The Feel Good Store on Germain Street (Image: submitted)
2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Uptown Saint John’s one-stop wellness shop, The Feel Good Store.
Owner Anne McShane says when she first opened the store, people were only just starting to learn about wellness products. Most weren’t available to purchase in one place and she would have to hunt around when looking for items for herself.
“For a joke I started to make a little Excel spreadsheet of what a store would look like if I opened one it looked like that,” says McShane. “And then I gave my boss my notice and opened the store – I realized, like, I could do this.”
From alleyways to cellars, small businesses are setting up shop all over Saint John, especially in the uptown area. When McShane first opened the store on Germain Street, there were five empty spots on the street, whereas now there are three people clamoring for one 1200-1500 square foot location.
“Entrepreneurial culture wasn’t a real thing that people talked about… like you didn’t sit around and go, ‘I would like to open a business,’” she said, adding she hears constantly about people turning something they love, or a side hustle, into a business.
Interior of the Feel Good Store (Image: Submitted)
“I hear that all the time now, I just find it’s so much more immersed in regular conversation, and you realize there definitely has been a shift towards entrepreneurialism that wasn’t there when I first opened.”
McShane also credits social media for having a huge impact on small businesses, helping owners build their customer base and spread the word that they exist.
In the past, business owners would have to pay for expensive radio and print ads to reach their audience and work hard to get their name out and make an impression.
“Now if a person opens a business, you can sponsor a few $6 ads and embed your brand within weeks,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful for small business to compete in the marketplace, it’s a nice little leveler.”
The Feel Good Store has adapted over the years, incorporating automation and systemization and updating accounting processes, with McShane’s goal being to have healthy growth and be sustainable rather than expanding to a larger store of multiple locations.
“The biggest challenge I have is how do I keep the Feel Good store interesting and not grow beyond the current square footage that I have,” she explained. “I want to be sustainable and I want to be able to pay the bills and I want to be able to make a living and I want to have a nice little spot that people enjoy – I want a nice balance of everything.”
This story was originally published on Huddle.Today – an Acadia Broadcasting Limited content partner.
