In the beginning

Well here goes my first foray into the world of Blog!

It has been a long ride from the world of construction to this point.    When faced with unemployment after the collapse of the construction economy, I had to have a job.  At 56 my employment options were limited at best.   Taking stock of my work experience I was pretty limited in what I could do.  My early years were spent in the Air Force.  Then in the late 70's I left the Air Force and began a career in the concrete pumping industry.  All my eggs were in one basket and when the economy tanked and the company I worked for filed bankruptcy I was left with nothing.   My company stock was worthless and the company had stopped contributing to the 401K program years earlier.

I had no intention of giving up and was determined not to go on unemployment.  I needed a job.  I spent a lot of time trying to find a new career where I would work for myself, not some corporate rolex jerk.   Some years earlier a friend had tried to talk me into joining with him to open a flea market.  I thought he was nuts and gave it no thought.  With limited option available I remembered his idea.  He had long since retired and was not available to open the store.  I then contacted a fishing buddy that actually worked for me before I laid him off a year before I was laid off.   I told him I had an idea for both of us to have a job.  We could open a flea market.  He thought I was nuts but with nothing else to do agreed to listen.  As we talked and explored the possibilities we visited flea markets and antique stores all over the area.   We made a list of what we liked and did not like.  A business plan began to develop in my mind and eventually I put it on paper.  The next step was to get financing.  So with NO retail experience, no experience in antiques, collectibles, or flea markets I walked into a local bank with my plan and asked to borrow money.  Not a bank I had a relationship with, but a bank that my research had indicated would be willing to listen and consider my plan.

That was the short story of the beginning.  In retrospect I wish I would have kept a journal of how and why we built the store the way we did.   One of the hardest things to not do is explain our formula for a successful store.  I don't want the competition to know what and why we do things!   My blog is really going to be a mismatched dialog on a lot of topics - I hope anyone who reads this won't get too bored.