Seeing Ahead by Looking Back
Oh hey! Robin Garrett here. Many of you are my longtime friends and know the majority of my personal 411. But so many more are getting to know me as you visit my store, so I thought I’d give y’all the backstory of how I got to the place of owning Oopsy Daisy.
My nutshell resumé: I’ve been a banker, worked in various offices, a Fedex driver, chauffeured limousines, delivered floral arrangements, a literacy mentor, made some killer hot dogs, manicured nails, I’ve cleaned houses, and concocted a few 5 a.m. drive-thru eye-opening lattes in my time. But up until about 7 years ago, I had never been a business owner. Notice no college degree up in here (well, unless you count the one semester Small Business Management night class I took - got an A, so I’m hitting “hold” on my 4 point 0…... thankyouverymuch.) and that might explain a lot of my jumping around. While my career pattern might seem a little zigzag to many, I see (now!) how each point in my life was setting me up for the next and ultimately the position I currently hold. I use a piece of the experience I gained from each of my jobs several times a day. Independently owning a small business and especially retail, is not for the faint of heart. It’s HARD, y’all. But then so were so many other spots in my life ….. divorced 25 year-old mommy of 2 infants? for sure a contender! …. and though at the time they each seemed like crazy obstacles, I am so grateful for the lessons learned. To my point, without a formal education in operating a small business, I am still learning this puzzle and find myself figuring it out as I go every. single. day.
From what I do hear, statistically, most small businesses don’t make it after the first year. This upcoming Spring will mark our FIVE YEAR anniversary of being open year-round in our Denison location! Time has flowwwwn by and I can hardly believe it myself. It seems like I was just driving by this abandoned mid-century 3-bay service station with a pile of equally abandoned, vandalized cars stacking up out front and thinking to myself how cute it could be as a garden center and home decor store. Naive as I was, I had a clear vision and not a clue why it couldn't work. There is positively NO WAY I would’ve/could’ve made the five year mark without the support from my husband, my family, and most importantly, our amazing customers. I feel like we’ve grown and made changes all along but we’ve got even more changes, some new ideas and some celebrations up our sleeve for 2018, so don’t go anywhere ~ it’s about to get really fun!
Want a few more little-known facts about me?
~ Born, raised, and raised my children in rural Tulare County, California. Moved to Texas in 2009, making Denison the highest populated city I have ever lived in. (#smalltowngirl)
~ Didn’t drink coffee OR wine till I met my husband in 1991. (Explains a lot! haha)
~ I’d rather stay out in my flowerbeds and pull weeds all day than step one foot near the stove.
~ I am a grandma of 5..... 4 in California, 1 in Texas, all deep in my heart.
~ The challenge of figuring out how to make something myself or devise a new use for an unexpected object is like a drug for me. Instead of “what is this?”, I look at things and think, “what can this become?”. I grew up like that and cannot recall ever thinking differently.
~ I love to travel and while I don't get to as often as I’d like, I do need my dose of Vitamin Sea at least once a year for shore!
Thanks for reading our debut blog post! Sign up for our email to be first to know about new posts on The Daisy Chain that will include interviews with other business owners, features on some of our favorite customers, shopping tips + stories from our merchandising trips throughout the year, workshop + event coverage, and informative gardening/design articles. If there is a person or a topic you would like to see covered, feel free to shoot me an email: robin@oopsydaisygardenmarket.com. Like I said, I’m still figuring all this stuff out and I'd love to hear your input! xoxo