August 2023 Blog Topic: What was your first sale as a business owner? Share about it. If you are NOT a business owner: Share a time when you supported a small business and the experience.
By Jamie Allen Bishop with Jamie Allen Bishop Coaching
My first purchase supporting a small business was a big deal to me. Spending my precious and hard-earned allowance was a test of my faith in my ability to regenerate the cash. Back then, most kids spent their allowance on music and clothes, or perhaps on movie tickets and junk food. In the 1980s, when Licorice Pizza was an actual store on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, California, all the kids hung out there, thumbing through the vast collection of records, and begging the young adults working the counter to play their album of choice.
“Just this one song… plleeeaaaassssseeeeee!?!?” were the words that echoed off the walls filled to overflowing with the coolest posters of the most obscure bands on the planet.
Those records were not what I ended up spending my money on. Instead, while walking through my favorite place to browse, I came across a stunning and unique lapel pin I simply had to have. It was on display at one of the few stores still there on Ventura Boulevard called the Sherman Oaks Antique Mall. No store has ever measured up to this one – and I have visited a lot of antique mall shops across the United States. There is something about the way this particular antique mall is set up that makes it special. The care each vendor takes to display their found objects seems to showcase their deep affection for them. If you ever find yourself in the area, I highly recommend that you stop in for a peek at some of the most loved antiques in California.
The lapel pin was a beautiful and delicate horse and carriage made to mimic Cinderella’s transportation to the ball. It was a lost wax cast piece of sterling silver set with embedded marcasite gems that sparkled brilliantly in the display case. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and though I had no idea where or when I would ever wear it, I was drawn to make the purchase. In fact, it took four weeks’ worth of my allowance, so you can imagine what a big deal it was for me to make that decision. I am so glad I did!
I felt like a princess going to a ball when I finally had the courage to place it on my sweater. While I am certain most youngsters would have made the same life-altering mistake I made, I was devastated to find that when I wore the pin for the first time, I forgot to remove it from my cardigan sweater before it ended up in the laundry bin. And, so, my coveted piece of fine jewelry ended up devoid of sparkle and mangled beyond repair after the laundry was done. I don’t think I ever wore that sweater again, and I must confess I cried my sweet little eyes out when I found my precious purchase in that sorry state of repair. I was not sad about the loss of money. Even then I knew money was replaceable, but my goodness was I hurt by my own mistake and subsequent loss of the item itself.
Lesson learned.
This story has a lovely ending I am pleased to report. As I looked up an image to convey how beautiful my bobble was, I found a similar pin and purchased it for myself… some 40 years later. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to wearing the sparkly trinket once again, and this time I guarantee its safety from ending up in the washing machine.
