Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Duncan.
Hi Molly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to Raleigh from Richmond, VA. We had our daughter while living in Richmond, and we sold and bought most of her clothes from Kid to Kid. When we moved to Raleigh, I was surprised there was no Kid to Kid in the area. I had just left the high school English classroom in 2020, and I was looking for my next thing. One day, when we were at the pool, my husband asked why I didn’t shop at Kid to Kid anymore. I told him there wasn’t one in the area. He encouraged me to look at what it would take to open one, as we thought it would be a great benefit to Garner and the surrounding places. We met with the franchise, got a business loan, found a space and opened up on October 18, 2023.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our construction phase was a disaster, for many reasons. We switched locations at the last minute, which meant a whole new round of lease negotiations. Once we were in our space, and working on upfitting it, our contractor had a terrible car accident and that affected the timing of our build out, and rightly so. We have a huge sales counter and we were the first to use the new vendor our franchise recommended. Because of some confusion with drawings, the counter was built in reverse and had to be fixed. And there were lots of small setbacks along the way. We ended up opening about 4 months after we had planned.
I have a background in teaching and non-profit management. I know how to hire great people. I know how to build a culture and run a team. My biggest challenge has been learning the business part–bookkeeping, marketing, budgeting, inventory management (which is it’s own monster in the resale world). Fortunately, the franchise provides an operations consultant and ours is brilliant. She has taught me so much about how to think about profitability while still staying true to my values.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a locally owned kids resale store. We buy gently used items from the public–clothes, shoes, toys, baby gear–and then resale them at a huge discount from retail. So many people have items that have barely been used, and we take those and sell them to others who need them! Our customers find great deals every day on gently used brand name items. That makes it easier for kids to wear what they want, and for parents not to stress about paying for it.
We pride ourselves on customer service and providing a welcoming environment for all families and people. Not all families look the same. Some have a single parent. Some have grandparents. Some have two moms or two dads. Some have people with disabilities. And sometimes families who don’t fit the “norm” feel uncomfortable when they go out to shop. We want to make sure no one ever has that experience when shopping with us. We want them to find Kid to Kid to be a safe, welcoming space for their family.
In our family, we always say “If someone needs help, you help them if you can.” We extend that same thinking to our business. We donate clothing to a Note In the Pocket, With Love from Jesus, and school clothing closets in Wake and Johnson counties. We work with local organizations to donate items to folks who need them. And sometimes we do small things for our customers when we see they need them.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
On the daily, I use a Rocketbook notebook to take notes. I like to use pen and paper, but I also want to be able to share that thinking digitally. Rocketbook bridges that gap for me. I write in the reusable notebook and then use their app to upload my pages to Google drive. The app will upload the doc in a variety of forms and will convert my handwriting to text. And then I can share the notes with whomever I want. getrocketbook.com
I recently read _Let Them Lead: Unexpected Lessons In Leadership from America’s Worst High School Hockey Team_ by John U. Bacon. Bacon’s leadership style is very similar to my own, so not everything here was new information, but this book provided great ways to put my thinking into action. He provided the “how” to go with the “why.” It’s a fast read and action oriented.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kidtokid.com/location/kid-to-kid-garner/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidtokidgarner/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidtoKidGarner
