Happy Anniversary!

If you follow us on Facebook then you have already been reminded of this. Today, Brickhouse Craft Shop celebrated it's fourth anniversary. That may not seem like a lot of years but Patti and I had no idea what to expect when we opened our little shop 4 years ago. In 4 short years though, we have truly been blessed to be able to do something we absolutely love - and share it with the best crafters and customers we know.

We realize that we have what some may consider some unfair advantages in the world of small business: we own the business, including the building (which is on our property) and most of the crafts - we do have some crafts on consignment - but from the day we opened we committed to not carrying any debt. We have no employees other than Patti and I. We don't pay rent or have a payroll to manage. Yes, our shop is very small but it is a legitimate business that the state of Pennsylvania recognizes and awaits our Sales Tax filing every 3 months. So while I will admit that our situation may be a bit unusual for these reasons, any good business person should be able to develop a business plan that positions them to succeed.

So why then do so many small businesses fail within the first few years? There are a number of reasons but I can tell you one very important reason a business won't succeed or survive is that they lose focus of the heart of the business. It doesn't matter if you offer a product or a service - if you focus on making money rather than making customers - you have lost focus of the single most important piece of your business.

Over the past 4 years and to this day, we continue to grow. We still have new customers visiting us. We still have customers who have been with us from the start. We never stop listening to our customers. Patti and I had a clear vision for what our shop would be about - what it would look like, what we would and would not sell. But we are not afraid to change if we feel it is right for the Brickhouse - and our customers have helped us along the way.

Obviously we know that our crafters are critical to our success as well but we believe they also realize how important the customer is. So today Patti and I want to especially thank all of our customers for making our Fourth Anniversary possible. We know that each day we succeed - it's because of you!