Thank you for taking the time to let me know what you’re interested in! I’ll make sure you get the right emails from me moving forward.

I’ve been feeling this urge lately to reintroduce myself to everyone and share the story that brought me to where I am in my business and life right now. So if you find that kind of thing interesting… pull up a chair for a minute.

In 2014 I opened up a booth inside of a very small vendor shop in SC called Vintage Warehouse of Spartanburg. At the time I was working full time as a tax professional, and while I think I was pretty good at it, it didn’t really feel like the perfect fit for me.

In 2016 I was expecting my first child and we got some devastating news about halfway through the pregnancy. You can read all of James’s Story HERE.

At that time I knew that the full time office grind wasn’t going to be a long term fit and my creative business was growing. I loved spending time in my craft room and creating products that customers kept coming back for more of. In 2018 I was given the choice of becoming a partner in the store where I’d been a selling my goods after a big move into a large warehouse space. It was a natural progression for me, but I was thrown into the fire so to speak when it came to all the real-life struggles that come with owning your own business.

I wanted to help other creatives like me that wanted to break away from jobs they didn’t love, and I wanted to help them exit in a way that set them up for success. That was when I created my first online course for handmade businesses.

In 2021 my business partner was ready to downsize. I remember like yesterday when she looked to me and said “Bigger isn’t always better.” She was correct, but I wasn’t ready to hear it. I continued coaching other small business owners and developed my Booth Camp Program.

This is the part not everyone knows. In 2022 I was given a heads up from my landlord that I had about 3 years left in our current location, maybe 4. So in addition to the daily grind of running a business, I also began to pay attention to what needed to happen next. I decided then that if I didn’t find the right partner, I wouldn’t be moving the business on my own.

In January of 2024 Mandy Turner became my business partner and we began the annual undertaking of evaluating all of our options before re-signing our lease. We re-upped for 2025, but when it was time to make decisions for 2026 several things happened. Property Taxes & Insurance went up for our landlords, which was going to lead to another significant rent increase. Only they weren’t willing to make any repairs to the old building because their ultimate plan was to gut and redevelop the property. So staying where we were became very unappealing, but for the second year in a row we were seeing that commercial rental rates were at a level that simply wasn’t going to support the booth rent model that we operated under for so long.

Because we each lived in opposite directions, moving farther out of city limits wasn’t an option for our partnership. So after discussions about whether we wanted to close or pivot and remain a space for small businesses, we chose to pivot. Both of us had our own brands and we wanted to maintain a space with the same character and vibe that would allow us as well as other local brands to sell products and be profitable.

So as my previous partner liked to say, “Bigger isn’t always better.” Instead of scoping out under the big umbrella that invites any and all businesses and brands to rent a space, we’ve decided to lean in. We have leveled up our space and increased our focus on hands-on customer service to provide high quality local brands with an brick and mortar partnership that I believe will serve the growth of their businesses in significant ways. While we still have a very eclectic mix of Vintage, Handmade and Boutique, the percentage of artisan products is higher than ever before and our vintage selection is focused on quality, character and sustainability.

Ultimately growing small brands is about strategy and learning how to lean into where you are right now. So instead of continuing to teach booth strategy on a large scale, I’m trending towards one on one services with business owners who are ready to lean-in to exactly what is available to them where they are, right now.

I’m stepping away from generalizations and ignoring the ads that promise millions of dollars in income this year. In this season I’m focused on helping you answer the question, “How can I reach my customers where I am with what I have?” That might include a Booth Space, but it may not.

If this sounds like something you could benefit from this year, I’d love to work with you. Get on the waitlist to be the first to know when I start taking on clients this summer.