We recently connected with Kristina Grimm and have shared our conversation below.

Kristina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The idea of the retail concept came to me when I was starting out as a creative entrepreneur. I was doing custom invitations for weddings and started a small line of stationery and greeting cards. I had a really hard time to find a way to sell my products locally and even to promote my custom invitation services. I was marketing online and selling on Etsy, but I felt like I was just getting lost in this endless sea of products. The idea of a collection of makers under one roof came when I saw wedding professionals share office space, and I thought “huh, maybe makers share a store space”.

I did a few pop-ups at local boutiques and retailers such as West Elm and Pottery Barn, but I would have maybe 1 or 2 sales (most of the time no sales). I noticed that the customers coming in to shop were just in a different mindset. They were coming in with a mission to buy a dining table or sofa, and just wasn’t my customer.
Being frustrated with the pop-ups, I then decided to try a maker’s market. The market was such a big time and cost investment and, unfortunately, due to bad weather it wasn’t very busy and my sales didn’t make up for what I put into it. And the thought of a collective space of makers just kept coming back into my mind. I had also recently moved to Florida from Texas and there was no local shops in my area. So, I knew this idea was just not beneficial to the small businesses, but also to the community. It would give the community a unique place to shop and connect with their local businesses.

I began to host shopping events based on this concept I had. I brought together a few friends with small businesses and we set up our little spots throughout my house. We invited all our friends, family and neighbors to come sip, shop, and mingle with us. We did a couple of events a year and more and more people would attend. They would tell me how much the appreciated the events, and from then I knew I was on to something. With seeing the positive response from the community, it lit a fire in me to open the retail store.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Thrive Local is a mission to help locally-owned small businesses thrive in their community. It’s a retail shop with a curated mix of Florida makers, artists and boutiques with a focus on building a connection with our community. We also hosts daily pop-ups, workshops and events. The shop was created to have local business owners join forces to reduce the costs and risks of having a retail location. So, many resources are out of reach for small business owners, and we really wanted to put those resources in reach for small businesses that can help them thrive. Our company truly cherishes our partnerships with the local businesses in our shop. We strive to provide a seamless and exciting experience for them as well as providing a fun experience for our supporters. The impact we have had on small businesses and the community was the reason why we started this, but never did I imagine the impact it would have on me. It’s just really special and I am so happy to get to be apart of it.

In addition to our shop, we also showcase small businesses in Florida through our online directory, lifestyle blog, and on our social media platforms.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think your entire journey of being a small business owner requires resilience. Getting our first pop-up retail location open was very challenging mentally and physically. There was so much to do and learn, and it was for the most part just me. It felt like one obstacle thrown at me after another.
I even had to put in about 60 hours a week to operate the store on top of everything else it takes to run a businesses and a family, because I didn’t have a budget to hire employees. After the first pop-up ended, we were already planning our second and that’s when the pandemic hit. After all the hard work I had put into the business, I felt like it just got swept away. I wasn’t sure what things would look like and when life would get back up to speed. But, I knew I didn’t want to let it go. So, I used this time to continue and build brand awareness. I focused on social media to connect with locals and local businesses as well as thought of new ways to support local businesses such as creating an online directory. A couple of years later, we opened our second pop-up store that is now open all year round.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I looked into how other businesses I admired got funded, I was always so discouraged because I would find out that they had family donate a large amount, or they had $50k to a million plus in savings or loans. But, as I always like to say “where there’s a will, there’s a way” and I bootstrapped the business. I had a very small budget to start with from a little money I had from my creative business and a credit card with a small limit. I put together a spreadsheet with my costs and potential incoming sales to know how much I needed to have upfront before revenue would be generated. I had to take the vision I created in my mind of what I wanted to store to look like and really modify it to fit. Once I had the money, I immediately paid off the credit card. And I still use the bootstrapping method today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thrivelocalfl.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/Thrivelocalfl
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Thrivelocalfl

Image Credits
Winshipp Photography