I had visited an old friend a while back in Venice (where I used to live). He and his wife opened up a few of their own shops over the past few years. It was interesting to see how far they have come since their first store opened and wanted to share their story – to give you some insights into how some build a unique business.
If you look at their story I thought it was really quite unique, regarding how thoughts, words, action and guidance… all played a key roll. So lets start from the beginning.
I’ve known Joshua and Audrey since 1999. Joshua and I first met doing a music video for an artist named, “Joseph Arthur” in around the year 2000. Since we were with the same agency at the time and both lived in Venice, CA and into music as well… we became close friends.
Throughout my own transition of relocating back to Florida, Joshua was the one who I knew I could call on. He often listened to me talk about the DEEP financial hole I was getting myself out of (and could truly understand what I was going through).
At that time, his wife Audrey had been working in fashion and I believe (although don’t remember the exact year), she had been talking about opening a store on “Abbott Kinney” which was what she always wanted to do.
Time had passed, and she kept talking about wanting to do this every so often. Knowing rent would be astronomical, they started getting into doing cool cards for people out of their house – and a few times on the strip in Venice (kind of like an artistic release).
I even think it was a few years before this, that they always had made cool cards for people. I would always think, “You know, if I give someone their card, no one else would be able to give the same one to someone because it was so unique.” So for a few dollars, I could get a cool, very unique card that said a lot about me.
Fast forward another few years, they happened upon a store on Main St. in Santa Monica, CA. However, the only thing was… it was a store within a store and not quite the type of place you would find the things they loved to sell and make. It was almost like a little flea market, and rent was a little bit more than they wanted to spend. But they took a chance (going on what people would call their “gut feeling” which I call, “my guidance”).
Although it was hard to do, they decided to listen to their “gut” and get this little store within a store deal. A few weeks later, I’m at their grand opening gala. I was so impressed. Their store stood out from everyone else’s in there. Not only that, it was so in line with their own personal style (cool, edgy, fun, unique, with a bit of an earthy feel).
For me, it was even more exciting to see a small part of what they wanted to do, really come to life. Of course they didn’t know how things were going to turn out, or how they would pay rent. Instead they stuck it out to see how things would go.
So then a few weeks later, Joshua tells me, “Hey man, we are doing the Farmer’s Market in Santa Monica.” I had said, “That is awesome, how did you get that?” He replied, “You have to have a store on Main Street” to be here at the Farmer’s Market.” I thought to myself, “Hmmm…. How interesting they paid attention to their initial “gut” feeling – not even sure how things were going to work out?
Now get this… doing the Farmers Market each week, let them advertise for their store on Main St.. Cool huh?
But it doesn’t end their.
From a little bit of the success they had at selling unique cards, they started to segue into clothes (which is what they really wanted to do in the first place). How? They opened up a store for clothes, right next to the card shop they own, (at the same flea market type of place that they didn’t think they could originally afford).
Now, both stores start doing well (as well as the Farmer’s Market one-which actually means they have 3 stores) and try to find an individual store (outside of the flea market type of atmosphere). After searching far and wide, guess what? A storefront opens up on Abbott Kinney.
However, rent is even more astronomical than the store on Main Street.
So what do they do now? How about split the store in half by building a wall and rent out the other half to someone else?
Impossible? That is exactly what they did.
So their friend built this wall for them, and they rented the other half out for a few weeks (which they really couldn’t find someone that worked). This gave them just enough time to be able to afford to use that side as their own clothing store.
Now they closed the card shop store in the flea market type location, continuing to keeps the clothes store in there, so they could use the Farmer’s Market opportunity to advertise for both of their new stores on Abbott Kinney.
Visiting them at the Farmers Market a few months later, after recently having a baby, they are now bringing cool clothes instead of the cards to the Farmers Market. Since clothes are much easier for them, and can make more money too-they bought into the philosophy of “working smarter instead of harder”).
Fast forward a few more months… they now have two stores on Abbott Kinney and don’t do the Farmers Market or the Flea Market store anymore.
Now here is the great thing…
If you walked into their store on Abbott Kinney now, you would be amazed to see a beautifully lit atmosphere of cool cards, unique paper products for work and your personal life that you just cannot find anywhere else. It’s a great homey type of ambience that you wouldn’t even believe was furnished from furniture they found in the garbage or a second hand shop, and split in half by a friend who built a wall from scratch.
My friend’s say hello to “Urbanic Paper Boutique” located at 1644 Abbott Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291. The reason I’m bringing this up, is that they listened to their gut feeling and went with it. How many of us can say that?
Not only that, they own the clothing store next to it called, “Neighborhood.”
So your job is draining you… you don’t see any end in sight… Your head tells you, “no you can’t leave your job. How are you going to live? What about the great benefits?”
On the other hand, your gut is telling you, “this job you’re working at is making you sick. You know you’re hear on the planet for a bigger calling than the job you work. You’ll figure it out, just do your homework now then take the leap into doing what you love.”
So which do you choose? Your gut? Your head? Both?
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