Reader,

A brand new video just dropped this afternoon on YouTube, this one is for anyone new to the antique booth world who is looking for tried-and-true tips from veteran sellers.

It's a quick one, under 10 minutes, so easy to listen to in the background. And if you find it helpful, please pass it along to your booth selling friends or share in your booth advice Facebook groups!

How to Protect yourself as a Booth Owner

A few weeks ago, the news hit that all locations of The Painted Tree would be closing. If you're not familiar with this business, The Painted Tree was a franchise of an upscale, flea-market type mall: one where small businesses rented booth spaces to sell their items. There were locations all over the country and the stores seemed popular and successful . . . until all of a sudden they weren't.

The closure happened within hours. Doors were locked the same day and many sellers were unable to get in to get their inventory. The Painted Tree franchise has announced they are filing bankruptcy and many booth vendors are left without a paycheck for their most current items sold.

I've seen countless social media posts from business owners involved, and my heart breaks for them. Not only are sellers out of being paid money they earned through their sales, but they are out of a location option where they can run their business.

To be honest, the whole situation makes me really angry. I'm a huge believer in the small business world, and to see a large corporation get away with something like this just feels so wrong.

So to help fight back and prepare yourself for any future event like this, here are a few suggestions anytime you decide to rent a booth space:

👉 Read the Lease Carefully. The lease you sign will detail what the responsibilities the mall has to you. It's a legally binding document, and leases contain a lot of information about what the mall can and may actually do with your items and funds. It's important you enter this relationship with a clear understanding of the limits of your lease, ask for help from an attorney or trusted friend/family member if you need help understanding what all it says.

👉 No Lease? No Space. Do not enter into a "handshake" agreement with someone, ever. I've been there and done that, and it's just a bad idea. Anytime money is involved, all details of a business relationship need to be agreed upon, listed in writing, and signed by both parties.

👉 Consider Insurance. It's not always necessary, but if losing your inventory suddenly would financially ruin you, it would be a good idea to look into commercial property insurance. I write a lot more about this on my blog, you can check it out here.

👉 Have Zero Tolerance for Late or Missed Paycheck. If your mall owner does not pay your monthly check on time or skips a month for whatever reason, I would make plans to give your notice and leave within the month. This is usually a sign of more bad news coming. Yes, it may mean you have to come up with a new location and plan, but you'll get out before it gets worse. A short term inconvenience for a long term benefit.

👉 Consider Small, Family Locations. Not all booths have to be inside big, giant malls. I've had booths inside small boutiques owned not by large corporations, but by other small business owners like myself. These small businesses don't have the corporate facade to hide behind, and while that may seem riskier, it could also be a benefit. Often your success is directly tied to theirs, so you may see more transparency and honesty from them.

👉 Speak Out and Stand Up for Small Businesses. It's a tough world out there, and we need to look out for each other :) One of the best ways you can continue on in business is to be trustworthy and reliable yourself, and to invest in relationships while networking with other small business owners. If the worst happens, there's power in numbers and you can call on your network to help get through the tough time.

If anyone reading this was a Painted Tree vendor, please hear me say how sorry I am about this whole situation. And if there is something I can to do help, please reach out.

The Found Collection In-Person Sale

My local sale is just around the corner! May 8-9 in downtown Springdale, Arkansas. If you're a member of the Collector's List newlsetter, I'll be sending out more info to you in the coming days.

The space is really coming together! Here's a few preview photos:

Everyone have a wonderful rest of your week, I'm off to clean and price more stuff!

Melanie Alexander Owner Lost & Found ​LostandFoundDecor.com​ Let's Stay Connected! ​​​​ ​