I have always said I would start blogging when I finally had some free time. Who was I kidding?? I will never have any free time so instead…I finally decided to make some time! So here I go!
My name is Tina Donnaloia and I am the owner of Hoot-n-Annie Resale Boutique. I have been in operation for 12 years now. I have 4 kids ages 12 to 28. I also have 3 stores and 8 employees and I am never not working or thinking about the shops. It literally is just like having children. You never stop worrying about them, trying to help them grow, teaching them and learning from them, protecting them, or wanting to pull your hair out because of them!
I am fierce when it comes to these stores. I have an owner-operated mentality which is lucky since that is usually how small businesses go. No grandeur of becoming a millionaire rest in my head. I want to be present, know everything that is going on, meet new customers, and continue to cultivate the relationships I have made over the years. Most importantly I want longevity. For the community and for my family. This store represents all of my hard work, all of my sacrifices, all of my attention to detail, and all the care I give to my staff, our consignors and their items, and our customers and their needs. It has been an honor and a privilege to watch families grow from inside bellies to starting middle school!
When I first created the policies and structure for this business, I put myself in the customer’s shoes. I have always been an avid supporter of small businesses and second-hand stores and rarely buy things new if I can help it. I have seen the best and worst of resale and consignment stores over several decades. I always felt like there could be improvement. Why can’t I find cute clothes AND have great prices? Why can’t a store be well organized AND fun to hunt for treasures in? As a customer, I wanted to be welcomed and feel seen but I also wanted time to look on my own without any pressure. I wanted to WANT to come back regularly because I knew the inventory changed often. Even though I am very shy, I wanted the staff to remember me. We all want to be remembered. I set out to do all these things and incorporated them into my business model. And we hear on a daily basis that these things in fact do exist in one place. This place.
This blog is an attempt at sharing my world of motherhood and small business ownership along with the struggles and triumphs that go along with them. When I started this journey, my youngest was a 1-year-old and my oldest was 16. So the stories of parenting through every age range and phase go hand in hand with learning how to be a mom boss small business owner. The stories I share will be a mixture of past and present and a dabble of the future. Tips, lessons, experiences, advice, and the hard truth will be coming at you at least weekly. Follow me as I jump around in the timeline of events as a mom’s mind usually does. I hope that I can impart a little wisdom from all my ups and downs and if nothing else…a good therapeutic laugh or cry.