Daily Inspiration: Meet Amber Welch

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Welch.

Amber, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I raised three kids on a very tight budget. A lot of the furniture we had was second hand. I became very good at refinishing, repainting and reupholstering. Often I was able to find a piece of furniture that was in decent shape but didn’t fit in the small space I needed it to so I got creative with cutting off legs, adding casters and piecing things together. I got a lot of compliments from friends and a few people asked me to make pieces for them. I saw the potential in this being a business opportunity and began selling refinished tables, dressers and book shelves online. I bought an abandoned storage unit at auction to get some nice furniture that I could fix up. I had some great furniture to sell but was running out of shed space to store it so I decided to rent a booth at the Craft and Antique Co-op. (It’s now called 150 Shops by the Lake.) My next obstacle was figuring out how to get rid of all the other (really cool) items I was finding in the storage units I was buying. So I rented another booth to sell small items out of. The small items were really selling well so I rented another booth. I was spending a lot of time lugging items from my house, to my car, then to my booth and spending a lot of money paying rent and commission on my sales there. I decided to look into opening my own store.

I knew I wanted to focus on selling usable items more than antiques. I wanted a thrift store, but I had no idea where to start. I did some online research and was left feeling overwhelmed. I believed I had to have a business plan written out, procure business loans, find a financial backer, create a board of directors and get a non-profit status. None of that was true.

I prayed a lot about what to do before it dawned on me to start small and learn as I go. I was trying to be way too big, too soon. I took out a $5,000 personal loan and found a small building with low rent. I applied for my licensing and inspections online. One task just just led right into another and everything just sort of fell into place. I opened my shop in December of 2023 with terrible parking and even worse street visibility yet I made enough to pay rent the first week. It did well because it served the needs of the community.

The community was very welcoming. I had customers that would stop in just to say hello or share a cup of coffee. This was important. It built relationships and they spread the news that I was open before I could afford to advertise. Although the business was making enough to sustain itself, there was not really a profit. I had to keep a second job for a while to cover my living expenses. Still, everything kept growing. About three months in, a long time friend of mine, Amy Merrill, stopped in to see the shop. She said, “This is a lot for one person. You are my friend, I am going to help you.” She began volunteering so much of her time that I knew I wanted to offer a piece of the business. I said, “I can’t afford to pay you right now, but let’s work together and see how far we can grow this.”
Amy and I often joke that we share the same brain. We know just what the other one is thinking which makes business decisions go pretty smoothly. We make one heck of a team and I wouldn’t want to do it without her.

After a year in a half in our first building we moved to a nearby location with much better parking and incredible visibility. We are currently located at 660 E Main Street (in the old license bureau). Business has really picked up since the move.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Although things tend to have a way of falling into place for us, we had a bit of struggle last winter. The really big snowfall that hit around Thanksgiving almost put us out of business. Many of customers would walk over from the nearby apartments. With bitter cold temperatures, and 6 feet of snow on the sidewalks, those customers could not get to us. It was miserable out. Customers who had transportation didn’t go out unless they had to. What should have been our busiest season (Black Friday and Christmas) was by far the worst sales days we had.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Geneva Thrift sells both new and used items. You will find everything from Pokémon cards to fishing lures. We sell kitchen gadgets, clothing, jewelry, tools, toys and DVD’s. We currently have a really large collection of colored glass (vases, bowls & goblets). We carry video games, blankets, make-up,…just a really vast variety of items that are always changing. Many of our items are donated which help to keep the cost down. This allows us to price our items at a fraction of what Goodwill, Salvation Army and other chain thrift stores are charging.

We try to have 99 cent clothing sales often and have a lot of ideas for community outreach that we hope to bring to fruition. Our store is providing a valuable service to the community. We are not trying to get rich, just make an honest living and help others.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I met my husband at Geneva Thrift. His daughter drug him in one day when we first opened and he quickly became my best friend. He is a serial- entrepreneur and has owned many businesses in the area. He is a wealth of knowledge and my most favorite person to bounce ideas off of.

Pricing:

• Clothing $0.99 – $5.00
• Beautiful Rings Under $5.00
• Games and Puzzles $2.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brand.page/genevathrift
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genevathrift/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552853055570