The Tail has been Wagging the Dog!

I started my shop, Memories Past and Present, in a 3,000 sq. ft. three level house.  I began with a gift shop with antiques.  I wondered at the time how I would EVER fill up that huge house!  Before long, and after going to several local auctions, I quickly became an antique store with gifts!  I loved buying antiques, figuring out what I had, determining value, displaying - everything about the antiques business.

Before long I had people calling who were downsizing and wanting to get rid of a lot of their treasures at once.  I began going and making an offer on the whole selection of items, bringing them into the store, and had a ball with displays and getting such a selection of vintage items to deal with.  Then it wasn't long before I couldn't just keep buying things, so there was a request or two for consignment.  So I started accepting items on consignment instead of investing so much money in the inventory.

Needless to say, I had no problem filling up that house!  Before long a gift shop which was located in a brand new 9,000 sq. ft. beautiful building very suitable for my shop went out of business and auctioned their building.  By some miracle we were able to acquire that building.  It took about a month to move all of my inventory to that building and create a whole new look to the shop - open and spacious, elegant and beautiful, like no other antique/gift store I had ever seen.

We've been there over three years, and have over 200 consignors.  I sell on the internet, create new displays, research and price and tag - well, I just do everything!  The back room stays overflowing with items to be checked in, and the shop has gotten very full.  I can hardly manage to get any sleep worrying about all the work I have to do and all the people waiting for their items to be placed in the store.  In short, the tail has been wagging the dog for over 3 years!

There never is time to return items to their owners that have not sold or even to go around a mark things down as I should.  So, I've come to a crossroad in my plan - either make a change in the way I am doing things, or close completely - all to save my sanity.  I am still in the decision mode and am pondering my situation of trying to please too many people too much of the time, i.e., "the tail wagging the dog"!

This week I am taking a much needed break to sort everything out.  One thing I know for sure is that the dog needs to start wagging the tail and take this thing back under control if it is to continue.  Yesterday, I didn't think I could do it - today I think I can!  I'm making a plan to consider and attempt to implement which will eventually get things back under control.

Memories is the most unique and beautiful antique store in the area, and I want it to continue to be just that - but the owner/operator needs to be sane to be able to operate it!  I am making my plans for the future of Memories, which will require some hard work in the next few weeks, taking the reigns and leading it in a little different direction.  I think the outcome will be to continue to be an asset to the downtown Henderson area for years to come - at least that is the plan today!  Take a look at our beautiful store at http://www.hendersonmemories.com/   From there you can connect to our facebook page, blog and pinterest boards.  Thanks for listening!