Thoughts from a Madison Avenue Business Owner

I always like to preface and article by anticipating the critics who may have
something to say about my posts. One of my bosses in life told me I had "3
dimensional thinking”, I always looked at both sides and then some.

I opened my little Shoppe on Madison Ave, as an extension of my online business;
I was doing fairly well, so I thought a small storefront would be a great way
to add more customers. I have several online venues that I sell from and have
had 100 % positive feedback and pretty decent sales. So Madison Ave in Lakewood seemed like a good stop- Again, as in previous posts, Lakewood attracts many sellers for its affordable rents and "walkable shopping". I don't
know that Lakewood is the problem, so all you people ready to pounce, I tell
you this:

A)
I have a business plan, this isn't my first rodeo.

B)
If my storefront does not succeed, I will be ok going back to working from
home.

C)
I took a risk and realized that.

This is bigger that Lakewood and Madison Ave. One of my online shops is on ETSY- a handmade marketplace- I was sooooo in love with it when I started selling on
it- It was so fun to browse through all the "handmade" items by
sellers and really feel that I was making a difference by supporting a "stay
at home mom" or an "artist". Unfortunately it has now become a
vehicle for large companies, many overseas to pose as "handmade"
sellers when they are not and are severely under cutting the market by selling
for pennies on the dollar. UGH!

Back to Lakewood! I have always been one for the Underdog and in this case it’s me :) But I have struck gold in my neighboring business owners who seem to embody
a similar passion. Don’t complain make it better.

Over the past few months I have had the fortune to work with several surrounding
business owners whom I shall list at the end of this blog (shout out) to help
create the official (if you will) branding of Uptown Lakewood- We have all been
gathering to work on a website, Facebook page and event planning that we hope
will attract new merchants to our area, and help to improve Lakewood overall.
We have some amazing talent all within a stone’s throw from one another.  We plan on expanding and growing over the next few months.

Our
area is rich with some really nice looking buildings and flagship businesses
that I truly believe can be very enticing for businesses looking to make their
mark on Lakewood- Big Guys- (COFFEE SHOP- AHEM! – aka: repeated request in my blogs) and Little Guys like me.

This is what Lakewood represented to me, was the quaint, quirky, and fun as well as success and community.  I don’t want to be another article about a business that leaves here; I want to be a success story – a reason to believe if you will. 

Times are hard for everyone- I know- Christmas is coming, support your local
businesses, I am sure you will find something for someone on your list- Come see
me, Come see my neighbors- Come support all of Lakewood- Even if only for a
visit- There is so much to see.

Then I can say” There they are, there are all the shoppers, the dog walkers, the
hipsters, the mommies, the fashionista's and the bargain hunters, They are all
right here in Lakewood , Ohio”.

In closing- forgive any spelling errors, even spell check can’t keep up with my
rants! This is a blog- not a formal article and its late! Also copying from word to the blog- bad idea!

And BIG shout outs! To my awesome neighbors on Madison:
Holistic Lakewood, Dirty Town Guitars, The Mars Bar, Delta Computers and Gountis Properties, The Buckeye Beer Engine, Carol Lynn’s Salon, Leather Naturally, Carabels Salon, Metro on Madison and more to come I hope….. This group is one of the many hearts of Lakewood –the DLBA, Lakewood Alive Oh and me- The Little Bling Shoppe by Thirstees.