, but we never see it or feel it. Bless them. It is my job to let them know that everything they do is appreciated beyond anything I can actually express. I try to do that as often as I can. A word of appreciation goes a long way to make anyone’s day better. We need to do that more frequently that we do.

Remember life is a gift. All we really have is today. Use it, enjoy it, live it!

Just writin' on the River Road

messy

Life is filled with messy people. Really. When my daughter was a teenager, it became abundantly clear that I had raised a slob. I never saw the floor of her room for six years. I cleaned it in the beginning, but that came to a screeching halt eventually. I finally just shut the door because I couldn’t handle looking at it. Sometimes it is better to forgo the battles to win the war. And winning a war can take a long time. But today she keeps her house neat as a pin!

But there is more to the battle between the “messy” people and the “tidy” people. And it actuality, it has little to do with whether or not you can see their floor. Yes, there are those of us who like things neat and organized, and there are others who could care less. Two of the most special people in my life were total and complete slobs. They were a mess . . . on the outside. On the inside, they were the most sincere, loving people I have ever known. Unfortunately, many people never got beyond the mess.

I suspect we all see ourselves as just a little bit perfect. But, when push comes to shove, aren’t we all pretty messy? When someone just “pops” in for a visit, don’t we all rush to clean the counters, pick things up, shove stuff behind or under the furniture. We want others to think we are always neat and tidy. And part of our messiness is that we lie by trying to deceive other people.

Which leads me to wonder about all of us so called “tidy” people. Are we, in fact, just messy people in disguise? More than likely. In my entire life, I don’t think I have ever met anyone who had their life entirely “together” all of the time. Frankly, I don’t think it is possible. And it isn’t possible because we never know what life will hand us. Will it be money, joy, friends, a home or a job or will it be illness, death, divorce, loss or pain? Some we can choose, others we can not. But we can chose how we will react to any given situation. Is it truly possible to take lemons and make lemonade?

As a child I remember a horrendous hail storm that literally stripped trees to the trunk and killed livestock. But what also lives in my memory was our neighbor’s reaction to it. They were dirt poor, hard scrabble farmers that literally lived in a shack by the river. They desperately needed everything that they had just lost. Unable to control the situation, they gathered hailstones and made ice cream. It is a memory that will never leave me. I can not control every situation but I can control how I react to it. Am I willing to make ice cream?

Life is messy. People are messy. Situations are messy. What do we do? Live with it? Change it? Fix other people so their mess looks like our mess? Or perhaps we need to be a little less judgmental of other people’s messes and check out our own. Until we have literally “walked a mile in their shoes”, we can afford to be a little bit lenient.

Nobody is perfect. Nobody is “tidy” all the time. Truth be known, we are all a mess pretty much all of the time. Just check your thoughts . . . it can be pretty scary in your head, confronting the things that float through your mind. You may never say it, but it is there. I am not judging you, I am commiserating with you. I will never truly fit in a “tidy” world because my messes run deep. I can sweep them under the bed and you will never know about the mess, but it still exists. I have dust bunnies hidden under there that could leap tall buildings in a single bound.

I don’t have a solution for our messes. We can help people that need help. Or we can watch them flounder. We can judge less and care more. Nobody likes to clean up someone else’s trash, but are we willing to forgo a few battles to win the war?

Just writin' on the River Road

How to start a business - 101. Twelve Baskets Cooperative Ministry

In my entire life, of considerable years, I never thought I would own a business.  I had dreamed of it, thought about it, but never really considered that it could actually happen.

And then about ten years ago, we three crazy ladies began attending a Bible study.  In the course of spending time together each week, we became aware that all three of us had a version of the same dream.  We talked about it, dreamed about it, and then one day we thought "Why not?"  "How hard

I told you we were crazy!

can this be?"  And so our adventure in partnership began. Over the years we have earned that title, "Three Crazy Ladies", and actually take a certain amount of pride in it.  Because we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us."  We have tried many things, and sometimes failed, but more often than not, we have been wildly successful.

And thus was born Twelve Baskets Cooperative Ministry.  Our name being taken from the story in Luke 9:17.  Just like Jesus, we have "leftovers".

We had a few issues initially.  No money.  No building.  No inventory.  Minor complications.  Not women to let minor things get in our way, we charged full steam ahead.  We fully expected everyone to be in total support of our dream.  Not so.  Friends and family (husbands especially) thought we were nuts.  But when you feel the call of God to do something, it is hard to dissuade a person.  We talked and planned and considered . . . and were well aware of every possible reason why it would not work.  But we still pushed forward, prayed a lot, and relied on the guidance from God.

Our new sign.

Then one day, the ball began rolling.  And we have been running to catch it ever since!  A building opened up, along with a month's free rent, but it needed help.  Someone donated five gallons of paint that is truly hard to describe color wise.  While we appreciated the paint, the color left a lot to be desired.  What should come through the door next but more paint.  Taking a leap of faith, we poured all the colors together and mixed.  We ended up with a beautiful taupe color.  And so we painted.  The very last drop of unmatchable paint finished the job!  We had a building ready to go but no inventory.  Two of us came up with $100 each and answered an ad on Craig's list for clothing racks.  We ended up with a truck load of "stuff" to enable us to open a second hand store.  Someone gave us a cash register, steamer, iron and ironing board, shelving, you name it and it walked in the door.  We would no more than say "We could use …." and it would appear.  Donations began to roll in in the form of clothing, household items, linens, bedding, toys.  And one month later Twelve Baskets Cooperative ministry was up and running.

We had decided that this was to be a multi-faceted ministry, but we had no idea just how far reaching it would be.  Yes, we would give all of our profits back to the community, but we would also serve as a safe place where people could share their problems, be loved and cared for, and feel the presence of God in their life.  And it worked.  Twelve Baskets quickly became a fixture in our community. 

And then this walked through the door.

Just for us!

Operating only Fridays and Saturdays each week with a volunteer crew, it has expanded into the community by sponsoring an annual coat give-away, teacher support fund, scholarships, tithes to existing community endeavors, help to individuals, and much more.

At some point about two years into this business, we decided it would be advantageous to file for governmental non-profit status.  Again, we had advice from many sectors.  Some said we needed a lawyer, others a CPA, and others who thought it was impossible.  After much prayer, we printed off the ream of paper work and began to wade through all the questions.  To be honest, I don't think we had a clue when it came to some of the "government-ese".  But we made a stab at it and did the best we could since we didn't have the cash to hire professional help.  We were told it could take up to a year or more for approval.  A few weeks later, I got a phone call that I was missing two sheets of the form.  So I sent it off to them and within three months we were a legal non-profit ministry!  Another answered prayer.  We had seen so many answers that it is impossible to believe we were in this alone.

Now nearly nine years later we are still evolving.  The community has come out in force to support us with the donation of goods, the purchase of items, and volunteering to help keep us up and running.  We have developed a family around this ministry and it is wonderful to see all the lives that have been touched in one way or another.

Yes, it sounds like a fairy tale in some ways.  But it has not been easy.  While Twelve Baskets flourished, our personal lives took a turn that was unforeseen.  First, Carolyn's son suffered a broken neck from a fall that resulted in paralysis.  After months in the hospital, she became his primary care giver.  Heidi's husband was diagnosed with a debilitating disease from which he will not improve, and my husband developed cancer.  And while that was all daunting, God never let us lose sight of the fact that this business was not "ours", it was His.  And He would not fail to be there to provide and support us both in business and at home.

It has also been insightful to watch our volunteers evolve in the use of their gifts and talents.  Everyone begins work with us in the sorting room.  It ain't glamorous!   It is hard, often dirty work.  But as people work for us, we see a niche that seems to fit them and eventually we let them run with that.  Perhaps they like to organize, or decorate, or clean, or run the cash register.  We don't know, and I don't think our volunteers really know either, until they give it a try.  We never started knowing who would do what, but God has sorted and sifted our gifts and talents to make the operation run smoothly.  We have developed long lasting, personal relationships with our volunteers and our customers.  We know your names, your families, some of your problems, your struggles, and your joys.  We are blessed when you share your life with us.  We are blessed when we can share all that we have with you.

So this is the story of a dream, friendship, faith, and trust in the Lord.  Were there bumps in the road? You bet.  We did everything backward, against the rules, and often times the hard way.  But we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.  Not because the business itself is monetarily self-sustaining at the moment, but because of the lives we have touched, the people who have been helped, and the knowledge that God's presence is there for all.

We are not "just" a thrift store.  We minister to each person that walks in the door.  We listen, we help, we provide, we are just there for an afternoon chat.  Stop and visit us sometime.  We would love to get to know you!

But the dream was not yet complete.  Stay tuned for How to start a business - 201.

Just writin' on the River Road