|
|
|
Mother, daughter team take on consignment By Jennifer Adler
Santa Barbara Consignment Company is a higher-end consignment store, specializing in home furnishings, original art, jewelry and collectables. We carry antique and modern items from all over the world. The goods you find in the store are previously owned by local residents from Montecito, Santa Barbara, Goleta and from as far away as Orange County. Consignment is a great alternative to garage sales and online websites because of the ease of the transactions. You don't need to wait around for strangers to come to your house. With garage sales you are expected to dump your items for little money. With consignment, you drop it off and we do the work. We advertise, merchandise and sell your items at a reasonable price. How did you choose to start your business? We love Santa Barbara and we love consignment. When we made the decision to move here recently, we noticed that there was a lack of full service consignment furniture stores. Our gut instincts and a detailed 5-year business plan added up for us. Co-Owner Susan Margaret had managed a consignment store in Laguna Beach and had made a good living as a consignor prior and co-owner Jennifer Adler had many years of customer service and retail experience so the match up was perfect. What is the best part of running your business? The best part is that we can fully realize our vision. Our time is not spent on someone else at our expense. You can make it happen the way you want it to happen. If you have an idea, just implement it and see how it goes. Being a mother and daughter team is a lot of fun, too. We have tremendous respect for our strengths and we help each other with our weaknesses. It's a team effort and we love working together. I think it shows. What guiding principles inspire you in running your business? Keeping everything above board, so to speak, being honest and forthcoming. We also believe in karma -- what comes around goes around and what goes around comes around. We run an honest business and we believe our customers know this and return because we have gained their trust. Providing customer service is also very important to us, we really appreciate our customers and consignors. What advice would you give to a young woman aspiring to own a business? Do a business plan. Its cliché, I know, but it helps to know where you are going. It doesn't have to be your Bible but it does help to get your ideas out onto paper. Utilize the Small Business Administration for information. Know your industry well by doing research on the internet and the library. Lastly, don't underestimate your instincts; they can serve you well. What do you want readers to know about your business? We want your readers to know, if they don't already, that many thrift stores and antique stores sift through their merchandise and take out the good stuff so it never hits the floor. We do not do that. Every item that comes into our store is priced and placed on the floor. So, if a consignor wants 5.00 for Waterford crystal, we oblige -- we've sold gold for about a tenth of the retail price and have had gemstones for pennies. We want the public to know they can find treasures. We want everyone to win, the consignor, the shopper and ourselves. All Content ©Copyright 2006
Santa Barbara News-Press / Ampersand Publishing, LLC unless otherwise specified. |
 |
 |