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

Hi Lizzie, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Quite a few years ago, my husband and I got talking about how our city has a lot of pride but we couldn’t find any products showing that. We sat on the idea for a long time, always talking about how one day we wanted to make some products to sell that showcased the city. We thought about designs for t-shirts, hats, stickers, etc. and were always bringing up new ideas for our future store. Once Dearborn’s downtown area started bringing new businesses to the area, we were hearing a lot of comments about wanting retail, small shops, and locally made goods but each new thing that came, was….. not that. So, eventually we just decided to jump on the idea and start with doing pop-ups around town. We started out with a handful of products and maybe 4 local vendors that consigned items with us. We have since opened our storefront in Downtown Dearborn and have grown to over 70 vendors! We also host workshops where customers can DIY different products seen in the store. This was an idea of one of our vendors! The store also holds community events throughout the summer with food trucks, local vendors & businesses, and more! Dearborn hasn’t seen a business like this in years so the community is very excited to have us here and they always tell us so!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The Dearborn Shop, as mentioned, is a space for local vendors (based anywhere in Michigan) to sell their products, network with other small businesses, and to get involved with the community. I think this shop is more than just a store. We really have built a community here with our vendors and customers. A lot of our customers have reached out to vendors asking for custom items, and we have seen quite a few of our vendors expand their businesses, collaborate with each other, and become friends with people they might not have ever met otherwise. We once had an event where one of the vendors asked if “everyone is like this.” He said he has never been anywhere where the vendors and customers are so kind, happy, considerate, and friendly to each other. We really are all just happy to be here. It shows and I think that definitely makes us stand out from other shops similar to ours. We just all want to see each other do well and the people who attend our events and walk into the store can feel that!

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

Honestly, when we decided to finally act on our idea, we just… figured it out. We invested in a small amount of products for our first local pop-up and took our profits from that to reinvest in our business. A building kind of fell into our laps so we took the risk and signed the lease. Some months are slow and it’s a worry if we will make rent, but other months are great! It really depends on the season, the weather, and if there are other events in the area going on. Right now, we are fairly happy with where we are at for being 1 year into having our storefront, but we will always need more business if we want to grow and support more vendors and community members.

Any advice for managing a team?

Currently, the official “team” is me. But I do have some vendors that love the shop and have been really helpful! Laura from Sincerely the Singers has been helping plan our workshops and events, while Shalyn with Nibbles of Many Sweets has worked at the store when I can’t be here. I know that if I need any help, that I can reach out to them, or any of our vendors. I am always worried about them and checking in to make sure they are happy with how things are going and making sure I am providing feedback on their products from our customers. I also try to stay on top of reminding everyone when their stock is low, or when a holiday is coming up that we need to prepare inventory for. I think just the fact that I care about them, make sure they know it, and follow through on that by keeping open communication with them is a huge part of why everyone is just happy to be involved. My vendors have followed each other on social media and we do all check in on each other. Not a single time has a vendor left the store without asking if we need help with anything. We even help each other with non-business things as well. Everyone is here to support each other, not just in the area of our businesses. It’s a dream to see so much support and to know that we built this community.

Contact Info:

• Website: thedearbornshoponline@gmail.com
• Instagram: @thedearbornshop
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDearbornShop