Business Love Stories - Emporium Worthing

Garden gnomes are back, and they are cool. There, I’ve said it. A gnome is no longer considered naff; indeed, #gardengnome trends on TikTok. If you fancy hosting one but don’t want to go ‘old school’ gnome, I can point you in the direction of a bright blue, eighty-five centimetre, cordial looking chap standing proudly in Emporium Worthing’s window.

Emporium is a double-fronted shop in the centre of Worthing, selling an eclectic mix of homewares, gifts and preloved fashion. It’s also a cafe with a license, so once you’ve paid for your preloved Lulu Guinness bag, why not grab a table and order tea or espresso (martini, obviously) and watch the world go by?

What made you set up on your own?

Starting a new business just as Covid hit is rapidly becoming a cliche. Alli opened her dream shop Emporium Worthing three weeks before lockdown.

“I’m 54 and work in TV; when I was a teenager, I wanted to own a shop called Small, Useless, Beautiful Things. It was a bit of a mouthful, but a cute shop was always part of my retirement plan. When you look back, if someone had said, ‘let’s start a business three weeks before lockdown’, you would have said no. But in a way, I’m glad I did because I wouldn’t have done it after.”

How would you describe your relationship with your business right now?

Alli has a full-time job in TV, which sounds glamorous but rarely is. The official hours are Monday to Friday, nine to six but you won’t get the show on the road without putting in a lot more.

“It’s a balancing act. I have to make sure the website is updated, the shop looks good, the bills get paid, and I’m promoting the great new stock I just got in. It’s endless and it’s just me. I have a helper at the weekend now but my relationship with my business is quite strained. I’m currently ninety per cent TV, ten per cent shop. I want to turn it around so it gets ninety per cent of my time. When I finish this job I’m going in all guns blazing because I’ve got this far and need to give it some more love and attention.”

What was it at its worst? What was happening to you then?

“Covid. Nobody had heard of it, and it was like ‘The End Of The World is Nigh’. No one understood how it was going to affect everything. I thought it was going to be the end but got a ton of support from the government and the council.

We had to close the doors, there would be no walk-ins, so we went online. We have big windows, we make big, bold displays so people would walk past on their daily Covid walk and order online. Customers say they love it because it’s always interesting.

That should have been the worst time, but it made me think outside the box. You have to tweak what’s working and what’s not constantly.

Online sales went up. We got grants, and I made sure I paid the rent I’m glad I did that. I don’t have much in the bank right now, but I don’t have any debts either. I managed to ride that wave. That difficult time turned into a real learning experience for me. It made me stronger and I never thought I’d say that.”

What advice would you give to another owner who’s feeling disillusioned?

“My advice is you’ve got to roll with the punches. To change, tweak and roll with it every time.

A women with a business around the corner came in the other day, for a chat. She started up a few months ago with a shop selling among other things plants, and products with sell by dates. Then she got Covid and had to close the shop. The plants died and she lost a lot of stock.

But she’s ballsy! There was no feeling sorry for herself. We were talking about how she was going to turn it around, rethink the business, pay the rent and find new customers. She is proactive in finding a solution. I put her in touch with another local business who is now helping her with that. It’s very easy to give up when you’re on your own and lose the love for it, especially when it’s financial.

So, take a step back and a deep breath, and remind yourself why you’re doing it. There is always a solution, and often help, from a friend or your local Chamber of Commerce for instance. Don’t give up, you started your business for a reason there’s always a way around it. I’m saying that genuinely from my heart.”

What keeps you connected to why you started your business in the first place?

The shop evolves daily. “I started with clothes, then homeware. I’ve added lots of quirky things that I enjoy buying that I see on Instagram. The shop is now also a cafe and cake shop, and I’ve got my license to serve alcohol. That’s simply because the road we’re on is full of eateries and drinking places. I would stand outside drinking my coffee thinking, “I could do coffee - add that - I could do cake - add that - people would come in and try clothes on for an hour and say, ‘I’ve got to go and meet the girls for a drink, shame you don’t do alcohol’ so I’ve added that. So what the business started out to do has evolved throughout Covid.”

Would you say you love your business?

“I live nearby and when I first opened I’d walk around the corner see the shopfront and feel a buzz of excitement, I said to myself I’ve done that; it was my dream. My friend said, “you’ve made the dream come true.” it’s not quite there yet, but there is a buzz to having your own business.”

Who or what keeps you going in tough times?

The customers, it’s always first and foremost the customers. “People love coming into a physical shop, they love touching and feeling things. I get great compliments for that. Also, I take a couple of days off to remind myself why I’m doing it when I need to.”

What do you love about working for yourself?

“If I decide I want to change something, I don’t have to go through a bunch of people to make sure that’s ok. It’s freedom.”

When is peak gnome buying season for you?

“It’s more events based for us. Ladies come in and buy outfits for Goodwood, for example. So we don’t see huge spikes but when there’s an event on in town it definitely affects traffic. It’s something I definitely need to tap into more.”

Emporium is the only shop I’ve ever visited where I can go home, giddy on tea and cake, with a Karen Millen dress, a gold flamingo floor lamp with green velvet shade, and the said blue gnome tucked under my arm. What a time to be alive!