Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Cannon.
Hi Jay, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From my most formative years I have loved creating services and “businesses”. Grass mowing, firewood, a local newspaper etc. I tried it all when I was a little kid. This carried into my adult years. Running a business is like getting to play a board game every day. Win some, Lose some, but always fun if you have the right mindset.
When we first took over Always Home it was just a consignment shop. This was totally fine and allowed two treasure hunters an exciting way to spend some more time doing something they loved. We had a blast and worked tirelessly on making the store our own and taking care of all the long time customers and all the new ones we attracted.
One of the biggest tweaks we decided we must make early on was deciding to add a pick up and delivery service. We had been outsourcing that which was economical and easy but we didn’t like that when our brand was physically in a customers home we didn’t have any control. We understood the trust and intimacy we share when we get to deliver a piece of furniture and we wanted to make sure it was an excellent experience.
While doing deliveries we would get asked if we could do some general hauling, trash runs, donation runs, etc. We quickly realized that we had the equipment and really good people to do all of this. We added services until we had an all in 1 shop that allowed us to do full downsizing and senior moves. What set us apart is the consignment shop. It allows us to keep prices low because our general costs are spread out over several business lines and then, on top of being affordable, we can pay you back for the next 90 days as your consignment sells. We have countless testimonials of people we have been able to help for “free” or even paid them to let us downsize them because of the shop. Mixing that kind of value proposition with the team of excellent staff we have built makes for an exceptional experience for all our customers.
We truly believe we can have not only the best consignment shop in NC but also the best downsizing company!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wouldn’t say the journey was smooth but smooth sounds boring. We enjoy challenges.
One of my favorite stories is about a statuary we chipped. It was a $50,000 piece and we were still in our infancy on outside services. We were doing a big project for an important local auction house and on the very last trip, after moving huge statuaries all day, we chipped the glass on one of the most valuable pieces. I moved mountains to make sure the problem got rectified to the customers full satisfaction. What could have been tragedy led us to one of our most profitable and exciting partnerships because they were so satisfied by how we worked to rectify the situation. At the time we obviously didn’t know it but doing the right thing created a fantastic opportunity. So I don’t think it was unsmooth because of roadblocks. It was actually unsmooth because conquering difficulties added a rocketship to our vehicle.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I seletected other so I could tell you about my family. The joy of owning a business largely stems from family involvement. My wonderful wife works on tons of our creative projects and helps keeps the books straight. My inventory system shows $10,000,000 more dollars in inventory than we actually have because I have one of my daughters paintings on display in the store for $10,000,000! Little things like that are what keeps me happy. We also extend the same for our customers. Families that come in we will try and do something special for the kids. thinking of legacy and the future is so important because it helps me make a healthier business. I constantly add SOPs that allow for business growth that my kids could directly manage one day or leave on autopilot and pursue their own dreams and goals.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I have written a book. It talks about my story of recovery after getting fully addicted to pain killers in highschool. I spent almost 8 years deeply addicted to drugs before getting clean. Now with more than a decade clean I take book proceeds and help addicts get transportation to treatment and sober living. The book is published on Amazon and is called Sober Son. It is a short snapshot of realizing how bad my problem was, finding a way to get sober, and what I did next to set up maintained sobriety. I wrote it for parents or loved ones who didn’t have a clue what had happened to the man, woman, husband, child, friend et al and tried to bring some peace to them!
PS: if you know anyone who might is dealing with a loved ones struggle and think they might benefit just get me an address and I will mail them a free copy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alwayshomeconsignment.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwayshomeconsignment/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alwayshomefurnitureconsignment/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlwaysHomeConsignment
