Today was officially my tenth day of being open at the shop in Springfield. And, while its not fair to compare the shop here to either A) What I did when I first opened Peddlers Post five years ago (because Ive learned so much since then) or B) Compare it to the Peddlers Post in any of the other towns in which it operates (as they are all established and I am brand new here), I can still do some price comparison. In the ten days weve been open, Ive already had 3 times more foot traffic than I had the first month I was open in Bolivar, back in July 2009. Ive also tripled the sales total for the entire first month; the store is clean and organized (thanks to some late night after hours help from Sara Brown), and Ive got signs up (that I didnt make out of cardboard from Wal-Mart, as I did at the first shop lol). Ive passed out more than 300 business cards so far, and, instead of alienating my neighbors (as I sometimes...well, okay, often, did in Bolivar), Im making friends here--as I said, Ive learned a few things lol. I am feeling tremendously blessed in my professional life tonight. It is giving me pause for reflection, and Im feeling particularly blessed in my paternal life as well. Ive got a job where I can see my daughter every day and she can learn and grow in a safe environment, casting off the bonds of gender roles, and figure out who she wants to be in her own right, right under my watchful and protective gaze. Not a lot of people have jobs like that, and it nearly brings me to tears to think of things any other way with her. Also, since moving to Springfield, I have been able to spend significantly more time with my youngest son, who I thought I had lost due to circumstances beyond my control. Now he is spending several days at a time, every week with me. And that to me is a blessing beyond measure. The people I have met have been kind to me and treated me very well, and appreciate having me the shop in the community here. Yes, things are going really well and I feel truly blessed for that. I do want to assure my enemies and naysayers out there though--dont worry, Im still mostly a sloppy mess in my personal life (outside of fatherhood), and continue to make all kinds of other mistakes, so there will be plenty of things to make fun of me for :-) Okay so let me get to the point of this rather long post. There are a whole mess of people that I owe a great deal of thanks to, and Id like to do that. I am sure Im going to miss someone, and for that I apologize ahead of time. Feel free to tag yourself and point out your awesomeness, at your leisure. So, here goes: Let me start out with the folks who have supported me when I was in Bolivar, and have found reasons to come up to Springfield and visit me up here. It was great seeing your cheerful, smiling faces and your words of encouragement have gone a long way! Michael Eubanks, Bridget Eubanks, DebbieandBob Ross, Leana Olivas, Tom Olivas, Marilynn Gehrlein and her sidekick, Deuce Dunnegan, (Oh how I love that guy!), Amanda Garretson, Michael Vittetoe, Eddie England, LeAnna Catherine, Tony Karl Vest (Got here before I opened, but still counts), and some who I just cant for the life of me remember. I hope to see you all again sometime soon! For a special few others who have actively worked their butts off to get me open, theres no way I can say thank you enough. Susie Minor Bayer, Michael Vittetoe, Amanda Garretson, Marie Harper Vekaryasz (your son in law was great), and Sara Brown--I literally would probably still be sitting here, looking around at the mess and thinking, I will never get this done. I would also like to thank Kara Smith for letting me come into the Bolivar store and stealing as much as possible whenever I need something. I think her and Matt White think of me as Uncle Eddie, from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation every time I come back to the Bolivar store. There are a couple of other hundred people who have been emotionally supportive of me in starting over, and have been encouraging at times when I really needed it. I count as great friends in this group people like Mica Cooper, Michael Stonestreet, Jessica Glenn and Rick Hill. On some of those 16 hour days I truly didnt think I could make it, but people like Karen Keehn Sawyer have sent me random kind words, helped in the store, watched my daughter, got me motivated and find ways to kindly kick my butt when I need it. Ive even had one long-distance customer, all the way from Columbia, Missouri, to shop at the store--Robert Bel. Other people who have been super good to me, even through FB, promoting the business, like Mykah C Brogan (had I bet you didnt think Id be tagging you in this) and just...dozens of other people who have shared my statuses. I am so very thankful for all of you, and anyone else who has been a blessing to me. I feel very proud of the history of the Peddlers Post, an our mission to better our communities that we are in. In fact, weve already had the chance to donate to a local group trying to get supplies together for the homeless before winter. Thats what we are all about, and Im glad we can get an early start on things like that here. Weve already got some regulars who come into the shop just about every day to buy stuff, sell stuff or just hang out and see whats going on. One such man and I first met while I was sitting on the floor with Remy cataloging GIJoes. We shook hands, chatted a bit, and his boy and Remy got the chance to play for a little bit. He was astonished, that we could be a pawn shop, (Yes, Im going to have to do a LOT of telling people, NO we are not a pawn shop here! just like I did in Bolivar) would have kids in there. He couldnt believe how friendly we were and how different it was than other shops like it. I laughed and said, Thats because Im not a businessman, Im a social worker. A few days later, he came into the shop with a small box of things he was wanting to sell. He and his family have fallen on hard times and hes had trouble finding work--although the local labor finders group got him a job. He had to drive to go get the job, and their vehicle was sputtering on gas as it was. He said, Im not looking for a handout, I just need to sell a few things so I can get back and forth to work for a couple of days. My family really needs this. Its hard, when youre talking to a man who is about your age, and see the look in his eyes that things just havent gone right (and believe me, Ive been there myself before). And know that he has a wife and kids to take care of. As we normally do here, I asked him what he wanted for hist stuff. He gave a number that was relatively fair, considering what he had. I thought about it for a second, and said, I cant accept your offer. The look he had on his face was dejected at first, and I followed up by saying, But Ill make you a counter offer, if youre open to it. He looked relieved and said, Anything you can do to help would be great. I think I shocked him out of his shoes when I offered him nearly double what hed ask for. He looked at me really weirdly, and I said, And I wont pay a penny less then that either. Its an odd thing, to see a grown mans lip quiver. And he cinched up the side of his mouth and coughed a little. Thank you. Was all he could squeeze out to say at first, but followed it up, after another cough, with No one has ever done anything like that for me before, especially not a stranger. I assured him that it was not a handout, and that I see it as an investment in our community here--if he works, he makes money, and puts it back into our community. I strongly believe in that. I sat down at the computer to log in the things that he sold, and he stepped away for a minute. As I was typing, I looked up in time to see a woman approaching the counter. It was his wife. Glassy-eyed, she stuck out her hand and just said, Thank you. And then bit her lip. He had gone out to their car, gotten his wife and son out, and brought them in to say thank you. It was all I could do to keep a dry eye. I believe very strongly in our ongoing mission: To provide good, quality services at reasonable prices, and to find ways to reach out a hand whenever we can. For those of you who I have thanked in this post, you all play a part every time we find a way to help someone. These small victories should be shared by everyone who has a hand in creating them, and I thank all of you for everything youve done to help this business, me personally, and those in the communities we serve. I dont say any of this to brag--it is a way for me to remind you that even simple words of encouragement sometimes have a far greater reach than you may think. Jerry Clark and Candace Yvonne Houts I look forward to adding you two to my list tomorrow! See you soon!
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 02:33:37 +0000
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