Little Notes

One week from today we turn 3!  If you've been along for the entire ride, you know what a HUGE deal this is!  We opened our doors on 1/11/2020 (yep, 2 months before Covid).  It was a great day with SO much love + support for our new business.  We were growing and had so many ideas + dreams.  Almost 2 months to the day later, we closed our doors for 2 weeks...then 2 months....then 4.  

The wind was out of my sails for sure.  Do I buy?  How do I pay our bills?  Are people ever going back to dance?  Will there be recitals?  Comps?  Pivot, pivot, pivot.  

Then came the yellow phase, which almost shut our doors for good.  WE were allowed to re-open...but our customers were not.  Good times.  Never want to relive that again.  Pivot, pivot, pivot.

By our 1st birthday we were exhausted, terrified, but hopeful.  We knew we were something special.  We were different....but would others see us this way?

Birthday #2 was awesome!  We were still hanging in there, but dealing with price hikes, shipping delays, backorders....oh, the backorders.  Pivot, pivot, pivot.

We literally don't know what a normal year is like.  Planning is so hard when you don't have real numbers.  So, I do a lot of guessing....sometimes I get it right.  Sometimes I don't.  I learned to not beat myself up over it.  Just learn from it and move on.  

Most businesses don't make it past a year....and here we are heading into our third year, still unsure, still pivoting, BUT still loving our little store.  We have built SO many relationships.  Every single day I have someone I'm excited to see come back into my store...we chat, we catch up....

...and every single day I have someone brand new.....we welcome them...guide them...teach them...

My favorite thing has remained the same.  When people from different studios bump into each other and are excited to see one another.  Maybe they met at one of our events.  Maybe they met through our Ambassador program.  Maybe they recognize each other from a photo shoot.  Whether we succeed or fail, that is something I will always remember and be proud of. 

Thank YOU all for sharing our journey with us, and loving our Little Dance Boutique as much as we do!  Cheers to year 3!