Talking Shop: Vintage Besoms

BID for Galashiels’ Retail Resilience Pilot has been supporting local businesses with tailored advice from retail expert Graham Soult, helping them identify practical ways to improve their businesses and build connections with each other. In our Talking Shop series, participants share what they’ve put into practice and the difference it’s making. This time, we hear from Angela from Vintage Besoms.

“I signed up for the Retail Resilience Pilot because I think I'd got myself into a bit of a rut with the shop. There were loads of things I knew needed doing, but I needed somebody to help me think through them a bit more strategically, give me some feedback and really give me the fuel to make some changes.

I suppose I was looking for a bit of validation about the things I'd already been thinking about, and that's definitely what I got.

One of the main things Graham picked up on was the look and feel of the outside of the shop. I've never actually had proper signage up in the three years I've been here. I've got big decals in the windows, but Graham spoke a lot about how important it is that people understand what your business is and what you do before they even decide to step through the door.

Since meeting with Graham, the report and our conversations have really spurred me into action. I've already freshened up the woodwork outside and given it a repaint, and I've had loads of people stopping to say they've noticed the difference. People hadn't really realised how faded it had become until they saw it looking brighter again.

I've even had other businesses asking who did the work and how they could do something similar. And I've noticed three or four other shops starting to freshen up their own shopfronts too. I'm not saying that's just because they've seen me doing it, but I think sometimes seeing somebody else make a change gives you the confidence to do it yourself."

"The other big thing for me was stock management. My shop's a wee bit different from a traditional retailer because I'm often buying one of everything, sourcing things from auctions, antique fairs and house clearances. Graham helped me think about how I was managing my storage and what was actually sitting there. Was it stock that was ready to come into the shop, or had it become somewhere that things just went to die?

It's made me rethink how I buy and hold stock going forward. I think in the past I've sometimes been guilty of seeing an empty space and thinking I need to go out and buy something to fill it. Whereas now I'm thinking more about what people are actually buying, what they're coming back for and what they're looking for, rather than just buying for the sake of filling space.

I think what's been really valuable about the pilot is that there weren't necessarily any big shocks or surprises in the report, which was actually quite comforting! But it really helped solidify the things I'd been thinking about and gave me the energy to actually get on with them.

I've already made progress on quite a few of the actions Graham suggested, and those short-term gains will hopefully put me in a much better position for the medium and long term too.

I'd say to any business owner thinking about taking part, just do it, to be honest. I think every business owner has something in the back of their mind that they know they could be doing differently or improving.

Sometimes you just need somebody else to come in, look at your business with fresh eyes and help you work out what to do next. Spending that time with Graham has been really beneficial, and it's given me the push I needed to get things moving.”