BIG NEWS… I’M EXCITED… AND A LITTLE SCARED!

 

August 28, 2019

It’s Time…

Yes, you heard right.  Starting NEXT week we’ll be OPEN, Tuesday – Saturday!

 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t more than a little nervous.  I know so, so many of you are used to working 5 days a week, full time, all week every week.  And believe me, I work well over 40 hours a week.  But its a different kind of work when you can work from home on your computer, run errands, pop into the shop on a day when it’s closed to get a couple quick to-do’s marked off the list, than it is committing to having your shop open for the whole world (well at least we HOPE all of you will come) for another whole day.

I’m fearful about how I will get everything done at home I need to get done, plus all the back-end business stuff that needs to be done that no one ever sees, but is so important like payroll, paying & mentoring vendors, ordering inventory, my own personal product designs, time to rearrange the shop when it’s not actually OPEN, hiring and training employees…oh and there’s that little blessed thing coming called 4TH QUARTER.  

But it’s time.  

Again, today is Tuesday and Jana and I were doing a few small projects at the shop and we had 4 different customers just wander in.  And another couple of cars that I glimpsed pulling out of  the parking lot before I could unlock the door for them.  (This whole scenario was a repeat from what happened about a month ago when Jana and I were in the shop working on a Tuesday.)

It’s time. 

In the beginning I never knew if I’d have enough business to fill up 5 days at the shop.  I didn’t want hours and hours to go by in between customers and I didn’t want to personally be chained to my shop more than 3 days a week.  I just couldn’t be at that point and still be 1/2 the mom I wanted to be and I had no money to hire anyone.

As we grew, it made sense to expand hours during the holidays when I knew it would be worth it, but would go back to our normal 3-day schedule after Christmas.  I welcomed the break in January after the rush.   Later, I was able to hire employees who are amazing and capable and make my life so much easier.  But I still didn’t have the confidence that my business would grow over the majority of the year just by being open more days.  I was afraid my sales would just dilute and spread out over more days and not actually increase, therefore making my expenses, payroll and overhead increase and less profit.

Until this year. 

We’ve been so encouraged by your response to the addition of Wednesdays to our hours since February.  You’ve given us the confidence that “if you open…they will come”.

6 Years in.   

We’re going for it! 

I said a little farewell to my Tuesdays “off” today, even though they’ve never really been truly “off”.   And we’ll open up tomorrow to start the week off one last time on a Wednesday.  So this is the FINAL email you’ll receive on a Wednesday morning.   I’ll start sending them out first thing Tuesday mornings to kick off a brand new week at Plume.

We’re all so excited for this opportunity.  An opportunity to help our makers sell more products, to be able to fill Cupcake, Popcorn & Balloon orders now on Tuesdays, and most importantly to never have another disappointed customer pull out of the parking lot on a Tuesday because we were closed.

We’re kicking off next Tuesday with a super fun event to not only celebrate our new hours but also help everyone get ready for the first Tiger Home Football game.   So stay tuned and open up your emails bight and early next Tuesday for more details about this fun event.

 

In the meantime, if you’re interested in signing up for fall workshops, don’t delay.  Spots are filling up quickly.  Keep reading, for more info Bible JournalingHand Lettering, our Felt Flower Gather Sign and Fabric Button Jewelry and we hope to see you at one of them soon!

And, as always… If you need Cupcakes, Popcorn, Baby Gifts, New Pillows for Your Couch or a New Game Day T-Shirt, we are here for you.

Thank you so much friends for all your continued support.