[ad_1]
Owning a small business is part of many people’s American dream.
“I think there’s something romantic about owning your own business and being in control of your life,” said Colleen Flinn, co-owner of Flinn’s Mercantile in downtown Jacksonville. “… I don’t think I could ever go back to punching a clock five days a week.”
That doesn’t mean business ownership is an easy path. Whether customers are walking out the door with overflowing shopping bags or empty-handed, bills — particularly rent, utilities, merchandise and employees’ salaries — don’t stop coming.
“It’s a real stressor and risk,” Flinn said. “And it’s constant.”
Small businesses account for 44% of economic activity and 64% of jobs created in the United States, making them a key part of the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows around 20% of new businesses fail within their first two years, 45% fail during the first five years and 65% fail during the first 10. Only one in four businesses survives 15 years or more.
“It’s a matter of hustling,” Home Girls Boutique owner Julie Rowe said. “You’ve got to get creative and make it work.”
The holiday shopping season is a crucial part of that.
“Starting with Small Business Saturday, it’s incredibly important, because it kicks off our holiday season and kind of lets the business owner gauge how the holiday season is going to go,” Flinn said. “Black Friday kind of came along because it’s one of the first times all year that a store is operating in the black.”
Black Friday refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving, when large retailers traditionally offer discounts to encourage holiday shopping. It is followed by Small Business Saturday — a push to shop local — and Cyber Monday, when online retailers often offer sales.
This year, the shop-local push started even earlier — with a two-day Pinkmas event the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving — and will continue this weekend, with Jacksonville Main Street’s Mistletoe Market happening Friday and Saturday.
“You’re using an operating loan to survive most of the year,” Flinn said. “The last six to eight weeks of the year are the time when small retail businesses are pulling in most of their business.”
Part of that involves paying in advance for merchandise to stock one’s shelves.
“You’re ordering in advance and, most of the time, you have to pay up front, at least a month ahead of time,” Flinn said. “You’re putting money into it that you might not be bringing into the store but are anticipating bringing into your store.”
It’s a monthly juggling act.
“There’s a baseline you know you have to bring in to pay your bills,” Flinn said. “You pray you hit that baseline. Profit, a lot of times, isn’t seen until the end of the year.”
This year, the economy means some shoppers are keeping their money in their pocket.
“The world we live in, there’s not a lot of disposable income,” Flinn said. “People have bills they have to pay, and groceries are expensive. To go out and go shopping, it’s a luxury. Even people who can afford it aren’t spending like they used to.”
Still, without a solid holiday shopping season, small businesses may find little about which to be happy in the new year.
“All three J months are the worst,” Rowe said of January, June and July. “You want to build up the kitty during the good months.”
October, November and December tend to be make-or-break months, she said.
“You’ve got to do it now or never,” she said.
While Flinn’s Mercantile opened earlier this year — blending Tim and Colleen Flinn’s Nothing Fancy Supply Co. and Haberdash from two businesses into one — Home Girls opened in 2017, surviving not only its first five years but the pandemic.
To help make her small business ends meet, Rowe branches out from her “main gig” with several side gigs. One of the biggest is The Workshops at Home Girls, a dedicated space at her store where she hosts regular “maker” classes — candle making, macrame, jewelry making, painting, knitting.
“That’s additional, on top of the boutique,” Rowe said.
Rowe also started the Backroads Boutique Crawl, a twice-yearly shop hop involving dozens of small businesses around west-central Illinois.
“We’re lucky because we do have a great community,” Rowe said of downtown Jacksonville’s small business owners. “We want to work together. We know the more we work together, the more traffic we pull in for all of us.”
Despite the constant push to keep Home Girls afloat, Rowe wouldn’t trade her hard work for a steady paycheck.
“You’ve got to have a little entrepreneurial spirit,” she said. “I can’t imagine having a 9-to-5 desk job. … You can’t expect to become a millionaire, but I think it’s fun and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
[ad_2]
Source link