Keeping it Thrifty

As I mentioned in my , I had taken a stroll around Main Street to find out what affects the economy had on the local business community over the last few years and what, if any, political issues had an affect (good or bad) on their bottom line.

It was a beautiful warm Saturday morning when I struck out and I expected most store owners to be too busy to talk to me. The plan? Talk to who I could and get business cards and names and pictures, if I could.

I started out at Santoni’s since a delicious ½ pit ham, ½ pit turkey sandwich was on my agenda. I also stopped a Reter’s Crabhouse,  The Grill at Harryman House, Java Mammas, The Elephant’s Trunk, Constellation Books, Icedgems, Bay Country Rentals, , American Kenpo Karate, Tonino's, Main Street Appliance and a few others. Needless to say, I got a whole lot of pictures, some loot, and, in a few instances, some excellent conversation.

Maybe it was just good timing but, at The Elephant’s Trunk, a children’s consignment shop at 317 Main Street, I had the opportunity to talk to the owner, Barbara.

In the last year a few of the shops on Main Street have gone out of business but, Barbara Burdette was able to purchase The Elephant’s Trunk and keep it open. It was Barbara’s dream for the last 20 years to own her own consignment shop. She had originally looked to open a store in Westminster, but the banks had held her back. In order to get a loan, you had to have something established, and in order to establish something you had to get a loan. The little shop on Main Street in Reisterstown was just what she needed to get the ball rolling.

She has been shopping consignment and thrift for a long time and for a lot of the same reasons that I had. A single mom with two kids, she knew she was getting a good deal that way. And I’d agree, a good deal is what you need when you are constantly on a tight budget.  The store sells new and used children’s clothing, toys & equipment and the rough economy not only helped her get the shop, it has also helped her maintain its business.

“There used to be a stigma attached to shopping consignment,” Barbara noted, but with most people feeling strapped for cash it's changing, “word of mouth has helped bring people in who normally would've never shopped consignment.”

“People are still spending their dollars very carefully, even in the shop,” she added, but the increased number of visitors has helped make up for this.

Barbara Burdette: Politics & Business

-         Insurance & Payroll Taxes: The Elephant's Trunk has no employees. How? She works hard and efficiently.

QUOTE: “With employees, you’d be in the red after insurance & taxes!"

-         Main Street Construction: Even though it took longer to get through town, it helped the shop because “it made people slow down long enough to window shop...and several actually visited the shop for their first time.  Normally, they just fly by!”

 -         Online Sales & Use Tax: At first she was intimidated by the new requirements to submit your payments online, but after using it last quarter for the first time, she loves the new system.

-           Online Presence: You can find The Elephant’s Trunk on Facebook. It’s a perfect fit for Barbara’s store because her clients are mostly individuals shopping for their families. The informal feel that the Facebook page has creates an interactive experience for the customer. Want to know what kind of things the store is looking for or what’s on sale? Want to let her know what kind of things you are looking for? Visit her Facebook page.

MOTTO: She strives to live honestly and runs her business not to make money, but because she loves it.

This doesn’t seem like the usual business and politics blog, I know, I read a lot of them, but what makes blogging different than traditional journalism is that it’s a conversation. Barbara didn’t think she had much to contribute to it, but I’d say she did. Ms. Burdette keeps it small, runs a tight ship, and utilizes social networking to keep in touch with her customer base.

Not having employees helps her to stay out of most of the hassle that ever changing employer regulations can cause. That’s one way around it, but if she ever chooses to add employees, she’d be in a whole new ball game.

SNEAK PEAK at the next Feels Like Home post:

Reiterating concerns made by Barbara Burdette at The Elephant’s Trunk, the guys at Bay Country Rentals were happy enough to open up about their recent trying times as a small business and as an employer.