Moni Ritchie Hadley
  • Home
  • Bio
    • Interviews & Blog visits
  • Books
    • THE STAR FESTIVAL Lessons & Activities
    • ANZU AND THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP Curriculum Connections
  • School Visits
    • Past Events
    • FREEBIES!
    • Diversity Handout
  • WKN! Scholarship
  • Path2Publication Blog
    • Cabana Room >
      • Writers' Nook
      • Teachers' Room
      • Parents' Planet
      • Students' Corner
  • Contact
    • SHOP

Parent's Planet
​

A Working Mom, Making It Work!

1/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Missy Gibson 
Business owner, 
Musician, 

Mom, 24/7
​For many mothers, there comes that time when faced with the decision to go back to work. When you became a mother, you were very active playing music in three different bands.  How did you decide to open a used kids’ clothing store?
Picture
I was a touring musician up until I had my son at 38. And although I continued playing in bands, I wanted to provide some stability for my son. I had bartended, waited tables, and worked in part time sales, but I had no luck finding jobs in those areas. Years ago, I opened a vintage clothing store during a summer in Northern Michigan. I also had many booths, flea markets, and the like through the years. And, I have always loved thrift shopping! So making the decision to open “Grow Kid Grow” felt very natural for me and I felt our neighborhood really needed this kind of store. In the past, I had worked part time for a print & design company in downtown Los Angeles, and had worked with two great guys there. They became my partners and together we opened the store.
Picture
How did you manage starting a business, playing music, and being a mom?
When the store finally opened, my son was three. That was a tough year. I worked a lot of hours. But, at that time, my partners helped in the store. So, when I could not be in the store or if I had to pick up my son from preschool, they would run it. Before we opened, there was so much to do! So, often I would work all day, go home to see my family for dinner, then return to the store to work until all hours. Sometimes, I didn’t even make it home. We used to joke about the cot I was going to set up in the back. I was pretty darn exhausted! But I'm lucky to have my husband, a great dad, and huge support, too.

My husband and I married in 2009, the same year I opened the store. I remember people asking me how I did that and I would say “you know, it just kind of came together.” Then one day, my husband stopped me and said “Please stop saying that. I don’t think you realize it, but while you were opening your store, I nearly planned our entire wedding. It didn’t just come together.” I felt really bad when I realized that I was so caught up in “Grow Kid Grow,” I hadn’t noticed his efforts.

I have three bands, Breech, Nellie Bly and my Irish band, Paddy's Pig. Paddy's PIg was playing about 3-4 shows a month. I completely need and require my musical outlets, to this day! Fortunately, my next door neighbors, whom we are very close to, became babysitters to my son. He was not the kind of kid who wanted to hang out at rehearsals or shows and see his mom on stage! After about a year, I was able to hire a store manager and part time employees, some of who were my babysitters. This was a huge step! Indeed, it takes a village!
Picture
You adopted a second child in 2013.  How do you maintain a healthy balance of work and home life with two children?
I don't think you ever really find balance. Some weeks you give more of your time to family, and some weeks it's to the business or other parts of your life. You have to be flexible. It helps to separate work life and home life. When I first adopted my baby girl, at two days old, I was grateful to be able to take a two month maternity leave. But that was only because I had an incredible store manager in Dani and two great employees to boot. During this period, I would pick up bags of laundry and huge bins of clothes to price. I would sit in my living room with my new born and a bottle, surrounded by bins of clothes and a pricing gun, price away, then drop the bins off the next day. But, one habit I developed from the beginning was to book all appointments, by phone, from the store. Although I check my email everyday, the wall calendar is in the store, so all correspondence and bookings happens there and I don’t have to take it home with me.

Any tips for new moms that are considering going back to work?
I am passionate about my store, and this is what worked for me. Find what suits your life. For me, the flexibility is invaluable and I LOVE my customers & serving the community. If you are intending on starting your own business, try to create boundaries, hire some great people to help you, and just be prepared to work your butt off the first year. Once you get through that first year, you can find your pace and your people and come up for air. But again, be prepared for that first year! It’s a tough one!

Picture
Missy would also like you to know that her store carries teen and adult clothes and shoes too!

To learn more about Missy and Grow Kid Grow, click here.
To follow Grow Kid Grow on Facebook, click here.


GROW KID GROW
4310 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Picture
0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    Adoption
    Kids And Giftedness
    Kids And Surfing?
    Vegetarian Dad/Omnivore Kid
    Working Mom

    Archives

    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    RSS Feed

    120x600 Banner
  • Home
  • Bio
    • Interviews & Blog visits
  • Books
    • THE STAR FESTIVAL Lessons & Activities
    • ANZU AND THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP Curriculum Connections
  • School Visits
    • Past Events
    • FREEBIES!
    • Diversity Handout
  • WKN! Scholarship
  • Path2Publication Blog
    • Cabana Room >
      • Writers' Nook
      • Teachers' Room
      • Parents' Planet
      • Students' Corner
  • Contact
    • SHOP