We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Duffy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with kimberly below.
Kimberly, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I was going through a divorce and after many years together we had amassed many things form our travels around the world. I decided to rent a space in an existing shop to help sell off some of these items. This was 2002. After a couple of years there, the then owner of the shop decided that she was moving on and wanted to close the shop. She asked if me and three other women would like to take over the shop. We we delighted and we said yes, of course. As new owners we knew very little about one another, a very little about running a full retail shop. Luckily with my background in law and business, I was able to help us survive and even grow. I had no prior retail experience and really took a leap of faith that we could make it a successful, yet fun and exciting business.
It is now been 22 years since that day. After various changes amongst the partners, tens years ago I became the sole owner of the business and renamed it to be MIXT Fine Things. I have used my corporate background, my design background, my world travel and my love for artistic and handmade things to create MIXT into what it is today. My various dealers also help to make MIXT so incredibly unique and a destination spot. I realized to stay in business and stay relevant, that you had to be very nimble, make changes constantly, be willing to take risks, be very in-tuned with what your particular demographic was looking for and used to, be willing to take enough of a risk to introduce people into new ideas and concepts, and most of all, to bring value to the community. These business approaches of mine lead to some serious partnership disagreements and ultimately the end of the partners entirely. through it all I have been consistent in being authentically me, focused on smart business decisions, yet was willing to put my neck out to take a chance, be different and make a difference.
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?
We have created a destination spot that people call their “sacred space”. People just love being in our shop – the music, the smells of candles, the artistic furnishings and art, the cool atmosphere, the friendly and inviting staff, and most of all our amazing gift wrap has made it an escape for people. I love that we have given our community not only a great resource for there physical and materials needs, but also their emotional and psychological needs. I had favorite stores throughout my life that I would escape to and that inspired me. It has been so incredibly rewarding to have created something like that and to have made such a difference in people’s lives. That is what I am most proud of.
Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?
When covid hit all businesses were shut down and basically no longer allowed to conduct business. This was an unexpected and immediate hard stop for us. Even though we were no longer able to conduct business, our operating bills and obligations continued. It was a very scary and expensive time. Quite genuinely we nearly lost the business, but with the help of my amazing staff and a tremendous amount of effort, time and energy we barely made it through. I haven’t had to strategize that creatively ever, and it was a challenge that had me pulling ideas deep from within to make it through. There was also a lot of expected stress, mental and emotional roller coasters, near financial death experiences, etc.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
One of the best things that has helped us grow our clientele is our location. The saying goes and holds very true – location, location, location. You have to be in a high traffic area for a business like mine. People what immediate convenience and satisfaction, they do not want to have to work for it or be inconvenienced. Quite literally being just even a block away from a high traffic area or an area that is not synergistic with your clientele could be the difference in making it or not. Also, customer service is huge – always make your customers feel special and give them a unique and wonderful experience every time they come in. Communicate effectively and consistently with things like emails blasts, social media, in-house events (liike trunks shows), etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mixtfinethings.com
- Instagram: @mixtfinethings
- Facebook: @mixtfinethings
Image Credits
kim duffy