Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Malikkah Gamble. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Malikkah, appreciate you joining us today. How do you think about cost-management? Growing a business is always exciting, but often businesses run into issues when costs grow faster than revenue – have you experienced such an episode? Any advice for other operators around how to keep costs in line?

I opened Rocks & Roots for the first time as a temporary pop-up shop in Marlborough, MA last May. The Marlborough Economic Development Committee (MEDC) has three 8×10 sheds set up downtown that alternate small businesses from May-October each year. I was immediately drawn to the opportunity to open up my own little store but only if the price and the details were right. I had already been doing craft fairs off and on as time allowed and thought this would be an opportunity to take it a step further. My husband and I both work full time and the income from my “day job” fluctuates as it is 100% commission based, so I wanted to make sure that this little adventure didn’t end up costing us too much money as we had already made several financial commitments for the year. Once I found out that the only cost of the Marlborough Pop-Up Shops (other than carrying liability insurance) was a completely refundable deposit, I signed up for 8 weekends spaced throughout the summer and haven’t looked back since.

I come from a family of thrifters and am a recycler and upcycler by nature. If I can find something pre-owned to save money and waste, I will. I love cleaning up and painting old pieces of furniture and finding creative ways to reuse things. None of the shelving or staging in the shop is new; literally everything is pre-owned. If I had to guess, I would say I spent between $400-$500 total to set up our physical location on Main St. (excluding the merchandise).

One of my main objectives while dreaming up this little business has always been to be able to incorporate various types of artwork made by family or friends that I have met along the way. A consignment type of agreement is most popular with shops like mine. It offers a low cost and low risk opportunity to the shop owner as you don’t have to pay upfront for that portion of your inventory, instead paying out a percentage of the sale to the artist after it has been made. This has made it possible for me to keep growing slowly and adding new, beautiful, handmade things without the financial risk, all while helping other artists get their work out there and for sale in a retail location.

Lastly, I have, as I often do, managed to fit as much goodness into a fairly small space as possible. I was introduced to the owner of Minuteman Press by a mutual friend at the MEDC while doing the pop-up shops. She was looking for a small business to rent a portion of her space in an effort to help revitalize Main St. and I was looking for a way to keep my little business going now that it had gotten too cold for me to setup in the pop-up shops. When I saw the space in person, particularly the huge window and close proximity to Welly’s, one of Marlborough’s favorite and most popular restaurants, I knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime if the price was right for me, which is was. What I sacrificed in not being able to have signage on the building was easily offset by the cost of the rent. It’s a fairly small space, but I have worked hard to tastefully fill it from top to bottom with houseplants, vinyl records, local photo prints, paintings, pottery, jewelry and a variety of nature-inspired artwork. I am always looking for inexpensive ways to improve the layout and better utilize the space to be able to fit more merchandise and bring in new artists.

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?

I come from a people and nature-loving family. We love animals, plants, music, art, the ocean and rocks…my family definitely has a thing for rocks. I have always love helping people and learning from people. My professional background is in banking, mortgages and real estate, all which I love, but this is my truest passion. My husband is a gym owner but spends his free time painting and taking amazing pictures throughout the cities and towns we visit. I spend most of mine rearranging the house and the shop to make room for more plants; I am “the plant lady”. We both have a very strong love of music and have been collecting vinyl records for years so the shop is really an extension of our favorite things: plants, music and art. We love meeting and talking to people.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I think it’s a mix between social media and word of mouth. I’m definitely not as tech-savy as our teenagers when it comes go social media but I recognize how important it is and am always working on creating consistent content, improving my skills and increasing our reach.

I can’t begin to count the number of times of times that someone has come in because someone recommended us to them, and while that may not be the number one source of business, it is by far the most rewarding source and we appreciate it more than words can say.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

So happy you asked this question. This is something that comes up often as more of a joke between my husband and I. People will often refer to Rocks & Roots as our shop and he loves to correct people and tell them it’s mine. The truth of the matter is, however, that I would not have been willing or able to do this without his support. There is so much that goes into it that people don’t see, and he has been there with me every step of the way since my very first craft fair way back when. He has helped me set up countless times, works with me in the shop every chance he gets, covers me in the shop when I can’t be there, picks up the slack at home with rides for the kids etc. so I can keep showing up and doing this, and most importantly, constantly encourages me to keep going and keep growing. So while he may not technically be the co-founder, he is definitely my partner in all things, and this venture is no exception. We are in this thing together.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/rockandroots_ma
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/rocksandrootsma