owners Archives - Wendy Batten

💕Here’s a little encouragement for all of you retail owners💕

If you’re a retail owner, maybe you can relate … When you’ve worked so hard to create a beautiful business that you know is amazing, that helps others tap into their creativity and is great for your community, but at some point you just feel like it’s taken over your life and left you a little overwhelmed, or you feel a little out of control with your business?

I would like you to be encouraged by Amy, Jeff and Carol.

They are some of the hardest working creatives I have ever met. They are all growing their brick and mortar businesses and rock-starring it!

When I started working with Jeff, he wanted to scale his business The Vintage Nest, but he was feeling overwhelmed with operating his business and wasn’t sure: how to manage his team and where he needed to dedicate his time, focus and direction. He was a little overwhelmed and “trying to do it all.” Watching him put in the work to make positive impactful changes (and see him actually take a DAY OFF – gasp!!!) has had me cheering out loud (literally) – ask my hubby lol.

Carol has a newer business, Concession Road Mercantile, and as we all know, starting a brick and mortar can be a challenge. When Carol started in our monthly mentoring group she was “winging it” like many of us do. She told me once, “You can’t google experience and advice from others doing what you do and who have the experience.” So true. She now runs her store with a plan in place and with confidence in her business decisions. Her team sees that she no longer is winging it. It’s a pleasure to watch her grow her new business and make a difference in her community.

Amy has been running her successful store, Sage and Twine, for quite a few years and was looking for some support along the way. Sometimes when running a business as a creative, we have so many ideas and directions we can take, and as painters and creatives we can sometimes find it hard to put on the hat of CEO. Sometimes we just need support of a like-minded community to get us making the decisions. I literally laughed out loud when I read this from Amy. “Thank you for all that you do and for support store owners like myself! You not only helped me put my big girl panties on, you practically took me to the store and helped me pick them out!” It’s a pleasure watching you grow Amy.

What do they have in common???

The thing I recognized in these three is that they can all see the potential their business has to succeed, and even beyond that, how much passion these three have for their business and their customers. They are truly dedicated to making it a success.

Their journey is much like many of ours! We have a drive and passion to grow and run our stores and want to design a business with a lifestyle to match

Sometimes we just need a community to help us grow and support us.

I share their stories with you, so if you are feeling discouraged or suffering from lack of focus or overwhelm, or maybe nay sayers are telling you retail is dead, or you are feeling alone. Know there are lots of others out there feeling the same and building great successful businesses. You can too.

THIS is why I love what I do!

For all of us, myself included, our brick and mortar stores are so much more than a way for us to make money. We get to impact others and help them find their creativity, or perfect piece for their home, we get to be helpful and encouraging, and meet and build great communities. We also get to do what we love AND make money.

Hopefully you found a little encouragement in this email knowing that you can succeed in business while doing what you love. You can make a difference in your community, help others find their creativity and be successful!

Because when you see your bigger purpose, your business and your love for it will flourish!

Xo,

Wendy

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