We were lucky to catch up with Mary Rachich recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I’ve always been fascinated by small business and from a young age I wanted in. During grade school I found an ad in the back of a magazine and ordered “inventory at no charge!”  My mother was perplexed when a giant box of greeting cards arrived. I saw the box and couldn’t wait to get started!  Alas, my mom promptly sent it back. But I never stopped trying to run small businesses. Through the years I’ve sold (among other things) Avon, Mary Kay, my handcrafted jewelry and a gardening service.  All while working full time for someone else.

When my father passed I decided to take the leap into my own full time business. There’s something about losing someone close to you that makes you re-evaluate your priorities. I was working at a stressful job and my dad’s home was 10 hours away. My sisters and I were tasked with clearing out the home prior to selling it… a heart wrenching, sobering project. While commuting for work and to/from the house, I listened to inspiring business podcasts and brainstormed about how I could leave my job and start my own business. One podcast mentioned that large numbers of baby boomers were heading into retirement age so more services would be needed for them. The “opportunity” light bulb went on for me. What if I started a business helping people with their possessions as they downsized homes? I started dictating my business plan right then and there.

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?

My name is Mary and I’m the owner of TCC, a business that helps people with their possessions when they no longer want/need them. My typical customer is moving to a smaller home or is a small business looking to liquidate inventory. We customize and implement a strategy to get possessions and people to new homes.  Items are sold on eBay (store name: Appealing Finds) or through our auction business (TCC Auctions). What doesn’t sell is donated. Nothing gets thrown out (i.e. into a landfill) on my watch! Through my connections with local non-profits, I make sure that the business is as “green” as possible.

Let’s face it, moving is stressful. It’s consistently listed as one of the top 5 stressful events in life. It can be hard to part with items that have been with you for decades. If you’re letting go of something that belonged to a loved one then you may be dealing with guilt, indecision or even re-living the loss. I’m proud that my business can step in, take charge and remove much of the stress. We operate with integrity, compassion and patience so that the customer can move forward.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

We sell items through eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Offer Up and our online auction/estate sale site on Auction Ninja. Facebook Marketplace and Offer Up are good for local sales of large items, but there can be a fair amount of scammers to sidestep. My favorite places to sell are on eBay and our online auction/estate sale site. I’ve been selling on eBay for 24 years. They have a great site with worldwide buyers & sellers. Sometimes it takes a while for items to sell, so auctions can be preferable to meet a customer’s limited timeframe. Auction Ninja is terrific to work with and our online auctions/estate sales are streamlined and efficient for my customers.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I bootstrapped my business and I’m not going to lie… it was challenging at times. On the plus side, I was able to get started quickly. I used any money I made to fund the business.  However, without capital I wasn’t always able to buy the things I needed for the business until I made more money. It was certainly an incentive to work harder.  I’d like to think I inherited this ability to utilize only existing resources from my ancestors. They came to the United States from Italy with “nothing” and created several successful restaurants and businesses in New York City.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: appealingfinds and tccauctions
• Facebook: TCC Auctions

Image Credits
Mary Rachich