Endings Are Beginnings.
A reminder to nurture the business you've already got.
I know I speak to small retail shops, but so much of what I share can, and does, apply to any customer-facing business with a door and welcome mat.
A beloved cafe in our neighborhood announced its closure via Instagram. Loyal customers are devastated. Some publicly asked why the business’s time has come to an end. Others simply expressed gratitude for the good times and best wishes for whatever is next. No questions asked.
I was in the latter camp. There are many reasons a business owner decides to close: finances, retirement, family emergencies, personal health, not the right fit or the right time … the list can go on.
Regardless, what I do know is that an empty retail space creates an opportunity for another entrepreneur to share their passions, interests, and expertise with the community. It’s an opportunity for the entire ecosystem.
This new opportunity reminded of something I wrote for AM Notes two years ago:
Small independent retail stores exist in a commercial + community ecosystem. Just like any other ecosystem — naturally occurring or human-made — thriving versus simply surviving depends on many factors.
Whether scattered across town or nestled side-by-side on the main street, individual independent retail stores are threads in the fabric of a community. Each store adds its unique expression to the shared streetscapes by way of window displays, signage, and the energy created by its curated mix of merchandise. Together, they attract people—residents and visitors—while adding visual vibrancy to the community.
Once threads are tightly woven or roots are deeply in place in the community, these shops can often be taken for granted (it's much easier to sense the excitement of a new opening or the loss of a beloved store closure). Yet like in nature, evergreen shops are well-nurtured by the ecosystem and make our communities much brighter and stronger, even if they exist in the background of our everyday lives.
Other small shops are more perennial-like as they come and go, showing their flare and then disappearing for another season of life to begin. The empty shopfronts these perennials leave behind are seedlings full of potential ready to be "re-wilded" through the passions, interests, and expertise of a new shopkeeper.
As we enter Spring time here in Australia, and Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re prompted to observe and consider what is evergreen or perennial. Not just in what we observe around us, like in nature or the businesses in our communities like the cafe in my neighborhood … but in our lives.
It’s a good time to take personal inventory so we can create evergreen businesses, or at least make them feel evergreen while we’re at it.
What do we need to nurture within ourselves as business owners so that our business may be nurtured back by the community we serve?
How can we create and offer value to our customers and streetscape so that we stick around as long as we choose to? So that it’s our decision to make … to stay or close, and be loved or missed either way?
Endings are beginnings, and beginnings are endings. Sometimes both feel obvious but when it comes to entrepreneurship, we actually get to choose how we begin and end each day, week, month, and year in more ways than we’re aware of. We get to choose how we nurture our passions, interests, and expertise and how we share them with our community.
Let my ramble be a reminder of the time you have right now with your dream, whatever stage it’s in. Do your best. Don’t take it for granted. Make your own opportunities every day.
If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my book:
OPEN: Big Lessons in Small Retail and Living the Shopkeeper Dream
“As a fellow boutique shop owner, I believe this book is a gift to those who plan to start a retail shop. Ana Maria honestly reveals her experience as a shopkeeper. It’s a case study full of lessons learned and great tips for running a shop. She also describes the evolution of the business as it grows from sole owner to a business with staff and a community that embraces them.”
— Kelly Wohlgenant Owner Retro Modern Furnishings