Oct 11, 2010

Artistry owners find success with advice of artists, customers, consultants, friendsBy Carolyn BowersStarNewsOnline.com

A little over a year ago when Judy McCord and Susan McNeil opened Artistry, an upscale art/gift store in Olde Southport Village, their new business venture had all the elements for a financial disaster.

The country was in a recession. Neither McCord nor McNeil had any previous retail experience. They aren’t artists. And they had no business plan.

By all accounts, they should have failed. But they not only survived, they made a profit in their first year. Here’s how.

They had excellent instructors: their customers and the artists and artisans whose work they represented. They listened to them and learned what sold and what didn’t, and at what price. “Over time we developed more confidence in our ability to know what our customers wanted,” said McNeil, “and we expanded the space for those items.”

They also engaged the help of others. At first their friend Francine Klimchak, who did staging for houses in Virginia and stores in the D.C. area, politely suggested a few changes, but now she stops in regularly and boldly rearranges their displays. They also sought the advice of Tom Hemphill, Brunswick Community College Small Business Center director, who counsels start-up businesses. Hemphill put them in touch with SCORE, and the retired executives group provided a finance consultant and a marketing professional to give them advice on record keeping and retail selling.

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