We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christina Lesseski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christina, appreciate you joining us today. How has Covid changed your business model?

I opened my store just 9 months before Covid struck. My intention was just to be a Georgia Grown store, selling local goods, southern decor, and some local sweet Georga wines. Just a week before the Covid shutdown, I decided to expand my wine to include a South American wine line, simply because it had a bike on the logo that matched my own logo. I made a huge purchase of cases of this wine. Then the Covid shut down hit, just days after. I thought that I had probably hammered a nail in my own coffin. I refused to shutdown–I was a necessity, selling foods and now “regular” wine. I was the only store in town open. I began advertising on Facebook and instagram. I put a catalog together of everything I sold. People began responding, asking for the wines I had, and asking if I could order others. I became something I never planned to be–a wine shop. My first month in the business, I sold 55 bottles of wine. During May, 2020, I sold 425. My business model changed to become what my local community needed and it stays because I put out quality, unique products that are selected with great care.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was working for the young lady that owned the store in this location. I would go home daily and tell my husband, “if this was my store, I would do this” or “if I had that store, I would focus on that.” One day I walked into work and the owner told me she was closing the store and moving away. I never flinched, “Tell me how much you want for it..” I went home, told my husband who told me to put my money where my mouth was. Thirty days later, I owned all of her products and decor. It was a fluke; I never planned to own a store. I was working for the fun of it. Now I was working for the challenge of it.

I am most proud of the way that I determined from the beginning that I did not want to be a tourist store. I wanted to get to know my community and be part of what was going on around town. I want my customers to understand that I am really here to help them find the best products, especially wines, to make life have a little more joy. I love to have them sit down and in my store with a glass or wine and share their life with me. I love to have a customer come in and tell me what they are having for dinner and helping them pick a wine in their budget that is perfect for their get together. I love selecting wines monthly for wine that may or may not make the “cut” to be on the shelf and my wine club members help me do that. If they love it–we keep it!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The most difficult part of owning a business is the employees. Oh, it’s not what you think, bad employees or not enough employees. It is hard because no one loves your business and cares for it the way that you do. What I have discovered is that instead of thinking that the employee is “doing me a favor” by working to give me some much earned time off, I pay them well and expect them to work hard while they are here. Allowing them to educate themselves and watching them grow has been so much fun!

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

It is great to sell wine all day long, but I have found that if I look for other ways to make money, my revenue grows. I works with several wedding venues that select my wines for their “house” wines. I have a wine club that allows my customers to help me pick the wines. I started the wine club to get people back in the store in the month of January. When they pick up their wine, they get a glass of wine and a 10% off any other purchase. But the biggest change for me is wine events. Not only do I do 6 to 8 of them a month in the store, I also do in home events where I come and tell about the wines in private homes. I charge for the wine and a fee for my time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theclassicmarketsenoia.com
• Instagram: theclassicmarket
• Facebook: theclassicmarket
• Yelp: the Classic Market

Image Credits
All my photos