Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Meyer.
Hi Nicole, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My parents had an antique store when I grew up. I started working there when I was eight alongside my parents and then ran the store alone when I was older and they would go to auctions. I always wanted to work on consignment versus hourly. (I was good at sales). I remember making some good money on items I had purchased at garage sales and sell in the store. They closed the store when I was 16 and I thought that was the end of that. It was for a while… Between 1991 and 1998, I was married and had my children. During this time I also went to school and started my 20-year career in hairdressing. I open my own salon and owned that for 14 years. I was really young boss and owner, and had so much to learn. I could feel myself becoming restless and no longer content with that job as time went on. I had no idea what I wanted to do. This also was a very pivotal time in my life as it became clear my husband and I needed to find recovery from alcohol. I’m so lucky that things fell into place as they did. I’m a very busy person and definitely needed something to distract me during this recovery process. We were able to purchase large lots of items at great prices and start reselling it at flea markets. My husband really begin to enjoy it as well as me and we entertained the thought of opening a store. So many things fell into place as I look back. Now here we are at The Rustic Depot. Celebrating over five Years in business and over eight years in recovery.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe everything does happen for a reason. We have struggles and battles to make us stronger. Finally, at 50, I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’m finally proud of the person I’ve become. Some people would classify most of my life events as obstacles or challenges- but I believe it was all part of God‘s plan for me.
Almost every single day, there is some sort of obstacle in owning a business. It takes a lot of work to own a business, I am so thankful for my team and family. Hard work pays off.
The struggle of the two years of Covid, the 13 mile detour in front of our Business that lasted 4 months during our busiest months. Now inflation this year.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Rustic Depot?
I opened in 2017. I worked Mostly by myself, with help from my daughter Alex, until she went to college. Our store opened with 90% antiques and 10% gifts. I purposely named The Rustic Depot General store, as I hoped to add a lot more new and gift items as we could afford to purchase them. I knew I wanted to diversify and have a larger range of items. I started with all inventory we had accumulated from our flea market inventory so we did not have to get a bank loan for that. I’m very cautious about money and love to read financial books. I knew we had to start very small to see how the public responded to our store what they wanted more of etc. I have a great accountant who has always seen my visions and help me work through growing our business in the smartest ways we can. I slowly added a couple of part-time employees. We put a big addition on in 2021, doubling our inside space. We put up a brand new sale and clearance shed in 2022. We now have over 9000 Square feet of indoor and outdoor shopping space. It has truly become the family business I wanted. There are now 11 of us that are employed here. Myself, and my husband, my daughter and her husband. My son and his girlfriend. Two of my older grandchildren. Two of my sisters and Kylee (not related but amazing). My dad and other family members volunteer here also. A lot of people comment that you could find a gift for anybody here. I believe that, We work hard to have a wide variety, put out new items every day, and to keep our prices reasonable. We offer live online sales that have become popular. We give great deals and have a lot of fun with them. We do in-store events and offer an in-store loyalty program.
What are your plans for the future?
Always changing! Hoping to have a small coffee shop inside the store within the next six months.
Contact Info:
- Website: Therusticdepotprinceton.com
- Facebook: @therusticdepot
