37 - From $10, a Dream, and a Facebook Page to a Thriving Thrift Boutique Business

What does it look like to start a business with $10, a Facebook page, and a dream? In this episode, Megan Skornavacchi, owner of an online thrift boutique shares her journey from dental office operations manager to brick-and-mortar owner to thriving pop-up business.

Megan holds nothing back, including the challenging season that almost made her walk away from entrepreneurship entirely.

Whether you're still in your nine-to-five wondering if there's another way, or you're already in the thick of building something of your own, there are gems of wisdom for you here.

Here's a peek at what we cover:

• How a $2 Kate Spade purse and a Facebook page sparked a full-time business
• What made her finally leave a 13-year corporate career (hint: it was a Mother's Day moment that pushed her over the edge)
• The realities of having a brick-and-mortar, from the hidden costs to the emotional weight of closing it
• How she pushed through rejection, burnout, and a total loss of passion still found her way back to her fire
• How she monetizes her social media platforms and batches content so she's not glued to her phone all the time
• The boundaries she set as a mom and business owner that make it all feel sustainable
• How community has been at the heart of her business from day one

Follow Megan and Finders Keepers Thrift Boutique on IG: https://www.instagram.com/finderskeepersthriftboutique/

Check out her Facebook page where she announces weekly thrift drops: https://www.facebook.com/Finderskeepersthriftboutique/

Get access to the Success Recalibration Ritual here! You deserve to feel good about the way you're doing life and business and motherhood no matter what season of life you're in. 

Are you an ambitious mom looking to start or grow your business in a way that feels aligned? Here's what to do next:

1. Follow me on Instagram @MomBossFreedom and subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss the newest episodes! If this content really resonates with you, be sure to leave a review and star rating as well<3
2. Come meet other mom business owners at an informal virtual Mompreneur Meetup on July 28th! Register here. Connect with other mom biz owners who just get it, who you can add to your squad, and who you can potentially collab with. 
3. Schedule a Momentum Mapping Session to break through your current business roadblock! 
4. Access the Success Recalibration Ritual so you can start feeling more successful more often as a mom and business owner!
5. Head here for helpful freebies like 5 Mindset Shifts to Re-energize Your Biz as a Mompreneur and 3 Nervous System Shifts That Unlock Sustainable Growth for Mompreneurs! 

If you're reading this, our paths were meant to cross :) I can't wait to ...

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey mama, welcome to the Mom Boss Freedom Podcast, where ambitious moms come to build and grow businesses that give them the freedom and flexibility that they deserve as both a mom and an incredibly talented human. Whether you're brand new to entrepreneurship or scaling a business you already started, you're in the right place. I'm your host, Paige Figaroa, mom of two and former English teacher turned online business owner. Around here, we talk about making space for both your big dreams and those little moments you don't want to miss as a mom. So reheat your coffee one more time and let's dive into today's episode. Welcome to another episode of the Mom Boss Freedom Podcast. I'm excited to share a guest episode with you today with an incredible mom preneur named Megan Skornavaki. Megan owns an incredible thrift boutique called Finder's Keeper's Thrift Boutique, and she has such a wealth of knowledge of business ownership, both from the online space, from the social media monetization space, as well as what it's like to own a brick and mortar store and then also pivot. And so she has so many pieces of wisdom to share from her journey and so many vulnerable parts that I think so many business owners are like afraid to share. And I really hope that you love listening to her episode. Even though I know Megan and have met her in person a couple of times, I feel like I learned so much from her just from learning more about her entire trajectory of her entrepreneurial experience. And so I know that you'll take something meaningful away from what she has to share today. Uh Megan, welcome to the Mom Boss Freedom Podcast. I'm so excited that you're here with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

And um, it's always fun getting to chat with other moms because we were just chatting before we hit record here, how you are in your your PJs and I had to do, you know, the messy mom bun after a long day. So like I feel like all of our listeners get it. We're we're all busy moms just trying to do our best here. But I'm so excited to jump in and hear more about your inspiring story and journey as a Montpreneur because you you do so much in the community, and I feel like you're everywhere all the time. And um you've you've pivoted here and there and you've grown so much. So I can't wait for listeners to just like hear where you started and where you are now and all of the insights and lessons that you've learned. Yeah, I'm excited. All right. So let's kind of go back to the beginning. Before you became an entrepreneur and you're doing what you do now, which we'll get into in a second, what was like your work situation like? Like, did you I think I remember you saying you had like a previous career in corporate or something like that? So tell us all the deets about your your previous type of workhood.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

I previously worked in the dental field. Um, I was an operations manager. I had offices in the Westchester, Coatesville, um, Philadelphia, Brearsford area. So I would leave at 5 a.m. some mornings and not get home until 9 p.m. some days, going around depending which office I was at. So yeah, I was on the road a lot.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

That is wild. So how so how many years did you do that for? Was that like what you did right after like high school, college?

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yeah, pretty much right out of high school. I did not go to college and finish a degree. I got a job in dental starting as a receptionist. Um, and I just continued to work my way up and grow. And I was in um my last position and in the field for about 13 years.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Oh my gosh. Wow. So, at what point during that journey in that career were you like, okay, I'm not doing this anymore? This is like not for me. And like, did you really like it? And yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yeah, I did love it. Um, I loved the, even though you know, it seems like dental would be like the same routine and all of that, it was fun to see the different patients. And you typically you don't see them for six months because they're just coming for their six month cleanings. So just kind of seeing them and oh, how's you know, how was your granddaughter's wedding, or how's your baby, or now you're pregnant, stuff like that. So that was definitely fun. Um, and I loved the part of the position that would be working with the other people behind the scenes, the marketing aspect, that kind of stuff. Um, so I have a son, Beckham, he's 13 now, and he was probably in, I'll say third grade, maybe. And he had a thing at school where you brought your parents in and talked about their jobs kind of thing. And Beckham was like, This is my mom, and all she does is sits on her laptop. And I was like, oh my gosh. So I think that that was the beginning of I can't do this anymore because I'm not realizing. And one thing I struggle with as a mom and also explaining to my son is times are so different from when we were raised, where I need to be on my phone. That is how I make the money. That is how we can continue to live the lifestyle that we live. And it's hard because I also think to myself, as my son will be like, You said you wouldn't be on, you said you wouldn't be on. If my mom would have been on as much as she, as much as I am, I probably also would have felt some sort of way. Yeah. So I think it kind of all that was like the beginning of, okay, I need to figure out what else to do because this is affecting my child is feeling certain ways about it. And I don't like that he's feeling that way. And also he is my only child and he is growing, and he will be off to college before we know it. So I was like, I want to enjoy this time more with him and be here.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

So what was it like then? Because you said you would, when you were working in that field, you would leave the house at five and get back at nine. That's what you said, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

So you were doing that while you already had Beckham.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

I did. Um I split yeah, I split custody. Um, so I tried to always do my later nights, the days that I did not have him. Um, my husband, Matthew, right now, is amazing, very supportive. So I'm an early bird. I'm up at 5 a.m. anyway. So I would get up, I would go, and he would take Beckham to work or to school, get him ready, all of that stuff. So it really worked out in our relationship to be like, okay, you're the one that gets him up, you get him ready. I'll try to be home as soon as I can. But sometimes it would be, oh, my mom, can she grab him and get him dinner started and just kind of definitely have a great village that has been here to support me and Beckham? And that was nice because it is what if I would get home late, nine o'clock, if something ran late or something, he's already in bed. So I missed the entire day seeing him.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yeah. It sounds like an all-hands on deck situation for sure. For sure. Thankful that you had like people to actually be there to help out. Um, so in that moment when you were at his school thing and you're like, oh my gosh, like this is what he thinks about what I do. And then you had that like reflection process of like, man, like this isn't how I want my my son to like see me, you know, showing up with the way that I work. What was like the next thing that you did? Because I feel like that moment is so relatable to so many moms. Like, we're like, we have the kid, and then at some point in that journey, we're like, this world that I had before doesn't feel like it's meshing with what I want my like motherhood experience to feel like. So what like what did that transition look like after? Did you immediately start your, you know, your thrifting business? Was there something else that you did first in like a transition period, or you were just like, nope, I'm done working now. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

It was kind of like um, it started the process of the wheels turning of, well, what else can I do? So then um, I've always loved to thrift for myself, for my family. I grew up with my mom and my grandmother. We would go thrifting. Um, it's just been part of my life forever. I never would have thought that this is what it would become. But I can also say growing up, um, so my dad next to his work is a little building and there would be like a coin store was in there, different things. And my mom and I would always say, We're gonna open up a bookstore or a thrift store or something like that. But I was like 10 years old at this point. So definitely was not um something that I was putting to fruitation at that point. Um, and then I think I started to think about like what I could do. And I was thrifting and I found a Kate Spade purse for $2. And I was like, $2. Oh my God. I can sell this for $78. Um and then I was at dinner with my husband at a local restaurant and we were talking. And I remember saying to him, okay, just hear me out right now. I have this idea. I said, I'm only gonna start with $10. That's all I'm going to do. I'm gonna go the day that everything's $2. I'm gonna buy five things and I'm gonna sell them. And then I'm that's how I'm gonna start this. So that's what I did at first. Um, I created a Facebook page and I just would have first it would be my friends, and then they would invite their friends, and it kind of spiraled into the amazing thing that it is now. But I would post a couple of things and then people would pick it up off of my porch. And then yeah, that was the start of it all. A little online Facebook page.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

I I feel like I I do remember back in that time, like that was like a big thing that people were doing around that time. I'm sure some were like not as successful as you and like probably quit. But um that's wild, that's so cool to have that story of like I started with $10 and like give it a try and see what happens. Um, so at what point? So you were doing that and then while you were still working, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Um for a little bit, and then I I'm just not the type that I could be a stay-home mom and I could just stay home. I personally need something to keep myself like um, my own identity, I feel like, in a sense. I need something that's mine besides my child. Um, because my son was also older, so he was in school. So I guess maybe I felt like I can't be a stay-at-home mom. My son's in school, you know, I need to do something. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

So, but like when you when you were still working in the dental field, were you doing like the porch pickups and stuff like during that time, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Uh yeah, very minimally, maybe like once a week, just kind of like getting it started. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

At what point then were you like, oh my gosh, like I can actually legitimately do this as like a long-term business?

SPEAKER_00 10:36

So um, ironically, the dentist that I was working for um was a bit demanding at times. And I remember that it was Mother's Day, and my family and I, we were all out to lunch, and I got a text message and it said, I need you to go and call um the hygienist, all of their patients for tomorrow. She has COVID, she can't come in. And I was like, Come on, this is my one day a year that I get. Why do I have to work? It's Mother's Day. And then I was just like, All right, this is not it for me. I deserve to do this. And I think then I really was like, you know what? I need to just go full force. I had the support of my husband to say this is not right for me anymore. It's affecting me outside of the workplace as well. And I was like, all right, cool, let's do this.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Oh my gosh. I that that is so relatable too because I feel like um, I don't know, I just feel like so many people that I talk to have a moment like that where they're like work is really just encroaching on their livelihood, or like for me, the moment was I had my babies, and literally hours later I was getting texts from someone at school who was supposed to be like my long-term sub asking me to like share a Google Doc with them. And I'm like, I literally just gave birth just to humans. Like, why am I being texted right now? And like that was kind of like one of the pieces I was like, I don't want to be living like this anymore. Like, and same with you on Mother's Day, you're like, can I just have one day? Like, yeah, that's wild.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

I felt like I was being I had to be available for an adult that was not my family, but I wasn't being present for my actual family because I was so caught up in making sure, oh, I have to make sure that you know, everyone at work is happy, everyone at work is happy. And I was like, wait a minute, I have a whole family at home that I'm neglecting essentially. I felt like wow.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Okay, so you had you had started um, you know, to take this off the ground. You quit your job. What point did you end up buying the or like renting the in-person location that you had for a while?

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Um, so I want to say it was maybe like six to eight months in of like the heavy um online stuff. And it's actually such a funny story. Beckham loves to tell this story because I got a call one day that he threw up at school and I had to go pick him up. Okay, so I go to pick him up, he gets in the car and he's laughing. And I was like, You're not even sick. He said he was with his friends at the lunch table. They were goofing around and Gatorade came out of his nose. Oh my gosh. They considered that throwing up. So you can't take them back to school for 24 hours after that. So he had to stay home with me the next day, but he was completely fine. So I was like, All right, let's go visit Pops at work, my dad. And um we went to visit him. And as my dad was walking us back to my car, we passed that store that my mom and I would always say we were going to open up a store in one day. And I said, I should open up my thrift store here. I should have a real store. And he was like, Whatever. So I talked to um the owner of the building, and it all worked out, and it was definitely really cool. Also, not just to be able to say that I had a brick and mortar, but to see myself grow and flourish through it and to be able to be like, I did this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

And what a cool moment too, just like taking it back to your little child self when you were like, This is something I want to do one day. And then, like, there you are in that moment, and you like have you know all the access to make it real. Well, like, what did that moment feel like for you?

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Definitely surreal in the sense of like, I guess, too. Um, one of my biggest things was like, wow, like I did this, like, I hope that I'm making my mom proud, type of thing. Like, we talked about this and I did this. And even though I did it on my own, in the sense my mom was not a business partner or anything like that. It was like, we said we would do this and I made it happen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

And you're I I was only there once, but your in-person location, it was so cute and like, I don't know, it just had the best vibe. Um, how long did you have the store for? And what was it like balancing having like an actual like brick and mortar location to take care of?

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yeah. Um, so I had it for two years, um, almost to the day I was open for two years. And you know, it was great in the sense of like, well, one of the things my dad worked right next door. So I got to see my dad every day. He would come in all the time. What are you doing? What did you sell today? What didn't you have for lunch? Or I would be like, What are you getting for lunch? I need lunch. And my grandfather was always there. My grandmother would come in all the time. Um, it was very a point that I got to see my family that I don't always get to see every day, but I was seeing them every day. So that was so, so special. And I will always hold that dear to my heart. Um, and I think that the customers, too, they just made it so amazing. But then the hard part is it's hard to find employees. It's hard to feel okay to. I felt like, well, I can't say I'm closing and going on vacation because I'm letting people down or Beckham's sick. So then half the time I'm like, all right, Beckham, come on, we gotta go. And he's not feeling well, and he's sitting there for seven hours. Um, you know, so it was tough again, trying to balance the sense of not letting people down as far as closing the store for a couple of days or going on vacation, but also being able to be present as a mom and take care of my son the way I need to, while also being able to meet all of my bills.

unknown 16:34

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Yeah, like the the home bills, but then also like the keeping the lights on in the store and all of that. Sure. Well, what are some of the like um, and maybe there aren't that many, but what are some of the unexpected or like the bills that came with having a brick and mortar that like maybe most people don't think of, or that like you were like, oh my gosh, I didn't realize we're gonna have to pay for all of these things too.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Um let's see.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

What well the insurance, but you know, you need that, but just being like, come on, that's one more thing. But even just like the day-to-day things of okay, we need more hangers, these hangers broke. Okay, I need to have a cash box. I need to have the things that when I first started, I feel like I wish so much. I say all the time, we need a course on how to be a business owner. There is just not a course that's like, make sure you do this and this and this, at least not that I could find. There may be one out there, but um, you know, it's just kind of like I'm gonna do this. And then you open your brick and mortar and you're like, but what actually do I do now? Yeah. Who you need to get all of these approvals through like the city, through the state, you need to set up sales tax, you need to do so much. And I definitely think that was um just more not as much a financial what I had to do, but like, wow, there's actual stuff. I don't just get to show up here and make money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Yeah, it's like an added layer of responsibility and like just like logistical pieces that your energy and attention get sucked towards during writing. For sure. So at what point I know this past year you made a major pivot and you no longer have the brick and mortar, well, that particular brick and mortar store. So, what was that process like of like what made you decide that you were gonna do the in-person location anymore? And how has your business kind of evolved from there?

SPEAKER_00 18:26

So um, I got married last November, and I think I just went through like some sort of I don't know, mental breakdown, but not right before it. I was like, I can't handle all of this. This is way too much. I'm planning a wedding, I'm trying to be a mom, I'm trying to be a fiance, I'm trying to take care of my, you know, family, be with my parents, um, be a friend, do everything. And I think I felt like there's way too much on my plate. And um, so honestly, I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. I I'm going to go back to corporate. I'm getting a nine to five job. I want nothing to do with this anymore. And then um, I was sending out my resume, I was applying for jobs, and then I was like, well, wait a minute. Actually, I don't want to do this either.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Um sounded great, but not. I was like, once you leave it and you have that taste of freedom, it's like it's really hard to go back because you're looking at those job descriptions and you're like, wait a second, eight or yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

I'm like, nine to five I get done. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um so I think that that was really something where I was like, I was checked out. I was like, all right, so I closed um maybe a month before my wedding, and then I said, I'm not doing any online sales before, I'm not doing any on my honeymoon. I just want to enjoy this moment and be able to. And um I went on the honeymoon, we had a great time, had a great wedding, all of that. And then when I came back, I was like, the passion is just still not there. I thought that it would be there and refreshed, ready to go. Um, and I kind of just was doing the bare minimum for a couple months and just kind of like making it like, all right, we'll do this, we'll have the sales. Um, and this is something that I recently spoke to my husband about. But um his dad, every time I see was he his dad, he would always say, At first, how's your store? Um, his parents were there for my opening. They were just amazing support and everything like that. And then when I pivoted to online sales, I'm not sure some of the older generation understands exactly what it is, but his dad would always say, How's your online store? And it could, if I saw him on Monday and I saw him again Wednesday, he always asked. And that was just super important to me. And I felt again that I wanted to like make everyone proud. Um, and unfortunately, we um a couple months ago lost my father-in-law unexpectedly. And I think that it's just set this huge fire inside of me that I was like, you know, I need to still make him proud. And he cared and he asked all the time. So I was like, okay, I need to do this. And I told myself, um, okay, I'm gonna do pop-ups. So I was like, all right, make a goal, reach out to three businesses a day and just ask if I can have a pop-up there. And that's what I did. And at first people weren't responding to me and they were ignoring the messages, reading them, not responding. And then one started and then another. And I want to say, as of right now, I have like 20, 25 scheduled through the rest of the year, and they've been so fun and so amazing. So definitely that's kind of where that came from.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

It's uh thank you first for sharing all of that behind the scenes because I I feel like these are like the parts of entrepreneurship that we don't see when you know scroll on Instagram. People are like, This is how much I'm making a month, and like these are all the highlights. Of my business, but it's like no, behind the scenes, there's so many like mental, there's like mind boggling, like internal identity things that you go through and like imposter system imposter syndrome is huge. And also I love like I I feel like I I know quite a few entrepreneurs who get to that point where and I have experiences too where you get to that point where whatever the first iteration of your business was that you were doing, maybe it maybe that for some people that is what they stick with forever, or like that original version is what they stick with forever. And that's for them, but for a lot of us, I feel like we put our foot in the door, we figure out that first move. But then at some point, like you had that experience, like your passion just isn't quite there. But I feel like so many of us try to like force ourselves through that and be like, no, like I made this, I have to stick with it. And then it's like, I think what's inspiring about your story is you really leaned into that like feeling and were like, okay, well, I'm if this isn't the way that I want to do it anymore, let me pause it then and like figure out what's next. Um, and I just I feel like from what I've seen on your social media lately and like having been at your most re or one of your pop-ups last weekend, I think it was. Um, I I feel like there's this fire in you. And you can just like see that energy in like the content that you're posting and stuff. It's so cool to see when business owners like have that like second iteration of what they were doing, but it's like in a different way that's more aligned to the season they're in. Um, so that's so cool. I'm I'm I know it was hard in those darker moments of like to like should I just give this up or like how can I do this? So um tell tell us. Okay, so this is another thing I want to pierce or like parse out from you a little bit, those rejection emails emails, because in business owners I've talked to a lot lately, that is such a big thing that we have to get over because we are gonna get denied and we are gonna get those no's, whatever, whether you're a service-based business, you're selling like a physical product or material in your place, the clothes and the books and everything. But like what I guess, like in your mind, like what were you doing to talk yourself through those tricky initial like rejections when you like had this idea and you're like, I know I can make these pop-ups work, but like no one's giving me a chance.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Yeah. So I think that um when what bothered me more than the nose was reading the messages and saying nothing. I was like, at least acknowledge me. So then I started to feel like, okay, if you don't want to support me, I'm not going to support you. And I remember I was talking to a friend and I was saying how there were, you know, specifically two places that they read them and they didn't respond. And I was really hurt by it. Like, what don't you like about me? Why, you know, do you not trust me? And my friend actually made a really good point. They were like, but you know how busy you are as a business owner, and you could very well open that and a customer could have came in or something could have happened. And it kind of just changed my whole mindset from being like, if you don't like me, I don't like you, essentially, to being like, okay, I hope that their business is flourishing. And maybe now that I'm starting to get more well known for having these pop-ups, it will spark something that they're like, wait, I think she messaged me, or maybe they won't remember, but they'll go to message me in the future and be like, we'd love to have you for a pop-up. So just changing that mindset of being like angry or you know, offended versus hey, I get it. This is not easy.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

Yeah. Yeah, it it it is really tricky in the moment because it can be like triggering, but I I feel like we really do sometimes like make up stories in our head about like what that no means to someone else when in reality it could very just well be like they're busy and they didn't have a chance to respond, especially if they're like uh, you know, they have children or something. Right. Um, but yeah, I'm so glad that you pushed through that because it's cool seeing all your little pop-ups happen and they're so fun to go through. Um, I have so many more questions for you, so let's keep going. Um all right. So I remember when I first met you, we had like a mom's sort of like networking thing at your brick and mortar. And you were talking a little bit about how you also, and I don't know if you still do this, but you were using social media, like you monetized your social media platforms and you were also making some of your income that way. Can you tell us a little bit about like how you got into that and how that has supported you throughout your business journey?

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Yeah. Um, first off, I would just like to say yesterday Instagram asked me if I would like to be monetized. Oh, so now it's Facebook and Instagram. Yeah. I was like sending my husband screenshots. I was so excited. Very cool. Um, but yeah, I still use that. I utilize it. Um, it's definitely been great when I had my brick and mortar. There were months that the monetization would cover my rent. And um it was nice as a business just starting out to be able to know, okay, I have this to also have as like uh extra income. But you don't always know how much it will be. It could range from, you know, $30 one month and the next month it could be $600. It just is all over the place. Um, but the one thing that I've learned throughout the years, um, so Facebook reached out to me originally and said they wanted to bring me on to monetize me. And um I had to learn then what do I need to do to be able to get more money and the monetization. And everything I read, everything I do is like post, post, post, post. They say you should post like four to five times a day. And I'm like, four to five times a day? When am I gonna post four to five times a day? People do not want to see me four to five times a day. But it's just amazing how you know, social media does have so many positive things. And it's amazing how posting four times a day can boost the algorithm. And you see it. Wow, I got 17 new followers today. And I got today just today, um, someone I had a reel that I posted yesterday, the white chicks one. I don't know if you saw it. Just like, I don't even remember if I saw that one. Some of yours are pretty funny, though, I will say. Thank you. Well, someone um like messaged me and they were like, This is hysterical, something like that. She said, Where are you from? And I said, Oh, Pennsylvania, where are you from? She was like, California. I'm like, how did it reach you? Cool. Yeah. So just definitely um cool to see how like the putting out the stuff, trying to get towards the monetization, trying to also just reach your customers to let them know, hey, I'm fun. I'm not just uh not having a brick and mortar and not having the pop-ups before. I felt like I was just a robot being like, hello, your order's ready. Hello, your order's ready for pickup. And I'm like, wait, people, I actually am a person and I'm pretty fun, I think. And just letting them know like my personality and all of that stuff. So social media has been fun to be able to do that more.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Yeah. And I feel like too, so many business owners, like a lot of them these days, you're having to post on social media anyway, you know, to like as one of your marketing methods. Yeah. So like to be able to like use that and then just also make money from it automatically based on whatever I know it's like up and down, but like, you know, you might as well make money from it, right?

SPEAKER_00 29:44

If you're already doing it, exactly. And I think you and I, when we had our networking thing, talked about too. There's so much with social media that I feel people don't realize you can do. So I'm really big on scheduling out my posts. So I do not sit on my phone and post five different things every day. Um, when it's the first of the month, I'm like, all right, let's schedule out for June. And I go through and find quotes and I find pictures, I find old videos and stuff. And Instagram and Facebook, you can schedule everything out. So it's been really nice. There's of course stuff I'll do in real time too, but it's been fun and not as time consuming as you would think.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Yeah, especially when you I feel like once you get into the habit of it too. And that's so helpful to like, I I know some people don't like batching things ahead like that, but like if you're using it for like a monetization purpose and you have the content, like might as well not be like strapped to your phone every day of the week, like doing it by the seat of your pants. Um, if you I know this is like only like a part of your business, but if you were to give advice to someone who wanted to like look into monetizing their um platform for their business, what would you say is like the first thing that they should look into? Because I know you can't just automatically do it right away either.

SPEAKER_00 31:02

Just put yourself out there and um get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I people would always tell me, Oh, you should do lives, oh, you need to do this if you want to succeed. And I was like, I am not putting my face on social media. There's no way I am not doing this. And then I was like, All right, let's do it. And it's fun, like I feel like sometimes like, oh, I get to be like a little kid and like remake these videos and like in my own little spin and stuff. So it's fun. I love when people laugh at them. Like, I don't know, I just love it. It's fun.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Um, yeah, you de yours definitely have like a good personality to them. They they're engaging for sure. So it makes sense that you that you have that you know gained traction with it. Um, okay. With having a teenage son now and doing, you know, doing all the pop-ups that you have, you have like 20 plus scheduled out for the time ahead, and I know you have some other things in the works too. How right now in this season are you like managing all of the business things, all of the mom things with a teenager, and also like, you know, being like freshly married?

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Yeah. So um, in addition to the pop-ups, I do online sales. I have a Facebook group that we do sales every, usually every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and then pickups are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. So I definitely had to learn boundaries as a business owner and a mom. And that was the hardest thing for me. And there's people who will get upset and just to know it's okay. Like it was really hard to learn to say no and put myself and my family first. Um, like I said, I split custody of my son's with his dad on Mondays and Tuesdays. So it's really, I put my schedule together around okay, Mondays and Tuesdays, he's with his dad. Let me do my online sales. But then Wednesdays, that's my day to pack the orders while he's at school. And then Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, I'm gonna be more present with him because he's here with me and I want to spend that time with him. Um, so I think that has been a huge thing. Um, as far as like having a teenager, he really is my little best friend. I love hanging out with him. Um, you know, he wakes up and he's like, Can we go get coffee? Can we, what are we doing today? And we go get coffee a lot and it's my favorite hour of the day, sitting in a cafe and just talking. Um so definitely being able to prioritize and schedule that time out that this is what I'm doing. This my best friend has a pool. So in the summer, to be able to know, okay, I'm going to schedule out all my posts and all my sales because I want to go to the pool with Beckham and spend time with him. So definitely trying to be, and I'm not perfect. It's not there's like I said, I'm on my phone and he's like, put your phone down. You're always on your phone. Um, but definitely trying to just be more mindful of this is my time with him, and I want to take advantage of it or you know use it to the full time.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Yeah. Yeah, like not always let the the business time bleed into this is like my time to be mom and like just be a hundred percent there. Um, and then with like at this point, you've been in business for was it three or four years? Yeah, like four years. Four years. So over that whole trajectory from like the beginning until now, in what ways do you feel like you have been able to keep like a level of sustainability with your business outside of the like moment where you were like, okay, this isn't working anymore? And you had that pivot, but like in general, how has you know what you do been able to be something that you've been able to sustain for four years now?

SPEAKER_00 34:49

Yeah. Um I don't even know. I honestly, um, it's just been I work a lot with different places in the community. Um, so I work a lot with you know, different shelters, different nonprofits. Um, I'm donation-based, so I get a lot of donations. So being able to know, like, okay, um, this is going to go through here, or I will have life houses for um foster families reach out and hey, we really need sizes, this size, we really need this, and being able through the help of everyone who donate donates, which is incredible. My house sometimes looks like Plato's closet, although it's just it's amazing. Um, but being able to like build those relationships and have the people that support me and that are have the same vision and support my vision and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Yeah. So it sounds like like the community aspect of it and like those relationships you've been able to build have been really impactful. Which is actually so interesting because I feel like a lot of times, um, like would do you consider yourself a solopreneur? Yeah, yeah. Because I feel like so many people, when they think of like starting their own business, they feel like it can be like really like lonely and isolating, like depending on what you're doing. I know I felt like that way at least my first year when I was just piping away behind a computer doing my like freelance marketing deliverables. But then like it for you, it seems like that's actually the opposite of your experience. And it's like the community piece has actually been there from the beginning, even with your family and everything.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

Yeah, definitely have a great support system of even customers. And um, there have been times that someone had a fire and I put out, you know, um, if anyone has anything, I'm gonna put a collection, and the amount of stuff that was brought in um was amazing. And uh my grandmother that I talked about that I love to thrift with growing up, she um had dementia, and it was really hard the last couple of years watching her go through that and live in a nursing home. So I recently um reached out to a nursing home and in September I'm going to host a pop-up for the residents, but everything's free. I just want to be able to give them that uh feeling that they can make a decision for themselves, they can go shopping again. Sometimes they don't have family to ever take them anywhere or they don't get to leave or anything. Um, so I really wanted to do this in honor of my grandmother. And when I put something out about it on social media, the amount of messages I got about people who maybe they lost a parent or grandparent and have stuff that they would love to donate. Or yeah, um, it's just been incredible.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

The that that wasn't a question I had written down here, but it made me think of that in the very beginning when you were talking about the Kate Spade purse that you got for $2. And it's like the thing that interests me so much about like clothing and just like material things in general is really just like one, how much stuff we have in the world that like honestly just gets put to waste. Yes. And then two, the like the value that people put on things, you know, like how is this same purse being sold for two dollars somewhere, but then somewhere else being sold for like hundreds of dollars? So I don't know, like you must think about that a lot being someone who like has stuff passing through their you know possession regularly. Like, I don't know, like what's how what's your take on thrifting since you've been into it also since you were younger from like a sustainability standpoint of like materialism, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Yeah, um, I think even so I go thrifting every week. I don't tell my husband like every day, but I am thrifting all the time. I'm always looking for new things, even for myself. But when I go thrifting, I'm also looking at, okay, so last week there was a skirt and it had like a hole in it, but I loved it. And it was a longer skirt. I'm like, wait, I can just take this and turn this into a dress. It doesn't have to be something like that because there is so much that's going out into these thrift stores. And they a lot of them are color coordinated. And once that color goes through the round, then it seems that they're just passing it to another place. And once it doesn't go there, like the landfills are just growing and growing. Yeah. And I think it's so important. Um I'm like I'm so blessed with the amount of donations that I get. And I've gotten stuff from amazing brands, just so much great stuff. But I think that it's always been important for me to be able to share with others, not just people that have to pay for it and people, how can we help people the way that we can without having to be like, oh, this Kate Spade purse was, you know, if you want this exact same Kate Spade purse at a store, you're going to pay $300 for it. But beyond even obviously, I have the thrift store and I make a profit and everything from that. Um, when I had my brick and mortar, I did freebie Fridays. Every week I would put out racks, I would put out bins, I would put out decor, I would put out everything you could imagine. And my hope for it was just come and take whatever you need. There's no questions asked, no judgment. You can come inside and say hi if you want. You can sneak away with the whole rack if you want, because I know what it's like to, or I knew I know what it's like to be a single mom and say you have an interview to go for, and it's like, well, wait, do I get my son his field trip or do I get a new outfit so I can feel comfortable and confident? Or, you know, it was winter and I just put a ton of jackets out for kids and women. Um, come and take it. I would rather you have this jacket that you need versus it sit here and you walk to school cold or you walk your neighbor to school or your dog or, you know, just being able to share the wealth in a sense that there is so much.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

Yeah. That's so lovely to hear, especially with, you know, just like the cost of living right now and how expensive everything is. It's just so nice to know that there's businesses out there like you who are like trying to redistribute the resources and like, you know, it doesn't feel like every man for himself out there. Um like community-based businesses with people um and owners who actually like really care about the other people in their community. So all right. Uh a couple more questions here. So, what has just like owning your business, and maybe this may stem from a little bit of what you just talked about, but what is owning your business allowed you to do in your life that like 10 years ago you wouldn't have thought was possible?

SPEAKER_00 41:41

Um, even outside of the business standpoint, going on a two-week honeymoon. I feel like um, you know, it's a lot harder to ask your boss, can I have off for two weeks right before Christmas to go on vacation? Um, so the freedom of being able to do that, being able to be present and spend time with my son and all of that. I feel also like just meeting so many new people. And, you know, I met you through the store and having you come in to the um networking event. But if I didn't have that, would our paths have ever crossed? Right. So just being able to meet so many other small business owners and so many people who love thrifting and so many moms and bringing their kids in. Some of my regular customers, their kids call me like their aunt, and it's just it's really cool. Some of them were at our wedding, but I met them because they would just come shopping. So definitely feel like I definitely got some friends that are family.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

I love that. I do feel like that is the one cool thing of entrepreneurship that I didn't expect going into it, too, is like you by like deciding on that path for yourself that's inherently like tied to things that you're passionate about, I feel like it allows you to attract even more people into your life that are also passionate about this thing that you are passionate about. Um, so I think that like adds a whole new layer of like personal growth and just like joy almost that like if you let yourself feel like pigeonheld in like the career that you chose way back in the beginning when you were figuring out how to make money as like a young adult, like you don't get to have that experience unless you like take that leap into entrepreneurship almost. So that's really cool. Now, since you have been in uh entrepreneurship for like four years now, what would you say is like the best personal growth or business advice that you have gotten over the last four years that has like made a difference for you?

SPEAKER_00 43:46

I would say the best business advice um is to just keep going and not give up because, like we talked about, there will be moments where you're like, this is just not it. I'm over this. But at one point, this was something that I was so Passionate about. And just like any relationship or any feeling in life, it's there's ebbs and flows. You're gonna have highs, you're gonna have lows, and just like the relationships, friendships, everything in your life. You don't just give up when it doesn't exactly go the way that you were expecting. I'm very type A. I'm very, I need to know who, what, when, where, why, and how all the time. Um, and I think that's hard for me. Um, it has been when I had the brick and mortar struggle to be like, well, what about next month? What about like just trying to plan everything and to be able to be like, just chill. It'll all work out the way it's supposed to. And if it doesn't, you'll find a way.

SPEAKER_01 44:41

Yeah. There, yeah, there's absolutely a surrendering that has to happen with the like control uh piece. I feel like that's a big one to get over. Yeah. Um, but yeah, the I love that advice of just like you have to just kind of like keep the faith and like stick with it. And like you were saying earlier with like the the rejections and stuff, like just trust that like those seeds that you planted are like growing underneath the dirt and like there will be blooms. You just can't see them right away sometimes. So I love that. And uh I've been asking this to people lately too because I just love to know this question. What is something that you are obsessed with outside of business and motherhood and thrifting?

SPEAKER_00 45:24

Oh, traveling and serial killers.

SPEAKER_01 45:31

That one I did not expect. The traveling one, you have to like explain a little bit more about the latter.

SPEAKER_00 45:37

Yeah, I just love um I grew up with my grandmother watching Lifetime all the time. And when you're little, those are really scary movies. Oh my god. And then we would watch like Unsolved Mysteries and that psycho movie and Carrie. And to me, that's now just like comforting. It's like, oh, Michael Myers reminds me of my childhood. I don't know. It's I know it sounds crazy. Um yeah, I just love not even as much trying to figure out why they're doing what they're doing, but just anything true crime. Um, serial killers. I go thrifting every Monday and I pop in my uh AirPods and I listen to the true crime episodes that just came out, and you know, just trying to figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

You know what? I think my sister actually is into some sort of true crime podcast situation. I don't know if it's a serial killer one or what, but like something related to that.

SPEAKER_02 46:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

Um, that's so funny. And then with the traveling, where was where's the best place you've traveled to? And then where's one on your bucket list that you haven't been to yet?

SPEAKER_00 46:43

Um, my husband and I are planning on going to Italy um hopefully next year. So we're both really excited for that. Um, the best place that I've traveled to. So I loved Belize. Um, my best friend and I just went there in March. That was so fun. We took a puddle jumper to get from one area to the next. Um, it was just beautiful. We stayed on a private island and just amazing. The people were so nice. Um, my husband and I also go to Key West a lot, and it's just our favorite place. That's it's just so I don't know if you've ever been there. It's so fun. I have so fly into Miami, rent a car, drive up and down the whole way of the different keys. We've done it where we've stopped and we've stayed a couple nights here. This one, the couple nights in Isla Meralda, Marathon, and then end in Key West. It's just so fun.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

That is really cool. I the only key I've been to is Key Largo, and it's not that good of one. It was from like college swimming. We would go there every year on our like winter training trip. Um my only memories are from like the swimming pool. Right. But I will definitely have to explore more of the keys at some for sure. And then um, is there a book that you've read that you think like all either all moms or all all entrepreneurs definitely have to read?

SPEAKER_00 48:06

Um, so my friend Crystal just actually came out with a book. It's mom's truth. Oh, this book, this that crystal. Okay. I was like, maybe what's she gonna say? Okay. Yes. Um it I actually thought it was a very good read. Um, I'm not sure if you read it, but just I was crying.

SPEAKER_01 48:24

I was crying on the airport or in the airplane reading it. And then thankfully the teenage, well, maybe early 20s girl who was sitting next to me was also crying about a book she was reading. So I'm like, okay, I'm not that crazy.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

Yeah. It I just uh commend her for being so open and talking about, you know, stuff that I feel like people don't want to talk about because they're uncomfortable. And I was laying in my bed, bawling my eyes out, reading her story and going from how did you get through this to happiness to just all the back and forth. And I think um maybe it's because she's local too, and I know her, but just being like, wow, yeah, you can relate on so many like you are a real person. It was just such a good book.

SPEAKER_01 49:10

Yeah. No, I I loved it too. I think I have like two chapters left to read. Um but I I agree. I I also feel like we're in like an interesting time where so many moms especially are being so more so much more willing to share these like taboo aspects of like motherhood and also mental health and just like the real things that are happening behind the scenes that like for so long just nobody would talk about. Um, so I yeah, I love that book too. And I feel like it just makes you feel less alone and like you know, someone out there has also been through something wild like this too. So yeah, that's a good one. Okay, that is all the questions I have for you, but I am also wanting to know where do you want people to find you who are listening so that they can buy all of the amazing thrift, you know, items that you have for sale, and then um if they are local to like the Burks County, Lancaster area, where they can come to one of your local pop-ups.

SPEAKER_00 50:10

Yeah, um, on Facebook, Finders Keepers Thrift Boutique, and then we have a VIP page, Finders Keepers of Burks VIP. That's where all of our sales take place, and on Instagram, Finders Keepers Thrift, and we post all of our pop-ups and all the good times everywhere we'll be. We also have a space at the Mint Leaf if you're ever in the Leesport area, so you can stop by, check out our stand there. Amazing. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 50:38

I'm gonna add all of those to the um to the show notes, but thank you, Megan, for being so vulnerable and just like sharing with an open heart all of the things that you've been through. Um and you know, I'm excited to keep like coming to all of your events. Like I said, it's it's just cool and inspiring to see someone in the local area who took this vision and is just like running with it with like I'm I know there's some fear probably sometimes, but with like so much courage and like you know, hope for making an impact in the community. So thank you for joining us. Thank you. If this episode resonated with you, be sure to check the show notes that you can find Megan and Finders Keeper's Thrift Boutique on social media. And if you were in the local area in Pennsylvania, go find one of her pop-ups and go to her events or buy something from her online boutique on the days that she's selling online. And if you are an ambitious mom looking to start or grow your business and you want to do it in a way that feels really good for your season of motherhood, also check the show notes so you can find some helpful freebies related to mindset shifts, nervous system regulation practices that make you feel safe in the way that you're running your business, as well as to be able to book a free one-to-one call with me so you have a real human to talk to about where you're at in your business and like what your next right move might be. Because I feel like in this day and age, we get so many AI bots and it's hard to like actually talk to a real person sometimes. So I would love to hear about you and what you are growing and to connect with you and be your biggest cheerleader and supporter. So also check the show notes for that. I can't wait to see you on another episode next week.