My main job is the "Senior Operations Manager" for Turn of the Century Antiques on South Broadway. I love working here. You will find me here Tuesday through Friday and the occasional Saturday.
I gave myself this title and I truly enjoy what I do. I am basically the go to person for pretty much everything technical around there but my function has evolved into this over the years. I have for sure put in my time. I spent my childhood in this store hiding in doll cases and scaring people. Now I scare them but from behind the counter. Our store works because half of our talent is artists and the other half are business people like myself that think in dollar signs and bottom lines. I have to make a lot of decisions and I am our conflict resolution specialist so I stay pretty busy around there.
I handle our internet sales, advertising, some buying, and I travel to trade shows and set up booth to sell on the road. I am on a commission pay structure. My Mom started that business 37 years ago and we specialize in antique dolls, silver, toys, and decorative smalls.
With the advent of eBay and selling on the web, she needed someone to oversee selling online - which to someone who has never done it is quite the challenging task. I have been working at Turn of the Century Antiques since I was 14 - started selling on eBay, our personal website, and got us on Ruby Lane. I have creative control and love researching new avenues for us to generate income - and a lot of my ideas work. Some don't. It's neat to ebb and flow with the changing markets.
Here are a couple links to our eBay stores, Ruby Lane store, and our website.
I got my degree in Communications and Business Management and worked full time through college. After college, I had several options but with my background in business and true love for what I was doing, I stayed working in the family business. I expanded it pretty exponentially online and liked my little empire that I had built. I got a little burnt out though and took a step back from antiques and took a three year job selling jewelry for John Atencio which was one of the best experiences of my entire life. For personal reasons, I left in December of 2011 but still miss it and think fondly of my experience all the time.
This entire time however, I was approached by several stores in the Denver area that needed help with their online sales. I began my consulting business in 2006 and I help people build and online platform to sell their items - no matter what they have - I teach people the best selling techniques and strategies to sell their "stuff". I can sell your crap that you just want out of your life to super high end unique items.
I also teach lessons on pretty much anything. Last week I gave a lady three hours of Facebook lessons. I think it's safe to say I know a little about Facebook :)
I have been working for Heidelberg Antiques on 1460 South Broadway since 2006 and if you haven't been to this store, totally come in. It's so cute and full of amazing European antiques and the owner buys them personally in Europe about six times a year. It's been fun learning a whole other world of antiques from what I specialize in. Here is their eBay store that I built from the ground up: http://stores.ebay.com/heidelbergantiques
I also do the web for Scandinavian Antiques on Antique Row in Denver. If you need to decorate your place, this is where you come. The owner here also goes to Europe several times a year to buy the furniture and ships it back in huge crates. These people and the furniture that they have is AMAZING and they have a studio to customize or make anything for you from scratch.
I am a certified workaholic and consistently strive for balance in my life. I love opportunities and working and it's very hard for me to pass anything up - even when I have to sacrifice in other areas. I have found myself on way too many occasion saying "well I love to work" when asked about my hobbies. As I strive for balance in my life, I am also thankful because I do what I enjoy and that is huge and I feel very blessed.
XO
Rachel
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