Transitions: Your Prior-Life Stories

In our May article “Transitions: Act II,” we asked our readers to let us know what they did in their previous careers and how the skills honed on that job apply to their current gig. Here is a selection of the responses; check out YMN to read more previous-life stories.

I am a psychotherapist who decided that life in the big city (Houston, Texas) was too stressful—not safe, a nightmare drive to and from the office, and I could no longer live in fear. We decided to retire early, in 1981, and return to Pennsylvania where we established a natural fiber farm—sheep, angora goats (mohair), angora rabbits, llamas, alpacas and grew flax. In order to earn enough to meet living expenses, we began heritage tours and a fiber arts and sheepskin shop. We sell fleeces, roving, yarn, spinning wheels and looms plus sheepskins, sheepskin clothing and auto/bike accessories. I teach spinning, weaving, and knitting. Our customers have been my main source of satisfaction. I believe that fiber arts people are really special. We also enjoy working with the animals. We do a lot of hands-on, and our flocks and herds are very trusting and loving. Working with their fleeces is a very personal thing.
Ginger Maine
Silverbrook Fiber Arts & Sheepskins, Rochester Mills, PA

Prior to becoming a crochet designer and author I was a radio announcer/disc jockey. My experience in broadcasting does not give me any edge where actual crochet and design are concerned. But the skills I honed as a radio personality show up in many other areas of my career, public speaking and copy writing in particular.
Doris Chan

I was a freelance court reporter in my former life—15 years of depositions, trials, hearings and transcription. The experience of running a business of my own gave me the confidence to open my shop. I knew I was good with people, so that was half the battle.
Maureen Nugent
Gaylord ImagiKnit Yarn Shop, Gaylord, MI

Prior to opening my yarn shop, I worked as a marketing executive, developing consumer and trade promotions for major brands such as Pepsi, Lipton, Wrigley, and several Kraft brands. After 25 years in the corporate world, I made the decision to put my marketing expertise to work for my own brand. Not a day goes by when I don’t tap into my business skills, whether I’m planning a season’s inventory requirements, setting a shelf, coaching employees, developing a sample, working on my website or running a promotion or ad campaign. My point of view is that success in this business is determined less by knitting expertise, and more by good business and marketing sense. Love of knitting is a given, but expertise in business is a must, particularly in today’s retail climate.
Nancy O’Connell
nancy O, Ridgefield, CT

What my career was prior to opening my shop is a complete 180 compared to this. I worked in the male-driven industry of steel. I worked as a bilingual inside sales representative for a steel mill. I absolutely loved dealing with people all over the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Making the switch over to a quilting/knitting store owner was a little bumpy at first, as you have to handle the customer in a completely different way since this is a female-driven industry. The organization and knowledge of how the business world works in other countries definitely helped when opening the shop.
Kristin Rodriguez
Fiber on a Whim, Atlanta, GA

Prior to opening Nordic Living, I spent 30 years in technology and business consulting roles. That experience taught me the value of :
1. Planning (business, inventory, marketing)
2. Creating formal processes, procedures and policies
3. Using a POS system or automated inventory tracking for sales and margin analysis, rather than depending on “gut feel”—leave the gut feel for new products
4. Listening to the customer
5. Recognizing that good, well-trained staff is the single most important investment I could make.
Cathie Mayr
Now Stitches Yarns, Nisswa, MN

I spent the past 25 years in IT and Marketing. I managed both projects and staff and made many business decisions, so that experience has been invaluable in opening my own yarn shop. Dealing with people, both staff and customers, along with understanding how important marketing can be has helped. Corporate life prepared me in many ways for running my own business, but retail is definitely a big change from the corporate reality. My IT experience has helped me understand how important a “state of the art” POS system and inventory tracking system is, with our data being backed up several times a day, and it gives a good handle on how our business is doing.
Karen Holmes
Fresh Purls, Providence, RI

In my past career incarnation I had climbed the corporate ladder (in high heels and
pantyhose) in the field of human resources. I’d worked in retail, manufacturing and media environments like Bloomingdale’s, Sara Lee, Gannett. Three years ago I left my cushy VP position. (It didn’t seem so cushy while I was logging in those hours on planes and at meetings but now I know that any job with a secretary, free parking and a regular
paycheck is cushy!) As a human resources professional I’d copiloted many aspects of each business. Providing guidance to managers resolving issues, preparing budgets,
hiring/firing people, acquiring business and developing policy helped prepare me for my
own business.
Laurie Thomas
Sticks and Strings, Scarsdale, NY

I worked for a major telecommunications company for 27 years before opening my store. I have past experience in sales, marketing, retail management, training and human resources, and this comes in real handy! I love the business and am passionate about yarn!
Barb Barone
River City Yarns Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

I ran a small interactive design business with my husband before starting Be Sweet. We took a sabbatical and moved to Cape Town, South Africa, and it was there that I became enthralled with the job creation/empowerment programs that are a driving force behind Be Sweet’s products and mission today.
Nadine Curtis
Be Sweet, Sausalito, CA

I was an attorney, a solo practitioner, for 25 years. In private practice you have to be able to communicate with a tremendous variety of people. The ability to work with people is essential in our business, so it translates perfectly.
Name Withheld by Request

I worked in high-tech for 25 years and started the store in 1998 while still working full-time. I’ve always had a shop manager and continued working in high-tech until 2001, when my third layoff left me thinking it was time to work in the store full-time. While the money isn’t the same, it’s much more rewarding and I don’t go home wanting to kill people. I spent the last few years of my high-tech life managing software engineers and pretty large budgets and schedules in some cases. It was great prep for my current life, along with the many other jobs I had before I found a life as a software engineer. I’d been a bank teller, bookkeeper, tour guide, singer and purchasing agent before the age of 24 (along with a few other odd jobs) and the combination of all of those and being an organized person were important for my running my own business. The biggest help has been finding amazing shop owner friends to talk things over with. We talk on the phone at least weekly if not daily and can discuss the kinds of things you can’t with an employee or significant other.
Cathe A. Ray
Needle In A Haystack, Alameda, CA

I was a college textbook sales rep in my previous life. Actually, lots of things translate—good customer service, good quality product. Because I worked from home, I actually did quite a few things that were akin to running a company. I had to manage my own time, make sure the phone bill got paid, go to the post office and bank, etc.
Beth Casey
Lorna’s Laces Yarns, Chicago, IL

I am a painter and personal creativity trainer, as well as a college professor who also teaches art to all age levels. I am still in shock running a yarn business since July 07. My love for fiber, knitting and crochet have been infused into the business along with my color sensibilities, and ability to help people feel more comfortable in selecting, making and reveling in their creations.
Judith Rudnick Kane
Yarns for Your Soul, Manchester Center, VT

In my former life I was a legal secretary in the corporate department of a large (and the oldest) law firm in San Diego for 36 years. When I moved to Eureka Springs, I left behind the regimented, structured, detail-oriented world to meet my passion, a free-spirited, relaxed lifestyle! There is such a high level of creativity in this wonderful mecca that I am constantly encouraged by it.
Michelle Taylor
Little Bo Peep’s Yarn and Antiques, Eureka Springs, AR

I have been knitting for over 45 years. Educated as an attorney, after having two children I focused my legal training on, first, pro bono air-quality advocacy for environmental and public interest groups. I took that career path when my older son Phil was hospitalized with asthma twice in five weeks. Inspired by the zeal of my younger son Steve, I shifted my focus in air quality into a close look at Detroit’s failure to offer a broad range of transportation changes. Steve and I cofounded Transportation Riders United in 1999, when he was a high school freshman. All this time I was knitting my way through undergrad, law school and hundreds of public meetings. Knitting at hearings became an attribute of my advocacy: Adversaries were disarmed by the “harmless knitting housewife.” From the mid-’80s on I fantasized about opening a yarn store, but at that time it seemed a shop closed every week. When the nest emptied in 2002, I realized that it was my turn for an adventure. My shops are like my children, so much an expression of who I am that the boundary between self and shop is usually blurred.
Karen D. Kendrick-Hands
City Knits, Detroit, MI