The plan is mostly vintage, some antiques-- my friend who I'm planning to do this with is a big fan of mid-century modern furniture, and I like the 30s/40s shabby chic look.

The guy I know specialized in '50s stuff, so he'd be a great contact for you! I won't be able to get his contact info until next week, though.

mmmmmm, super sweet morrocan mint tea.

My nose is not a grownup nose. For some reason this is currently preoccupying me. My mother's nose is not a grownup nose either, so I blame it on her. My father has a perfectly adult nose, yet the face of someone 20 years his junior.

Also, my head hurts and I want to go home early, but my boss is on a con call and I can't decide--do I hover at his office door anyway and interrupt, or do I send an email telling him what I'm gonna do, or do I stick it out?

Try the email first, ita, then wave at his doorway on your way out.

Catzilla

A cool photo of a giant cat wreaking havoc in a major city.

Probably Photoshopped....

(Also sad that 'wreak' has fallen from common usage.)

Thanks, ita. Now I am staring at my nose, wondering if it is grown up or juvenile. I have no paramters for either.

Holli, google "small business loans for women" and you will see a bunch of info. If you or your partner are a minority, I would also check out business loans for young entrepreneurs, or for a specific minority.

I would also check out competitors not only in your town, but in your area -- how far would you need to go to estate sales, auctions, etc. to get your merchandise, and who would you be up against to get your stock. Do you have a reliable vehicle with room for stock?

How are you going to clean and repair large quantities of vintage clothing? Storage? Display?

Do you have established credit?

ION, I need to get started on the pot roast.

Also remember in costs you've got insurance, taxes, including payroll taxes if you have employees, incorporation fees, etc. Your local SBA can really help you out with this stuff. There's also SCORE which is retired businesspeople who are willing to volunteer their expertise. They're great.

That is a juvenile nose. Now my face is creeping me out.

Also, I said this elsewhere, but there's no reason not to say it here, where I can be more nuanced about it.

Thank you servicemen and servicewomen and veterans. And thank you families of armed service personnel who I know go through a hell of a lot of sacrifice on our behalf. I am a pacifist and a pretty hard core one when it comes down to it. But while I wish your service wasn't required, you are out there, doing it, and paying the price, so thank you.

I think I have a juvenile nose, but it's on a juvenile face, so I guess that's okay? I had one of my just-out-of-school fellow volunteers this summer tell me it must be good for people to think I'm younger than I am at my age, but at hers it was a real pain. Hee. I stifled my laughter and then tried to commiserate about how difficult it was to get respect.