Retail Gift Business – 200th Episode

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You have found Authentic Business Adventures,
a business program that brings you

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the struggles, stories, and triumphant successes of business owners across the land.

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We are locally underwritten
by the Bank of Sun Prairie.

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My name is James Kademan,
and today is a huge day because this is

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episode number 200,
and I get to celebrate it with Amy Moore,

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the owner of Little Luxuries,
which is pretty awesome because I’ve been

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trying to get you on the
show for a long time.

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Yeah.

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And I’ve been looking
forward to this moment.

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Yeah.
Episode 200.

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So, Amy, how’s it going today?
It’s going well.

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Thanks so much for inviting
me to join you today.

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And congratulations on this episode.

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I feel honored to be
a part of this episode.

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It’s a big deal and we’re
on location at the luxury store.

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So how about you tell us just a little bit

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about what Little Luxuries is
for maybe the people that don’t know?

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Yeah.
Okay.

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So Little Luxuries is a gift shop located
in downtown Madison now since 1990.

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So we’re stapled down here
in the heart of the city.

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And let’s see,
we got a little bit of something

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for everybody for gifts
from zero to 101.

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So any person you have in your life that’s

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looking that needs a little pick me up or
has a special celebration or maybe

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a little something for yourself,
we got something for everybody.

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And I just enjoy thoroughly curating

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the space with some unique products
that you can’t find just anywhere.

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Right.
And the items are welldesigned

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and inspired thoughts and yeah,
just kind of allow someone to take

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a little break from your everyday
and just enjoy life in simple ways.

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It’s really cool because as we’re sitting

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up around here, I was looking around and I
like to have quotes everywhere over

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my office, in the shop,
all that kind of stuff.

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I thought I had a lot,
but around here there’s so many

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inspirational or cool little things,
little stickers and stuff like that.

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Yeah, we’ve maximized every itty bitty

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space that we can in this
environment, for sure.

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And my background is interior design,

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so merchandising is one of my favorite
things to do, actually.

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I don’t think I knew that about you.

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Yeah, I studied here
at University of Madison.

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All right.

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And
didn’t know that I’d use my skills in this

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setting, but it works out and translates
really well to do the buying and then

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figuring out where exactly it’s going to
go and how to maximize this environment.

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It’s a fun project.

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All right, so let’s talk about
how you got started in this.

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You bought the business when
it was already running.

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Yes, 2011.

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Okay, so that’s still
that’s over a decade ago.

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Yeah.
Just celebrated ten years.

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I know.
Time fly.

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It’s pretty amazing.
And you were working here before?

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Yes.

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So how long did you work here before
you end up buying the business?

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Yeah.

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Let’s see so I started
working here in 2006.

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Okay.

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So at that time, I was
just working part time.

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Oh, wow.
So the parttime position eventually

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evolved into a managerial position when
the manager stepped out of her position.

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And then eventually the business owner
was getting to the point of retirement.

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And I just happened to already kind of be
in the position as manager,

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doing a lot of the buying,
going to the shows, managing the staff,

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and pretty much everything
but the financials.

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And so at that point, the current owner,
Janice Duran,

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she just saw some characteristics
in my capabilities that kind of matched

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hers, and she thought it would be
a good match to be a business owner.

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So she presented the opportunity
and I was ready to take it on.

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And so I stepped forward and I’m like,
yeah, let’s do this.

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So we have a couple of years before
we did the transition in 2011.

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Prepare for that.

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So I actually did
a class business fundamentals is what it

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was called back in the day
of the Business Development Center.

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Sure.
Small Business Development Center.

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Yeah, exactly.

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So I learned a little bit about all
aspects of running a business and then

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also have a mentor that I
continue to use there.

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So just maximize the resources
in the community to learn and grow

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and then use the skills that I
had learned through working here.

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And it translated out already.

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So when you first came here,

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it was just kind of a little
side hustle rent kind of thing.

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Yeah.
And I think that’s maybe a message

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for anybody of any age, really,
especially younger folks.

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I mean, you never know what
a job could turn into.

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Right.

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How you show up in the world and at your

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job really can make a difference and I
think be possible if you’re showing

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that you’re motivated and you’re
showing capability and enthusiasm.

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I think it could go a long way.

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If you’re in the right spot at.

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The right time, that’s fair.
Yeah.

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That drive of an employee, I think,
is a big deal because it reflects both

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on them as an employee, but also just
where they’re going with their life.

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Yeah, exactly.
You only get one shot.

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Better give it your best, I suppose.
Totally.

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So you got in your parttime,
you build up to manager when she comes

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to you and says, like,
hey, Amy, I’m bowing out.

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What are your thoughts on buying a store?
Yeah.

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Was your first thought like, absolutely,
I’ve never run a business before.

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Let’s jump on this.
Oh, man.

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No, definitely not.

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So first I was like, wow, I can’t
believe she thinks I’m capable of this.

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Because, I mean, yes,

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I thought I did my job well,
but I never really had that on my mind.

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Yeah.

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My second thought was, that sounds scary,

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doing something that I’ve never done
before, taking on that big of a risk.

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So then there was
that fear element, right?

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Like, that fear of possible
failure, right.

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And trying to overcome that.

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And that takes some time, right,
to educate yourself,

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think on it, learn more, I guess bring
in professionals to kind of guide you.

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And once taking that class,

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just to learn more about how to run
a business, it just kind of inspires more

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confidence and also being
in an environment with other people

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interested in starting their own
business or taking out a business.

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Also, just like that veteran student we

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had, the other students in the class,
I think it’s helpful because it just

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reminds you that every business
has to start somewhere or transition

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of a business, and there’s so many other
people that have been in that circumstance

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and have succeeded and have failed,
and that’s kind of a part of life.

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So I think also being in that energy
and seeing other people interested

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and yes, taking a risk and seeing how
it goes, that was also inspiring.

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All right, so when you were in that class,
this is always curious to me because

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Little Luxuries is essentially
a staple of Madison.

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Yeah, like when I mentioned, hey,
I know Amy, Little Luxuries, blah blah,

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when you’re talking about retail,
they’re like, I know Little Luxuries.

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Right?
So when you’re in this class,

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you’re talking to someone that’s thinking
about starting their little coffee shop or

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their little dog walking business,
and you’re like,

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you know the Capital Building,
that store just a block away from that?

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Yeah, I’m going to own that.

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So is it interesting talking to people

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that knew the business that you
were essentially going to buy?

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Yeah, definitely.

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Yeah, because like you said,

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it’s been here since 1990, so people
are very familiar with the store.

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That was interesting.

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All of a sudden, immediately I felt like
I became some kind of famous person.

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Like, oh, you’re that person
that owns that shop.

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I’ve been going to since I was
a kid or since I moved here.

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And yeah, so I had a little
fame associated with that.

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Feels kind of strange because
I’m kind of a quieter person.

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I’m not very showy myself,
and that’s unique to be kind of elevated

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in that way, knowing that people
are familiar with cool business.

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Interestingly.

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When I was in college here,
I worked in retail on State Street.

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And so that was, like,
my first experience.

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I moved to Madison from West Bend.

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West Bend is a pretty small town of like

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at the time, it was like 25,000, which is
about the size of the university.

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As far as the amount of students that come

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to this school and come to the city,
I’m like, oh, Bank City.

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I got to work on stage three.

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It’s so psychic.

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And so that’s where I kind of got

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my passion for connecting
with the community and just, like,

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being in a beautiful environment
filled with beautiful things.

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But at one point, Janice also owned Puzzle

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box at the same time,
she had Little Luxuries, and I,

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at one point, actually applied to work
there, and I did not get the job.

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So little did I know later I would own one

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of her other businesses
that actually moved into the space.

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So Puzzle Box used to be here,
and Little Luxury has moved into the space

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from just down the street into
the job that I did not get.

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I later owned a different business

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that person owned, so that’s
kind of funny to have that.

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Yeah.
Right.

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But I loved those stores that she owned,

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and to be the owner
myself now is an honor.

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That’s cool.
That’s cool.

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Don’t switch to not getting a job.

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I applied to RVs when I was in high
school, and I didn’t get the job.

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They’re lost RVs.

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Right, exactly.

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Tell me about when she was a Janet.
Janet was Janet.

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Okay.

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When she comes to you and she’s like, hey,
Amy, interested in buying this,

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was she also pushing it out to other
people, or were you her focus and if you

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didn’t buy it, then she’d have
to broadcast a little more?

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Exactly.
That was her focus.

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Exactly.

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And, yeah, it didn’t take too long for me

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to make that decision, so she didn’t have
to really do much searching elsewhere.

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But I totally appreciate the idea
of looking into looking at your own team

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with the skills that they have,
and in this case, not necessarily.

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Does everybody have the financial means?
Right.

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So we were able to establish

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a circumstance where we had a five
year period paying off the business.

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It was almost like
a personal loan with her.

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Okay, so she financed it.
She financed it.

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Yeah.

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So there were opportunities there
that wouldn’t be in a circumstance where

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you don’t have a personal
relationship on that level.

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I think she wanted
the business to continue.

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She wanted it to succeed.

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And having someone already in the doll

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kind of helps maybe
guarantee that a little bit more.

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So, yeah, I am super appreciative

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that opportunity arose,
and when I get to the point where I’m

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ready to retire, then I would
love to do the same thing.

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So it would be great to pass it on to

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other staff members and
continue on with the business.

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All right, so when you bought the business
from her, tell me about the transition.

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Was she just like, here’s the keys.

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I’m out, I’m hit the beach, or whatever?

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Did she stay on to help you learn about

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the financials or how she does
things that you may not have known?

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Yes, she stayed on for
that five year period.

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Five years.

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So because she was still a part because I
hadn’t fully paid it off from the get go,

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and she still had some skin in the game,
in essence, she was a part of that.

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We would meet quarterly,

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and we would kind of review
the financials, and she was there anytime,

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if something came up or
I had some questions.

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So at first I’m like, oh,
this is so helpful in the way that she’s

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kind of tethered to it yet,
and she’s willing to share her knowledge.

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By the second half of the five years,
I was like,

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and I’m ready to be independent here,
and I can’t wait for this to be over with.

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But it did help with the
transition initially.

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Yeah.
And even today, she does come in.

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She lives downtown,
and she’ll come in and check in on things,

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and she’s still curious,
and she’s still work here and there.

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If we needed help in the Sandbag
situation,

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I think for me it was helpful without
having a lot of business background.

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It’s interesting you talk about

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the transition and how you kind of got
sick of it after two and a half years.

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I think I would have been sick
of it after two and a half weeks.

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Yeah.

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It’s essentially two decision
makers at that point, right?

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Yeah.
And you’re like,

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I’ve got this vision for where we’re
going to advance in the future.

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And she may be like, well,
that’s not how I was thinking of it.

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I don’t know how much of that was there.

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Not as much as I anticipated.

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I mean, she would say things, but in
essence, I was the final decision maker.

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But it didn’t get too difficult regarding

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positions, like, differing
positions on anything too major.

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Okay.
I think she did a pretty good job

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of keeping enough distance,
but still being present and available.

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All right.
So it didn’t get too overbearing.

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It was just to the point where I’m like,

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I’m done with the helicopter parent,
making sure everything is okay.

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But overall, I felt like it was pretty
healthy as far as the assistance you had.

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Separation.
Nice.

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So after you bought the business the first

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few years, were there some hiccups or
challenges that you did not anticipate?

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Let’s see here.

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Well, I think the main focus initially
well, as far as just how the business is

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run as a whole,
there’s a delicate balance.

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When you buy a business that already

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exists and it’s successful,
there’s that balance between continuing,

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not making too many changes to the point
where the success is affected.

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Right.
But yet making enough changes where I’m

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making my personal
impression on a business.

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So initially when I started,
of course, I continued running

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the business as it was and just kind
of monitoring my own interests

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and the desires to make and evolve
a business to be more me than Janice.

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That’s something that I initially,

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especially in those first five years, were
things that I was thinking a lot about.

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Now I feel like I’m like,
all right, anything goes.

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My store, and I know more than I did then
as far as what the demands are and those

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demands of our customers and our
community changes regularly.

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And then also,

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she didn’t have any social media
presence when I bought the business.

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So we were a little bit
behind in that way.

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It felt like the website and the social

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media was back in the 90s
with technology, things evolved so fast.

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So we got the Facebook going,
Facebook page and then Instagram,

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but we were just a little
bit delayed on that game.

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So kind of catching up

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on the technological side of business
and getting a new website.

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And then of course, in the last two years,

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like getting some
products online to sell them.

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So we have an ecommerce site now.

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We’ve evolved into that, but I think yeah,
just catching up in that way.

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And then also evolving a space that still
looks like the 80s because she had done

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a remodel when she moved
in here with puzzle box.

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So that was early 80s
with the teals and the paint.

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We were kind of living
in the past in this environment.

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So that was also a project I took on,
was bringing it to the present a little

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more contemporary, fresh,
clean look, a little less pink.

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Just kind of bringing it
up to speed for the times.

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And then also evolving
the products and those products.

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Now we have categories of products that we
carry like books, games, accessories,

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jewelry, all these children’s
area here with the toys.

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But evolving it even more so these days

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to more locally made goods
with diverse makers in our community.

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And then also associating values
to a lot of the products.

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We have this focus on the environment
and reusable products.

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So we have like that category.

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We’re expanding into a pet
category with everyone.

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The amount of pets in people’s lives
have increased in the past two years.

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Of course,

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we don’t have a pet store downtown,
so just some kind of higher end fun.

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Pet toys and accessories is
something we’re going to dabble in.

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Yeah.
And I’m trying to think, oh,

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and Mindfulness, you know,
that’s something people are focused on.

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Just like we’re trying to create

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an environment that inspires
people and creates positivity.

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Nice.
Yeah.

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The diversity of products
that you have in here.

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We can see everything from glasses,

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stickers, handbags, hair ties,
jewelry, umbrellas, postcards, kind.

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Of the one stop shop.

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If you can’t find something in here
for someone, you’re not looking.

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Yeah, it’s crazy.

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I was trying to get the shot where you
could show all the stuff that you had

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and I’m like, maybe we got
to get a drone or something.

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Yeah, it’s amazing.

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I want to talk to you about employees
because the transition had to happen where

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she was the boss, you were
manager and now you’re the owner.

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Was that tough or was that pretty simple?

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Like, hey, he needs one sign in front
of your check now, so do what she says.

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Yeah.

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I think the toughest part was definitely
the relationship with the other manager.

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We were equals.
Okay.

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And then all of a sudden going from equals
to, yes, I am the owner of this business,

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making the decisions when
we would equally converse.

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But then again,
I have always been a manager, like,

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open to feedback and more
of a collaborative manager,

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but that was a little different when
we would have different opinions.

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The existing manager,
that used to be more of an equal.

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Now, as the business owner,
I’d have to make some decisions here

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and there, and it just takes a little
while for that relationship to evolve,

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to understand the difference in
this new relationship.

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But, yeah, eventually we
got over that hurdle.

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All right.

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But in retail, there is high
turnover, unfortunately.

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So she’s no longer with us at the moment.

[00:18:43]
The life circumstances changed for her,

[00:18:48]
and we have a lot of students, so those
students kind of turnover as well.

[00:18:51]
So I would say initially it was

[00:18:53]
the relationship with the co manager
to take some time to settle into.

[00:19:00]
Got it.

[00:19:01]
Okay, so employees as a whole
is an excellent segue, right?

[00:19:04]
Yeah.

[00:19:04]
It’s got to be tough to find people retail
because you’re talking nights, weekends,

[00:19:08]
dealing with the public,
which a lot of people aren’t a big fan of,

[00:19:12]
and keeping track of all the stuff
and handling money.

[00:19:17]
That’s a big thing.

[00:19:18]
So tell me about how you
learn to deal with people.

[00:19:22]
I word that wrong.

[00:19:23]
Let’s just say how to hire,
train, manage people.

[00:19:28]
Yeah, okay.

[00:19:30]
I totally don’t do that.

[00:19:32]
Let’s see.

[00:19:33]
So as far as hiring goes,
what’s been most effective for us has been

[00:19:40]
putting just a sign up in the window,
which we actually permanently pretty much

[00:19:43]
have in the window, never coming down,
and it’s on every window.

[00:19:46]
But we do have high pedestrian traffic.

[00:19:49]
And to work downtown, it’s often
most convenient to live downtown.

[00:19:54]
And we do have that student
population that is dwelling downtown.

[00:19:59]
Although, yeah, there are some retirement.

[00:20:01]
It’s a retirement community too.

[00:20:03]
There are a lot of retirees that are kind

[00:20:04]
of that pop in and like, hey,
I’m looking for something to do.

[00:20:07]
All right, so that’s
been the most effective.

[00:20:10]
Of course, we’ll go online and use several
sources there, and the university does

[00:20:15]
have a job, a job site
for students to find.

[00:20:19]
So that’s worked effectively
for part time staff, unfortunately.

[00:20:23]
Also a source has been as retailers have
closed

[00:20:29]
on the street here,
we’ve actually kind of picked up some

[00:20:32]
of the staff that used
to work in other stores.

[00:20:35]
Okay.

[00:20:35]
So we have a woman that was
working here from Serve.

[00:20:39]
Serve, the Fair Trade shop next door,
had closed in the last year.

[00:20:43]
And then also Capital Kids on the Square

[00:20:46]
closed, I think, maybe
a couple of years ago.

[00:20:49]
We have a staff member from there

[00:20:51]
that applied that wanted to stay
downtown to still do retail.

[00:20:54]
We recently had a woman from the Mocha
gift shop that has closed in the last

[00:20:58]
year, just reaching out to say,
hey, are you hiring at all.

[00:21:03]
I’m looking for work.

[00:21:05]
So we’re known in the retail bounce

[00:21:07]
community, and I think if you get kind
of hooked in retail, you love it.

[00:21:13]
A lot of people enjoy being on their feet.

[00:21:15]
They like the variety, they like
the interacting with the community.

[00:21:19]
And once you kind of fall in love
with that, you want to stick with it.

[00:21:22]
All right, we have a group of people
that we’ve hired from that circumstance,

[00:21:28]
but then, yeah, it does
rotate because it’s retail.

[00:21:31]
So the student staff, it’s like, they’re
getting younger and I’m getting older.

[00:21:36]
Each batch is like another generation.
And then I’m getting that book,

[00:21:40]
and I’m like, okay, how to manage
millennials, how to manage genteers.

[00:21:44]
You got to keep educating yourself
because it’s just a different world.

[00:21:48]
But they come in and max,
we’ll have them for four years.

[00:21:52]
My school does.
They go through college

[00:21:55]
and then they move on and they leave
the nest and they start over again.

[00:22:00]
But I think what’s difficult in managing

[00:22:02]
staff is definitely the fact
that the training never really ends then.

[00:22:07]
Right when you have staff that
constantly rotating or are just putting

[00:22:12]
in a small amount of hours between ten
to 15 hours a week,

[00:22:16]
because that works with a class schedule
or whatnot, that part can be draining.

[00:22:22]
It’s just like, I remember how we do this.

[00:22:24]
You haven’t done this
in a couple of weeks.

[00:22:25]
This is how we do that.

[00:22:27]
Or, oh, welcome to the team.

[00:22:28]
Oh, you’re going to leave because the next
semester is not going to work for you.

[00:22:32]
Okay.

[00:22:32]
It was nice to see you for three
months in this environment.

[00:22:36]
So I think maintaining the patience and

[00:22:42]
repeating and reiterating a lot
of the same policies and the same

[00:22:46]
procedures over and over, I mean,
there are ways you can have people read

[00:22:50]
it, but everyone’s different in the way
that they learn, as far as hearing it,

[00:22:54]
reading it, being advised
that they themselves do it.

[00:22:58]
So, yeah, I think that takes
up a lot of our time.

[00:23:03]
Got it.
Yeah.

[00:23:04]
I can see how many even

[00:23:06]
with the businesses that I have
with employees, training is a huge

[00:23:11]
I want to call it on the edge
of a nightmare because you don’t know.

[00:23:15]
Like you said, they learn differently,
and their work ethic may or may not be

[00:23:20]
in line with where we feel it
should be and just their interest.

[00:23:26]
I feel like people want to be Connell
a little bit more than our generation

[00:23:31]
assume they’re a little bit
and it’s tough.

[00:23:33]
And I imagine here, when it’s known to be
transitorial,

[00:23:39]
I’m going away for the summer,
moving back home, or something like that.

[00:23:43]
Or imagine even Christmas time,

[00:23:45]
they’re going back home
and it’s your busiest time.

[00:23:47]
Yeah, exactly.

[00:23:49]
That commitment level is not
there like it would be if an individual is

[00:23:55]
full time or had more work experience,
you know what I mean?

[00:23:59]
With some of the students,
this is their first opportunity to work.

[00:24:04]
And if they did, then it was kind
of in high school where yeah, exactly.

[00:24:10]
They were the ones to get that job.

[00:24:14]
So have you had challenges where you’re

[00:24:16]
like things that you didn’t train
because you just assumed they knew it?

[00:24:20]
Like making change or something like that?

[00:24:22]
Or you don’t know how
to turn on a computer.

[00:24:26]
Once I use the staff members,
I didn’t know how to use a vacuum.

[00:24:29]
Didn’t know how to use a vacuum?
Yes.

[00:24:31]
I was like, Wait a minute,
not too elaborate there.

[00:24:36]
So we’re having to keep the space clean.

[00:24:38]
So part of it but they didn’t realize

[00:24:41]
that the vacuum, you press
the button so it lowers.

[00:24:45]
So they were like, vacuuming like this?

[00:24:47]
No, that’s kind of awesome.
Actually.

[00:24:53]
Did you follow someone
just watch them do that?

[00:24:56]
Unfortunately, I wasn’t there
to be able to comment on that.

[00:24:59]
My manager was, but I was like,
Whoa, I can’t believe it.

[00:25:01]
I feel like that’s like watching someone
that’s hand in writing, just watch this.

[00:25:07]
That’s awesome.

[00:25:10]
But I would say maybe just like
the retaining of knowledge.

[00:25:15]
It’s easy to assume that a person
remembers how to do something because it

[00:25:20]
might be something I
do on a regular basis.

[00:25:22]
In my head, I’m like, oh, yeah.

[00:25:24]
Everybody I train that.

[00:25:25]
Everybody knows how to do this.

[00:25:26]
Yeah, exactly.

[00:25:28]
And so what happens then is sometimes I’ll

[00:25:31]
forget that this person, oh,
they haven’t worked in a couple of weeks.

[00:25:35]
Or maybe they just need a little reminder
because they just tend to forget.

[00:25:42]
I have to remind myself that just because
I have that knowledge and I thought I’ve

[00:25:46]
communicated and trained it,
sometimes a review is necessary,

[00:25:50]
or just checking in to be like, oh,
do you remember how to do this?

[00:25:52]
Do you have questions?

[00:25:53]
Although sometimes I can say,
do you remember?

[00:25:55]
Do you have any questions?

[00:25:56]
People will say no and then
they’ll try and then yeah.

[00:25:58]
So sometimes
I think offering more information than not

[00:26:04]
is probably better because otherwise
I sometimes fixing mistakes.

[00:26:08]
Got you.

[00:26:09]
That can be extra work
on the manager or myself.

[00:26:12]
Do that.

[00:26:14]
I want to talk about product.
Yeah.

[00:26:16]
And let’s just segue
from employees of product.

[00:26:18]
You have so many things and so much

[00:26:21]
variety that I imagine to be an expert
in all of them is probably not realistic.

[00:26:26]
Yeah.
Not in every category.

[00:26:28]
No.

[00:26:28]
So imagine if someone comes up and they’re
like, hey, are these prescription glasses?

[00:26:31]
Or ask some question,

[00:26:33]
how do you work with your employees
to know how to answer even though they may

[00:26:37]
not necessarily be the master
of any given product?

[00:26:41]
Yeah,
so when I get new products or when I have

[00:26:45]
category of product, as people are
hired on, we do share knowledge.

[00:26:49]
But yeah, there is a lot of product
and it’s hard to remember at all.

[00:26:54]
And we don’t actually get
through every product.

[00:26:55]
So if a person has a question,
first of all,

[00:26:59]
we remind the staff that they should be
honest about the knowledge that they have.

[00:27:03]
If they don’t know, they have to say they

[00:27:05]
don’t know and that they’ll work
on trying to figure that out.

[00:27:09]
Find the answer.
Find the answer.

[00:27:10]
Exactly.

[00:27:11]
Because
when a person asks a question and they

[00:27:19]
don’t have the answer,
first thing I say actually read the box.

[00:27:22]
So I got to just grab it.
If they’re like, oh,

[00:27:24]
what’s the material with this scarf
or this blanket or this sock?

[00:27:29]
Grab it, find the tag.

[00:27:31]
Sometimes it’s as easy as that.

[00:27:34]
Otherwise, asking a co worker,

[00:27:36]
oftentimes there’s one that’s worked
longer than another and has more knowledge

[00:27:40]
and then also googling the information
and going to the website.

[00:27:44]
That’s helpful.

[00:27:47]
If the staff working,
they can’t find the answer,

[00:27:51]
then just taking name and number and
having myself or my manager get back

[00:27:57]
to them with that knowledge,
we never want to act,

[00:28:00]
and so we have an answer or make
something up or assume something.

[00:28:06]
So it’s better in my mind to say,

[00:28:09]
actually, let me get back to you on that,
to get the correct answer.

[00:28:13]
But yeah, it is a challenge,
especially if you have rotating staff

[00:28:17]
to keep them up to date
and rotating products.

[00:28:21]
To keep it fresh.
The products.

[00:28:23]
And you go to the shows every year

[00:28:26]
to figure out what’s going to be new
and fresh in six months, a year.

[00:28:30]
You kind of anticipate that.

[00:28:32]
Exactly, yeah, about six months.
So, I mean, the people,

[00:28:34]
the employees are coming in fresh,
the products coming in fresh.

[00:28:38]
So it’s going to be a challenge.
Yeah.

[00:28:40]
Not impossible, but interesting.

[00:28:42]
So let’s go into products.

[00:28:44]
How you find it, how you figure out
what’s actually going to be in the store.

[00:28:47]
Because this is always changing.
I know.

[00:28:50]
Yeah.

[00:28:50]
So it’s a combination of ways
in which I find the product.

[00:28:54]
So main one and the most fun
one is traveling to the shows.

[00:28:58]
Yes, I love that.

[00:28:59]
So I just went to Las Vegas for the gift

[00:29:03]
show there, so that’s going to be
a focus on spring summer products.

[00:29:08]
I’m still not clear what are these shows?

[00:29:10]
Are these shows for vendors that sell
the product to store owners like you?

[00:29:14]
Yes, exactly.
And then just carnival barking at you

[00:29:16]
like, come on, the people
in Madison want to buy.

[00:29:19]
Exactly.
Just rock.

[00:29:21]
I don’t know, whatever.
Yeah.

[00:29:23]
So the gift show, it’s many booths filled

[00:29:27]
with product,
and the product is represented by a rep

[00:29:31]
that’s going to tell you about it,
or a maker or an artisan.

[00:29:34]
And so the one that I went to recently,

[00:29:37]
I mean, there’s hundreds,
if not thousands of booths and spaces.

[00:29:42]
Some are permanent spaces,
so some will be like

[00:29:47]
in a merchandise type mart,
like an environment where they have

[00:29:51]
permanent booths where they can invite
customers to come in and show the product.

[00:29:55]
And then there’s the temporary booths

[00:29:57]
to make it big enough to draw
people from across the country.

[00:30:01]
So in Las Vegas, it was
at the World Convention Center.

[00:30:05]
They are in Vegas,

[00:30:06]
and it’s just a combination
of vendors that are permanently located

[00:30:12]
and then the temporary vendors
making it a really big show.

[00:30:15]
And you go there and you’re literally just

[00:30:18]
walking the aisles and observing
what’s in each booth.

[00:30:21]
Of course, you cannot stop in each booth.

[00:30:23]
There’s no time for that.

[00:30:25]
But there’s time to, like,

[00:30:27]
take a gander and assess what’s in each
space and evaluating if that matches

[00:30:34]
the store, matches our
community, our customers.

[00:30:37]
And when you do it often,
you can do it quickly.

[00:30:40]
So it’s pretty easy for me to be like,
yes, no, definitely not.

[00:30:45]
Definitely yes, and also just observing
where other buyers are gravitating to.

[00:30:52]
So when you see a cluster of people
interested and excited about the product,

[00:30:57]
that makes me curious,
and I’ll add to that space.

[00:31:01]
But, yeah, you got to avoid every single

[00:31:04]
salesperson because if you get a little
too close and you definitely know it’s not

[00:31:08]
for you, and they’re like,
I got a sample for you,

[00:31:10]
and they’re luring you, and I’m like,
I’m not going to take the sample,

[00:31:12]
and I’m not going to get lured
because I got a time crunch here.

[00:31:17]
All right.
Yeah.

[00:31:19]
So that’s the process.

[00:31:20]
And I do that in a couple of,
normally two to three days so that I can

[00:31:24]
seize the product and I can absorb it
if I know right away I want it.

[00:31:30]
I’m making that purchase,
and I’m buying for the future.

[00:31:33]
So make the purchase there,
and then they’ll ship it,

[00:31:36]
probably normally within
weeks it comes to the store.

[00:31:39]
But if I’m not sure about it,

[00:31:41]
I’m on the fence,
and I’m still considering I’ll wait,

[00:31:44]
and I have three days to kind
of make that decision.

[00:31:47]
So the benefit of buying at these shows

[00:31:49]
then, is to take advantage of show
specials so they’ll be offered offering

[00:31:52]
free freight, which is huge because
the cost of freight is going up,

[00:31:56]
or you might get a percentage off on your
purchase if it meets a certain amount.

[00:32:02]
So basically.

[00:32:03]
Basically as a way to kind
of grow the margin.

[00:32:06]
All right, let’s just say,
for example, this.

[00:32:10]
What did you say?
Tea towels.

[00:32:13]
Tea towels, okay.

[00:32:14]
So you go to the stories,

[00:32:15]
you see some person selling tea towels,
they’ll tell you the price wholesale.

[00:32:20]
And do they also give you roughly idea

[00:32:21]
of what retail is, you know, kind of
percentages and margin, stuff like this?

[00:32:26]
Yeah, exactly.

[00:32:27]
And each store has a little bit different
margin, but it’s mostly the same.

[00:32:31]
So I can do my own math
or they’ll do the math.

[00:32:33]
It’ll have a suggested retail price.

[00:32:36]
And then that varies depending on if

[00:32:39]
you’re in New York City versus
Madison in the Midwest or La.

[00:32:44]
Depending on your cost of doing business.

[00:32:46]
Got it.
Yeah.

[00:32:48]
But you got to do that math.
And the question then is the people

[00:32:50]
in your community, are they willing
to pay that amount for that item?

[00:32:54]
So like an umbrella, what is
an umbrella worth to an average person?

[00:32:58]
Right.
Is it worth $40?

[00:32:59]
Is it worth $20?

[00:33:02]
And that also varies
depending on where you live.

[00:33:05]
Madison versus New York City versus La.

[00:33:08]
As far as what people’s incomes are,
what they’re willing to pay,

[00:33:12]
and what value is added
to the product to get it to that.

[00:33:17]
All right.
I suppose an umbrella versus

[00:33:19]
an environmentally friendly, made
of unicorn tears umbrella or something.

[00:33:25]
Exactly.

[00:33:26]
Those added values to it.
Exactly.

[00:33:28]
All right, so this is the part that’s
amazing me about what you do is because I

[00:33:34]
would go to these stores and I’d
be like a bubble machine.

[00:33:36]
This is great.
Or like a farting pillowcase.

[00:33:39]
This is amazing.

[00:33:40]
The whole world wants this,
and I would end up with a store

[00:33:43]
with a bunch of junk that somebody
wants you like every year.

[00:33:49]
Six months from now, Madison is
going to love this and you nail it.

[00:33:53]
Really?
I think so.

[00:33:55]
Well, I mean, you don’t have a full story

[00:33:57]
as far as stuff that just like this has
been sitting on the shelf for ten years.

[00:34:00]
Yeah, that is true.
We make sure it rotates.

[00:34:02]
This product has to rotate.

[00:34:03]
And if it doesn’t, maxwell here we are
getting rid of all whatever doesn’t move.

[00:34:08]
So how do you figure out where people’s

[00:34:10]
mindsets are going to be in the three
months, six months, whatever it is,

[00:34:15]
it’s not like, what are
they feeling like tomorrow?

[00:34:17]
What are they feeling like monthly?
Yeah, that’s true.

[00:34:19]
And just the dynamic of society can change
a lot of dying really quick.

[00:34:25]
Yeah, exactly.

[00:34:25]
Well, we’ve seen that a lot
in the last few years especially.

[00:34:28]
But I would say well, first of all,

[00:34:30]
interestingly, I’m not
personally a shopper.

[00:34:34]
I don’t like to shop
in the way that I like to shop.

[00:34:39]
When there’s a purpose,
there’s a reason for it.

[00:34:41]
Either I’m gifting loved one or myself or

[00:34:44]
whatever it may be, but I’m
not a shopper, just a shop.

[00:34:48]
So I actually don’t have that emotional

[00:34:50]
connection between me
and my desires and the product.

[00:34:55]
I mean, of course, something I might see

[00:34:58]
and I’m maybe more gravitating
to because I like the look of it.

[00:35:01]
So I have those personal preferences.

[00:35:02]
So the color blue or whatever it may be,

[00:35:05]
but I think I do a pretty good job
of distancing myself from my personal

[00:35:11]
desires, which, like I said,
I’m not quite a chapper.

[00:35:15]
Like others could be on a personal level.

[00:35:18]
So I’m kind of thinking more in my head
about the reports that I’ve looked at,

[00:35:23]
like sales, like, okay,
what color is a good color?

[00:35:26]
Of all the colors on the rainbow,
blues tend to be good.

[00:35:29]
I mean, I like blue.

[00:35:31]
It just works out that many people
like blue, but yellow not so much.

[00:35:35]
Over time, sure, the trends
and accessories could change.

[00:35:40]
I mean, yellow could be
the pantone color of the year.

[00:35:42]
And then I changed my mind about that,

[00:35:43]
and I’m like, everything’s going
to be yellow because that’s a trend.

[00:35:48]
So I’ve just learned over the years,
like, okay, what are some general trends?

[00:35:51]
And then also I’m thinking about what’s
happening in the world, like you said.

[00:35:56]
So, like, for example,

[00:35:57]
during this pandemic,
we all know that we are pivoting.

[00:36:00]
We’ve all pivoted in our world.

[00:36:03]
The word pivot has never ever

[00:36:05]
in the history of the world been
used as much as it has two years.

[00:36:09]
By two years, I mean,
everyone has pivoted.

[00:36:11]
So I think about how are
people spending their time?

[00:36:15]
Like, okay, we’re indoors more, so how
are we entertaining ourselves indoors?

[00:36:19]
So immediately, puzzles,
we all know was like a craze and still

[00:36:23]
kind of is, but especially
on the front end of it.

[00:36:26]
So paying attention to the needs

[00:36:29]
of individuals as we evolve as humans
on this planet, like that, for example, or

[00:36:35]
fashion and what are
trends related to that?

[00:36:39]
I mean, for a while, masks were a fashion.

[00:36:41]
I mean, it’s evolving again, right,
as far as what we’re wearing.

[00:36:44]
But yeah.

[00:36:46]
So just kind of being in the know

[00:36:49]
of what’s coming up,
what’s coming ahead right now, of course,

[00:36:52]
I have in my mind the cost of everything
going up in general with the cost

[00:36:57]
of inflation, and that trickles down
to the end user,

[00:37:01]
which means the individual that’s buying
it is kind of what they’re seeing.

[00:37:06]
The biggest sticker shock in the end,

[00:37:09]
I’m just thinking about making sure that
we diversify the cost of our products.

[00:37:14]
So even though prices go up,
we just want to make sure that we have

[00:37:18]
products that are five to $10
as well as those bags of hers that are

[00:37:25]
closer to $100, but that a person can come
in and still find something within their

[00:37:30]
bracket of economic needs
or the gifts for the person.

[00:37:34]
That they’re looking for.
Yeah, exactly.

[00:37:36]
Just finding a coworker
or something like that.

[00:37:38]
Well, yeah, that too.

[00:37:39]
$100 bag.

[00:37:41]
Yeah, that’s the thing and for
the gifting purpose as well.

[00:37:46]
But economics,

[00:37:48]
we’re all affected by the last couple
of years too, in different ways,

[00:37:53]
and just making sure that
we open the environment to everyone so

[00:37:59]
that they can all find something
here for whatever purpose.

[00:38:03]
Right.

[00:38:04]
I want to talk to you also about location.

[00:38:06]
So this Luxuries has been here for over
two decades or a decade, over 30 years.

[00:38:12]
30.

[00:38:15]
So tell me, how has the dynamic
of downtown changed?

[00:38:20]
I’m sorry.

[00:38:20]
I came to Madison 21 years ago,
and people used to always talk about

[00:38:26]
the people that lived in medicine forever,
like, oh, my gosh,

[00:38:29]
downtown used to be just tanks rolling
down or whatever it is that they had.

[00:38:33]
There’s always some, oh, my gosh,
it used to be this and now it’s that.

[00:38:37]
How has it changed over the time?

[00:38:39]
And what have been some of the challenges
of just having a retail store downtown?

[00:38:43]
Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, Downtown Edison
has always had its ups and downs.

[00:38:49]
Just more recently,

[00:38:50]
everyone kind of talked about what
we most recently experienced.

[00:38:53]
But I know for sure in the 90s,

[00:38:57]
when the store first opened,
I think Deep Street was just humming.

[00:39:00]
Retail was in a strong position.

[00:39:04]
We had, I think, more diversity
of businesses, more retail.

[00:39:10]
I mean, right now we are a little heavier
on the bars, restaurants,

[00:39:13]
and service industries like services such
as salons and tattoo artists,

[00:39:20]
those kinds of things,
as our population downtown increases.

[00:39:24]
But I think back then,
there was a stronger retail presence.

[00:39:28]
I mean, Jana is owning two gift shops
on State Street is kind of a big deal.

[00:39:32]
Like, one is owning two gift shops.

[00:39:35]
So I think the diversity of businesses
and also yeah, the presence of retail

[00:39:41]
and in general in the there’s
just a lot of spending going on.

[00:39:46]
As credit cards were reviewed,
I was like, I got it right here.

[00:39:51]
Let’s just charge it all.

[00:39:54]
And since then, in the 2000s, early 2000s,

[00:39:58]
we’ve had the introduction
of more online purchasing.

[00:40:01]
Right.
And so we’ve been influenced by that.

[00:40:04]
And in general,
big box stories were getting big.

[00:40:09]
Of course, in the we’re
seeing that shift as well.

[00:40:12]
Big box stories and malls
are kind of struggling.

[00:40:15]
So retail is evolving in a lot
of ways, especially downtown.

[00:40:21]
We’re losing a lot of retail downtown.

[00:40:24]
And I’m seeing that the ones that are
surviving or even the ones that aren’t

[00:40:28]
retiring, because a lot of them have
retired, retired out of the business.

[00:40:35]
But I think the businesses that still

[00:40:38]
remain on State Street are
pretty strong and pretty solid.

[00:40:41]
I think it’s been the test of time

[00:40:44]
in the last couple of years to see who
kind of rises above and is still here.

[00:40:50]
But State Street will always be a draw

[00:40:54]
because of the capital,
because of the university yeah.

[00:40:57]
Connected to yeah.

[00:40:58]
When people come downtown
or when they’re visiting Madison,

[00:41:02]
it’s just a part of the experience
of being downtown.

[00:41:05]
So, I mean, just yesterday
I meet people from all over the world.

[00:41:10]
I mean, yesterday I had a woman
that’s from South Korea.

[00:41:14]
That’s a change student
at the university here.

[00:41:17]
I met a mother daughter who one lives

[00:41:20]
in Colorado, one lives in Pennsylvania,
and they met here.

[00:41:23]
They flew here to go to a show
at the Orphan last night.

[00:41:26]
And I’m like, that’s cool.

[00:41:28]
People just end up on stage.

[00:41:30]
We have stewardess from flight attendants

[00:41:36]
coming in and they’re flying all over
and they always stay downtown and then

[00:41:39]
they’re visiting us and they want
us their experiences in the air.

[00:41:43]
And so we just get a variety of people
and they’re here because of our location.

[00:41:49]
Despite the fact that our visual presence

[00:41:52]
and physical presence has changed
and evolved and we do see more empty

[00:41:56]
spaces,
there’s still going to be a draw and I

[00:42:00]
think we’ll still evolve
into something we don’t yet know.

[00:42:05]
Sure, we have a lot of projects,

[00:42:08]
development projects going
on in the 300, 400 blocks.

[00:42:12]
So what will fill those main
street level spaces, those retail spaces?

[00:42:18]
It will be interesting to see
what transpires from that.

[00:42:20]
There’s been a pop up shops and some

[00:42:22]
of the empty spaces, the culture
collective, that was a success.

[00:42:26]
And I think there’s a goal to get some

[00:42:30]
makers new spaces as
that space now is developed.

[00:42:37]
So,

[00:42:38]
yeah, so we’re seeing a little less
presence of retail and we’re seeing some

[00:42:42]
empty spaces, but it could
create for new opportunities.

[00:42:47]
I think what’s hard for me,
I can control what’s happening in this

[00:42:52]
environment and I have
to remind myself of that.

[00:42:54]
But I do like to see vibrancy and I
like to see a community well cared for.

[00:43:01]
And sometimes when you have
less activation, like less spaces being

[00:43:07]
used, sometimes it can just
be a little abandoned.

[00:43:10]
And that loss of energy and activity,
it pulls from a community.

[00:43:16]
Right?
So, yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing

[00:43:19]
what happens here in Spring with events
coming back downtown and the farmers

[00:43:25]
market always kind of kicks that off
and looking to see what neighbors we do

[00:43:30]
end up being able to welcome
in our community.

[00:43:33]
Just around the corner here, we actually
have a new shop that popped up.

[00:43:38]
That was just a couple of months ago.

[00:43:40]
Yeah, actually a month ago.

[00:43:42]
So, yeah, we will continue to evolve
and I think the future will be positive.

[00:43:48]
I mean, the location is worth it

[00:43:50]
in the fact that we do have
the pedestrian traffic.

[00:43:54]
There’s always somebody wants yeah,
we pay more to be here,

[00:43:58]
but it’s worthwhile in the end if
you have that all figured out.

[00:44:03]
Financially,

[00:44:04]
we’ll have the traffic here round summer
is a pretty busy time for us,

[00:44:08]
just as much as Christmas,
so we have two main seasons.

[00:44:12]
All right, we are most gift shops,

[00:44:14]
depending on their location, might
just have to focus on that one winter.

[00:44:17]
Oh, interesting.
Okay.

[00:44:19]
The uptick.

[00:44:21]
So in the summertime there’s so
much hustle and bustle going yeah.

[00:44:24]
And events going on in the Square and now

[00:44:28]
Downstate Street that really
draws a lot of people nice.

[00:44:32]
Over the course of time since you’ve been

[00:44:34]
a part of Little Luxuries,
what has changed with the relationship

[00:44:37]
with downtown and government,
as I imagine?

[00:44:42]
Well, I see.
Even Eau Claire’s an example.

[00:44:45]
When I was a kid, I grew up in Eau Claire.

[00:44:47]
Downtown was like, oh, don’t tell him.

[00:44:50]
It was just this dingy bars and
it was diet, it was dumping.

[00:44:56]
Now I go down there, visit family,

[00:44:59]
I’m like, this is amazing,
which I would have never guessed when I

[00:45:02]
was a kid that I was going
to change like that.

[00:45:05]
But I feel like or I guess I’ve heard

[00:45:07]
that there’s a lot of people in places
that can make decisions that just push

[00:45:12]
for the downtown to become vibrant
as an attraction to the city.

[00:45:16]
Right.

[00:45:17]
So I imagine with State Street,
this is a staple of Madison and a few

[00:45:21]
mayors have come and gone,
city council or whatever.

[00:45:24]
And I imagine there’s been times where
to them State Street was a priority

[00:45:28]
and to other State Street
was just like that place.

[00:45:31]
Yeah.
So what have you seen?

[00:45:33]
Or I guess what’s current trend?

[00:45:37]
Yeah, let’s see here.

[00:45:41]
I would say television.

[00:45:43]
Madison is unique in the way
that we have Bid.

[00:45:46]
Bid stands for Business
Improvement Districts.

[00:45:49]
Okay.

[00:45:53]
That is kind of unique to our community
in the way that we have this organization

[00:45:57]
funded by taxes, taxes
paid by property owners.

[00:46:01]
And that’s kind of a part of the rent
that we pay being downtown.

[00:46:05]
Sure.

[00:46:05]
So property owners on the property
owners on the Strip.

[00:46:08]
Yes.
Deep street and around the square.

[00:46:10]
And if you can block off in every
direction off of that order.

[00:46:18]
So there are funds that are meant to
help inspire things like

[00:46:24]
the Madison Night Market,
which is an event, or help pay for

[00:46:30]
some of the plants that we have
in the planters on the street to improve

[00:46:34]
the way it looks just at an intersection
or the lights at the holidays and such.

[00:46:40]
All right.

[00:46:41]
We do have an organization kind
of designed to kind of monitor traffic

[00:46:47]
and pay attention to the trends
of downtown and organize a lot of things

[00:46:53]
that business owners don’t have
the capability to do great.

[00:46:56]
That then takes a little bit

[00:46:58]
of the responsibility of the city
to have to focus on those details.

[00:47:03]
Right.
Because there’s tax money that goes

[00:47:06]
to that organization
and they’re not the sole one.

[00:47:09]
So the city still has responsibility.

[00:47:11]
But I do think

[00:47:14]
then that allows the city to have a little
opportunity to take a little step back.

[00:47:18]
Well, there’s a bid there and that bid
has the funds and the bid has some staff

[00:47:23]
that should be able to help with kind
of working things out on there.

[00:47:29]
So bid control by the city or
the people that work for the bid?

[00:47:33]
The people that work
for the bid work for the city.

[00:47:35]
Yes, exactly.
Funded by taxes.

[00:47:37]
Yeah.

[00:47:39]
So what I’ve seen in my involvement is
just in general,

[00:47:43]
I think there’s a little bit of distance
like, oh, they have a different

[00:47:46]
organization that no other
community in Madison has.

[00:47:50]
So this is the only bid in the city,
whereas Milwaukee, milwaukee has like,

[00:47:55]
I don’t even know how many, but they have
multiple bids for various communities.

[00:48:00]
So then each one of those organizations
funded by the Texas,

[00:48:05]
which is associated with the city,
they can make some decisions and they have

[00:48:11]
staff on hand to specifically
kind of work on their community.

[00:48:15]
So we’re kind of unique to the rest
of the city in that way.

[00:48:18]
In some ways,

[00:48:21]
I believe that that’s just like
an opportunity for the city to be like,

[00:48:27]
there’s someone else kind
of handle in that area.

[00:48:29]
All right.
But in the meantime yeah.

[00:48:30]
There is still responsibility to make
decisions such as public transportation.

[00:48:35]
And everybody we’ve been talking about

[00:48:37]
the BRT, where that’s going and how
that will impact the downtown community.

[00:48:41]
BRT is bus rapid.

[00:48:43]
Oh, bus rapid transit.

[00:48:44]
Exactly.

[00:48:46]
So you talk about bigger bus
stops and things like that.

[00:48:49]
Exactly.

[00:48:51]
Not necessarily bigger.

[00:48:52]
Or even buses on State Street.

[00:48:54]
Buses on State Street?
Yeah.

[00:48:56]
There was a conversation about the idea
of making State Street a pedestrian mall

[00:49:00]
only
population of people wanted just

[00:49:03]
a pedestrian mall population of people who
wanted the BRT to come down State Street.

[00:49:08]
I think what we’re going to land
on in the end is going to be BRT going

[00:49:12]
down a portion of State Street,
the upper end of State Street.

[00:49:17]
But just thinking about how the community

[00:49:19]
evolves, what would a pedestrian mall do
to a community as far as activating it

[00:49:23]
and allowing for more events
to happen on State Street.

[00:49:27]
And so the city is involved in decisions

[00:49:30]
like that as we move forward
related to public transportation.

[00:49:35]
That’s a process we’re working
through at the moment.

[00:49:38]
And then also city approval of events.

[00:49:41]
It hasn’t been easy to have events
on State Street just because of the fact

[00:49:46]
that public transportation
does go down State Street.

[00:49:49]
So it does complicate the process
of getting approvals, permits all that,

[00:49:55]
especially when it’s interrupting
public transportation for people.

[00:50:01]
It would be interesting to have a segment

[00:50:04]
of the street be possibly a pedestrian
mall to see how that could open up

[00:50:08]
opportunities for
events on stage that could allow

[00:50:14]
for arsons to come down or
just like more activities and.

[00:50:17]
Something to do just so people know
you can’t drive on State Street.

[00:50:23]
No.
Right, okay.

[00:50:27]
And delivery trucks at certain times
of day that won’t interrupt the bus.

[00:50:33]
All right.

[00:50:35]
Also, I’m trying to think what else

[00:50:37]
with the city recently have
we been talking about?

[00:50:44]
Have they changed any of the events,

[00:50:46]
like there was Art fair and square
or is there’s farmers market?

[00:50:51]
Those are all going to happen.
Okay.

[00:50:53]
Maxwell street.

[00:50:55]
Yeah, exactly.
In Madison.

[00:50:56]
A market.
Okay.

[00:50:58]
Yeah.
So we’ve increased the amount of events

[00:51:01]
that are going to be
happening on State Street.

[00:51:03]
Well, that’s good.

[00:51:04]
To move to State Street versus
Gilman Street, because I think in the end,

[00:51:09]
Madison was designed to be a street
to draw people to it and to maximize

[00:51:15]
the streets versus the side
streets in my mind, makes sense.

[00:51:19]
That’s kind of the corridor of our
community and the main quarter.

[00:51:25]
That’s exciting that that will stick.

[00:51:27]
I think there are some changes that are
happening since the pandemic,

[00:51:31]
such as the streeter program,
and that’s going to be extended.

[00:51:34]
Some things will be
extended and continued.

[00:51:37]
The street program is just this
opportunity for restaurants to expand out

[00:51:44]
into parking spaces, parking lot
expand beyond maybe the limitations

[00:51:52]
of even parts of the sidewalk
to expand outdoor seating so that you can

[00:52:00]
maximize the outdoors is just a little bit
safer circumstance during this pandemic.

[00:52:06]
So that program to allow for businesses
to continue to expand outside and use some

[00:52:12]
of these spaces that were used
for something like parking

[00:52:16]
is great to continue into the future
beyond the pandemic and the conversation.

[00:52:24]
So some of these changes or adjustments or

[00:52:27]
experiments during this time period
in the last couple of years to help allow

[00:52:32]
businesses to continue to succeed
and survive throughout all that,

[00:52:36]
we might see some changes continue beyond
the pandemic, which is interesting.

[00:52:41]
Got it.
Yeah.

[00:52:43]
I think that’ll be helpful for a lot

[00:52:44]
of businesses and that’s
in the city of athletes.

[00:52:47]
Nice.

[00:52:49]
City policy affects us greatly.

[00:52:51]
So we’re always keeping
an eye on that in general.

[00:52:57]
All right.
It would be tough.

[00:52:59]
A lot to juggle it’s.

[00:53:00]
A lot to juggle.

[00:53:01]
It really is.
Yeah.

[00:53:03]
And I can’t imagine what it would be like

[00:53:05]
to be a mayor and manage
all of it at the same time.

[00:53:11]
Well, in my mind, because I’m located here

[00:53:13]
and I see a day to day state streets
super important because it’s in my world.

[00:53:19]
There’s so many other little streets here

[00:53:21]
and there that are also
important to people, too.

[00:53:23]
Sure.

[00:53:25]
Yeah, totally.

[00:53:26]
I think there’s a lot of heart and soul

[00:53:27]
behind the downtown area that I
think we’ll continue to thrive.

[00:53:32]
We’re just going to look
a little different.

[00:53:34]
Right.

[00:53:34]
And it’ll take some time because the same
thing happened, I think about the 70s.

[00:53:39]
There was a lot of change
happening as there were protests.

[00:53:42]
I think you were talking about tanks.

[00:53:44]
I don’t know if you’re tanks.

[00:53:45]
So this whole Vietnam protest thing,
I interviewed a guy that wrote about

[00:53:49]
there’s bombing
at one of the university buildings.

[00:53:54]
I think a couple of people
ended up getting killed.

[00:53:56]
Right, right.
And they never found the guy that did it.

[00:54:00]
And that was Vietnam protesting, whatever.

[00:54:02]
So things change, right?
Yeah.

[00:54:06]
They changed.

[00:54:06]
And so that was an example, I think, where
the downtown community,

[00:54:11]
as far as the businesses go, there were
a lot of closures as well after that.

[00:54:16]
And so there was a period of time,
maybe like five to ten years,

[00:54:19]
where the community down on States
straight here just was similar in the way

[00:54:24]
that there was a lot of empty spaces,
a little less active.

[00:54:28]
But then there was an uptick come,
the much change, I think, money and fun.

[00:54:37]
And then it changed, and now we’re
evolving again, and retail is evolving.

[00:54:42]
It’s an industry that’s changed so much

[00:54:44]
since then that was a big chunk
of the businesses downtown.

[00:54:49]
So, of course, as our world changes

[00:54:52]
related to technology,
that’s going to change our storefronts.

[00:54:56]
But I do think there will always
be the need to be in person.

[00:55:00]
The desire to be in person.
Agree.

[00:55:02]
And to have a person face to face.

[00:55:05]
Helping you in that customer service.

[00:55:07]
And just having the sensory experience.

[00:55:10]
Smelling and touching and seeing a close.

[00:55:14]
The products that you want to purchase

[00:55:16]
and all of that is just so human
to have all of that for an experience.

[00:55:22]
And so I don’t think that small
business retail will ever go away.

[00:55:26]
Now I can see how big box stores can be
replaced if you don’t have such positive

[00:55:31]
experience, how easy it can be to go
online to get that random object right.

[00:55:37]
I mean, dishwasher detergent
versus for a friend.

[00:55:41]
Exactly.
It’s a little different.

[00:55:44]
So I have no fears about retail
and the longevity of it as a whole.

[00:55:49]
It will still exist.
It will just need to be special.

[00:55:51]
All right, there.

[00:55:52]
I love it.

[00:55:54]
Where do you see the store going or
evolving over the next few years?

[00:55:58]
You did a whole remodel.

[00:56:00]
Yes, this place is a remodel, which.

[00:56:02]
Means kudos to you, because it had
to be an undertaking and a half.

[00:56:05]
Well, I’m glad I did it when I did because
the cost of construction now has gone up.

[00:56:09]
And so the timing of that
worked out really well.

[00:56:13]
How long was that?
Let me think.

[00:56:16]
That was 2018.

[00:56:18]
Okay.

[00:56:22]
So, yeah, let me think.

[00:56:24]
What would I evolve?

[00:56:25]
I’m going to continue.

[00:56:28]
I’m thinking very carefully
about the product.

[00:56:31]
I’m thinking about where our gifts are

[00:56:34]
sourced, where they’re coming from,
where they are, and the value behind it.

[00:56:39]
What materials are they made of,

[00:56:42]
the environmental impact, maybe nonprofit
associations to the sales of goods.

[00:56:50]
There’s a lot of companies kind of moving
in that direction,

[00:56:52]
making sure that I’m sourcing products
that are not available on Amazon.

[00:56:57]
Right.

[00:56:59]
I’m purchasing in person at these shows,

[00:57:01]
but also there are online platforms
for wholesalers to make purchases.

[00:57:06]
And one thing you can click
for a value is, like, not on Amazon.

[00:57:12]
So it’s not something that you can easily

[00:57:14]
pivot in that direction and be like,
Amazon has it for this price.

[00:57:18]
And this is a little more convenient.

[00:57:20]
So just making sure it’s not something
that’s everywhere basically unique,

[00:57:26]
and then adds value,
adding value to the product.

[00:57:31]
What else for major changes?

[00:57:34]
I think our website,

[00:57:35]
now that we have an ecommerce site,
just continuing to manage that and making

[00:57:41]
that run smoother and expanding
on the products available there.

[00:57:45]
All right.
Yeah.

[00:57:47]
Once you create the beast, you can’t
you got to keep up with it, right.

[00:57:52]
You can’t go back.

[00:57:54]
That’s got to be tossing because
there’s so many products.

[00:57:57]
Yeah.
Luckily, more recently,

[00:57:59]
we attached our inventory on our purchase
order of sale system to our website.

[00:58:04]
So it will take it off of our website as

[00:58:07]
we sell down of a product and get close
to almost being out of it,

[00:58:12]
then pull it from our website before we
were kind of managing it and watching our

[00:58:16]
inventory, we’re like, okay, take
that off the website before it gets sold.

[00:58:18]
It was all manual.
Yeah, manual.

[00:58:21]
Originally when we were just quick

[00:58:23]
throwing things online and we
weren’t totally evolved.

[00:58:27]
So I think continuing to navigate

[00:58:31]
the Internet and maximize it in a way
that is still manageable for us not to.

[00:58:38]
Overwhelmingly thinking about
that and just community building.

[00:58:44]
I think during the last couple of years,
I think so many people have shared their

[00:58:48]
stories and come together
from all parts of our community.

[00:58:54]
So I feel like I’ve learned a lot.

[00:58:56]
I’ve learned a lot about
our business, our place in the world,

[00:59:02]
what’s important to me and what
should be important to our business.

[00:59:06]
And so probably continuing to strengthen
relationships, whether it be through

[00:59:11]
the makers that make things locally for
our vendors or reps or neighbors

[00:59:20]
and customers and just staying
involved in all the ways.

[00:59:26]
That’s a lot to keep track of.
I love.

[00:59:28]
Yeah, exactly.
A lot.

[00:59:30]
We get products, we get employees, we get
storefront, we got people, community.

[00:59:34]
I know, it is a lot.
Yeah.

[00:59:37]
So if anyone’s looking for a job, then
yeah, that’s true.

[00:59:42]
In the meantime, that is
something I’m thinking to myself.

[00:59:45]
Eventually I’d like to pull out a little
bit more from the operational side

[00:59:48]
of things, but then you keep
adding more to the plate.

[00:59:51]
When you have high expectations

[00:59:53]
of yourself and the performance of your
business, then it’s difficult to let go.

[00:59:59]
So that’s a delicate balance.

[01:00:02]
I think, just as any business owner,

[01:00:03]
at least what I’ve found is
you work so hard on building that business

[01:00:08]
that even though you can step away,
you either don’t want to or you feel

[01:00:13]
guilty for doing so, and you have
to really consciously pull yourself away.

[01:00:19]
You could probably argue
it’s like an addiction.

[01:00:23]
It’s a money making addiction, I suppose.

[01:00:25]
Or fun addiction.

[01:00:26]
Yeah, probably a semi
smith maybe addiction.

[01:00:29]
To that stress, like that little inner

[01:00:32]
I have a little bit of I get a little
adrenaline from it to be challenged.

[01:00:39]
The need to be needed.
Yeah.

[01:00:42]
People have that where it’s like,

[01:00:44]
I’m the boss, I’m making decisions,
I’m just spinning all these plates.

[01:00:48]
And when you get people set up to spend

[01:00:50]
the plates for you, you’re more
or less an audience member.

[01:00:53]
Yeah, I know what you’re saying.
Most of the time.

[01:00:57]
That’s the goal.
Right.

[01:00:59]
Once you get there, you’re like,
I got to go create another problem.

[01:01:02]
Yeah.
So that I can solve it.

[01:01:04]
Well, lately there’s been plenty
of problems I didn’t have to create.

[01:01:11]
Yeah.
But that is a good point.

[01:01:13]
Although I am trying to pull
myself a little bit away.

[01:01:16]
So in the winter,

[01:01:17]
I’ve been taking a little longer breaks,
especially in the last few years.

[01:01:20]
It’s gotten really quiet
in the wintertime.

[01:01:23]
And so you have taken three weeks off.

[01:01:26]
A little bit, like expanding it just
a little bit just to practice letting go.

[01:01:32]
And it’s easier if you’re not around.

[01:01:35]
You’re just like literally,
I’m out of the state.

[01:01:38]
Yeah.
Okay, so the cell phone out the window.

[01:01:40]
Yeah, exactly.

[01:01:42]
Just head west or south.

[01:01:44]
Just get on the open road
and just go somewhere.

[01:01:47]
Very cool.
Very cool.

[01:01:49]
Well, Amy, thank you so
much for being on the show.

[01:01:51]
Thanks for having me.

[01:01:52]
Can you tell everyone the address where
they can find you physically in the store?

[01:01:56]
Yes.

[01:01:57]
So we’re located at 230
State Street here in Madison.

[01:02:02]
Downtown Madison.

[01:02:03]
And I’m Amy and, owner of Little Luxuries.

[01:02:07]
We’d love to see downtown.

[01:02:08]
And then how about a website?

[01:02:10]
Yes, littleluxuriesmadison.com
is our website.

[01:02:15]
And Facebook.
And Instagram.

[01:02:16]
Littleluxuriesmadison is
where you can find us.

[01:02:19]
Nice.
And people can find stuff online,

[01:02:21]
they can buy it, and they can
be anywhere, essentially.

[01:02:24]
Yes.
Or within the United States.

[01:02:26]
Yes, exactly.

[01:02:27]
Nationally, within the states,
we are shipping anywhere.

[01:02:30]
Nice.
It’s a small world.

[01:02:31]
So you have to ship something.

[01:02:32]
I know, right?

[01:02:34]
How much was it?

[01:02:35]
I just had to ship a computer back from
ex employee, and I’m like, it’s $200.

[01:02:42]
I think the computer was
worth maybe a few hundred.

[01:02:46]
Yeah, bizarre.

[01:02:47]
Anyways, thank you for watching.

[01:02:50]
This is James, Amy at Little Luxuries.
You can check her out.

[01:02:53]
Tell us the website again.

[01:02:54]
Littleluxuriesmadison.com. All right.

[01:02:57]
Authentic Business Adventures is brought
to you by Calls on Call,

[01:02:59]
offering call answering and reception
services for service businesses across

[01:03:04]
the country on the web at CallsonCall.com, as well as

[01:03:09]
Draw In Customers Business Coaching offering business coaching for entrepreneurs looking

[01:03:11]
for growth on the web
at drawincustomers.com

[01:03:14]
And of course, The Bold Business Book, a
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[01:03:17]
all of us, available
wherever fine books are sold.

[01:03:20]
We’d like to thank you,
our wonderful listeners and viewers,

[01:03:22]
as well as our guest, Amy Moore,
owner of Little Luxuries in Madison.

[01:03:26]
You gotta totally check it out.

[01:03:28]
It’s so funny because when I talk
to people anywhere, you mention Madison,

[01:03:33]
and they’re like, oh, I’ve been part
of Madison and they know State Street.

[01:03:37]
So.
It’s crazy how people all over

[01:03:39]
the country, all over
the world really just know.

[01:03:42]
And you got a story

[01:03:43]
yeah, that’s cool.

[01:03:44]
Yeah, I feel fortunate.
Awesome.

[01:03:46]
Check it out.
Thanks for watching.

[01:03:48]
If you could do us a huge favor,
hit that big thumbs up, comment.

[01:03:52]
If you have any questions for Amy,
by all means, throw them down there.

[01:03:55]
Smash that subscribe button.

[01:03:56]
And of course, share this
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