Don't forget to share with your friends!
All one has to do is talk with The Beanstalk founder, Amie Blanks, to see just how passionate she is about her business. Amie made the decision to start an older children’s clothing consignment sale in the fall of 2010, after determining that in a bad economy, purchasing gently used clothing was one way a family could reduce expenses. However, there was a lack of opportunities to buy/sell used clothing for older children.
Having done extensive research and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback, she established The Beanstalk Consignment Sale. Amie’s goal was to help people not only save money, but make money. Her response has been great – so much so that she added a women’s event to her fall season. With all the brick and mortar women’s consignment stores in Winston-Salem, this was taking a risk. However, the result was phenomenal, with The Beanstalk selling as much women’s clothing as they did girl’s this past fall.
So with the competition from retail consignment shops, how has Amie made The Beanstalk such a success? Traditionally, consignment shops offer consignees about 40% of the sale price on the items they consign – whereas The Beanstalk offers 70-75%. As Amie says, “It is a one shot deal, but people can earn more with us.” The lack of overhead from Amie’s seasonal business enables her to give more back to consignees while still making a profit. As well, retailers can only take in so many items while The Beanstalk can take in everything a consignee has to offer.
With all the effort to make and save money, Amie has not forgotten about her original goal of helping people. The Beanstalk partners with Family Promise of Forsyth County to aid homeless families by donating items that don’t sell in the semi-annual sales. The Beanstalk’s donations have been overwhelming – to the point of giving Family Promise almost more clothing than it could handle!
The future for The Beanstalk? Amie, who balances this business with family and a full-time job, still has visions of growth. She’d like to lengthen the sale to cover more days, have it evolve into more of a family event and add more charities. Amazingly, Amie says of how she juggles it all, “I love it so much…it just all gets done!”
Our hats are off to you, Amie! We’re glad to have you as a new participant.
October 21, 2011
