Sign posted

I did it. I put up a sign stating the facts, that this store will close in just weeks. The sign encourages people to come in for sale items, that everything must go and that this isn't just a seasonal ending, it's a forever ending. And then I closed and locked the door a few minutes early because I couldn't talk with the lump in my throat.

When I say this is a hard loss, well, I realize I'm taking it harder than many people might. There have been goodbyes in my life before and yet for almost two decades this has been present, always there. It was one of the few things I loved and cared deeply about, and more importantly the place where I found my passion and soul as I healed from personal scars. And it is now the place I'm leaving behind as my heart sort of breaks. "I will miss you", I wisper to the antique counters as I brush by on my way out the door. In my life, probably more than for most, this thing that was my own meant so much.

#thefinal90 #storeclosing #since1979 #lossoflocalshops #momandpop #smallstores #familyowned #after35years

Not yet...

7:47pm on Saturday and I'm dragging my feet. I wish there was some way not to say "every thing must go". I wish there was a way to skip over this part. I wish there was a way to just slip out thd back door aand never have to answer another question about why. But I need to put the sign up, not just for customers but for me, so it can start to sink in that I'm down to the final days.

35 years here; 19 of them mine. And 45 days is all that remains of decades of small business work, heartache, love, caring and now, learning to let go.

#smallbusinessclosing #goodbyetoanicon #after35years #thefinal90 #supportlocal #buyAmerican #oldtimeshop #different #unique

Today I'll post the signs

I didn't post the "closing forever" sign yesterday.  I just couldn't do it but I'm sure I will today. After all, how can I exit in 6 weeks if I don't have huge signs telling people about the bargains inside, how they can "get a deal" and benefit from this turn of events? Somehow it just feels strange to be encouraging that behavior and yet it's the only thing to do when you are closing, right?


I'm sure I will post them today.

#closing #signs #endofanera #smallbusinessclosing #sayinggoodbye #thefinal90 #closingforever #after35years #deathofasmallbusiness

Everything must go

I think today's the day. With just a little over 6 weeks left I cannot avoid putting up the final sign to draw in customers one last time. Despite all the other sale signs placed around the store and in all the windows, I've avoided "the one", the final announcement stating "closing forever after 35 years". But I have to do it. I have to encourage everything to be bought at deep discounts so the doors can be  closed at the end of October. I hate to do it because I dread the comments and questions  that will follow but time is running out.

#goodbyemomandpop
#familyowned  #candyshop #Americanmade #since1979 #independentretailer #lastseason #closingforever

After 90 years...

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too moody, focusing so much on the sadness I feel. It doesn't really matter because the whole point of this blog was to give me a way to bleed in words what I was experiencing. I hoped something I wrote might resonate with a consumer,  perhaps encourage thinking in a different direction about their choices for the future. I thought possibly another small business owner could glean some wisdom from here, maybe seeing some of the mistakes made and recognize changes that they could make in time to not follow my path. That was the focus of the post titled  "Fear" a week or so ago, as now the perspective of seeing how some decisions ultimately affected my shop.

Whatever might be learned from this journey, I felt it was important enough to share. And so today's post is really just a link to a story that I hope you will read. Assuming you have some shred of interest in small business survival, , staying relevant, I think it's worth checking out.


Saturday October 13th, 2012

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/13/1144258/-After-90-years-our-family-retail-store-is-closing-its-doors


#after90years #departmentstoreclosing #familybusiness #community #chooselocal #independent #retailers