The Most Important Trait You Need When Bootstrapping A Retail Business.
Whether you’ve opened your own brick-and-mortar store or not…
I think we can all agree, anyone on the path to retail store ownership or a successful online shop can probably benefit from a few solid character traits: Confidence, determination, adaptability, courageousness… just to name a few.
However, when you’re bootstrapping a business, and staying within your budget is a top priority, this will require PATIENCE.
On my journey to opening a retail store, I didn’t want to take the path that entailed loans and debt. I wanted to pay for everything, and I mean everything, in CASH.
It took many years for me to become debt-free personally. So when my sister and I started on the road to becoming retail store owners, it was a priority for us to take the course without owing anyone anything. You know what I mean?
Life is so much better when you aren’t indebted.
So what does this mean?
You won’t have a steady income to start, you may not be able to pay for a $10-$20k build-out, you might have to continue to work a full-time job for the benefits and salary, or you might have to rely on a spouse to help carry the financial weight at home or for medical insurance. I can think of so many things you may not be able to do, or have, right away.
But what will you have eventually? FREEDOM.
No one wants to fail when starting a business, but there is something to be said for being able to walk away from a venture without it affecting your personal financial state and/or the rest of your life.
People can take different paths to building their business. For some it may involve business loans, taking a second mortgage on their home, or borrowing from family. Mine just happens to be a path that doesn’t involve debt and embraces bootstrapping. It doesn’t mean my path is right for everyone. It’s a slow journey, to say the least.
If you choose this route, just remember: patience is a virtue.
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Loved finding you today on The Rising Tide blog love post! I’m also a retail owner/shop girl, flying solo these days, and taking names. HA! But really, this was encouraging to read. Patience has been a HUGE challenge for me, but I’ve found the times when I am stressed or overwhelmed or flustered is when I am trying to do too much too soon, when I need to focus on the now and the present tasks and keep baby stepping my way to the “next thing,” the visions and dreams and goals I have for the shop. Goal setting and developing a timeline for projects and next steps for the business has been a challenge for me – and executing those next steps while you’re in the middle of running the shop/the day-to-day! Looking forward to maybe some more conversation around this shop girl thing! It’s nice to not be alone! 🙂
Hi Linnea! This is exactly why I started this website and blog. I’m so happy to hear from you. I have the luxury of running our home decor boutique with my sister but I handle the business end (the bookkeeping & accounting, the marketing, the website, the emails and so much more) and I can’t tell you how many times I felt alone too. I really hope to help others who are on or heading onto the same path as me. I may have to blog about the “loneliness” factor so thank you for that. By the way, I love the slideshow of your boutique on the website!