3 lessons this teacher learned in buying and building a small business

Their top sellers: Baby gear, bags and cards.

But a year ago, it was on the verge of liquidating. The original owner, Elizabeth Brislin, had searched unsuccessfully for somebody to take over the business.

Enter Amber Shealy. Drawn to her sewing skills, Brislin had hired her to work at the store off-and-on while on breaks from her main job as an elementary school teacher.

But when she found out about the store’s predicament, Shealy felt a tug. Recently married, she huddled with her husband and crunched the numbers. On September 1, she officially bought Eliza B’s.

In her first year outside the classroom, Shealy can’t help but point out similarities between her business and the school where she taught as she walks the store — from the big Post-It notes marking finished projects to the spreadsheets she continually makes.

Here are three big schoolhouse-style lessons she’s learned in buying and building her small business.

1) To get results, track the right things.

Schools have gone deep into data. Teachers track their students’ progress on all sorts of measures spanning reading, writing and math.

Shealy says she’s brought the same approach to Eliza B’s. Her laptop is an amalgam of spreadsheets. One of the key metrics for her seasonal business is monthly sales, year-over-year. In the past few months, her months have been as much as 50 percent over the same month a year prior.

“The same way I looked at students making progress, I look at my business,” she says.

2) Organization is key.

Every year as a teacher, Shealy had a new classroom to organize. She brought that mindset to Eliza B’s when she took over.

A few of her first tasks were to clear out the front of the store to create better sight-lines, fill in gaps in the displays and declutter the backshop where she produces her monograms.

3) Group work helps everyone.

There’s a reason why teachers have their students work in groups. They can help teach each other, and solidify their own knowledge.

Shealy participated in some group work of her own shortly after taking over Eliza B’s, connecting with the owners of Blis gift boutique Uptown. Blis had a ton to share about inventory control and store design.

In exchange, Shealy was able to share some of her tips for vinyl decals that both stores offer. The Blis owners even came to Eliza B’s to share some insight and advice.

“It’s just like how teachers learn from each other’s classrooms,” Shealy said — there are best practices that are meant to be shared.

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