Pat and other Angels' Attic volunteers on an early trip to Hogar Beulah in Costa Rica.

"Pat's Pointers"

So many people have taken an interest in what we're doing at Angels' Attic, and have requested help in doing something similar. We're happy to provide any insight that we've learned over the past couple of years, but please understand that these aren't necessarily guidelines, but rather tidbits of what we did that seemed to work. More than through business techniques, we were really Spirit-led in each step of the process, and our biggest piece of advice would be to pray through each step and let God lead you in His will for your endeavor.

Start Small
The first thing we did was to pick up leftover items from individual (and whole neighborhood) garage sales. By drawing up flyers and taking them around (with our church sponsorship mentioned), people were so receptive to giving us the remaining items. We stored the items until we had enough merchandise to have a huge sale of our own. We did this 5 times in 2 years and made around $10K to start. By starting with something manageable, you're going to find out if you even like this business, what people are reliable, how receptive your church might be to sponsoring you, etc.

Build a Network of Reliable Workers
Several church friends were involved in our efforts from the very beginning. You can imagine the amount of work involved in something like this, and it would be impossible without a reliable support system of people with the same vision.

Build a Business
By having our church sponsor us, we benefited from the non-profit status, insurance and accounting assistance, and early publicity in order to draw volunteers. There are basic things that you need to do in starting a business (open bank accounts, get insurance, join the local Chamber of Commerce, etc.).

Start a Store
Prior to opening the store, we tried to do our homework by going to local thrift stores to see how they priced their merchandise, what hours they were open, and all the many tiny details. We found a store location and started out quite small. We've been so blessed with the business that we've had to expand twice, and God provided for the expansion in miraculous ways. We did everything possible on a shoestring budget. We designed our display shelves, our husbands built them, and we painted them! We purchased and/or shopped for free racks, store fixtures, and a cash register.

We have operated primarily through the use of amazing and committed volunteers. We have volunteers doing any or all of the following:

Hauling merchandise (sometimes very heavy items) across town

Sorting, cleaning, pricing & displaying the merchandise (and separating & storing seasonal items)

Assisting in the store (answering phones, questions, operating cash registers)

Performing bookkeeping and administrative functions

We even have two older ladies (both 92 years old) volunteering; one polishes our silver and another folds all of our linens.

When working with volunteers, a key point is to treat these valuable resources as employees, and really allow them to share in the vision of the store. Many times, a volunteer type arrangement allows for a very flexible arrangement. It has been essential to have committed people who take their jobs very seriously, as if they were paid employees.

God has blessed us with many bible-believing, compassionate, spirit-filled followers of Jesus Christ. In our case, God uses the store as a special ministry, sometimes even more than the purpose of raising money for mission efforts. I believe that people visit our store sometimes just to get a word of encouragement or prayer with one of our many volunteers. God has delivered many miracles through the prayers of the women who work here and visit here.

Once you open a store, you'll learn specifics according to your area (for example, items that may be in high demand in an upscale area may not sell in different areas and vice versa). Over time, you'll learn what sells and what doesn't, and what items are desirable in your area. One of the best things we learned was to SIMPLIFY the pricing. All books, shoes and clothes are priced at one price point (i.e. books may be 50 cents, shoes may be $5/pair, and jeans may be $7/pair). You'll need to price according to your town and the local economics.

Provide Feedback
Many of our volunteers work tirelessly in mundane jobs to make our store work. One of the key areas to keeping the commitment is to provide feedback on where the money is going and how those mundane jobs translate into a real accomplishment. All of our profits go directly to support bible-based mission work. All of our workers vote on where the money goes, and then we really try to provide feedback for what we were able to do with that money. It is a very rewarding concept to think that God can take the efforts of a woman in the backroom doing mundane sorting all day long, and to multiply the "fruit" of that effort into something so substantial for His Kingdom.

Give! Give! Give!
One of the greatest lessons that we've learned is that you cannot outgive God. When we get too much merchandise or a particular need arises, we've given generously (even when it involved giving away 100% of our initial store inventory to Katrina families), and God has rewarded us. The more we gave away, the more that came in (and sometimes double).

We are very excited that many people are contacting us for assistance in pursuing similar efforts. I just want to reiterate that our path was established by God, and we had to pray and listen for His guidance (and continue to do so).