10 Year Anniversary {Family Business}

2004: family business about two years old

Ten years ago today, our home grown pawn shop made its first loan.  I'm told that the odds of a small business surviving ten years are 1 in 25 (a 4% success rate), making today's decade mark a milestone worth celebrating.  With Tim running the show, this enterprise was bound to succeed.  Born and raised with creative entrepreneurial tendencies, gifted with a phenomenal intellect, and graced with a strong faith and high ethics, my husband's business prowess and tenacity are noteworthy. 

Several serious financial challenges and ridiculous bureaucratic set-backs have make the ride a bit bumpy at times.  Problems with permits, the odd delinquent employee and random acts of bullying by the powers that be have lined our 'yellow brick road' in the pawn business with a few stumbling blocks.  Expanding from one shop to three in ten years, the growth factor sheds light on Tim's visionary tendencies and resolve to succeed.  Outstanding managers and dedicated employees with a keen sense for sniffing out rats and weeding out trouble have saved the day on more than one occasion.

Keeping life interesting, our shop(s) have the intermittent good fortune of helping to solve crimes like the recent Golden Flute incident involving a car prowl on Church property while we were at daily Mass.  Undeniably unpredictable, our pawn business(es) rolls along; the ever expanding to-do list and daily grind sometimes taking a visible toll on my most ambitious entrepreneur.  Nice work, Tim!

2009: Zachary assists at our family business relocation project

2009: New location meets Joseph's approval