Estatibles is a 3,000+ square ft. thrift store where customers can buy anything from a nice picture to put on a wall to motorcycles to ride in the sunset. Need a dining table? They’ve got it, they’ve even got a boat that they’re ready to make a deal on!
Kenneth George is the co-owner of Estatibles, and said that him and his partner Tom started the business 3 years ago. Not knowing each other previously, they crossed paths often at storage auctions and eventually talked about teaming up to open a store. “Originally I was selling books on Amazon and Tom did some yard sales. Tom said he thought I had to be a good person because I had a Jesus shirt on” George stated jokingly. Kenneth said they talked about equity early on and that they agreed that he would put in most of the time and Tom would put in most of the capital. Both of them also agreed not to take a salary until the business started to profit.
Kenneth, originally from New York, was a carpenter before owning this business and his partner Tom currently works as a CPA. “When we first started out we had the vision to just have antiques, at our grand opening we opened the doors and had lots of people come in. They reminisced, looked at the museum, but didn’t buy, we knew within the first 60 days that we needed to change direction” said George. George also commented on how they started to seek counsel from local business heroes and neighboring businesses. The owner of the building they lease, a La-Z-Boy franchisee, gave them advice that would change their whole perspective. He told them “Don’t be afraid to make the big deal, work out the details later”. Once receiving that advice they decided to approach a man selling office furniture because he was going out of business. George remembers “They had flat screen computer monitors, desks and lot of nice high end office equipment”. They decided to make an offer of $1500, well below what everything was worth, and he accepted. He talks about how they didn’t even have a vehicle big enough to transport the equipment from the deal of a lifetime. “All we had was a pick up truck, van, and a trailer” George states. After making that deal they sold the office furniture and quadrupled what they originally paid for everything. George concluded that ever since then they haven’t been afraid to make the “big deal”.
I asked Kenneth about the ups and downs of having a partner and what methods they use to deal with disagreements, he said “When you have a business partner, you have to find a balance, admit when mistakes are made and move on, otherwise it will cause tension.” He also stated a time when one of them wanted to close the doors, but the other convinced him to take a step away from it and come back to it. George explains, “As a partner you have to sometimes trust the other partner’s instinct even when you’re not feeling the enthusiasm”. When asked the question how he keeps employees motivated? He said “they know that when the business grows, they will move up with it. We let them feel as though they have a stake in it too.”
Kenneth also talked about a dream of being able to give back to the community through the store, by helping those in need. “If a family suffered from a house fire, we want to be able to give them a certificate to come and shop for furniture as a little something to help them get back on their feet”. He also spoke about giving a certain percentage to a partnering organization as well.
I asked him to give advice to an aspiring entrepreneur seeking to open a business in the same industry, he said that he would recommend that person work in a store first, and learn to give great customer service. “I’m not a salesman, but I’m a people person”. He advised to treat everybody the same, because people know when you’re being genuine, “We speak to everybody that comes into the store and not judge anybody.”
It was great interviewing Kenneth George, he gave great insight and information that I can carry with me as I venture towards starting my business!
