Nature’s Nook Children’s Toys & Books, Deborah Burger-Peery
We sell unique toys and provide a fun place for kids to play and learn.
One day I needed to buy a toy for the lesson I was teaching, and it occurred to me there was no specialty toy store in North Dakota.
We established a toy community, and we provide arts and craft classes to local kids and their families.
The high point is that we had a loyal community who continued to shop our business online or during live sales.
The low point is that it was difficult to have a store that is different than what a community is accustomed to shopping. These last few years, it was a challenge to manage revenue and make sure the store stays open.
I had no idea how to start a business, so we attended a SCORE community event at our local library, and they talked about the services SCORE offered to potential business owners. I used all the tools they provided to write a business plan, meet with the people at SCORE and SBA.
SCORE helped me to write a good business plan and all the steps to request operating capital. It also helped me to open our business without any delays.
Business Plans, HR Issues, Marketing