044: From Pop-Ups to a Permanent Space: How to Know You’re Ready for a Brick & Mortar

Jen Thyrion: Hey there, I'm Jen Thyrion. And I'm so glad you're here. I'm a former nine to fiver that dove into entrepreneurship eight years ago with zero business experience. I'm a wife, mama of two young girls, boutique owner, jewelry designer, and now the proud owner and coach leading Goldie Links, permanent jewelry.

I have a passion to empower fellow business based. This podcast is made to equip you with everything you need to succeed from actionable marketing steps. to digging deep on your mindset. I know firsthand the heart, hard work, and let's be real at times of struggle that makes up this amazing journey. You want to know what has enabled me to shine the brightest coaching plus community here at Goldie Links.

We share openly educate and lift each other up. Expect to get links with fellow PJ owners that will do just that sprinkled with plenty of fun along the way. Competition isn't old school thought and connection is the way get ready to feel inspired. Welcome to the Goldie Links podcast.

Hey there. Did you know that we offer handmade permanent jewelry supplies? Go to GoldieLinkSupplies. com to view our beautiful chains, connectors, bangles, and more, including our non permanent stretchy bracelets that are available to you for wholesale. Everything is created by our tribe of mama makers.

What is a mama maker? Stay at home moms that create on their own time between raising their children, serving as a self care creative outlet and supporting their families. Your items come with signage on how these supplies are made along with gemstone property info as each gemstone has a special meaning.

If you want to level up your business with handmade supplies, not made by a machine, but made by hand with love, then check it out at goldilynxsupplies. com. Now onto the show. Hey guys, I want to do a little personal episode and talk about. brick and mortar life. Oh my gosh. So I know I mentioned this and the beginning series like the three part series on word of the year.

opening a brick and mortar in: 2025

So I officially opened my space and had a soft opening on March 1st. And today I'm sitting here is March 6th. So trust me when I say I feel like I'm still recovering in the best way. And I want to share more about my journey. And of course, like as I get it going too, because it's honestly is a very different than I'm used to.

Like I said, and if you've known this, I've really been in entrepreneur world for 10 years and I have had my boutique spaces, but keep in mind, they've been all under a roof of a merchant market. And what that means is all these small businesses under one roof. So I definitely had my own. I was responsible for my shop, all those things, but I didn't have the overhead of employees and sales tax and remitting taxes and insurance and just the overhead of like, and worrying about like my point of sale system and bags and tags and like all these things, right?

It was more or less the structure I was in was like, you worked a couple to like a few days a month, depending on the size of your space, you obviously paid a commission on your sales. You like were responsible for your, the, obviously your shop and the cleanliness and everything and the, how it looks and all the things like you do have your own.

Shop and your merchandise. But outside of that, you know, marketing is up to you. Obviously, there's already a set marketing because you're in a building with other businesses. And obviously the business that you're in has already maybe been established and they're doing their own marketing. So you're not having that also that like pressure of knowing that, you know, this is yours and you have to market it.

Right. So just keep in mind, it was definitely a different structure. And then. What I've been used to for 10 years, so definitely is a different world, right? And so I want to share my experience of opening and I will share more along the way and probably create maybe a little brick and mortar series of like the things I've learned and maybe can be helpful to you if you're in it or you're thinking about it or you're just starting, but I really want to start off to talk about.

when do you know you're ready for a brick and mortar? Okay. Because like, I feel like I hear this a lot. And I feel that for a lot of people, it's like the, the ultimate goal, right? Is to have your own space. And, and it's like, but when are you ready? When do you know? Because I've shared before too, of just, I've, there's been so many times where I've, Oh, I've had literally your contract out and I've almost signed.

And something either told me in my gut, it wasn't the right timing or just nothing was working out. And I was just like, just running against a wall and being like, why isn't this working. I want it so bad. And then looking back, realizing like that wasn't the right time. That wasn't the right time. And so like actually really thinking about these things that I didn't think back then.

And I trust me, I'm a person who gets very much as I could go with your gut type person. But at the same time, of course, it's all a balance. You want to go with your gut, but you also want to be like, you need to know your numbers. You need to know the, obviously the hardcore and like things like hard evidence of like, Am I ready?

Is this going to be successful? Is this something that I can implement in my life right now and makes sense, right? Because you don't want to go into something so, you know, time consuming. And obviously it's going to cost you like some money to get it started. And I want to share all those expenses. I have to sit down and actually, of course my, I went.

over budget, which is like basically like expected, I guess, um, with really what it took to get this off the ground and the amount that I spent on like, say, merchandise, furniture, just getting the space ready, right? There was no major build outs, um, for me, but it was all cosmetic. So even just, just knowing that how, how much that was for me.

So I want to share that in the future, but for now I want to talk about just, let's start with when is it right? Is it right for you for now, or just things to know? And note for to know when you're ready, really, right. So I feel like number one, consistent revenue and profitability. Right. So it was like, are you to a point in your business where you kind of know what you are expected to bring in a month?

Right. Are you to the point? Like, honestly, I would never advise someone to be like, who's just starting on business, who's going to go into permanent jewelry and just. Just go ahead and go right to a brick and mortar, right? Like I feel like at this time, especially with the way depending on your area, the way rent is out there is kind of crazy, right?

So you want to be smart with growing your brand and really because you're going to learn so much. Like, I mean, we have the luxury, like a lot of businesses that start maybe don't have the luxury of being mobile. Right. And we have that luxury of doing it a few different ways. You can take in home appointments, which is what I did.

And if you're comfortable with that, I did that for over two years. You can start small by getting a, there's so many different ways. And I hope you gain that just even from the podcast interviews that we've been actually chatting. I know some are coming up where there's people opening spaces, like literally Tara from Iris Alcoves.

Like we talked to her, she just opened her space in the last six months. But prior to that, she literally was in. side of her dental office that she worked for for years. So, and then I, I actually speak with someone who's coming out soon too, where she is actually going to be inside of already an existing business.

So there's so many options to like, if you feel like, okay, opening a big brick and mortar, let's say might not be, but you can take steps in that direction, right? Like a studio space. Again, do you have a home studio where you can kind of make it your studio? For me, I actually didn't have that luxury, my dining room.

Which if I, if my kids were older, it would have been my permanent jewelry room, but unfortunately it's their playroom. So I would actually set up on my dining room table and have to set up every time. But if you have a great, you know, place of having it, you know, in your home and you're okay with inviting people over, that is an option.

Like again, there's so many options, right? This beautiful business of permanent jewelry. Do you want to do markets? Do you want to like be, you know, touch base with coffee shops and boutiques in your area, right? There's so many different ways to grow your business and grow your brand to be, to know kind of what the demand is, to know and kind of get a predictable revenue established, um, where you feel like, okay, I'm ready, likely, and also to like max out of capacity.

Um, speaking of that, so it's like. I felt for me that as I was growing and I kept adding things, so for me, it was like I was adding more handmade chains. I mean, literally my displays got so out of hand. I was like, I had so many chains. Plus my, I had four different displays of handmade chains. I obviously implemented my, and added my glow ups and my bangles.

And I started making ear mullets, which if you heard me talk about, it's. Like, you know, just studs with some little chain that hangs in the back, but hence ear mullet, right? Party in the back, business in the front. And then I was also, I have my stretchies. I have a lot of handmade jewelry. I have like handmade, simple layering necklaces and stretchies and stretchy rings.

And so sometimes I would go to pop ups and be like, Oh, you didn't bring your bracelets or you didn't bring this. And it's like, ah, and then I have the hidden message line. And I was talking a lot about that. And people expected to see that. And it was like, I. Can not bring everything, you know? And then when I started doing mobile charm bar, like taking my charm bar from the shop and taking it mobile about a year ago, that also was a whole separate six foot table that I had to take.

So in the end it was like, my gosh, I felt like I was setting up a circus every time. It was like, here we have this huge. And I, so I got to be, when I started, okay, two and a half years ago, I had a four foot table that I could put my display on and well done. the same table. Then I got to a point where I was doing a six foot table plus a welding table for permanent jewelry, then a six foot table for my charm bar.

And then I would have to also bring at least a four foot table if I were to bring any other handmade jewelry. So it just got to be like so much. And honestly, too, as you know, and if you do both, when you're doing maybe a busier event, it goes from like. Okay. I'm just here to do permanent jewelry. How am I also going to manage also having a charm bar and be in three places at once representing my handmade jewelry, explaining that explaining the charm bar and also doing permanent jewelry.

Right. So you get to a capacity where like, not only just the amount of things you're bringing, but also, you know, are you going to have to triple yourself? Right. Like, are you gonna have to hire? And so I was running into that more and more, and also just even customers asking, you know, and having more just.

Wanting to see it all in one place. And I'm like, Oh, like, how do I do that? Even my home appointments was kind of difficult where I'm like, do I really want to take out all this merchandise and be setting it on my dining room table slash kitchen Island and create this whole store in my house? Like that's really hard, you know?

And although I would pop up in the place my boutique was in the merchant market, obviously there, I had a charm bar as well there plus clothing and accessories and other things I made. So I was making like dried florals. And of course I kind of halted on that a little bit since starting permanent jewelry, but I definitely had some, you know, gift items and jewelry and clothing.

And so it's like everyone, some, a lot people want to see everything all together and it just wasn't possible. So I'm like, Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm to the point where I am growing to the point where I cannot do it all. Either I have to cut something out or I have to figure out how I can bring it all and have someone see all the things in one place.

Right. Um, do you have a strong customer demand? Are you getting a lot of requests for appointments again during the week? Maybe not like where it's like people are okay waiting for pop ups or for having hosting a party. I think in the beginning that was easier for me. Like I didn't feel like I actually had a lot of demand.

Honestly, in the first like six months or so, I don't think I did a lot of in home appointments. I was more or less like, Hey, I'll be here this weekend. Or if you want to post a party. And then over time people just wanted to like, they had already added, maybe they already had three bracelets and they're like, Oh, I just want to add something small and.

You know, also people, depending on, I feel like a lot of my area, you're dealing with a lot of like women with young children and they're in the, they're in the throes of like doing soccer on weekends and like birthday parties. And they don't, they might not have the time to stop by at a pop up between 12 and four, which is typical pop up time for me.

So, so I was running into that a lot where I'm trying to fit people in and make it just more convenient for people and, and offering more in home, um, which. In the end though, again, it's also going with how you feel like in the beginning, I didn't mind doing mobile. I enjoyed it. It was like, so fun again, because I had not done a market in a while at that point.

pregnant with Goldie and then: 2020

I kind of was all actually at: 2019

So honestly, again, COVID had the time and also just having another child was that time in my life where I was like, okay, what do I really want to do? How do I want to structure my business? Like, what do I really want to do? Do I like doing markets? And if I like doing markets, that's one thing, but I wasn't enjoying it anymore.

So. Same. So when I got back in, when I started permanent jewelry back in, you know, and middle to end of 22, I was loving it again. Right. I hadn't done markets in let's say three years. And I was like, okay, like I'm, I'm down. I want to go do something mobile. I want to get out there. I don't mind setting up because again, the setup in the beginning was easy.

And then over time, I just felt like I was getting so burnt out and I was getting so meh. Like I'd be like going to a market or not even a market. I feel like I didn't do any markets with permanent jewelry, but I was doing pop ups and parties and I would even be headed there and be like, Oh, this is like to lug all this stuff.

And, you know, I was so worried about forgetting something. And I was like, I'm just done. Like I'm done. And also my home appointments, although they were convenient ish, taking everything out and setting it up. Like I have to say a couple months leading up to even like. opening the brick and mortar. I was doing a lot of home appointments because I was just trying to fit people in.

Honestly, I was trying to maximize my time as much as I could because I don't really want to do parties and pop ups as much because I was getting ready for the brick and mortar so much. So I was trying to fit people in my home, but I was still doing them. So I was like, there was one weekend where I was telling my friend, I'm like, okay, I'm doing this party tonight and then I got to go home and I got to set up for an in home appointment and I got to pack it up and I got to do a party that night again.

And I got to pack it up. And then do come back and set up for an in home, go do a short pop up at this apartment complex, come back. And I have an evening home appointments and I got to set up for an in home appointment. Like it was just mind boggling. Like I was like, I'm so done, but I knew it was like the end of it because I knew I was open to brick and mortar soon.

So I was like, I just can't even handle this. Like set up, take down, set up, take down. I was just getting burnt out from it. Right. And so, yeah, what are your requests from your customers, right? Are you getting more requests to have something again more during the week and kind of like regular quote unquote business hours versus them being okay just coming to a pop up and do you have brand recognition and loyalty?

Do you have customers coming back to you again and again and like people, them sending you other peeps and what is, you have that in your business? I think that is so important because I have to say opening my shop, like I've only been on Instagram talking about it. I haven't even sent an email to my list.

I was so bogged down. I'm telling you guys, like I barely had time to just thank God for my girl, Kristen, who literally like was trying to answer DMS in my, because I was so behind. Like if you even emailed me about products or like something else to supplies, you probably know, I probably emailed you and apologize because after about like February 10th up until March 1st, especially I was like so bogged down with all the details of the shop and just getting it ready.

Um, knowing that I already announced. that my soft opening was March 1st, if I hadn't already announced it by mid February, I would have pushed it back, but I'm honestly glad I just pushed through because it was really great to see how things ran and it's definitely not perfect. And I definitely have select hours right now until I hire a staff, but I'm just so glad that I was able to like kind of dip my toe in and really make improvements as I go.

So that's been amazing. But having said that, all that, so I really feel like. You know, because of that, you know, the brand recognition, the loyalty, you know, just growing my customer base this past two and a half years, you know, just announcing on Instagram. Like I said, that's really, as far as I gone, I did a few posts and I talked about in my stories and that was it.

You know what I mean? I had a coming soon sign on. It's actually a little house of where my shop is located in downtown here. And it's. Um, but there was a coming soon sign on the, on the front lawn. And that was really, and just said, follow my journey. And I did put my link, um, to my Instagram and whatnot.

And I think I gained maybe a couple of hundred followers from that. I would think I would say, and I also, which I only have a couple episodes. One is like a trailer quote unquote, where I just talk about like what the shop is. And then, but I, I actually launched another podcast. It's called Goldie links local, and it's going to be all interviewing my customers and cause over the time.

I'm sure you've heard this too. Like, again, permanent jewelry. is all about connection and really just so shocked by the reason why people come in and get linked together or the stories behind the bracelets they get. And I just feel like, man, that'd be so amazing to share that. And really just people get to know each other in the community, like a really big, great community feel because I do feel permanent jewelry as a community feel right.

And the service based business and tell people's stories have been amazing. So my first episode actually was with Caleb. He's a 16 year old. He's actually the son of Mike. girls who actually the only person I trust with them because I don't have family here in Colorado to watch like basically her name is Emily and if you're interested in listening to the episode, it's a 30 minute episode on Goldilinks local, but her son, her, one of her older sons got diagnosed with a really rare and aggressive cancer.

So we actually did a fundraiser for him. The weekend before I opened, which was also like, ah, because I was actually part of helping put on this fundraiser. I was organizing the vendors and we had silent auctions, all the things we raised around 33, 000, which was freaking amazing. But anyway, the point is he was our first episode and just again, he's in the community, he's in Castle Rock and sharing his story.

So. Um, back to loyalty. So when I was, of course you have those fears, right? Like I announced I was opening, I'm like, did I spend enough time talking about this? I didn't even send out an email to my email list. Like, Oh my God. What? You know? So we're like literally down to the, down to the minute getting ready to open.

Right. I even opened the doors 10 minutes past 10, which I was supposed to open at 10. Right. I'm like plugging in the welders. 15 minutes before we open. I'm just like, Oh my God, just all these last minute things. There was a line outside the door, which was so heartwarming and amazing. And I honestly shed a tear because it just felt so, you know, validating, right?

Like, Oh my gosh, like this is amazing that. Just the support has been amazing. I want to say there's about 25 people at the door and, um, end up being an amazing day, but going back to the reason I'm saying all this is brand loyalty, right? Do you have people consistently coming back to you? Do you have people supporting you?

Do you have people that, you know, that if you open your doors there, they, you have these core group of people, they're going to be supporting you. And do you have the request to people ask you all the time, like, Hey, do you have a location and. Do you feel like having a, you know, really in the end, do you feel like having a permanent space would benefit and be beneficial and serve your customers?

So, and also to like, do you, do you being realistic, right? I think we head into doing most things in life, right? It's like, even when we're like 18 years old and we're going to go to school and we're like, I want to be a nurse or something. Right. Which is an amazing profession, but let's just say that.

Cause there was one point where I said I was going to be a nurse. And I realized that like, Honestly, when you really, you don't really think about like, even when people say, or someone's like going into permanent jewelry, Oh my gosh, or like having a boutique, it sounds so fun. And like, Oh, just having a permanent jewelry business, having a boutique, like how fun we just like get to play with clothing and jewelry all day, but really in the end, there's so much more to that as we know.

So it's like really being realistic about what your day looks like. Are you somebody who wants the freedom during the day? And you know, you don't want to be tied to a brick and mortar and not to say you can't hire employees. But honestly, there is going to be. a period where that's going to have to happen and you are going to feel, you know, be responsible for this place.

Say an employee calls out or whatever, or, you know, knowing what you're still growing your business, you might not want to pay a full time employee to start and really understanding what your life is going to look like. Being realistic, right? Are you ready for that? What does your lifestyle look like? Are you, do you, can you work weekends?

Are you going to host parties there and be there in the evenings? And for me, As you might know, I have two young girls, four and six. Okay. So I know that like one of the reasons is funny, it seems backwards, but I, one of the reasons I wanted to open a brick and mortar was for this reason. I know that sounds crazy because I do know I have actually group interviews, which I plan on making a podcast interview or.

episode about, which I really plan on recording my group interview. So hopefully that can help people as well. Tara, I believe from Iris Alcos gave me this idea for a group interview, which she also got from someone else in the group on one of the permanent jewelry groups she told me. But because I was like, man, I got 160 applicants on Indeed for this position.

How am I going to weed people out? Because for me, it's more or less like I can look at a resume and say, okay, like yes, ish, no ish. But in the end, um, I need to meet someone. I need to feel like what they're like talking, how they can talk to people, because in the end what I need is flexibility of time. I need somebody who's not going to work this for three months and move on to something else or just doing it as like a placeholder per se.

And then I also, I just need somebody who's like loves creativity, who loves people. Like I said, that is like the number one, I'm sorry. Permanent jewelry, any service space, but a lot of permanent, permanent jewelry, I can speak to specifically because having that experience versus just having a boutique is very different, right?

It's like, you are literally talking to people. And a lot of times when people come back to you, yes. Like, cause as, as you know, at this point, there's probably a lot of permanent doors in your area. So what sets you apart? We can talk about that and talk about niche and like kind of what you offer, but in the end, people have to like you, they have to feel comfortable with you.

They have to feel like invited. They have to feel warm and fuzzies and. And like, that's what I love about, you know, this. I really love people. I love connecting with people. And so in the end, it's like, I need to feel that, like, I need to meet someone's just seeing a resume on a piece of paper, isn't going to do it.

And I figured, honestly, a group interview might be best because then I can see how they interact with each other. Right. And, um, so actually as of now, I have 30 people coming for two different time slots, um, about 15 people each time slot. And we will see how all that develops, but, um, I will be sharing that.

So again, but with my girls getting more active with like actual gaining actual friends are not babies anymore. Harper's in kindergarten. She wants to hang out with her friends. She wants to meet friends. She wants to go to birthday parties. So it's like, okay, for me, I can't be bogged down with my weekends of just doing parties and pop ups on my weekends.

Like I want some freedom on my weekends. So for me. I was like, although I know it's going to be a process to hire and get a team and really I'm just manifesting and really putting out there this amazing unicorn of a team that can represent Goldie Links, but knowing that I have that person and again, could you do that mobile?

Sure. You could probably hire someone and, you know, have them do things mobily on weekends. So just think about that. Like for me, combined with the fact that I was expanding and had all these products that I. Yeah. Like had that I couldn't bring everywhere. It was on top of that. And top of like, okay, I want some freedom on my weekends.

I don't want to be there. And I, I can't work past like three o'clock. Cause I pick up my girls and I want my evenings with my girls, most evenings. Right. So it's like, for me, that actually made sense. It all made sense for me to have a home, to have a strong team and to be able to offer all the things I want to offer because not only, of course, I handmade jewelry prior to permanent jewelry.

I have all that handmade jewelry. I have an engraving machine that I have. I've been hand stamping jewelry for a while. I want a place where someone can come in and order a custom piece of jewelry. And so again, just encompassing all those things that. I feel would serve me and my customer, right? To have this place where they can come to and host their own party there versus me come to them.

And also again, having the freedom when it comes to my girls, my family and having my time freedom. Right? So it's just being realistic. What does that look like for you? You know, what would your hours be? What would you do? Would you want to be at a place? Do you, you know what I mean? Do you like, or do you love like the mobile life?

And that's okay too. I think a lot of times people think like, If what the version of success, it's not the same for everyone. And a lot of times when we say brick and mortar, it is like, Oh my God, that, that is the, that is it, right? Like that is what I need or what I should, should want. Right. And that's not for everybody.

It isn't, it depends on again, what you want out of your life. What kind of freedom, like. Do you want to have the overhead of rent? Do you like the fact that you're mobile and you can just pop up at a boutique and not pay a dollar to them? And, you know, and just be, and just be free by being mobile. Maybe that's freedom to you.

getting a brick and mortar in: 2019

I would assume it's hard to say when you're back there, but it's like if someone would ask me these questions and I was being really realistic without kind of like having my head in the clouds of being like, no, I just want my own space. How amazing, you know, and, and really being realistic about the fact I had a, at the time looking seven months old and I knew I wanted to have another child soon.

I mean, is that really feasible at this point in my life? Right. And I would have to say, looking back, I would have probably. I probably said no, I probably said no. And honestly to just a structure of like what I was doing and just like really opening a boutique and just knowing that most of what I'm doing now is service based.

Also different situation, right? Totally different situation. Hey, busy entrepreneur. As you know, being a business owner, you have to wear all the hats. You're a social media manager, marketer, graphic designer, accountant, photographer, videographer, web designer, business coach, scheduler, and the list goes on. I know how overwhelming it can be, and this is why I created the Goldilinks Society.

It's our monthly permanent jewelry membership. We have a weekly call to talk about all the things, but not only that, including monthly photography and video to use for your social media and marketing, Canva templates, monthly business activities. monthly training, support group, discount, and first dibs on Goldilinks supplies and more.

My intention is to create a beautiful community of permanent jewelers that want to level up their businesses together by creating lasting friendships and having fun. This is what I wish existed when I started my business almost 10 years ago. If you want to know more, check it out at goldilinkssociety.

com or at allthethingspermanentjewelry. com. I hope to see you there. Are you financially ready? I mean, that's bottom line too, right? Just knowing. And again, I'll share my budget of personally what I, you know, spent to open the brick and mortar and what my rent is and everything, but that'll be a future episode.

But you know, just knowing that, right? Like you really want to be, and I really advise you not to go into anything as debt free as possible. I have to say, I'm really proud of myself for not taking out a loan through the situation. Um, I've got myself a credit card debt way too harshly back when I was doing the brick and mortar life.

to make it work. And back in: 2019

And so I, I really highly advise and really, of course, sitting down, that's going to be a specific thing to you. Obviously your area, how big your place is, do you need to build out? Do you need this? Like that is all across the board. So it's hard to say, but. Really, if you're starting, if you're sitting here and you're like, I'm paycheck to paycheck, and I just plan on taking out a 50, 000 loan.

I mean, it's possible. I'm not going to say no to that because I can't tell you what to do, but I would just highly advise you to go in as much and like as what you feel comfortable. And that's not going to keep you up at night when, you know, if, if there's times of slow business, right. So you just want to be really smart about that and not put yourself in a position where you're already putting yourself in position to fail, going into some major debt or not having this, like, you know, some something to hold you, hold you up and back you up.

Right. And again, that's everyone has different circumstance depending on, you know, everything. So, so yeah. And then, and also location. So I would advise, I know sometimes you just get so excited to have a brick and mortar and it's like, Oh my gosh, I just want, I need something right now. Like I want something right now.

But in the end. looking back and I'll share my little experiences. Um, I know I probably shared in another episode, but just because I was talking about trusting, right? Like trusting the universe, God, whatever you choose to, however you choose to say it. When I was talking about, maybe actually it was my personal episode about my miscarriage journey, but it was like trying your hardest to just accept.

ht. And like, because back in: 2019

And in the end, the locations we looked at probably were not the right locations, you know, and honestly, it didn't make sense for me to travel right now. My shop literally is located about a mile from my house. And so for my, again, my life with two young girls, realistically, I don't want to drive 20, 30 minutes to go to my shop.

Like say you have to run up there or say an employee has to leave early or something happens. Like I want to be really close because of exactly what my life looks like right now. And even, you know, back then I had a baby and planning on another one. And I'm wondering when did I think I would be able to drive 30 minutes probably plus more with rush hour into Denver, right?

here was a space. So that was: 2019

st year. I want to say around: 2024

And I was like, Oh yeah, I'll make this work. I'll paint it bright. Like I'll get some light in here. Like I had just started my podcast. I'm like, maybe this will be great place to podcast. Like trying to tell myself that, yeah, that was the answer. And in the end, again, they wrote up everything. I sent all my financials.

They, they had the contract written up and I didn't, I just couldn't sign. I was like, you know what? This doesn't feel right. Right. And also again, it was above, it was in downtown. So it was a, but it wasn't like, I had any like signage like that was visible from the street, like you wouldn't know I was there.

So I would really have to let people know that I was above this restaurant, right? Then fast forward, I want to say two more months in the spring again, still around this time, maybe like April ish. I would say maybe even a month later. It's actually funny. It's a house. It's actually right across the street from where I am now.

And it's a house that's segmented into three suites. And I thought that was great. I was like, Oh, it has windows. It has high ceilings. Like it was definitely a step up from the little, like, you know, dingy studio I was looking at but It still was like, not really totally visible from the street. Again, it was confusing because there was three businesses under one roof, which isn't terrible by any means, but it just wasn't like, you know, and in the end I was a Friday.

I wasn't ready to move in that next month because it was the tail end of March, I believe. And he wanted to start April 1st. I actually just wasn't ready, you know, and I was like, well, You know, could I move in in May and he's like, well, let me give the weekend to think about it. And I remember like weekend, cause I really wanted it.

Like I totally was convinced. Right. I remember that Monday my husband happened to be off work. I got my hair done. We met up for lunch. I remember specifically, you remember, remember what, like, you know how you are like certain places, you know, exactly how you felt or like where you were when things happened.

It's kind of like, Oh my, where were you at nine 11? Where were you? You don't even need like all those things. It's like, you remember exactly where you were and what happened. In that instance, I remember where I was, where I was sitting in this restaurant, what I was eating, because I finally messaged the landlord.

I was like, Hey, like, I haven't heard from you because I didn't want to be like too much of a pest. Right. It's like one o'clock on Monday. I'm waiting to hear from him. And he ended up like offering it to someone else because they came that weekend to see the space and they wanted it right away. And because he wanted to rent it sooner than later, he just gave it to that person.

And I felt my heart dropped. Like, I felt like something was just taken from me. I was devastated. I, I was like, I, I was like, basically like start crying right away. I was a wreck. Like, I was like, this was the place for me. Like I was convinced. Right. So here I was super upset, literally feeling like that was just stolen from me and devastated feeling like that was it.

That was it. Right. It was kind of in the downtown area. I wanted, I felt it was street view enough. Right. And so funny enough. Then I like kind of reworked and I'm like, well, what really do I want? Would that been feasible for like exactly what I want? It was almost like I was trying, I was definitely trying to tell myself that that was it because it was almost like FOMO too, right?

Like something was in the area that I wanted. It was definitely better than the first one, but in the end, like. It's funny because what had happened was the person that wanted it right away, come to find out, he reached out to me, the landlord, maybe two weeks later. And he's like, Hey, actually they were going to do something in the space.

I didn't agree with, they wanted to sublease and do all these things. And so he offered it to me. And I said, no, which is so funny. Cause two weeks prior, I was crying my eyes out thinking that was a place for me and it got taken from me. And there was nothing that came up that was better. And so I kind of reworked it in my head being like, okay, like maybe.

Maybe I will just spruce up my space in the merchant market and maybe I'll take appointments in the space. And maybe I got to a point when I sat with it, that maybe this wasn't actually the place for me. I really just got hasty and loving the location. And so I just, of course, kept going. And that's, of course, a couple of months later went to PJX.

And I feel like the supply is really in the end is what I'm trying to say. Looking back as they say, it all happens for a reason because, and you know, nothing is handed to you that you can't. Handle and things that are, that aren't handed to you or don't work out in the end, it makes sense, right? Because looking back when I got back from PJX and things just sped up with like the supplies and training more mama makers and really just loving that part of the business and making chains and all in that side, I felt like there was no way that I could have systemized that and really focused on that while I was trying to get a brick and mortar in place, right?

ptember. comes along right of: 2024

to be available to the spring: 2025

And so in the end, I went to go see that. And it turns out the person that owns a building wanted to actually like lease up the front of the building while he stayed in the back of the building with his existing business. And so it actually worked out perfect because the amount of space I had and knowing to what even grows in a short period of time, like I ended up taking the charm bar mobily in may.

So even at that point, when I was looking at those other spaces, I wasn't even doing the charm bar mobily. So it was funny because when my everything had just kept growing and really fast and being like how my passion for. Again, these things that are like, you know, service based and customize. And, and so then, you know, like with the, just in a short few months, it was like, oh, I went from just permanent jewelry and thinking to host events to being like, no, I want like a, I want a full on charm bar because I'm like thinking, you know, I'm adding charms to beanies and I'm adding charms to all these things.

e coming to me in the fall of: 2024

the end, this space is about: 1100

It's not in the thick of foot foot traffic, but it definitely is just a block away from the main traffic. So I do know that, of course, it's a very visible corner though. A lot of traffic. It's on a corner, which is even better. And really again, that whole front of The building is just, you know, it's me, it's not anyone else.

I'm not sharing the building with anyone else. So in my mind, like obviously out of all these locations that I almost were in, this one just makes the most sense. So I have, you know, room for charm bar and then grew with the idea of loving like the hat bars and anything customized. And, and so we have so many different experiences under one roof.

So basically it comes down to when you're thinking about a brick and mortar, right? Kind of summing up like what we, what I'm like talking about and how I came to my conclusion of feeling this is the right time for me. It's like basically asking yourself, can your current profits cover the additional overhead of a storefront?

Okay. So just thinking about how much you are, you know, bringing in currently. Like thinking about all the things and doing that and really researching when it comes to how much is it going to cost for you to have insurances, your rent, if you have triple net, if an area does that for you, like how it works, um, employees, most small business owners I talk to you talk about the fact that like payroll is their highest expense.

Okay. So you want to take that into account. And again, are you going to be there all the time? How many employees will you ideally need? And so I feel like in the end, again, who I talk, when I talk to small business owners, they do talk about the fact that payroll and employees is one of the most difficult parts.

I think it's like when we are business owners, we have a control freak way about our business in the best way, because, you know, we want to treat customers. We want to have, you know, our brand is our, is, is us. Right. And so it's hard to hand that off and trust other people to run your business. Um, so it's like coming to terms with those things.

Are you going to be okay with that? Right. Do you understand the expenses it's going to cost weekly really to run a business and how much money are you going to have to bring in in order to make it profitable and really make it worth it? And does your target market, do they frequently shop in stores?

Right. Is it something that people are asking for? Like the demand, like anything I've come up with in my business, I've said this. before is really coming from customers, right? It's asking them what they want, what they need, what they want to see. Um, if they are liking something, like if people in your area are asking for rose gold and that seems to be your customer, even though you're not really a rose gold fan, you better believe I'm going to add a few rose gold because in the end, it's like, that's kind of what people are wanting.

And maybe that's a trend that is happening. That might not be completely like, I'm not saying it's totally like off brand. I'm not saying like, you know, carrying something that's completely. opposite of what you are. But at the same time, it's like, you know, you really are listening to your customer all the time, right?

Because you want to fulfill what your customer needs. And so are they, are they somebody who, are you getting that question a lot? Are people asking you, do you have a brick and mortar? Do you have like, where do I come see you? Like, is it, is it something that seems to be coming up a lot? Um, and what, what unique.

experience can you offer to set yourself apart? It's like that with any, obviously when we talk about competition and, and really what makes you, you, um, but really in the end, it's like, what's in your area, right? Do you have a ton of places? Do you have other places that maybe you feel, again, it's not to say that you can't quote unquote compete and there can be others that are successful, but are you different enough?

lace I was going to be in, in: 2019

Okay. So because we have, have like a little bit slightly different customer and we have maybe different price price points, maybe slightly different looks where it's slightly different offerings. It only serves both of us to have us next to each other, because in the end, someone's most likely going to come to both places, whereas if there was only one store to go out of their way to, they might not do it, but knowing they can come to two stores.

Is like worth it, right? Maybe permanent jewelry you view is a little differently, but if you are, and there are other brick and mortars in exact your area, then it's like, what else are you going to offer? Not saying you're forced to evolve and offer more because I don't want you to feel that way either, because that just goes down to exactly, again, toning into who you are.

But if it's permanent jewelry, what again, makes it special? What sets you apart? What is lacking in your area that you can possibly fulfill? For me, there is another brick and mortar that offers permanent jewelry, but they, their focus is more on, and I guess I can say their name because Tenley has been on the web on the podcast and she's amazing.

She came to support me at my soft opening as well. She is spray tan. Her name is spray. So she offers permanent jewelry, but obviously it's not her main focus, right? Whereas my main focus is pretty much permanent jewelry, right? Like I have the clothing and accessories and a lot of items made my small business, which is what I've always had.

Um, with my boutiques and obviously I'm going to carry that on. And I like have always had a love for charm bar and jewelry in general, any type of jewelry, like give it to me. Right. Like I'm doing it, I'm doing it. But of course, like if you were to, you know, think about what exactly I am, those things would come to your mind right away.

Right. And then really it's like these experiences though, I feel like again, is something lacking in our area. And it is something that can be, you know, a place where people can host a party of all ages, really like even younger. girls like the charm bar, the lip gloss bar, hat bars, can I, you know, everything can really appeal to all ages in the sense of like, again, having your girlfriends over and kind of hosting some type of party other than maybe tooth gems and possibly piercing ear piercing.

Maybe it's obviously for young girls, but maybe not in a party sense. But like that is, I feel like it's something that I know that. It's a place that I would love to go to that doesn't really exist here, and it's a very experience based place, um, you know, where you can come and make something completely one of a kind, and that is just so exciting to me, and it's something that isn't offered in our area, and I kept hearing that again and again, everyone that was coming in on Saturday of how different this was, and something that they're really excited about.

So I hope that makes sense, and I hope these are things that you truly think about. I think a lot of times we want to just stuff down those like questions and just say, this is what I want. This is what I want. This is what I want. But when you come down to the reality of it and really asking yourself the questions of like, when you're ready, right, do you have that brand recognition?

Do you have loyalty? Um, is it something in your area that's lacking or you feel is a good fit for your area? Um, it's something people are asking for. What are your customers need and want? And Really? It's like, are you financially ready? Right. Are you financially ready? Are you, are you really at this point can predict and how much that you are bringing in with permanent jewelry, knowing that of course, in any business retail, there's ups and downs, but all in all, you feel like the uptimes can make up for the slow times and it's something that really is a good fit for you and your lifestyle.

time look like? Really put yourself in the position, right? I would, I would always, so many of my friends going back to like, when we, what we thought we wanted to do at 18 years old and you might be doing so what you're doing at 18 years old. You might be 18 years old. I don't know. But having being far removed from 18, I can say that so many of my friends like gone back to school because they realized what they went to school for and what they graduated with is what exactly they just did not want to do.

ing back to even me and being: 2021

to be able to wholesale this to a boutique. Do I want to sit down and like have an Etsy shop full of my dried florals and garlands and jewelry boxes and jewelry and sit down and make five different things in one day and jump from thing to thing when really in the end that's not really time effective and it's not really, I feel like I'm in the end losing money because of that, right?

And do I enjoy it? Like I was not enjoying that, right? It came down to the fact that I wasn't really thinking about the day to day of what that takes. I just know that I love making things, but making it on that scale or making in that way is not, does not excite me. Okay. Like I love to make more one of a kind.

I love to make when I make, and that's why even having my shop, I can just make a necklace and put it in there and sell it. I don't have to, you know, like reproduce it a million times. Right. So it's just really coming down to what you enjoy to do with your time, what you envision, how do you want to spend it?

serve you and your family and your community, your customers, and does it all in line? Do those things all in line and you're in the right spot for it. And just really taking time to not be like, from my experience, too hasty and thinking like I just need something now because you're so excited, but really just holding out for that right place that feels right.

It's a right location. It, it fulfills everything you need and, and just trusting when it doesn't seem to work out that it is working, working in your favor. If you feel it is not. It is working in your favor. So I hope this is helpful. I can't wait to continue to share. I would love to share more about my soft opening.

So that'll make that a separate episode and talk about all the things leading up to the things that went right. The things that went quote unquote wrong, the things to learn from the things I'm implementing and the hiring process and everything in between. So I hope to stay with me on this journey.

Thanks for listening. And I'll talk to you soon guys. Well, how do you feel? I hope you found value in today's episode and you walk away feeling inspired. I would love to hear from you. Let's link up. You can find me on Instagram at goldielinkssociety. You can find out more about our permanent jewelry membership at goldielinkssociety.

com Our handmade permanent jewelry supplies of connectors chain and more at goldielinksupplies. com Okay, I will see you next time. Have a golden day