We recently connected with Whitney Conard and have shared our conversation below.

Whitney, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2021, I was taking a break from my nursing career to be home with our children in the midst of Covid-era school closures and workplace shifts. Even in the middle of homeschooling, I felt the itch to tackle a new project. A few friends began selling thrift store finds on Instagram. As an avid thrifter and IG-savvy techie, I thought it looked like a fun side gig until something more “professional” came along.

Before I knew it, I fell completely in love with the vintage & antiques business. I had always been passionate about history and unique objects. But I also realized how much I enjoyed running my own business. I was able to sell items at a profit and generate enough revenue to more than cover the part-time nursing salary I had been earning in my pre-Covid position. And it gave me the flexibility to stay home with my three young children (including our youngest daughter, who was born several months after I began selling vintage online).

My business grew from Instagram sales to an Etsy vintage shop to my own website and an antique booth at a local store in the Kansas City metro. I source and ship items worldwide and bring English country-style decor to the Midwest. I also share a lot of my own experience and business tips online with other vintage sellers via monthly live webinars on Instagram with a cohost, Nicole from @vintagehavenshoppe – meeting a huge need for business education in the vintage world.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Whitney Conard, and I run Thrifty Whitney, an Instagram account featuring my vintage & antique shop and business resources for online vintage sellers. I live in the Kansas City metro area with my husband and three children. Since 2021, I sell English-inspired vintage home decor and antiques online and in my booth at Glenwood Antique Mall in Overland Park, Kansas. I bring people along my business journey through Instagram videos, live sales and webinars, and business coaching through one-on-one services and an IG subscription for sellers. I source my items in the Midwest and the UK, bringing unique vintage style into people’s homes.

I believe vintage & antiques are for everyone, and one of my greatest pleasures is helping people find those objects that speak to them on a deep, emotional level. So many of my customers buy items from me that remind them of people they have loved or places they have traveled. I love helping people create homes that reflect their greatest values and joys.

For me, as a lifelong Anglophile, that means finding those ‘elegantly knackered’ decor items, furniture, and original artwork that speaks of generations-long ownership and casual use that is so often seen in English country homes. It is a style I am continually refining and seeking.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Instagram has played a huge part in my business growth. I had built a previous IG account to almost 20k a few years before, so I knew how to connect with and nurture an audience. From the very beginning, I have shared my face and voice consistently on my account. I take followers along with me when shopping for inventory, have regular live sales, and follow IG strategists to know what is trending on IG and how to leverage that on IG.

Over the past 3 years, I have grown my audience to 31k on IG, thanks to collaborating with other sellers and posting reels that strategically reach my ideal customers.

My biggest advice for those starting out: get really clear on who your ideal customer is and create content based around their struggles and loves. Your account is not about you; it is about your customer. Learn how to attract new customers, build trust with them, and sell to them in authentic ways. Don’t fight the algorithm or complain about having to do things a certain way. IG is a free marketing tool, and if you learn to use it the right way, you will be rewarded with a loyal customer base and growing reach.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Last year, I stumbled across a posting with preview photos for a live auction where I live. In the photos were dozens (perhaps hundreds) of pieces of antique ironstone, a specific kind of china that is in high demand. I had only attended one live auction before. These can be highly competitive and very intimidating for novices. But I knew my customers would buy all the ironstone from me, and it would bring a huge cash flow into my business.

So I attended the live auction – sitting in a sweaty warehouse in the middle of July without air conditioning, among seasoned antique dealers and auction pros. I was definitely the new kid on the block, bidding against the veterans. And as the bids opened, I waited for the auctioneer to drop the opening bids, and I started putting my paddle up. Steadily throughout the evening, I won dozens of pieces of china at the right price and went home with my car packed to the brim.

It was a huge risk financially to sink that much time and capital into this stock. But within a few weeks, I sold the majority of the pieces. I knew it was a risk I could take, because I knew what I could sell it for. I actually regret not getting more of it, because of the profit I could have pulled in.

Once you have run your business long enough, you know how to invest strategically in ways that will pay off – even if it means writing a big check in the beginning.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.thriftywhitney.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thrifty_whitney
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thriftywhitneyshop
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@thriftywhitney

Image Credits

All images belong to Whitney Conard.