The economic downturn and the fact that people are getting savvier about their money is not making my life easy.  I don’t look at that as a bad thing, however. The fact is, my business has never been better than it is right now.  My shop is only 1,300 square feet; it certainly isn’t the size of a strip mall shop.  In the past two years I have been getting by with the space that I have.  Now, I am finding that the economy is driving many more customers to my door, and there are times I can barely accommodate them. Of course, Bella Grande has the reputation for quality goods and phenomenal customer service. We have worked hard to make this little store a haven for the plus size gals in the neighborhood and surrounding community, and have been very successful with that. It is almost like too much of a good thing…

We need another fitting room, for one thing. There have been days when I have had gals trying on clothes in my office and even the bathroom. Although I have two nice-sized fitting rooms, which should be sufficient for the size of my store, I have been having this happen with frightening regularity.  It bothers me, because I know how frustrating it can be for the ladies to have to wait to try on clothing when they are in the midst of retail therapy!  I haven’t had a general revolt yet, but I can picture it happening.

I can squeeze out space for another fitting room, but that means my office space disappears. I try to keep all the book working chores out of my personal life, and if things are a little slow, I can always slip back to my desk and work on bills and invoices, but if I put another fitting room in, then that means figuring out a place for the computer and my fridge and microwave. It’s always something.

Don’t think I am complaining – I’m not. Business has never been better, and I have worked hard to make sure that happens. My biggest wish is that I was 20 years younger, so I could go out and get another store that can accommodate my customers. Oh, well, if wishes were fishes…