We recently connected with Megan Collins and have shared our conversation below.

Megan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

In my former corporate life, I was the Project Manager for a marketing team. I learned so much about the importance of having an ongoing conversation and visibility on social media can be to a company. While the industry of resale is different, I don’t think it’s any less of a challenge to engage with potential clients. I was doing our social media alone until recently. We now have one part time social media manager that helps with creating assets and planning for posts. I still handle the day to day communication through a few platforms, but being able to bounce ideas and planning with someone who knows current trends has been amazingly helpful. We now have 2000+ followers that we grew organically in less than 6 months. That may not seem like a huge growth to some, but it’s a milestone we are proud of. I think the best insight is making sure you’re not just growing for numbers sake, but rather engaging with people who are going to be potential clients or collaborators. Social media is a community, and if utilized well, can help your business grow.

Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I run the store with my business partner, Casey Cole. I have been a collector of vintage and antiques my whole life. I started doing online sales and vendor events while still working full time. When I was displaced from my corporate job after COVID, I decided to try to make the leap from vendor to business owner. I wanted to create an environment of collaboration and community. We now have a store that houses over 30 vintage and resale vendors, makers and artists. We have community geared events and provide pop up opportunities for local vendors. I am most proud of what we have built with lots of sweat, a few tears, and a lot of support from our friends in the community.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My co-founder and I met in 2006 when we both worked at a local buy/sell/trade resale store in Kansas City, Missouri. She moved to Portland, OR a few years later. I ended up moving with my partner in 2018 to Portland. When I was looking to start the business, she was the first person I went to. Her support has been unwavering and our personalities balance each other well.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Much of what we have done has been organic growth by engaging with fellow fans of vintage and resale. We also are size and gender inclusive which can be hard to find in resale, so we have had quite a bit of word of mouth. Social media is all about hitting the algorithm. The more you’re engaging with people and posting content that reaches out to current and potential fans.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.midtownersmarket.com
• Instagram: @midtownersmarket
• Other: TikTok @midtownersmarket