Speaking of Signs

Signs That Motivate

Do You Believe in Signs?

Speaking of signs, did I ever tell you how I came to open my little shop, "Eileen's Gifts"?

I'd been doing (mostly holiday) craft fairs for a couple of years and had built up quite a bit of inventory. I was pondering how I could better market my wares all year long, as well as how I could make it easy for my growing list of customers to easily get in touch.

Then one morning, as I was sitting at coffee with my girlfriends, the sales clerk from the dress shop next door came out and motioned for me to follow her. She led me to the back storeroom and explained that someone had left something for me.

She pulled out this beautiful hand-crafted three-foot long wood sign that read, "Eileen's Gifts". On it was a Post-It note that said simply "To Eileen from Carmen". I was stunned speechless as I carried the sign back to the coffee shop.

My friends were all very curious about what was going on. When I held the sign up they said almost in unison, "Eileen, it's a sign!"

I later contacted Carmen to thank her. She explained that she had owned a boutique in San Francisco. When she bought the store, she kept the prior owner's name. She decided it was time to part with it and she knew just where it was supposed to go.

Within a month, I had worked out a barter-for-space deal with another shop owner and proudly hung out my "Eileen's Gifts" sign. That was almost four years ago and "Eileen's Gifts" is still going strong.

Yes, I do believe in signs.