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Most of us have dreamt at some time of chucking in the job to start up our own business. And often that dream takes the form of setting up a shop as it did for me. However, it seems as though there is a shop for everything, and a lucrative niche to suit every potential shop owner. What's more, you can be your own boss and leave the job in the city to take up a shop in a country town or village. Sounds good eh? However, along with that dream comes challenges, especially in a post pandemic world. So I thought i'd share my top 10 observations, since acquiring Feather and Twigs late last year, that come with owning a small retail business.
1. Some days you will donate more products to charities in your community than you will sell in your store that day.
2. Some of the best and funniest days are spent chatting to customers and you will get to know more people than you ever thought possible.
3. Every lunch will be eaten standing up, and only one sip of a drink or a bite of a hot meal will ever be eaten hot.
4. What customers say with their mouths is interesting, but what they say with their wallets is how they really feel.
5. It makes your day special when a customer tells you they love something they bought from you.
6. Just because someone asks for a discount, doesn't mean they won't buy if you don't give them one.
7. People think that because you are the business owner you have no boss, wrong; you have many. Your business loan is your boss, your retail business leaseholder is your boss, plus every customer who walks through your door is your boss too.
8. Never assume that local residents have been in the shop before and make sure you include them in any communications.
9. Sometimes a Wednesday might be your best day of the week; other times it will be a Saturday. In this business, there is often no consistency.
10. Multitasking and being organised is a skill worth working on; it's what can make or break you.
When you are running a retail small business like ours, the things you will learn about yourself, your customers, your online presence through social media, and your community will 100% make your life more rewarding. All in all its the best move i've ever made.
Catherine
Somewhere along the way, women were sold a quiet lie: tone it down as you get older. Choose beige. Stick to black. Don’t draw attention. Blend in gracefully.
No thank you.
At Feather and Twigs, we believe ageing is not a cue to fade into the background—it’s permission to turn the volume up. Style is not something you age out of. Confidence doesn’t retire at 50. And colour? Colour is not childish, desperate or inappropriate. Colour is...
At Feather & Twigs, every card we stock has been chosen with care. Behind each design is a talented independent maker or artist with a story worth telling. We believe that when you send a card, you're not just sharing a message — you're sharing a piece of someone's craft and creativity. Here's a little introduction to the wonderful makers behind our greeting card collection.
There’s always one, isn’t there?
The dad who insists he doesn’t need a thing.
Who shrugs when you ask what he’d like.
Who quietly fixes, carries, makes, and mends… and asks for nothing in return.
And yet — those are often the dads we want to get right the most.
This Father’s Day, instead of searching for more, we’re choosing meaning. Slower, quieter, more thoughtful gifts that feel like him. The kind that don’t shout, but stay.
