The first time they met was when their girls, Hailey and Bailey… had a play date. Kelly Daniel and Amy Reehl hit it off immediately and ended up talking for three hours at the pick-up. They talked about wanting to start a business of some kind and through their conversation realized they both loved tag sales, antiques and finding treasures. “We loved scouring tag sales to find things for our own homes.”
Amy grew up with a father who dragged her all over to garage and estate sales when she was young and she had a knowledge of textiles through her job with Laura Ashley. Kelly’s mother opened an art gallery when she was in college and while living in London, antiques were a part of her life.
Fast forward to life raising kids and “tag sale-ing” for themselves – a friend knew they were “tag sale savvy” and asked Kelly and Amy to help her sell her things on EBay. But she had so much stuff they decided to hold a sale for her. It was so much fun that they knew this was their business. Word of mouth spread and when people asked what they do, they said, “We’ll do anything to help clean out a house – move furniture, clean things, stage rooms – anything within reason.” That became their name when Kelly and Amy formed their LLC – Within Reason Estate Sales.
Setting up a game plan and a business model, Amy and Kelly were profitable with their first sale in July of 2011. Strategizing on how to get more sales in the beginning stages of their business, they sent post cards to homeowners who were selling their homes – this garnered lots of assignments. They found other moms to help with their accounting and staffing during sales and were on their way.
“All of our business comes from referrals now.” When asked about the competition, they say, “There are one or two firms that do this, but we’re out to be the go-to estate sale girls.” The two feel they price things very competitively and therefore sell more and make more for their clients. Kelly and Amy are well versed in what things should sell for, everything from an antique bureau to a set of Wedgewood china. Amy says, “This is so much fun – it’s really hard work but we laugh the whole time, and every sale is different.”
With a two week lead time in the best case scenario, Kelly and Amy prepare for the sale by pricing, researching, and merchandising items so they show in the best light. Usually running for two days, each sale is on Friday and Saturday. Their husbands care for their kids – six between them – on Saturdays. Booked weeks out, Within Reason is gaining on the competition.
And the moms’ enthusiastic personalities have garnered some interest from a reality tv show producer. “The things we run into when cleaning out a house or having a sale are so funny and really can be unbelievable – good tv – kind of like the show Storage Wars.” Who knows, we may see these two moms on cable tv soon, it’s within reason…..
Contact: [email protected], www.withinreasonct.com Be sure to mention VentureMom.com to get your bonus when you use them for a sale.
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