We recently connected with Jacob Walker and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jacob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

Customers are what keeps retail, or in my case, resale going. We can’t operate without them let alone build up the business without them. Their personal tastes and interests drive what we sell and how we price. I do whatever I can to make them feel comfortable and at home. It’s not just remembering a face or their name. That’s important. But it’s showing them you went the extra mile for them…that you care for them. We sell furniture and we have a lot of elderly people in our community who can’t physically move those large pieces into their homes. One of the big things I do is try and help them as far as I can. My job description doesn’t include “furniture mover.” That isn’t what we do. However, after work or during off hours, many times I will be delivering furniture to a customer. If they do not have the means of getting those large items home and they live within the city radius I will gladly help them out. I don’t consider this simply good public relations rather I believe it is the neighborly thing to do. There have been some incredibly happy customers who appreciate this kind of service. Many of them don’t have the resources or extra cash to get movers to deliver these items. I can’t promise I will always deliver large items, but I can promise I’ll do everything I can to help you out.

Jacob, 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 manage a non-profit thrift store called The Mustard Seed. Back in the mid 1990s Salem Lutheran Church of Deerwood Minnesota wanted to expand their outreach program to better serve the local community. They started what would become Salem West, a non-profit donation facility that would give, free of charge, household necessities to people in need. As time went on so many donations poured in that they realized a thrift store would need to be opened to work through the extra items. The Mustard Seed Thrift & Gifts was created to sell things such as home decor, seasonal, and overflow items. As a non-profit, the proceeds would go directly back into the ministry. Since then, there has been continual refining of Salem West and The Mustad Seed. We are currently in the process of combining Salem West and The Mustard Seed into one location to better serve the locals and to streamline our daily operations. When I came on board, The Mustard Seed was shut down due to COVID-19. There was a lot of playing catch-up and altering the way The Mustard Seed accomplished daily activities. These refinements are still happening as we get better and better. I’m proud of our staff and how adaptable they are to change. You need to be open to change, especially after a pandemic. We’ve had to alter prices, product, signage, backroom processes, register setup, tagging system and our hours of operation, just to name a few. The place is an organism, we are always evolving and that’s something we are intentional about.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have over fifteen years in retail experience. One of the challenges in resale at a thrift store is not having consistent product. We can only sell what has been donated to us the last couple of weeks. This creates all sorts of interesting problems as you have to find creative ways of filling the store shelves. One week we might have a lot of pillows and the next week we might have almost none. I had to quickly unlearn the expectation that a shelf designated for a specific item would indeed always be used for said item. In regular retail you scan a barcode on a shelf and enter how many of an item you want shipped to your store. But with resale the shelving and the product fluctuate greatly. That was a twist I didn’t expect. There is also the question of what to price items as they are donated. Pricing guidelines need to be established as product doesn’t come with standard pricing determined before they hit shelves. It is up to us what it is labeled. I did expect this challenge, but it is an interesting dynamic as many people help price and every individual has their personal opinion as to what it should be. We are actually currently looking at a new register system to better our functionality in this area. Like I said, we’re always evolving.

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

Well, one thing we started doing is paying to boost adverts on some social media platforms. We can’t afford much but it has helped to significantly increase our exposure. If you can afford to drop a couple bucks a day or even within a week I’d recommend doing it. Since we started boosting social media posts we’ve increased our audience followers and have more than doubled our interactions online. My other suggestion is to just have fun with your posts. People love funny and exciting videos or pictures. The quirkier and more extravagant the post the more the audience will love you. Just keep in mind who your audience is. Center it within a demographic you are trying to market to.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salemwestdwd.org
• Instagram: mustardseeddwd
• Facebook: The Mustard Seed of Deerwood Thrift & Gifts

Image Credits
Jacob Walker