a job on the spot. Izzy’s parents, who thought the Upper East Side of Manhattan was the only place in the world to live, worried that their daughter was giving up a tremendous opportunity with Macy’s. But Izzy knew in her gut that it was the right thing, and she’d never regretted it once.
Izzy only sold things that she loved in her shop and she seemed to have a good feel for what others would love too. She carried an assortment of touristy hats and sweatshirts, most with the word Nantucket printed or embroidered across the front. Those were her biggest sellers by far, especially in the summer. But every year, sales of her other clothing items and carefully curated shoe collection grew.
She nodded. “I’m sure. I researched this pretty carefully. I think if I expand and take over the shop next door, and add the online store, I should be able to double my income and possibly my profits eventually too. Once the initial startup investment is paid off.”
“Do you need a loan for that? They are not always welcoming when you are self-employed.”
Izzy grinned. “No kidding. And especially a single mother-to-be. I’m not sure I’d be keen to loan money to me, either. But I’m not looking for a loan. I have some money saved. But, before I do this, I wanted to also make sure you are really okay with me staying here after the baby comes? I know you offered, but it’s a lot to ask.”
“It’s not at all. You’re family, Izzy. And I’m going to be an aunt for the first time. I can’t wait to meet my new niece or nephew. There’s plenty of room here and you’re the best roommate—the only roommate I’d consider having now.”
Izzy breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I feel the same way and that gives me some breathing room to get the store expansion up and going and successful. We should be out of your hair hopefully in a year or so.”
Mia reached for the bowl of popcorn. “So, tell me more about your plans, and how the online store will work. I don’t think many of the shops on Nantucket have an online presence, do they? Are you sure it’s worthwhile?”
Izzy leaned forward, excited to share her ideas.
“Well, the shop next to mine is smaller, about half the size, so I won’t be doubling my rent. Just going up by about half, so it’s not too much, I don’t think. It will give me room to expand and try new things—maybe have a few more shoes, for example, as those have been going over well.”
“What about the online store? How would that work?”
“I’m actually really excited about having an ecommerce site. I can partner with vendors that will handle the shipping and fulfillment, so I don’t have to deal with that or have a big warehouse. I can still ship some custom orders myself too. I already do that a little now even without a website, as you know.”
“Right. I know customers just call and ask you to ship things and you always do it.”
Izzy laughed. “Of course I do. That keeps them coming back. And a sale is a sale. One of them recently said something interesting, though. She loved one of my sweatshirts and when her sister saw it on her, she wanted one, too. But they couldn’t find anything similar online at all. That’s when she called and asked me to mail one off. But it got me thinking… Some of my designs are really unique and popular, and if I can drive traffic to them online, I might be able to sell them anywhere.”
“Who will you have do the construction work? It shouldn’t be that much, just knocking down part of the connecting wall? It’s a small job, but maybe Chase Hodges can do it or know of someone you could call.”
Izzy smiled. “Will actually said he could do it.”
Mia looked surprised. “Really? You already talked to him about it? I thought he mostly did restoration work and furniture building these days.”
“He does, and he’s really busy. But, he stopped in the store this week when he was downtown and we got to chatting. I ran the idea by him and he offered to do the work. Insisted, actually. He said it shouldn’t take him more than an afternoon or two and he could do it over a weekend.”
“That’s nice of him. So, he thinks it’s a good idea too?”