We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sundi McLaughlin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sundi below.
Sundi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I would hope my legacy would be that we created a lovely shop where our customers could come in and shop, be greeted like a friend, have a laugh, find something perfect for just about anybody on your list, have your items wrapped beautifully so you were able to simply hand it over to your loved one. My goal is for my customer to have fun while they are under our roof. I hate to see people stressed over gift giving. It should be fun and something we get to do, not something we have to do.
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?
Mockingbird on Broad is a retail shop where we sell beautiful artwork, lovely things for children, gorgeous candles and hysterical mugs, towels, and a myriad of other goodies we have curated from around the world. We are celebrating our 14th year in business this month and I am now more than ever so thankful to our customers. When I originally opened up the shop I was seeking a purpose. A way to be creative, be of value to my community, work in a space which provided people a place to laugh and escape their stresses for a minute. What I received in return was more than I could have ever hoped for… When we moved to Southern Pines, NC I did not know a soul and my husband was quickly deployed leaving me to figure out what kind of life I wanted to create for myself and after a year of looking for a job I landed a retail position in downtown and fell in love with my daily interactions with my new neighbors. I loved being creative and I began to daydream about having my own shop and what that might look like. After a few short months the owners decided to close and after some sleepless nights I decided to take over the lease and see if I could create a paycheck for myself as well as a reason to be excited to get up in the morning.
The shop has become the place I love walking into every morning. I love my staff and we have the best customers. I am humbled everyday by the commitment of our community to shop local. In a world where everything is at your fingertips I am so thankful communities are still shopping with small shops in store and online. What I hope every customer walks away with from our shop is knowing they are valued, treated with kindness, and hopefully had a little laugh.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think I knew from the beginning I wanted everyone who walked in the door to be welcomed like a friend and feel valued. I think we have all walked into a retail environment and felt dismissed or unwelcome. I have never understood that mind set. When someone comes into our shop I want them to be greeted immediately. I am not talking about being pushy but rather a greeting and a reassurance we are here if they need us.
Our online customers are treated like royalty as I am constantly mind-blown how anybody finds our little shop in the sea of online businesses. Every online order is gift wrapped and we write a little thank you note. I want to do everything I can to remain memorable so if that customer needs a gift or a resupply of their favorite fragrance they will remember our little shop in Southern Pines, NC.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
During COVID when we were locked down I really had no idea how we would stay in business. The day we closed and I and the rest of the world had to tell our staff today was the last day we would be open with no clear reopen date –that was about the most surreal moment of my career. None of it was in my control. I had to decide very quickly what was in my control and what could I do to keep the lights on. I decided to provide free deliveries county-wide and focused on stocking things people could immediately use in their homes: puzzles, paint by number kits, embroidery, games, etc. Business exploded our online business grew beyond my wildest dreams. My manager Courtney and I spent the first half of the day preparing any online orders for shipment and then bagged, sorted and loaded the local deliveries and spent the late afternoon and evening delivering all over.
I honestly had no idea how big the county was till I was in the middle of nowhere an hour later delivering a bar of soap, but honestly I don’t regret it one bit. I learned so much about my customers, they left me little treats, I got to visit their homes and I was able to see parts of the surrounding towns I never knew existed. We did that 7 days a week for months. It was exhausting and also gratifying. We ended up having a great year during lockdown. I am constantly reminded during times of uncertainty that these 4 walls of my shop are mine to make and remake as many times as I want. It is both a tremendous gift as well as a heavy responsibility. There is no one else to blame when things go wrong!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mockingbirdonbroad.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mockingbirdonbroad/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MockingbirdonBroad
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundi-mclaughlin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZVybmCsHdY
Image Credits
Photography by Rachel Garrison