Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gwen Wright. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Gwen, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
That’s such a great question. Am I happy as a business owner? The majority of the time my answer would be YES!! Running a business keeps you aware, you need to be focused, tenacious, you are your business and your business is you. There are days of course that I feel like I want to just be done, walk away and not look back. That would be the easy way out. When those moments hit I give myself permission to walk away for a couple of days, take a break, to refocus and remind myself that there are far more good days than there are bad.
Do I ever wonder what it would be like to have a regular job? Yes of course, it also depends on what type of ‘regular job’ that would be. Would it be easier to punch a clock everyday? Maybe. If I am late at opening my store by 5 minutes I am not causing disturbance to anyone but myself. I would have a consistent paycheck and potentially the feeling of stability but I also wouldn’t be able to take a day off whenever it is needed or be there for my girls. I wouldn’t be able to meet so many incredible people on a daily basis, or to sing out loud while walking down one of my aisles in the store.I wouldn’t be able to freely just stop and have conversations, meaningful conversations with people. I wouldn’t be able to witness people’s faces light up when the find the item that reminds them of their grandma or their childhood.
Am I happy being a business owner? YES. The joyous parts and the freedom outweigh a bad customer, the worry of keeping the lights on, a leaky faucet or the million little mishaps that can happen in the weeks.
Gwen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have always had a love for things and for people. I love garage sales, auction houses, and thrift stores. I enjoy so much listening to people tell their stories about their possessions. Antiques, retro and vintage items they are comfortable and bring back all the nostalgia. Everyone loves the feeling of comfort.
It was 2013 when The Looking Glass was formed. Myself and 3 other gals curated a cute vintage shop that was open 3 days a week. I have always had a love for vintage and hunting for goods to bring in and stage and sell to people. Meeting and talking with everyone is such a pleasure. After two years I bought my partners out and then it was just me.
In 2015 I shut the little shop down and moved up the street to an 11,000-square-foot antique shop. The owner was retiring and he was giving me the opportunity to purchase his shop before he put it on the market!! I jumped at the chance. At the time he was unaware that just a few weeks before I said to my husband, “Hang on because I think we are going to have an opportunity to buy the antique store!” and then magic happened. We really had no money to be able to even do this but everything aligned and it all fell into place.
A little back story… when I was a teenage girl my mom used to work in the same building that is now the antique store, at that time it was a clothing store. I use to walk through the store as a 16-17-year-old girl and say, “One day I am going to own you.” I brought my vendors up with me from the little store and the vendors from the antique store stayed. It really has been a wonderful time enriching friendships and just growing together. In 2019 I lost my husband, Doug, to a very unexpected passing. One minute your day is like any other and the next it is completely changed.
There was a time when I thought I would just walk away from everything. I didn’t know how I was going to do all of this on my own. My community carried me and uplifted me many times. I also wanted to show my daughters that even through hard times we can persevere. It’s hard at times but we carry on and I remind myself that Doug always believed in me and so I try and continue to make him proud.
His passing led me to become a certified grief counselor. I am also in the process of trying to start a non-profit foundation called We Are One which will coincide with a grief retreat, House of Girls, that I am creating. They are big dreams but are so necessary. Grief, in our society, is so often overlooked. They are both slowly coming together and will all fall into place when the timing is right.
I have really grown the store into something completely different than it once was. We are not a quiet antique store. We have an ice cream shop in house and a tilt-o-whirl in the store that people can sit in and eat their ice cream treat. We offer old fashioned candy and continue to grow that section, we have a wide variety of vintage clothing and many people just come in and hang out and listen to the 70s music that is played in the store.
I hope every person who walks through the door feels welcome and seen. I pride myself on saying hello to everyone who enters, if I don’t catch you at the door I will usually find you somewhere and ask if you are a new customer or a returning one. If you’re new …there is an entire elevator speech I give.
I have really amazing vendors, they provide all of the great merchandise. I love how every one of them has their own loves, interests and different items. We are not always put together and our booths aren’t 100% curated out and I am totally okay with that.
We really provide items for all generations. When a 10 year old comes into your store and proclaims, “This place is AWESOME!” and an 80 year old leaves and gives thanks for bringing back so many memories for them, you know you are doing something right.
We have an extensive vintage clothing selection which I think is something new to the area where we are located. Many visitors from the Twin Cities are excited and impressed by it when they visit. I love to have this option for people who want to express themselves. It really has been awesome to bring the younger crowd in and by the amount of items that leave the store I think they are pleased with the selection also.
I really just want everyone who enters to just feel comfortable and welcomed. I hope you fall in love with something and bring home a treasure but even if you leave empty handed that’s alright too. Most people come back for a purchase later.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
2019. I lost my life partner. I had known him since I was a 17 year old girl. Together we built a life, we were raising 4 daughters, trying to run a business, we had a rental property (which Doug was really in charge of) and one day everything changed. I became a single mom, a sole proprietor, and a landlord just like that. There’s no stopping. You can’t stop when there are people counting on you. It’s been almost 5 years and honestly I am still learning to maneuver the new life that was handed to me.
2020. Covid-19 entered the picture. Part of me was thankful for the extra isolation to let my family grieve, settle into a new normal but also brought many added stressors just like for many. My business was one that was considered non-essential. I had no idea how we were going to make it through this. Thankfully I live in an area with tremendous community support. Our local Chamber of Commerce researched different avenues, grants, support systems for all of us, our Mainstreet Business community rallied to help each other out with support, emotionally and business wise. We all helped each other on social media, planning different types of sales we could etc. It really did show how much you were invested in your business and how much it pained you to think that it could all be over. It was a time when everyone was redoing their homes so people would reach out looking for specific items that they knew I could find for them. It really was fun work and once again I found so much gratitude for my community.
I went back to the beginning of what I loved about my business and that was staging out small vignettes. I started putting together items, smalls, and furniture pieces and started posting them on our social media pages with the prices and the hows and whys the pieces worked together and people would message for the items they wanted to purchase. I had taken a marketing course some months before about going LIVE on Facebook. I always thought I couldn’t do that because people would say things, now was not the time to worry about insecurities, I had a business to save. I implemented Wednesday night LIVE sales and the first sale generated enough money to almost pay the mortgage and I knew I was onto something good. Every Wednesday night I did a sale. Eventually I brought in co-hosts and we were off selling items, sharing stories, educating viewers on the items, laughing much and building a community. We were also giving people who were isolated something to look forward to. The LIVE sales have slowed and my insecurities have lessened and my confidence has grown.
2021. Another ice cream shop entered. I would like to say that it wasn’t discouraging, but in all honesty it was. Out of that though it made me really get serious and look at my business model it also kicked me into refreshing my building exterior, it pushed my social media and customer service/appreciation/programs, I partnered with other businesses to cross promote, I brought in vintage candies to supplement my ice cream sales because they did take a hit, I also brought in some different old fashioned novelty toys. All of those things that were implemented are still in place.
2022. Osceola, WI is a destination river-town located on the St. Croix. We have a waterfall right off of main street. Our main attraction was closed for an entire year. Once again our business community rallied together promoting ALL of the greatness our town has to offer and that <yes, we may have a waterfall but we also have trails, and shopping, and great food, and events> and we made it through, We just continue to make it through.
Through all of these challenges I/we have come out on the other side. I have learned to just take one challenge at a time and to look at the obstacles and remind myself that I have gotten through each one of them.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I am still trying to build my socials. I have a pretty good presence on Facebook. I am just starting to try and grow a TikTok page and our IG page could be better, I have just joined WhatNot as another sales platform.
Consistency is the key. Social media is changing all of the time. Every platform is different. IG wants pretty pictures and reels, TikTok, great videos and Facebook lets you tell more of story with words. Facebook is the easiest for me and feels less intimidating. Honestly it is all a bit exhausting to try and keep up with the trends and then, I love social too.
I would say just be your authentic self. If you cannot do any social on your own, hire someone who can do it for you. I also think adding something personal to your business accounts goes a long way and shows your audience that you are human. If I screw up on something, I will let the world know. Of course I want your sales but I also want your friendship, I want to educate my customers on items, I want to show them how to use vintage in their homes.
Be authentic. Add some personality to your posts. You cannot go wrong ever with being authentic. That’s my advice.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lookingglasss.com
- Instagram: the.looking.glass.osceola
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lookingglass3
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gwen-wright-9ba0a566
- Other: whatnot.com/user/thelookingglassvintage
- TikTok: thelookingglassosceola