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

Remy, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Taking a step backwards in business can actually be stepping forward. The best advice I have in business is, put your pride aside.

In January of 2022 we purchased a 7,000 sq. ft. building in Columbia, TN, which is now Shops at James Hill. Over the course of a year we renovated the dilapidated building, turning it into 5 store fronts. When we signed our first tenants, instead of feeling accomplished for our achievement as building owners, I felt sad as a small business owner. I watched another business step into a space that would have been “perfect” for my own business, Vintage Remnants. Vintage Remnants really took a back burner during this entire process. It was confusing for me, I felt the natural progression for an online shop, was a store front, but I never felt ready.

As the spaces were filing up, I felt pressured. Both from my own pride and outside sources, to take the leap and open a Vintage Remnants store front. At the end of August, our business parters in the building also wanted to open a store front as soon as possible, leaving the opportunity open to split the warehouse. In a matter of a few short days, I hastily made a decision to join the space and open a store front, out of pure F.O.M.O.

I put my head down and rushed what should have taken months to prepare for. I opened a store front in less than 30 days.
In my heart I knew it wasn’t the right time or place for Vintage Remnants. Looking back I wish I would have listened to my heart rather than succumbing to outside sources and the fear I put on myself of missing out.

Prior to opening this store front, Vintage Remnants thrived because of the freedom it provided. No commitment being tied to a location, the daily commute of 1.5 hr, a strict open/close schedule I had to follow, or hiring someone to man the shop when I had other business to handle. All of which changed in having a store front. The voice in the back of my mind that I silenced while opening the store front crept up and took over. My best interest wasn’t continuing in this direction. It was taking a step “backwards” and only selling online (which was very successful). It hurt my pride and ego feeling I “failed” to successfully run a store front.

Sometimes, we don’t need to fix something that isn’t broken though. In my case, reflecting back, I needed to open that store front to realize it’s not actually what I want, but more so one of those things you feel you have to do in order to show the world you’re succeeding.

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’m Remy Watters, small business owner of Vintage Remnants.

Vintage Remnants was born out of needing to fund my thrift store runs. It was a mix of the thrill I got from finding deals and wanting a sustainable business.

I had just abruptly finished a 4 year stint traveling the world solo. My world drastically changed in an instant. I was in a brutal motorbike accident in Thailand and broke my knee. Tearing ligaments and leaving me unable to continue the nomad lifestyle, I returned to the U.S. to heal my body. Since most work required me to be of able body, I hobbled the aisles of the local thrift stores on crutches and started buying and selling with marginal profits of $5-10.

I profited nearly $5,000 that year. I was proud of myself, it wasn’t the dollar amount but rather it was something I did on my own. I eagerly woke up in the mornings and wanted to go thrifting. Never did I think I would make money doing something I was having fun with. As my leg healed I worked other jobs, and this became a side job for me. I sold small shippable items for about a year and when we moved to Tennessee and was faced with having to furnish an entire house at the beginning of lockdown, I explored the idea of furniture and bigger items now that I had garage space. Vintage Remnants started from knickknacks, took very small steps and today I’m happy to say I am fully self-employed and thriving!

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

During the remodel of Shops at James Hill, I painfully neglected Vintage Remnants. My husband and I were investing all of our income and time into the building remodel, leaving the Vintage Remnants reinvestment funds to run dry. It wasn’t business savvy, but hey, this was our first investment property. Looking back it was a hard lesson of do’s and don’ts for our future.

Feeling emotionally and financially depleted, on one of our drives home I cried out of overwhelming stress. I thought I had made a terrible financial mistake. I didn’t know how we would make it all work.

Earlier that same day I had received a message from a buyer on Marketplace asking for pricing on an item, I had no clue how important that message was going to be for us until later that night. I didn’t get around to replying until that evening. That one message turned out to be a huge blessing. She was a set designer for a tv show and she bought thousands of dollars worth of inventory from me in a single day.

Again I cried, remember that next time you support a small business.

How did you build your audience on social media?

If you follow Vintage Remnants, you get to know me as a person, because I am my brand. You know you’ve done something right when people message you “I can’t wait to buy from you”. It becomes not about what you’re selling but how you’re selling it.

I openly share my everyday life, not just what’s for sale. I’m open and honest. I invite conversation with my followers. I bring my followers along with me to the thrift store via my stories and do “Love it or Leave it”, including the community I’ve built around my business to help me buy for their needs and wants.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/vintageremnants?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/profile/100003867944154/?ref=permalink&mibextid=6ojiHh

Image Credits
Lydia Faith with @thevintagegallerygirl