Changing Locations Puts Stress on Small Business Owners Who Are Going it Alone

Moving locations is one of the most stressful and demanding challenges
faced by any store owner. I became well aware of this fact when, on
April 1, 2009, I made the move from a quaint 400 square foot store
just off Main St. on 21st Avenue to a 1,200 square foot space right on
Main Street at 23rd. Still, as hard as it was, at least I wasn’t moving a
furniture store with a shattered knee like Bart Taylor, owner of the
vintage furniture store Refind.

Taylor has a vastly diverse employment history, which includes gas
station attendant and sales rep, to manager of a health food distribution
company and, more recently, care worker in a group home. While he was
working these jobs, he was also also finding furniture, fixing it up
and selling it on the side. When he finally decided to turn his hobby
into a business, it was on a budget of $4,000 and a month-to-month
rental agreement. “I wanted to be sure I could stay for at least three years,”
Taylor now explains, revealing that after a year and nine months of
his opening, he was told the building would soon be torn down. Without
wasting another moment, he was looking for a new store front; a month,
later, he was preparing to move into his new location at Main Street and
Second.

At the time, it had been five years since Taylor had taken a vacation.
Since he knew that his imminent shop move would cause yet more months
of intensive work, he jumped at the chance for four days off and a trip
to Whistler to attend a friend's stag. Near to the end of the trip, he
and his friends rented a few four-wheel quads and spent the next two
hours casing the mountain side. As he took a break to enjoy the
stunning view, Taylor’s quad began to shift and slide down the
embankment. With quick reflexes, Taylor threw himself off of the
contraption, but not soon enough: the quad rolled on top of him,
pinning him to the ground and crushing his knee to shards.

The move was just two days away.

From its inception, Taylor's business was a one man operation. He's a
hands-on guy and, using knowledge drawn from his diverse experiences
at other jobs, he had dedicated himself to being the sole employee.
Given that he performed all of the labour and customer service
himself, he had planned on doing the move alone too. With his broken
knee, however, he knew that this would be impossible. Taylor was
forced to cave and let two friends and clients pitch in on payment of
pizza, beer and a couple bucks.

Unfortunately, during the move, Taylor found himself faced with a
second obstacle. His on-premesis storage space had a leak, and the
water had ruined much of precious stock. “Whatever you think will take
a day will take a week,” he now warns -- which is exactly how long the
move took.

Set-up was thankfully easier than packing as Taylor and his goodies
quickly settled in to the funky character space, which rapidly filled
out with finely-finished teak, orange-tinted lamps and nick-nacks
both old and new.

Taylor's devoted clients carried over to the new location and, faster
than he could restock, he was right back to recycling some of
Vancouver’s abandoned gems. The economic downturn of the past few
years hasn't effected him since, as the new business owner observes,
“I have nothing to compare sales to.” So, keeping an optimistic and
inviting attitude, he’s once again right at home.

Real conversation...

Taylor: “Are you having fun?”

Customer: “Sure am!”

Taylor: “Then my job here is done.”