On Opening a 2nd Shop, and Learning from Mistakes

A few years ago, I never would have dreamed that I would open an online store.  Or any kind of store really.  It just wasn't a path I had ever considered for myself.  But life has a funny way of bringing you to where you most need to be, and for whatever reason, my path led me to Etsy.  Now, Little Hill Jewelry is fast approaching its one year Etsy-versary (April 12th), and I'm just a teeny tiny ways off from my 100th item sold.

One of my newest additions, found in my Little Hill Jewelry shop

It's been a lot of hard work, and it's been really disappointing at times, but looking back, I'm proud of what I've accomplished.  And looking forward, I'm hopeful and excited for where my path might take me next.

A few weeks ago, I decided to open a second shop.  I figured things were going fairly well with my first shop, why not give it a go.  Well, my second shop's been open for 3 days, and while I've already had my first sale, it's been a rocky start.

One of my favorite beading patterns from my new shop, LH Beading Patterns

Originally, LH Beading Patterns was going to be a collaborative effort between myself and another young woman.  We were going to share the promotion of the shop, and both add patterns, but as it got closer and closer to being time to open, it looked less and less like she would be sticking around.  Finally, the day before we were to open up shop, she decided to bail, which was a super bummer.  She said she felt so bad about leaving me in the lurch that she wanted me to have her patterns, to do with as I saw fit.  This (I thought) was so incredibly generous of her, and more than made up for her bailing at the last minute.

It turns out that was more of a curse than a blessing.  I won't go into details, mostly because it's completely humiliating, but it turns out her patterns were something less than original.  I, having no clue, posted her patterns for sale in my shop.  Imagine my utter embarrassment when I got that message.  I was in tears when I realized what was going on, and very, very close to just scrapping the new shop all together.

Thankfully, the wonderfully kind Etsians who pointed out the problem were unbelievably gracious and understanding.  So, while I just wanted the earth the swallow me whole, some little voice inside me thought "Maybe I can still do this."  It took me awhile, but I sat down and deleted everything that I could remember her creating.  I have no idea if there were actual originals in the stack of patterns I chucked, but all things considered, I guess I don't much care.

This whole experience has taught me (probably in the hardest way possible) that good friends don't necessarily make good business partners, and that there is so much validity to the advice my Mother gave me all those years ago: "Trust, but verify."  This lapse in judgement is something that I'll be kicking myself over for a long time to come.  I can't seem to keep my mind away from thoughts like "If I had just..." or "What if I had..."

Another of my favorites, this pattern's design evokes a sense of calmness and serenity for me.

So now that I've shared one of my most embarrassing business errors, maybe you're wondering; what's the point?  Why tell even more people about this humiliating experience?  Well, the truth is, I wasn't going to.  I was all set to just sweep it under the rug, and push it to the back of my mind, and to just move on.  But I was thinking today that it's important to acknowledge our mistakes.  Not to embarrass ourselves further, but to own them, accept them, and to learn from them. 

The point is that we all screw up.  It's not something you hear a lot about really, unless it was some kind of epic catastrophe.  Maybe it doesn't happen often, and maybe not in big ways, but I think that if you're in business long enough, mistakes are going to happen, things are going to go awry, and the thought of just sacking the whole venture will inevitably cross every business person's mind.  But our mistakes aren't what define our businesses, or our lives.  How we repair the damage does. How we react and respond does. How we move forward does. 

Moving forward, I'll know to be wary of mixing business and friendship, and I'll be more careful to make sure I don't end up with a face full of mud.  I'll also always remember how kind, patient, and understanding complete strangers were to me, and how that ounce of compassion gave me the courage I needed to move on down my path.

And I just want to say, if you mess up, it doesn't have to be the end of the world.  Sometimes things go wrong, which is practically the story of my life, but those wrong turns can sometimes lead you to the right place, to the place you were meant to be all along.  

Feel free to stop by my new shop, LH Beading Patterns, and have a look around.  Now through April 12th, you can enter coupon code WELCOME during checkout and save $2 off any one pattern.

Come check out the new shop, and save $2 off any 1 pattern now through April 12th, 2013

Happy beading, and have a great week!